Endrei Walter szerk.: Textilipari Múzeum Évkönyve 8. 1995 (Budapest, 1995)

dr. Ágnes Balázsy: "A stitch in time saves nine" - ethical aspects of textile conservation

ÁGNES TÍMÁR-BALÁZSY "A stitch in time saves nine" - ethical aspects of textile conservation When visiting historical exhibitions in Hungary one can estimate the richness of the Hungarian textile collections. Medieaval chasubles decorated with fine gold threads and pearles (Christian Museum, Esztergom), Coptic and precolumbian textiles, large medieval tapestries, Eastern carpets and beautiful costumes (Museum of Applied Arts), archaeological fragments, delicate embroideries on fine linen, and elegant Hungarian costumes with rich assessoires (Hungarian National Museum), colourful cushions, folk costumes and household fabrics (Ethnographic Museum), flags and uniforms (Military Museum) can be found in the altogether 726 Hungarian museums and exhibition places. Exhibiting these textiles is carried out nowadays with great care. Mannequines for putting costumes on show are padded with harmless materials so that the weight of the object is distributed equally. Velcro is the main means for fixing flat textiles to wall. Flags are rarely exhibited hanging, and the light level is usually about the permitted 50 lux level. Ventillation, in order to avoid formation of harmful microclimate is provided, humidification or air drying is applied where necessary. In most textile exhibitions the objects are placed into showcases to prevent dust deposition on the textile. Nevertheless, it happens occasionaly that historic textile objects are used as 'decorations' in exhibitions. Heavy goldsmith chalices or boxes are placed on fine mediaeval fabrics, embroideries are creased to give a drapery background and costumes are put in a corner without preventing them from touching and dust. The careless behaviur of exhibition designers might be lacking in ethics: it is the responsibility of curators and restorers to control ethics in exhibitions. The word 'conservation ethics' is more common in 'active' conservation (the object is treated) than in 'preventive' conservation (no intervention into the object, in this case only good storage and environmental conditions are provided). Ethics in active conservation can be relied on the restorer as a human being and to the methods applied by him or her. The person must be well-trained, well-informed about the latest situation of the profession, and must know the limits of his or her skill or given work conditions. The restorer must not distinguish between objects according their 'value' in any contexts, but should pay attention to the condition and conservation of the artifact. He or she must involve curators and scientists into the work already in the process of investigation and planning of various treatments.