The present project is aimed at the conservation (restoration) of historical tapestries and textiles from the collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. The collection of textiles is listed in the Central Registry of Museum-type Collections of the Czech Republic (CES) (UPM/002-04-12/078002); ranking among this country´s largest and most important museum collections, it has been built u
p continuously since the foundation of this institution in 1885. Its subsections grouping historical tapestries and liturgical textiles were affected, apart from a purpose-oriented acquisition policy, also by political and broader historical developments due to which the collection was augmented, during the 1950s and 60s, by items from the confiscated properties of the country´s nobility and churches, whereas later on, in the 1990s, it was reduced in certain parts as a result of restitutions of church property. Of the collection of textiles, consisting of approximately 20,000 items, were singled out seven tapestries dating from between the 16th and 18th centuries, plus nine miscellaneous liturgical textiles dating from between the 15th and 20th centuries. The choice of the individual textiles was determined primarily by their quality of ex*****on and by their unique status within the collection, as well as by the extent of their damage, and the considerable demands posed on the conservation of such items in terms of time and cost alike. Within the project´s intentions, the entire conservation process is regarded as a means of preserving historical textiles, and ultimately a way of making it accessible to the general public. At the same time, the process as a whole should generate the maximum amount of information about a given textile material, and open up new ways to interpreting its history. All the conservation devices and techniques applied are in compliance with the modern-time criteria applied to the upkeep and maintenance of historical textiles, as promulgated by competent professional institutions (ICOM, Czech Association of Museums and Galleries /AMG/). These criteria include among others the adequacy and reversibility of an intervention, the preservation of authenticity, and systematic documentation (including photo documentation) of all the various steps of the conservation process and their summed up description in a final restoration report. The project contributes to interdisciplinary co-operation, including the employment of chemical and physical analyses which will eventually be instrumental in decision-making on the definitive choice of a particular conservation method. It favours innovative approaches to the identification of textile materials by way of textile-technological analysis (i.e., a precise description of textile fabric structure), which will be conducive to determining the provenance of the various textiles. Modern heritage preservation techniques interact here with traditional methods and with textile materials employed at the times of the historical textiles´ origins. The process of renovation as a whole is centered around the co-ordination of tasks among the individual agents involved along the line: conservator/restorer - art historian – international partner – textile conservator. The Norwegian partner brings into the project the element of previous experience of work with textile material, coupled with the guarantee of a high degree of European-level expertise. In its turn, the Czech party offers an extensive collection, plus a spirit of openness to novel approaches. In the course of the project´s implementation, it will be accompanied by a publicity and promotion campaign targeting both the scholarly and general public. The former will most notably appreciate a workshop run by a conservator from the Bergen museum, and a series of lectures, again counting with the involvement of the Norwegian party. Detailed information about the project will be available here. The final stage of the conservation process consists in the determination of adequate ways of displaying historical textiles, and of standards for their keeping in repositories. The tapestries will be prepared for installation with the use of a standardized suspension system. In this respect, the liturgical textiles will partly be treated with the use of the museum´s existing devices, and the rest will be fitted with newly made-to-measure supports or frames. Adequate exhibition and/or reposition criteria will be set (taking into account air-conditioning and pest-control requisites). Adherence to these standards will be enforced as part of preventive conservation. This stage will involve the passage of experience with the most sophisticated forms of work in this field from the Norwegian party, the University Museum of Bergen, which has worked out and put into practice an elaborate system of protection of its collections. The conserved textiles will be displayed in the Museum of Decorative Arts´ affiliate venue, at Kamenice nad Lipou Chateau. Following the general overhaul of the Museum of Decorative Arts main building, which is expected to reopen in 2017, the textiles will become part of its new permanent exhibition. With a view to contributing to the project´s sustainability, an exhibition will be staged in Prague devoted to the restoration of historical textiles in this country.
