Examples of the Textile Conservation Studio projects
Examples of the Textile Conservation Studio projects
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
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