Material culture in action: conserving garments deliberately concealed within buildings

Abstract

The study of material culture encompasses the material and the symbolic properties of things. Approaches based on an understanding of material culture can help with the conservation of textiles because they encourage considerations regarding changes in their properties, both material and symbolic, over time. Examples of textile conservation illustrate material culture in action to the extent that they analyze the challenges posed by garments deliberately concealed within buildings to conservation. The significance attributed to such textiles varies: some are valued as rare samples of clothing; others are appreciated for their protective function; while others are viewed as rubbish. The conservation strategies are indicated by the significance attributed to these textiles.

Revisiting to Understand: An Evaluation of the Influence of Conservation on the Display Representation of Hernan Cortes’ Funerary Cloth, Mexico

“…García-Vedrenne & Kuhliger 2015:64) could have been carved to create a rounder shape, simulating the skull that was once underneath the textile. Although there is less risk of physical or chemical damage when trying to conserve the "original appearance", the object is forced to undergo a significant and possibly unfortunate shift in its biography (Eastop & Dew 2006). Furthermore, the context and meaning generation are underestimated, and this meaning becomes difficult to communicate when the object has lost the material evidence that allowed us to establish a connection.…”

“…I used to take pride in the fact that the support fabric was dyed in a way that properly matched the linen cloth, and that my couching could not be seen unless there was brighter light in the room or someone indicated where the stitching was placed. However, if I had to conserve this object again, I would aim for a different solution, namely, to stabilise losses without camouflaging degradation effects (Phillips 2016:228), promoting the concept of acceptable damage (Eastop & Dew 2006). This does not mean that no action would be taken to stabilise the textile, but rather that the approach regarding the visibility of the intervention would differ.…”

“…As is so often the case, the condition of the artefact was the dominant factor determining the conservation treatment, rather than it being the role attributed to the textile (cfr. Eastop & Dew 2006).…”

The Iron in the Posthole: Witchcraft, Women's Labor, and Spanish Folk Ritual at the Berry Site

“…Just as often, such devices were deliberately concealed from view within houses and other standing structures, usually in vulnerable areas like doorways, chimneys, and hearths. Objects believed to have apotropaic qualities in European folk traditions and deposited in such ritual concealments include witch bottles (which themselves may contain urine, pins, needles, nails, and other objects); leather boots and shoes; articles of clothing such as hats, doublets, and trousers; desiccated cats; horse skulls; and implements of iron (Eastop , ; Fennell ; Herva ; Herva and Ylimaunu ; Hoggard ; Hukantaival ; Lucas ; Manning , , ; Merrifield ; Ruppel et al. ).…”

Revealing the Ritually Concealed: Custodians, Conservators, and the Concealed Shoe

“…A full contextualisation of concealed shoes is beyond the scope and remit of this paper, and has been the subject of numerous other studies (cf. Easton 1999Easton , 2016Eastop 2001Eastop , 2006aEastop , 2006bEastop , 2007aEastop , 2007bEastop , 2016Evans 2010;Evans et al 2016;Hoggard 2004;Houlbrook 2013;Manning 2012;Merrifield 1987;Swann 1996Swann , 2016. What follows, therefore, is a necessarily brief summary, which cannot do justice to the complex theories surrounding the enigmatic custom of concealment, but will hopefully outline the main points.…”