IDENTIFICATION AND CONSERVATION OF A RARE ISLAMIC TEXTILE DECORATED WITH METALLIC YARNS

Abstract

A rare Islamic textile decorated with two types of metallic yarns date back to 1327 Hijri. This object isfrom the textiles collection of Sheikh Yusuf Jameel museum in Saudi Arabia. These collections arehoused in uncontrolled storage, in terms of variation and fluctuation humidity, temperature and airpollution throughout the year. These storage conditions have had a passive effect on the metallic andnatural yarns causing damage. The nature of the surface metals and the nature of the corrosionproducts were studied by scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis(SEM/EDS). A close examination of the textile was followed by various analyses in order to developa plan for conservation treatment. This research shows the practical strategies which have to befollowed in maintaining and conserving textiles in uncontrolled storage. The effects of cleaningmaterials on the natural dyes were tested, including different types of solvents used to remove thecorrosion layer on the metallic yarns. The process of maintenance and restoration has been recordedbeginning with the historical record of the textile to the present cleaning process. A new mountingsystem for display as in Sheikh Yusuf Jameel museum is described.