Slater Memorial Museum Textile Fragment Assessment
FIT School of Graduate Studies
Collection Overview:
In the early 2000s the FIT Graduate Study Collection received several donations of deaccessioned textile fragments from the Slater Memorial Museum of Norwich, Connecticut. The collection of approximately 700 woven, embroidered, and printed textile fragments is predominantly European, Asian, and Near Eastern in origin, dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries, with smaller collections of Coptic and "pre-Columbian" textile fragments. The fragments came into the study collection to serve as an educational resource for the study of textile structure and technique. However, most of the fragments were sewn or adhered to standard-sized compressed cardboards prohibiting the study of their reverse and threatening their long-term stability.
NA-T_SL-2022-0145.
NA-T_SL-2022-0045.
NA-T_SL-2022-0036.
NA-T_SL-2022-0270.
NA-T_SL-2022-0260.
NA-T_SL-2022-0292.
Collection Assessment:
In 2021 I began a preliminary assessment to gather and organize the collection, determine what it comprised, and begin preliminary documentation with the intention of proposing an assessment of the collection. The assessment would document the fragments and their associated information, remove them from their boards, and rehouse them in custom study mounts. The assessment was designed to be conducted by graduate students in the Fashion and Textile Studies program by integrating it into existing advanced conservation coursework, Graduate Study Collection internships, or Qualifying Paper projects. Each of the assessed, rehoused, and cataloged fragments can then be used as study objects for analysis of textile structure and technique in FT-561 Fiber and Fabric: Identification and Analysis.
The assessment goals were as follows:
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Allow the fragments to be useful study objects for analysis of textile structure and technique in FT-561 Fiber and Fabric: Identification and Analysis.
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Provide advanced conservation students experience in:
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conducting an ongoing assessment and rehousing project with very specific documentation procedures and treatment goals
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removing fragile textiles from harmful, outdated, or inadequate mounting systems
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proposing and executing treatment to stabilize textile fragments
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constructing standard study mounts for flat textile fragments
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Provide interns of the Graduate Study Collection experience in:
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conducting object-based study, analysis, and historical research
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cataloging textile materials, structure, and provenance into a collections management database
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A first test group of fragments were assessed and rehoused by the Spring 2022 Advanced Conservation II class. To facilitate the assessment I designed and created photography instructions, instructions to construct a standard flat textile study mount, and I modified the FIT Graduate Study Collection Flat Textile Examination Form to fit the documentation needs of the assessment.
Double-sided study mount designed to facilitate the study of textile structure of fragile textile fragments. Three standard sizes facilitate stacking in storage and allow for the study of the front and reverse of each textile fragment without any handling. Each face of the mount provides a padded passive support surface for each face of the fragment to rest on when opened. When the mount is closed, the fragment is held in between both faces with little pressure.
Study mount completed by advanced conservation student, Ayako Tanihata.