|
|
Carpets |
|
The conservation of a carpet is often a daunting prospect for the owner and may appear impossible.
This case history follows the conservation of a very large carpet from Belvoir Castle. It illustrates that even the most complex projects and logistically challenging ones can be successful.
|
The Tournai Carpet prior to conservation |
|
This carpet comes from Tournai and is dated around 1780. It was suffering from hundreds of years of continued daily use and the effects of light damage. The general approach was to provide the carpet with a full support of fabric on the reverse, the problem was the size - 12 metres long by 8.5 metres wide. The carpet was too big to fit into our workshop and was therefore conserved in situ at Belvoir, requiring specialised equipment to be designed and erected on site.
 |
 |
The stitching |
Using the specialised equipment |
The whole of the carpet was stitched to a support fabric and the weak areas conserved. The time consuming work was undertaken by teams of two people stitching from back to front. This project carried on for two and a half years and ended in Spring 2002 when the carpet was finally laid in the Elizabeth Saloon.
Despite the huge complexities and logistical handling problems, the conservation had been a resounding success. |  |
| | Project completion |
|
|
Carpets ·
Costume ·
Furniture ·
Militaria ·
Samplers and Embroidery ·
Tapestry |
|
