ABSTRACT
The conservator is in a privileged position to make close observations during involvement with the objects in their care. Two case studies concerning seventeenth-century textile bed hangings illustrate the contribution that can be made towards gathering and preserving information found in particularly significant pieces. Both projects started with a request for remedial work and evolved due to the conservator’s personal interest in documenting furnishing textiles of this period. The first study discusses how all aspects of a complex object – historic documentation, observed alterations and an understanding of the object’s integrity within the context of a collection – can inform the approach to its treatment and display. The second study concerns a textile whose unique survival prompted research into its production and design. Observations about the making-up of the hangings helped visualize the original construction of the bed and its subsequent assembly as a revered relic.
