Science and Heritage Research Cluster Lace:- Conservation issues, past, present and future possibilities

Marion Kite

Head of Furniture, Textiles and Frames Conservation.

Victoria and Albert Museum

What is lace?

• Textiles made of a variety of different techniques with a common characteristic of an open delicate structure.

• Originally a narrow tape or braid

• By late 16th century a term used for all forms of openwork.

• Made by professionals and amateurs.

• High quality lace changed technically and stylistically in response to changes in fashion

Types of lace

• Cut work• Bobbin lace• Needle lace• Tape lace• Metal thread lace • Parchment lace• Machine made lace • Embroidered net• Chemical lace- (machine

embroidered pattern upon a sacrificial fabric which is chemically treated so as to disintegrate after the pattern is created.)

• Lacebark tree (Lagetta Lagetto)

How worn and used

Worn by• Men• Women• Children

• Day and evening• Secular and

ecclesiastical purposes

How worn and used

Used on• Toys• Dolls• Dress Accessories• Furnishings• other

Materials

• Linen

• Cotton

• Silk

• Hair

• Lace may be coloured- colours may not be fast?

• Combination of fibres and materials- straw, cactus fibre

• synthetic polymeric fibres

• Chemical lace

• Wool- (yak lace)

Materials

• Metal threads around silk or linen core

• Metal thread applied to paper around a silk core

• Parchment lace• Copper wire- 17th c. 3D

lace, • horse hair – French

needle lace,• pearls, beads, sequins, • Other…….

Types of damage

• Overall weakness and fibre degradation due to various causes.

• Wear whilst in use– physical damage

– Poor handling and storage

Types of damage

• Wear and tear• Stains and soiling

– dirt– Food– other

• Light, (fading – yellowing)

• Temperature (hot iron)

• Humidity. (mould)

Types of damage

• Staining/soiling various causes

Possible past treatments-whilst in use• Washing, (wet cleaning)

– Boiling –and harsh physical treatment

• ‘sent every 2 weeks to Fulham steam laundry’

– washing soda (sodium carbonate)

– commercial detergents with ‘optical whiteners’

– biological detergents

– soap, (soapwort plant, Genus Saponaria, Family Caryophyllaceae) Amphipathic glycosides

• Ironing– Scorch marks.– pressure

Possible past treatments-domestic-whilst in use

• Bleaching, – sunshine– chlorinated bleaches– ammonia– ‘blue bags’ 1852 synthetic

ultramarine and sodium bicarbonate

– Carbolic soap-contained phenol or carbolic acid

• Stiffening, – Starch- various --wheat

starch, rice starch, Sugar solution

– Other?

Possible past treatments-Conservation treatments in museums

• Cleaning- wet cleaning-

– Soap (saponaria) Amphipathic glycosides

– Lissapol (Nonylphenoxy)polyethylene oxide)

– Synperonic detergent -alcohol ethoxylate

– Sodium borohydride also known as sodium tetrahydroborate

– Coloured silk if fugitive could have been treated with acetic acid

– others

Possible past treatments-Conservation treatments in museums

• Bleaching/stain removal- – Chloramine T

sodium p-toluenesulfonchloramide trihydrate

– ‘Poot’ Sodium silicate, sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide

– EDTA. ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

– Hydrogen Peroxide and ammonia

Possible past treatments-Conservation treatments in museums

• Stiffening, – Rhodoviol- polyvinyl alcohol– starch- wheat, rice, others

• Consolidant-Soluble nylon N-methoxymethyl nylon

• Metal thread cleaning – IMS +deionised water– Ammonia in water– Silver dip- (active ingredient

hydrochloric acid)– acetone

• Lacquering nitrocellulose lacquer – to prevent tarnishing, (but also

stiffens and coats core fibre)

Conservation Treatments- Repair and support

• Restoration work- where lace has been fully reconstructed (19th c)

• Repairing linkages-by stitching and by adhesive methods.

• Full/partial support- stitching, patching with net.

• Support-thermoplastic adhesive carried upon a support fabric- often a nylon net

Research Questions

• AimsTo inform future actions for conservation and care:-to establish protocol and methodology before new conservation treatment is undertaken.

Research questions

• What are the residues?

– identify chemical residues

• How do we determine structural integrity of fibres?

– investigation of non destructive testing techniques