Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/90836c7k0y
Conservation and Restoration of Two Scarves from the Crypt in the Cathedral of St. Teresa of Avila in Požega
Venija Bobnjarić Vučković
orcid.org/0000-0003-1452-6639
; Hrvatski restauratorski zavod, Restauratorski odjel Ludbreg, Ludbreg, Hrvatska
Abstract
During the restoration of the crypt in the Cathedral of St. Teresa of Avila in Požega, a large number of grave goods were found in wooden coffins with the remains of the citizens of Požega, including well-preserved clothes they had been buried in. Among the preserved textile items, there were two scarves that belonged to Ana Slavetić and Ana Erlinger, made out of fine, soft, glossy silk damask fabric in Brown tones with woven motifs of flower bouquets and lace. Both the conservation- and restoration-related research and comparative analyses of textile, technological and stylistic characteristics were aimed at determining the type and origin of the silk fabrics, which were dated in the first half of the 19th century based on the results obtained. It was however not possible to determine the exact location of their production. Nevertheless, based on comparison with other comparable examples, it may be presumed they had been purchased in Central Europe – in Austria (Vienna) or the Czech Republic, as at that time, continental Croatia had had intensive economic, trade and cultural ties with these areas.
Although fairly well preserved in their entirety, the scarves suffered considerable mechanical damage and physio-chemical changes to the original colour tones due to the conditions these textile items had been exposed to during the decomposition of the bodies. In 2006, the Department for Textiles of the Croatian Conservation Institute in Zagreb carried out the disinfection, wet and dry cleaning, drying and pressing of the entire collection of dresses and scarves, whilst during 2009 and 2010, conservation and restoration of the two scarves was continued and completed by the Section for Textiles of the Conservation Department of the Croatian Conservation Institute in Ludbreg.
The items have been cleaned from the remaining particles of impurity; fabrics and fringes have ben straightened, and mechanical damage has been repaired using a combined technique of lining and fastening. After the reparation work had been conducted, the items were returned to Požega packed in infinity cardboard storage boxes.
Keywords
Cathedral of St. Teresa of Avila; grave textiles; silk damask; scarf; shawl; conservation and restoration works.
Hrčak ID:
254546
URI
Publication date:
26.4.2021.
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