Dutch Textile Group Symposium & Icom meeting 2005 The Hague

[Mary Ballard <BallardM@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Preservation of Religious Textiles
Date: 10 September 2005
Location: The Hague (The Netherlands), venue still to be appointed.
EARLY REGISTRATION--MARCH 1 DEADLINE!

Announcement

This symposium is organised by the Netherlands Textile Committee (TC), which was founded in 1962 and has played an active role in the preservation of textiles in both museum and private collections. The committee encourages the gathering and exchange of information and knowledge about textiles. Special attention is given to the preservation and conservation of textiles, which forms an important part of our cultural heritage. The committee organises conferences and workshops and issues its own publications. It also maintains connections with other textile-orientated organisations both in the Netherlands and abroad.

This symposium will focus on the conflict of the preservation of religious textiles, which are still in use. It will furthermore discuss their role once religious textiles have been transferred to a museum. The presentations will focus on ethical dilemma's, politics, resources, etc., rather than looking at conservation techniques and methods. In a poster session more attention will be given to conservation projects of (individual) textiles.


R. Lugtigheid (SKKN, the Netherlands)
Report on research project into the state of preservation of textiles in the Dutch churches.
Following the Second Vatican Council in 1967 a lot of religious textile has fallen into disuse. As a result, many beautiful brocade and silk garments ended up on draughty attics in cardboard boxes: out of sight, out of heart. In 2003 a Dutch pilot project started under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church, the Old-Catholic Church and the Foundation for Ecclesiastical Art and Artefacts in the Netherlands (SKKN): this research project investigates conditions in which textiles are being kept in Dutch Churches and their current condition. The aim of this project is to propose solutions to improve conditions in order to safeguard this fragile ecclesiastical heritage. The findings of this research will be presented on this day.

M. Vroon (Aachen Germany)
Report on the inventorisation project of ecclesiastical textiles.
Ms. Vroon will report on a joint project by several textile conservators of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. They are regularly confronted with the task of making inventories of religious textiles. In order to enable comparison of the outcome of these separate projects, it was decided to unify work forms. After several brainstorming sessions, revising and fine-tuning, there is now a work form and a detailed list of specific textile terminology, for example chasuble-shapes, necklines, embroidery stitches, etc. The advantages are discussed as well as the future plans for digitisation.

A. Klint and M. Bergstrand (The National Heritage Board of Sweden)
Saving by using, to preserve the cultural heritage of churches by making use of it.
This presentation focuses on the preservation of ecclesiastical textiles in Sweden. Religious textiles have been used and preserved in Swedish churches since the Middle Ages. Since the 17th century the National Heritage Board looked after the interests of the State Church according to law and regulations. This paper discusses how the intervention of the National Heritage Board has sometimes resulted in objects ending up in museums, the only possibility at hand to preserve them. Nowadays the interest is strong in keeping the objects in the churches even if they are no longer in use and the Swedish church no longer is a State Church. The question is raised what will happen when these objects are removed from their liturgical context? Instead of forcing the church to function as a museum the National Heritage Board encourages preventive conservation through a teaching program thus letting the church personnel participate in saving the cultural heritage.

E. Alexandri,T. Koussoulou, S. Rapti (Technological Education Institute of Athens, Greece)
The Epitaphs in the Greek Orthodox Church: preservation proposals when there are still in use.
In this presentation attention is given to the Epitaphs used in the Greek Orthodox Church, its iconography and manufacture. As these textiles are often still in use, they require special care for their preservation. Ethical considerations are made regarding use, display and storage of the objects. Preventive conservation methods for Epitaphs still in use and display proposals will be analysed in this presentation.

M. van Roon (the Netherlands)
Vandalism or respect? Recycling textiles in the Catholic Church.
Religious textiles often represented great value. The materials, silk and gold thread, were precious and embroidery was labour-intensive. In the past silk and embroideries were therefore recycled regularly. Silk of ladies' dresses, which were out of fashion, were used to make ecclesiastical vestments. Embroideries of worn chasubles or copes were removed and re-used on new vestments. In the process, originals were damaged irreversibly, but thanks to this in our eyes sometimes crude action, many items have survived that otherwise would surely have been lost.

T. Heady (USA) Senior Conservator- Textiles
The preservation of religious textiles from Tibet.
Ms Heady will talk about the preservation and conservation of Tibetan Thangkas, which are still used in the Monasteries today. This paper deals with the issues of
use and preservation in Tibetan culture and how these objects are used and preserved in the museum environment. Storage issues are discussed. A summery of past treatments and ideas will be listed as well as what the present day thoughts about handling and treatments are.

J.M. Cohen (Jewish Historical Museum)
The preservation of Jewish textiles.
Ms. Cohen will address the use and reuse of ceremonial Jewish textiles, which are bound to religious rules. The donation of textiles to the synagogue is custom in Jewish religion. In the nineteenth and twentieth century, religious objects in use were gradually considered more as artefacts or objects with a historic value that were interesting to display - sometimes causing tension. She will conclude with today's opinions. 

M. Kite (UK) Senior Conservator- Textiles at the Victoria and Albert
Museum in London
The preservation of religious textiles in museum context.
Ms. Kite will focus on the changing role of religious textiles in a museum setting. She will present the history of the conservation of some of the worlds most important vestments, which have been in the museum's collection for quite some time. The different methods of display and how they now will be presented to the wider public will be discussed. Understanding of the function and meaning of these vestments and of the iconography depicted on them was an essential part of the most recent
conservation and a necessary precursor to the practical conservation work being carried out.


Registration 

Pre-registration before 1 March 2005 will allow you to attend the symposium at a lower fee, ? 70,-. After 1 March 2005 the cost will be ? 80,-. 

The fee covers the symposium's attendance, lunch and post-prints of the presentations.
In early 2005 you will receive the final programme.

The symposium is planned in such a way that participants for the ICOM-CC 14th Triennial Meeting (12-16 September 2005, The Hague) can stay in The Hague. A list of hotels will be released by ICOM-CC in early 2005 - please refer to the ICOM-CC 2005 website/information for an accommodation list.

More information on: www.textielcommissie.nl 

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Send the completed registration form to:
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Mary W. Ballard
Senior Textiles Conservator
Smithsonian Center for Materials Research & Education
4210 Silver Hill Road, Suitland MD 20746 USA
tel: 301-238-1210 fax: 301-238-3709
email: ballardm@xxxxxxxxxxxx