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Textile conservator


A textile conservator is a conservator-restorer charged with the care, treatment, research, and preservation of textiles. Issues addressed by a textile conservator are generally related to the field of textile preservation, and include damage caused to textiles by: light, mold and mildew, insects, cleaning, surface cleaning, washing, mounting for display, and storage. Variations in textile types and “the diversity of the textile conservator’s work makes it a very rewarding profession”. Textiles are among the most fragile artifacts, as they are susceptible to damage from atmospheric pollutants, moisture, biological organisms, and environmental changes and care varies with size, shape, material, and condition issues, all of which a textile conservator must be well versed.

A textile conservator may be employed by a museum, other institution, or be an independent contractor. Most textile conservators have or will be in private practice at one time in their career. In the current professional climate, “funding cuts have led to a reduction in the number of permanent jobs available in textile conservation and a contract culture exists in many museums”. A positive result “of the economic constraints on modern textile conservation is that conservators have developed a more reflective practice and think in a creative and flexible way of how to balance the key issues of access and preservation in their work.

Textile conservators are responsible for condition assessment, treatment, and preventative measures performed on objects to preserve cultural heritage. Some conservators “have the added responsibility of acting as couriers of these objects to loan venues or with touring exhibitions”. Textile conservators may also construct storage solutions or display mounts, such as dress forms.

Also of note, textile conservators in museum or private practice, generally, “consult not only their colleagues but every stakeholder involved with the future of the object”.

Textile conservators are charged with caring for and protecting textiles from potential or further damage “to prevent unnecessary deterioration of an object so that it remains available for research or exhibition. Any treatment should respect the historic and artistic integrity of an object and should therefore be kept as minimal as possible”. All treatments should be capable of being reversed or retreated with minimal intervention. Preventative conservation includes “measures and treatments aimed at creating an optimum environment for storing and exhibiting objects, serving to avoid or delay the natural degradation of objects”. These include climate control, temperature and relative humidity; light control; control of environmental pollution; pest management; and appropriate storage methods and materials. Preventative conservation “is sometimes referred to as remedial conservation”.


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