We’ve looked back over the past months to find the most interesting conservation case studies that should be added to your reading list this summer. From conserving the most famous tutu in the world to a detailed look at preparations for an exhibition at the British Museum, have you got a project you’d like us to share? Tag us in them on social or email us here.
The restoration of “The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer” by Edgar Degas
Following an extensive restoration process, “The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer” (c. 1880) by Edgar Degas is now back on display at the Albertinum, run by Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD). Edgar Degas’s Dancer is an icon of art history, and her ballet skirt without doubt the most famous tutu in the world. It has now been replaced, while the sculpture has been cleaned and conserved, and paint losses retouched.
Read more about the project here.
Gideon Tapestry Project at Hardwick Hall
Renowned for its textiles and extensive collection of tapestries, Hardwick Hall has welcomed back the 13th and final Elizabethan Gideon Tapestry after the National Trust's longest running conservation project at over 24years.
The conservation of each Gideon tapestry cost £278,000, with a project total of £1.7million. Each tapestry took over two years to complete extensive repairs and stabilisation work. The final tapestry now hanging proudly in the Long Gallery took over 5,470 hours of conservation stitching, lining and reconstruction.
Read more about the project here.
Tales from the road at the University of Delaware
Covered in rawhide, lined with polka-dotted paper, and resting on wooden runners set length-wise along its base, the dome-topped trunk likely spent many hours in the 19th century filled with goods and bouncing along unpaved roads while tied to the back of a wagon or carriage. Recently, however, the trunk took a short trip to the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library in Wilmington, where it became a treatment project for WUDPAC Fellow and objects major Miriam-Helene Rudd.
Read more about the project here.
Fabulous fibres for China's hidden century at the British Museum
For well over a year, Conservation teams at the British Museum had been conserving objects ready for display in the Citi exhibition: China’s hidden century, which opened in May earlier this year (2023). This detailed account of the various treatments and processes of the unique objects make for an incredibly interesting read, both for professional conservators and enthusiasts alike.
Read more about the project here.
Case Studies in Conservation Treatment at The National Postal Museum
Systematic preventive care combined with an active program of conservation treatment guarantees that the Postmaster General’s Collection will be available for generations to come. Take a look at this fantastic collection of case studies which provides excellent insight.
Read more about the project here.