We are delighted to report that the proceedings of our recent conference have just been published.
The international conference The Real Thing? The Value of Authenticity and Replication for Investigation and Conservation was held at the University of Glasgow in December 2012. It was the culmination of a series of research meetings organised by the Research Network in Textile Conservation, Dress and Textile History and Technical Art History, funded by the Getty Foundation. The papers have been published by Archetype in a volume called Authenticity and Replication. The ‘Real Thing’ in Art and Conservation edited by Rebecca Gordon, Erma Hermens and Frances Lennard. The conference posters are published on the university website.
The contributions investigate the topic of authenticity from a variety of perspectives: Sarah Foskett, of the Centre for Textile Conservation, examines the interesting history of the Burrell Collection’s tapestry the Triumph of the Virgin, while Caron Penney, formerly of West Dean Tapestry Studio, reports on insights into the weaving of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Unicorn tapestries gained from re-interpreting the originals to make a new set of tapestries for Stirling Castle. Jill Morena of the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, discusses the relationship between original costumes used in the film Gone with the Wind and a set of replicas used for display. There are papers on a range of topics from Japanese paintings on paper and silk to painting frames, contemporary sculpture to polyurethane ready-to-wear fashion. One of the highlights of the conference was a conversation between Rebecca Gordon, Research Assistant with the research network, and Glasgow artist Ross Sinclair, which is reproduced here.