Textile Conservation Workshop » Ornat XIV

Chasuble before conservationIn 2009, the conservation of Wawel Cathedral’s only chasuble made from 14th-century fabrics was completed. The aim of the conservation work was to prepare this precious liturgical vestment for display at a museum exhibition.

Chasuble KKK tk/ 45, which measures 119.5 cm (length) and 80 cm (width), has been sewn together from pieces of two types of 14th-century two-colour fabrics.

 

One fabric is damask covered with a small pattern consisting of motifs of birds about to take flight, framed with vertically meandering twigs with leaves and single flower rosette motifs. Colour tones are greenish (background, warp satin weave) – blue (pattern, weft twill weave, flat row). From the stylistic analysis of the textile it appears to be of Italian origin.

Another fabric is silk damask in which the motive of a Chinese T’chi cloudlet can be discerned, passing into stylised plant stalks featuring four-fold rosettes inscribed into rhombuses. The stalks form a V-shaped pattern and shifted against each other in each row and twisted by 180°. Colour tones are brownish (background, silk weave, warp) – blue (pattern, weft twill weave, flat row). The style of the textile suggests Far-Eastern influences – Chinese origins or the model taken from Chinese art.

Schematic drawing of the pattern on the Italian fabric 
Schematic drawing of the pattern on the Chinese (?) fabricThe two fabrics are joined vertically along the centre. Characteristic diagonal seams – almost identically arranged in both parts of the chasuble – indicate that the fabric was re-used. Originally the fabrics were most probably used for a woman’s dress.

The origin of the chasuble remains unknown.

Silk haberdashery dates from the turn of the 16th/17th century; it was at that time that the fabrics were combined to form the present work.

The chasuble was kept in the closet at the Wawel Cathedral treasury, where the temperature and humidity conditions were very unstable. Certainly, this situation has contributed to damaging the fabric’s structure, which clearly appeared weakened. This is particularly visible in the Oriental damask.

Moreover, the fabric was severely dried up, dusty, and featured traces of circular rusty patches here and there.

The damage which had been created over the centuries was earlier repaired – some missing parts were patched up with newer fabrics and the fabric taken from the chasuble, which was probably acquired by modifying the form of the vestment. Stitches for patches as well as numerous darns were made in thick silk thread, very shoddy and causing further mechanical damage.

Detail of the chasuble front – stages of the conservation work

The proper colour of the chasuble was completely concealed under a thick layer of dust.

Silk haberdashery and a lining of woollen georgette were not significantly damaged.

No presence of mildew fungi was found in the course of a microbiological examination, which was highly probable considering the place and conditions in which the chasuble was kept.

The suggested interventions during the conservation process were aimed to preserve the damaged parts to be attached to the silk organza support and were combined with elements of aesthetic conservation, which were necessary in view of the fact that the object was to be displayed at an exhibition.

The same detail of the chasuble before and after conservationConsidering the unique character of the historic artefact – most structural stitches probably originated from the 16th-17th centuries, and some even from the 14th century – the rule of the most limited intervention into original stitches was adopted; the pieces were disassembled only where absolutely necessary.

The lining, haberdashery and stiffener were removed, as well as mending patches, with only one left as a sample, on the chasuble’s shoulder. For washing, the two parts of the back of the chasuble were disassembled (along the vertical stitch) – the analysis of the stitch joining these two parts, revealed that it was not that old.

Each stage of the work involved detailed photographic documentation, as well as the analysis of the thread used in stitches and patches, the damage map in a 1:1 scale, and a technical analysis of all fabrics in the chasuble. The removed patches and stiffener were cleaned up and stored at the workshop archives.

All fabrics of the chasuble and haberdashery were cleaned in demineralised water with a non-ionic surfactant.
The process gave the desirable result – the fabric colour, resilience and silk gloss were restored.

Chasuble after conservationThe conservation method adopted was needlework doublage (using a conservation grid and point-wise fitting of warp on the edges of the damaged sections) on uncoloured, steamed silk organza support. Missing parts were mended using silk fabric patches dyed in the colour of the original fabric background.

The arrangement of shredded fabric on support fabric around the large missing parts on the front of the chasuble required extreme precision. Warp and weft run was to be ordered and gradually stabilised with laid yarn. As shreds were distributed flatly at the edges of missing parts, holes were significantly reduced, which enhanced the aesthetic values of the chasuble.

The chasuble was re-assembled with the use of a new silk stiffener, as the former linen stiffener could have constituted a medium on which mildew fungi might develop, and seemed to be too rough for the delicate fabric of the chasuble.

The chasuble was restored with its original lining and trimmed with silk haberdashery in the same manner as before conservation.