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Conservation and restoration of The Loves of Mercury and Herse. A Tapestry Series by Willem de Pannemaker
Ana Schoebel. Head of restoration of Real Fábrica de Tapices
The conservation of these tapestries marks a step forward in the methodology of tapestry conservation in Spain in that our intention was to increase the focus on their documentation.
These panels are works of enormous art-historical importance, and some of them had been notably affected by old restoration.
Others were in a better state as they had been less subject to previous interventions.
The different degrees of deterioration and the extent of old restorations meant that we undertook a particularly detailed process of research
with regard to their state of conservation and to the way they had been made.
In order to identify the technique used in their manufacture and the different systems employed to achieve the decorative effects,
as well as the distribution of the warp and its state of preservation over the entire panel, we used a high-resolution magnifying glass
that incorporates a camera connected to a computer through a USB port. As a result, we were able to study hidden details of these tapestries,
both on the front and back and to determine where the warp was broken, what systems had been used for knotting it, how many weavers worked on it, how they worked,
and how many kilometres of thread they used. In other words, we obtained an enormous amount of information that had not been available using other means in earlier restorations.
The present campaign fundamentally consisted of cleaning the tapestries, in some cases by immersing them in water in the washing tray that we use
In other cases this was not necessary and we micro-vacuumed the tapestries on the front and back.
This was followed by an overall consolidation, which was kept to a minimum in order to ensure that it was reversible in the future,
and for which we used natural linen backings, attached to the back.
In addition, all the seams were reinforced by supporting the visible threads and consolidating fragile areas by attaching them to the support.
The use of this procedure has ensured that the restoration undertaken is easily identifiable
and can be eliminated in the future if necessary without damaging the tapestries any further.
Once consolidation was completed, the tapestries were lined,
as their size and the presence of a very large amount of metal thread makes them much heavier than normal tapestries of this type.
For this reason we used a very light but high-density cotton for the lining,
which was attached to the tapestries through a system of parallel, counterweighted seams in order to balance the tensions within the tapestry when it is hung vertically.
Finally, restoration reports were prepared, which included all the technical information that had been obtained during the conservation process
as well as photographs of all the procedures used with accompanying explanations, including that of the system, criteria and materials deployed.