ABSTRACT
A method for the conservation of tapestries was formulated in the 1960s to incorporate the ethics of conservation with the need for visual appreciation of a pictorial hanging. At the time, there were conflicting ideas about the treatment of tapestries. The new ideas of conservation consisted of stitching the degraded areas of a tapestry (with uniform, warp coloured threads) to supporting patches of cloth on the reverse, as opposed to the restoration aims of removing weak or thin original wefts and reweaving entire areas (Fiette, 1997). These ideas did not meet the commercial value given to tapestries. In those early days, the antique trade refused to consider the use of support fabric as it was visible on the back. Tapestries were, in their view, purely decorative objects, and their monetary value would be diminished by such ‘mendings’ as opposed to invisible reweaving or darning. Fortunately, museums recognised the value of tapestries as historic documents.
