The earliest mention of textile conservation at the National Museum in Krakow is dated 1910. ‘We have managed to bring the department of fabrics and embroideries to complete order. A number of damaged specimens have been mended…’, we read in the report.
The present Textile Conservation Studio was formally established in 1938. It supervises the conservation of all the textile objects held by the various departments of our museum: Textiles, Far Eastern Art, Orthodox Church Art, Decorative Arts and Material Culture, Militaria, the Józef Mehoffer House, the Jan Matejko House, and the Princes Czartoryski Museum. These constitute the largest and one of the most valuable textile collections in Poland, comprising objects made in a variety of techniques, from sundry materials: archaeological fabrics, tapestries, kilims and other cloth hangings, European and Oriental silks, liturgical garments and paraments, flags and banners, as well as various articles of clothing and fashion accessories.
With a history of nearly a century, the studio has accumulated considerable knowledge of, and ability to assess objectively, various conservation methods, which have changed over this period. This enables us to select the most appropriate methods, in compliance with professional ethics and principles observed worldwide. All its preservation and conservation work is conducted as part of programmes developed individually for each object. We work together with specialists in various fields: chemistry, physics, and microbiology. It is often the results of laboratory tests that prove decisive for the selection of the most appropriate manner of conserving and displaying historic textiles. Due to the considerable diversity of these objects in terms of materials, techniques of execution and originally intended use, our conservation specialists are expected to be trained in a wide range of fields and to continually expand their knowledge. A significant way of fulfilling this postulate is exchange of experiences with other institutions at home and abroad.
The studio’s activities are not confined to textile conservation. Another major priority is the prevention of damage to museum collections. In line with international standards for the control of the museum environment (lighting, climate and atmospheric conditions), all displays of textiles in exhibition spaces are monitored on an ongoing basis. There are also regular reviews of textiles kept in storage.
Our conservation specialists are involved in the construction of exhibitions, issue opinion statements on the state of preservation of exhibits, and contribute to the periodic risk assessment reports prepared for the collections of the National Museum in Krakow. In-depth analysis of all the aspects of protecting and preserving textile objects (storage, display and transport) leads to organizational changes that make it possible to counteract all potential threats more effectively.
Over the past few decades, the studio has completed a number of significant conservation projects:
Since 2013 the studio has been involved in the research project ‘The Funerary Banner of Jan Skarga Pawęski: Research, Conservation, Display’.
In 2014 one of the Textile Department’s storage facilities was renovated and new specialist equipment was purchased for it. The project was funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
As of September 2015, our modern cabinet and shelf systems will make it possible to hold study meetings on the history of old textiles for small groups of the public. All interested parties are welcome to contact us about this opportunity.
Main Building NMK
al. 3 Maja 1
tel. +48 12 433 55 83
konstka@muzeum.krakow.pl
16th-century Turkish carpet with cintamani motifs
In 2015, the Textile and Clothing Conservation Studio of the National Museum in Krakow began conservation works on the 16th-century Turkish carpet with cintamani motifs. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it belongs to a group of the largest preserved items of this type in the world – it is nearly 40 square meters large (1,063 cm long and 372 cm wide). It is this vast area that constitutes the principal difficulty and challenge for the team of textile conservators.
Based on the analysis of the composition as well as identification of motifs and techniques, carried out years ago by Dr. Beata Biedrońska-Słotowa, the creation of the carpet was attributed to the Turkish workshops active in the second half of the 16th-century in Cairo. In 1901, it was donated by the Corpus Christi Church in Krakow to the collection of the National Museum in Krakow. In accordance with the church tradition, the carpet was offered by Stanisław Jabłonowski, King John Sobieski’s colonel, after his return from the victorious battle in Vienna.
The carpet is very worn-out and preserved in eight parts, which raises questions regarding the purpose of such divisions. It can not be simply explained with the severance of the structure of the warp, weft and Persian knots resulting from damage caused during use. With their regular lines, some of the “cuts” attest to deliberate partitioning – perhaps based on the needs of the user or art collectors, fully aware of its value. One of the missing elements now remains in the collection of the Munich Ethnological Museum. Throughout the centuries, the carpet was subjected to multiple protective treatments. Their build-up is visible in form of various reinforcements, patches, and stitches made with various threads. The so-called local foundations consolidated the defective parts and prevented the item – somewhat provisionally from our perspective – from a complete dispersal of its elements.
A team of conservators, physicists, chemists and microbiologists suggested a very broad research programme for the carpet. Its aim is to develop an exhibition and protection strategy for this unique exhibit. The majority of research work will be carried out in the Laboratory for Analysis and Non-Destructive Research into Artefacts (LANBOZ), operating in the NMK since 2004, and by microbiologists from the Department of Microbiology of the University of Economics.
The conservation intervention is not meant to detract from the original elements of the object, so the aim of our conservation activities is the development of such methods of consolidation and stabilization of the carpet on a new woolen surface that will not compete with the visual aesthetics of the whole.
One phase of works has been completed. The carpet has been cleaned with excellent results. The colours, recovered from centuries-old layers of dirt, seem vivid. Ahead of us is the painstaking work, lasting many months, to restore this magnificent work, once decorating the palaces of the sultans, to the general public.
Anna Olkuśnik-Tabisz – the Head of the Textile and Clothing Conservation Studio
