by Frances Lennard, Senior Lecturer in Textile Conservation. We are very excited to have begun a new research project in collaboration with Historic Scotland. A camera has been installed in the Queen’s Inner Hall at Stirling Castle to take time-lapse images of the newly woven tapestry, The Mystic Hunt of the Unicorn. The unveiling of the… Continue reading
Unique, preserved textiles from the Pacific Islands are coming under the microscope courtesy of an innovative collaboration between textile conservation experts at the University of Glasgow, botanists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and barkcloth specialists at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The project is supported by a major grant from the Arts and… Continue reading
by Dr Margaret Smith, Research Assistant. The Centre for Textile Conservation and Technical Art History (CTCTAH) has worked on the understanding of the construction and conservation of painted banners for many years and is currently active in their study. At the moment I am working on a short project entitled ‘Research on Model Painted Textiles’… Continue reading
Paisley shawls. Glasgow’s Stoddard Templeton carpets. Turkey red calico from the Vale of Leven. Ayrshire lace. Cotton spinning in New Lanark. These are just some of the world-famous textile industries of 19th century Scotland. Today is it hard to imagine their global scale or local impact. Why were these textiles so popular? How were they… Continue reading
by Hannah Sutherland, First year student, MPhil Textile Conservation. Textile conservation treatments are always a culmination of many steps. Which steps we choose to take, and the order in which they are completed, varies depending on the object, the type of damage and the needs of the client. The first semester of the MPhil Textile Conservation… Continue reading
by Hannah Vickers, 1st year student, MPhil Textile Conservation. At first glance, textile conservation can appear to be a profession purely focused on the tangible aspects of objects. But, as I have discovered, an important part of the profession is the understanding of an object’s meaning and significance. During our first semester here at the… Continue reading
by Lucie Whitmore – PhD ‘The Intangible History of Costume and Conflict’ l.whitmore.1@research.gla.ac.uk I am in the first year of my PhD in dress history, and since I started in October I have also worked one day a week at Edinburgh Museums and Galleries: the council run group of museums which includes the People’s Story,… Continue reading
by Fiona Wain, 2nd year student, MPhil Textile Conservation. As part of our Professional Development course in the 2nd year we work on our public engagement skills by giving talks to different groups in the community. This year talks were delivered to two 3rd year art classes at Eastwood High School, Newton Mearns, and one… Continue reading
by Caitlyn Picard – First Year Student, MPhil Textile Conservation. Open Day. It’s one of the most important days of our academic schedules and this year took place on Wednesday March 18, 2015, with approximately 130 guests visiting the Center for Textile Conservation and Technical Art History (CTCTAH) facilities. … Continue reading
by Annika Amundson and Hannah Vickers, 1st year students, MPhil Textile Conservation. A fundamental aspect of textile conservation is to understand the techniques and technology behind the objects we conserve. While conservators don’t need to be experts in every technique encountered, a working knowledge of what holds the threads together certainly helps. As part of… Continue reading
