AIC's 53rd Annual Meeting

Trello is a kanban style project management tool that allows teams to visualize their work. Kanban was first developed in the manufacturing industry and later adapted by the software development industry, where the emergence of kanban boards led to wide applications for project management. Kanban boards generally consist of columns, which delineate steps in a workflow, and are populated by cards that represent work items and advance through the workflow. Four case studies, spanning three specialties and three institutions, will demonstrate how Trello and similar kanban products have great potential for adaptation and use in conservation.

Windsor Conservation was contracted to treat Olga de Amaral’s El Gran Muro (1976), a multi-panel large-scale textile wall hanging composed of a woven ground and thousands of free-hanging “shingles” attached to the surface. The treatment process included four stages of mechanical cleaning with suction, chemical sponge, and damp Evolon. An asynchronous and accessible communication and project management system was needed to coordinate the process across a staggered technician team. Trello, accessible through a phone application or web browser, allowed technicians to track the progress of predefined sections through the treatment workflow, note and photograph condition issues, and track time spent per section.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (ISGM) has a unique mandate that “nothing in the galleries should be changed.” To maintain the thirty-three galleries and thousands of objects carefully arranged by Isabella, a team of five Collections Maintenance Technicians cleans artworks one day a week in a rotation that takes 4-6 months. Previously, paper records were kept in a binder and were later entered into a spreadsheet. The introduction of Trello revolutionized how cleaning progress was tracked, assisted technicians in remembering their place week-to-week, stored useful information for returning to galleries in subsequent rotations, and served as a communication method between the technicians.

The 16th-century Italian coffered ceiling painting in the Dutch Room of the ISGM will be cleaned in spring 2025 for the first time in over 120 years. The painting spans 50 m2 with 15 recessed bays. Each bay contains 29 separate painted elements depicting biblical and mythological scenes with decorative floral and fauna motifs, currently obscured by a yellowed surface coating and heavy layers of soot and grime. Trello will be used as the management framework for the treatment and will consolidate archival notes employing multiple numbering systems for the painted components. The multi-step treatment will take place on public view with a cross-disciplinary team of paintings and objects conservators, and requires a high level of coordination, timing and method of evaluation to ensure a unified result.

Lab and exhibit project management have been improved at the Colonial Williamsburg Textile Conservation Lab through the adoption of Planner, a Microsoft kanban tool. Exhibit boards are populated by object cards that progress through workflow steps (such as treatment, mounting, and photography), visually representing the exhibit components and states of progress. An overarching board tracks progress on loan, exhibit, and other projects that provides a holistic view of the current lab workload.

Unintentional dye migration is a critical problem that textile collections and the conservators that care for them are facing. Early synthetic organic dyes (ESODs) include some of the most fugitive dye classes used on historical textiles in collections today and are characterized by their makeup and manufacture throughout the second half of the 19th century.1 Bleeding dyes can have both aesthetic and structural implications; though impacted textiles are often precluded from traditional treatment methods due to the ongoing volatility of the materials present.2 Several key case studies have proven the efficacy of removing natural dye migration through aqueous cleaning methods in the form of solvent gels.3 However, these methods are exclusive to natural dyes that predate the mid 19th century despite the common bleeding problems exhibited by early synthetic organic dyes.4

This pilot study – a collaborative effort between the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) – presents an investigation into the novel application of gel-based cleaning methods for the removal of unintentional ESOD migration. The project focused on a Chinese Woman’s Jacket from the 1920’s. The sumptuous silk jacquard woven jacket exhibited severe staining at the armpits, where dyes from the green inner lining had migrated outward onto the surface of the outer pink layer. After confirming the identity of all dyes present using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a variety of traditional and new sustainably-focused gels were tested to deliver a solution that targeted the pH-dependent bond between the fugitive dyes and the jacket’s silk fibers. This project considers the ethical parameters of dye bleed removal and works to develop sustainable and accessible methodology for stain reduction. A culmination of expertise across departments, institutions, and regions of the world is represented in this project resulting in an emblem of this year’s conference theme about “the power of working with others.”5

1: J. Barnett, “Synthetic Organic Dyes, 1856-1901: An Introductory Literature Review of their Use and Related Issues in Textile Conservation,” Reviews in Conservation, no. 8 (2007): 68-69.; A. Scharff, “Synthetic Dyestuffs for Textiles and their Fastness to Washing,” ICOM Committee for Conservation 2, (1999), 656.

2: Barnett, Synthetic Organic Dyes, 1856-1901,” 72.

3: A. Smets, K. De Vis, and N. Ortega-Saez, “A Challenging Treatment of an 18th Century Embroidered Textile Using Gel Cleaning in Combination with Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) Silicone Solvent Barriers,” Conservar Património 31, (2019).; K. Sahmel, L. Mina, K. Sutherland, and N. Shibayama, “Removing Dye Bleed from a Sampler: New Methods for an Old Problem,” Textile Specialty Group Post prints 22, (2012). 

4:  Note that early synthetic dyestuffs, known as ESODs, can be found in textiles dating between 1856 and the 1930s, as they were slowly replaced by more stable dyestuffs throughout the early 20th century.; Barnett, 74.

5: “AIC/FAIC: Upcoming Meeting 2025,” accessed September 4, 2024.

This study presents a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to conserving and displaying the high-quality linen Shroud of Thutmose III, which bears a rare section of the Book of the Dead. Traditionally, these texts were written on papyrus, but in this case, they were written on fine linen fabric, dating back to 1450 BC. The shroud will be displayed for the first time at the Grand Egyptian Museum-Conservation Center (GEM-CC) collection, which requires an innovative conservation approach in preparation for its first public display since its discovery. Upon arrival at the GEM-CC, the conservation team faced several challenges. It was attached to old, acidic cardboard, and its large size (4.5 m) made it difficult for conservation and display efforts. These challenges necessitated the development of a conservation strategy for the shroud using the principle of least invasive treatments, drawing on multidisciplinary expertise in conservation and scientific research. Using non-destructive techniques such as multispectral imaging, optical microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and FTIR, the team could comprehensively assess the properties of the fabric, pigments, and overall condition of the shroud. The results revealed that the manufacturer used yellow Orpiment and Egyptian blue pigments in the upper decorative frame for the writing, and carbon black ink was used for the inscriptions. The analyses also revealed that the old cardboard backing and adhesive used had caused damage to the fabric, resulting in discolouration and darkening of the fabric. These scientific analyses informed key decisions in the conservation process, ensuring the careful removal of the acid support and reinforcement of fragile parts. The conservation team also designed a customized and secure textile mount for the shroud’s large dimensions. The innovative use of non-invasive techniques, combined with specially designed and multidisciplinary solutions, ensures the long-term preservation of this unique artefact and its proper display and beauty in the exhibition at the Grand Egyptian Museum. The study highlights the combination of scientific progress and expertise in the field of heritage conservation, demonstrating the power of collaboration in overcoming the complex challenges of studying, conserving, and exhibiting ancient textiles.

The Anatolian kilim collection of Murad Megalli, most of which is now at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, is one of the foremost in the US.  Anatolian kilims, particularly those woven by local nomadic tribes, are poorly understood and almost no provenience information is available.  Much of the current literature is based on stylistic assumptions, with little to no technical information to confirm.  Significant loss of traditional lifestyles in Anatolia means that anthropological research is not feasible, and no written records exist about their original manufacture.   Object-based data collection is the only viable option to advance our understanding of these dynamic and graphic textiles.

 

This collection was chosen as a pilot project to develop a methodology for analyzing textiles in-house at The Textile Museum, using methods that are non-invasive, non-destructive, and can be operated by conservators in the absence of a conservation science department.  As permanent staff are unable to consistently devote time to research within the demands of an exhibition schedule, a full-time research fellow position allows the rapid integration of new analytical techniques and equipment.

 

Now in its second year, this project spans the fields of conservation, conservation science, technical art history, and experimental archaeology and incorporates microscopy, fiber-optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), UV/Vis transmission spectroscopy, multiband imaging, and x-ray fluorescence (XRF).  A combination of structural and stylistic analysis with more technical information on dyes and mordants has resulted in a new, data-based method of establishing the age of Anatolian kilims. Consistent information sharing and collaboration between technical researchers and curators and art historians allows for targeted analysis and focuses the direction of the research towards what will be helpful for the end user.  Data analysis in RStudio has allowed us to disprove many assumptions previously made about these objects and how their characteristics change over time and space.   This project has also allowed the museum to develop connections with other researchers within The George Washington University, to offer research experience for undergraduate chemistry students, and to help train emerging conservation professionals on non-invasive analysis techniques that are increasingly applied to textiles.

 

Lastly, the results of this research highlight the value of thinking creatively about the resources available to smaller institutions, and adapting the use of analytical equipment to gather data that at first glance requires much more expensive and specialized instrumentation.

The Art Museums of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation display exquisite examples of needlework, but not every textile in the collection is expertly crafted and beautifully finished. A recent exhibition titled The Art of the Quilterpresented the opportunity to showcase three such pieces ambitious projects that ultimately entered the Foundations collection as UFOs (unfinished objects). The gallery in which large scale, flat textiles are generally displayed consists of large wall cases fitted with slanted boards of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) encapsulated with Marvelseal and covered in dark polyester show fabric. Textiles have previously been hung with headers of hook-side Velcro stitched along the top back edge of the object. The hook Velcro marries well with the coarse, napped show fabric, eliminating the need for custom loop-side Velcro hanging mechanisms. This allows for expedient rotation of objects and offers tremendous flexibility during installation but significantly limits mounting options beyond the traditional Velcro header, a system that is not suitable for all textiles.The three UFOs each required a different approach. A group of 25 appliqud quilt blocks, all square but varying in size, were mounted in the lab before installation. Individual padded boards were created for each block and the textiles were secured with entomological pins. Each padded board was fitted with Velcro tabs on the back, and installation required tiling the boards together on the slant board within the case. To mount 45 fragments of an unfinished pieced-over-paper hexagon quilt top, heavily modified Velcro headers marked with the corresponding accession number were secured with pins to 41 of the fragments. The four remaining fragments were pin-mounted to a single padded board. The fragments were positioned to imply the intended spacing if the quilt had been completed. The third UFO consists of 20th century printed tobacco pouches pieced into a quilt top, many of which retain fragments of paper tax stamps. The lightweight nature of the object and the fragility of the paper fragments limited options for stitching or pinning into the object, so rare earth magnets were used to secure the object to a custom header that included a ferrous metal bar. The magnets were covered and toned to match the textile, and the header was constructed to both facilitate mounting and provide protection and support to the object. These objects, never completed by their makers for whatever reason, provide valuable insight into the art of quilt making. Details that would have been removed or obscured in the final construction, like repurposed pieces of paper or differing bobbin and top thread colors, shed light on the context in which these objects were created and tell the story of their makers. Creative modifications to existing gallery casework and infrastructure allowed for these non-traditional quilts to be safely displayed and ethical considerations about the display of the fragments necessitated collaboration with curators and exhibition designers to strike a balance between honoring the original intent of the maker and expanding visitors' understanding of the art of quilting.

Join us at 3:00 on Saturday, immediately following the last TSG session, for a Wiki edit-a-thon! The TSG Wiki Coordinators will give a brief update of Wiki progress from the past year. You’ll have the chance to learn more about how to get involved and share your ideas for upcoming projects! Then we’ll have dedicated working time to make improvements to the Wiki. We’re going to focus on adding textile terms to the overall Wiki Lexicon. No previous Wiki experience is necessary, but please bring your laptop if you’re able!