TEXTILE CONSERVATION
We know how frustrating it is to witness your valuable antiques growing dirtier and weaker and not know what to do to save them.

Most households contain at least one historic textile such as your grandmother’s christening dress or an old family quilt. Textiles and clothing are also the most numerous items found in small museum and historical society collections. Museums collect and exhibit textiles because of their intimate connection to people’s lives.

Textiles are often made from organic plant and animal fibers, and can be heavily used during their active lifetimes. The very location that a textile is displayed or stored within a building can accelerate its deterioration. If you have a textile hanging in direct light, or stored in a basement or attic, you should take action immediately before it is too late.

Conservation is the practice of applying scientific, technical, and historical analysis to the preservation and study of art and artifacts. Textile conservation, therefore, deals with any form of textile or fiber art. As professional conservators it is our job at Museum Textile Services to document, clean, stabilize, and mount historic textiles and teach you to take simple steps to ensure better preservation.

To learn more about textile conservation and see examples of projects that Museum Textile Services has completed, click on the links to the right.

Click on the links below to learn more about conserving textiles:

Asian Art

Historic costume

Tapestries and carpets

Samplers and other embroideries

Quilts and coverlets

Flags and banners

Heirlooms such as wedding and christening gowns

Pre-Columbian and other archaeological textiles

Architectural Interiors

Leather Conservation

 


Museum Textile Services
PO Box 5004
Andover, MA 01810
978-851-0110