Review article
The problem of conservation, restoration and presentation of large historic textiles (The example of a banner from the town of Koprivnica museum)
Venija Bobnjarić – Vučković
Abstract
The Town of Koprivnica Museum has in its possession a collection of guild banners. These textile banners have been stored in the Museum since 1946, after they had been removed from the Koprivnica parish church where they hung beside alters. Textiles are extremely fragile materials and these banners were exposed to various bad microclimatic conditions (light, dust, humidity and insects) that caused extensive damage (mechanical, chemical, photochemical, physical). The museum storage of the banners was to preserve and record the guild period in Koprivnica. Initially, the Museum had limited options to stop further degradation of the textile artefacts as it neither had the financial support nor the facilities to insure adequate storage for effective preservation and display. The Museum has now initiated a project for their conservation and restoration of the artefacts. The main partner in this project is the Restoration Centre Ludbreg of the Croatian Conservation Institute from Zagreb. This institution has completed the restoration and conservation of one of the oldest and the most valuable banners from the Museum collection – the banner of the barber, hairdresser, mead and gingerbread, baker, cord maker, soap boiler and turner guilds. The restoration process was very complex and long-lasting, so it is very important to decide how the banner will be kept and stored at the Museum after restoration. Advice from an expert panel suggested that in accordance with contemporary conservation principals, the banner could be kept and displayed inside the Museum showroom. It should however, be displayed lying on a flat, slightly inclined surface (max. 15%) inside a showcase covered by glass. The showcase has to be placed in a room under controlled conditions at a temperature of 18-22°C, relative humidity of 45-55 % and maximum lighting of 50 lux. Constant control and maintenance of adequate microclimatic conditions are very important factors in the safekeeping of textile artefacts making them more resistant to further degradation
Keywords
guilds; banner; museum; historic textiles; microclimatic conditions; conservation; restoration; presentation
Hrčak ID:
99959
URI
Publication date:
27.11.2012.
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