A Family Quilt Reveals its Layers

One can say that every object tells a story. Often more than one.

In the case of a family quilt that recently arrived in the conservator's studio, it came with two distinct stories....and perhaps more.

When we think of quilts, we tend to conjure up colorful designs of pieced or appliqued fabric sewn together and layered with batting and a woven fabric backing meant to keep someone warm on a cold winter's night. For centuries, quilts were ubiquitous domestic textiles, made and used primarily for bedding, and found in many cultures around the globe. Today, quilts are often created as art pieces meant solely for display.

While quilts were often made of fabric scraps, the composition of colors and pieces, along with the sophistication of the stitching, could reveal the artistic eye and sewing prowess of the maker. As with most textiles, the materials used and their assembly also reveal the socio-economic status of the maker or owner.

The quilt's importance in the household meant they also took on prized, often commemorative, roles. They were made and given to honor births, marriages, and moves away from close-knit communities. Some traditions required that a new bride have a number of completed quilts in her dowry, thus ensuring her household could be set up quickly.

The quilt in question clearly seemed to be a commemorative piece -- at least its most recent use, that is. The top of the quilt consists of seven rows of neatly composed diamonds, each pieced with printed cottons in complementary colors of pinks, browns, and blues. At the center of each diamond was a white patch containing the autograph of a female family member written in iron gall ink. This quilt style is known as a signature or album quilt. Made in honor of the family's matriarch, its owner said the quilt dated from c1860. The date also connects with the colored prints that were popular at the time.

Front side of the Signature quilt.

In her Clues in the Needlework newsletter, quilt historian Barbara Brackman wrote, "Many of the blocks in the early album quilts made between 1840 and 1860 featured elaborate ink signatures and small drawings and verses. By the time of the Civil War, album quilt inscriptions had become shorter and were more likely to include only the block maker's name, and perhaps his or her hometown or date."

Turn the quilt over and a different story emerges. It is what appears to be a strip quilt. The back panel is made up of 13 faded and worn fabric strips of alternating toile patterns: a red/pink fabric with peacock feathers in the design and a blue and white fabric with imagery related to the Freemasons.

Reverse side of the quilt made of pieced stripes in an attractive design. Cleverly incorporating presumably left over pieces of three fabrics: a pink, dark brown and white with a blue toile print. All of the printed fabrics are quite worn, unlike the very good condition of the front side. Also visible is the patched area near the center of this side.

The Masonic images were adapted from late 18th century prints created by French-born artist P. Lambert de Linto. Masonic symbols do appear on quilts. Hilary Anderson Stelling, Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Scottish Rite Museum and Library in Lexington, MA, tells us her hunch is that Masonic-themed textiles would have been used in homes, not lodges. Just as this reverse side suggests.

Textiles incorporating Masonic symbols, both home-made and commercially manufactured, have served many functions since the 1700s. They have transmitted family memories and history, becoming cherished heirlooms. They signified family identification with Freemasonry. Creating these objects offered an opportunity for the maker to display their skills. These textiles also functioned as educational tools - teaching family members about Masonic symbols and reminding Masons of the lessons they learned in the lodge. Like the quilts used to fundraise for political or social causes, Masonic quilts and textiles were - and still are - used to raise money for Masonic projects and charities.[1]

Below are two examples of prints by P. Lambert de Lino dating from the 1770-1790s with the corresponding similar images found in the quilt.

Also on the reverse is a large patched area near the center made of brown fabric with blue and white leaves, distinctly different from the fabric elsewhere. Obviously, this was a quilt worth saving. Did it belong originally to the family's matriarch? Did her descendants decide to honor her by keeping her quilt and adding a new top containing autographed squares? We know fabric was repurposed for quilt patterns; were whole quilts refashioned or updated, as well?


Resources

[1] "Threads of Brotherhood: Masonic Quilts and Textiles," Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library blog,  June 12, 2012.

Adinkra Cloth, Another Textile from Ghana

The kente cloth is a well-known woven textile from Ghana, stamped meaningful proverb symbols, and strongly associated with the Ashanti. Lesser known, but as important to the Ghanaians, is the Adinkra cloth.

Ntonso Visitor Center where demonstrations of Adinkra making are performed.

Adinkra cloth is a woven, solid-colored fabric that is stamped with a wide variety of symbols. I recently had the great opportunity to visit a center in Ntonso where it was being made. Ntonso, located 20 km northeast of Kumasi, is now the center of adinkra manufacturing. This cloth, like the kente, is also typically worn by men in the form of a toga. However, its use is reserved for more sober occasions, like funerals, where kente is used for celebrations.

Adinkra on display at the visitor center.

The origin of the adinkra dyeing technique is not fully known. Possibly it was adopted by the Ashanti around 1818, when King Osei Bonsu defeated the Gyaman (now in the Ivory Coast), whose chief at the time was called Nana Kofi Adinkra.

An early adinkra cloth is located at the British Museum, collected in 1817 by Thomas Edward Bowdich in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Empire. This shows that the tradition was well established by Ashanti culture.

The pigment used in stamping the designs on the cloth comes from the bark of the Badie tree (Bridelia migrant). Once broken up, the bark is soaked in water.

Preparing the bark of the Badie tree before cooking.

Then the bark is pounded to break it up with a large mortar and pestle.

Then it is soaked again. Before cooking begins, it is filtered through a sieve. Interestingly, after eight hours of cooking, the liquid can be used as an herbal medicine. But for the ink, more cooking is required, usually lasting 12 hours.

After 8 hours the liquid is an herbal medicine.

The stamps, the most important part of the adinkra cloth, are carved from sections of a calabash gourd. More than 60 different Adinkra symbols are used, each of them signifying a specific tradition or proverbs.

Using the calabash gourd for the stamp designs.

A sampling of symbol designs.

Once the symbol has been selected, it is inked and the fabric stamped.

The stool symbol.

Resources

http://www.thekingdomofasante.com/history-of-adinkra/

https://afrolegends.com/2014/08/27/adinkra-symbols-and-the-rich-akan-culture/

Wikpedia, Adrinkra Symbols

"Oriental Print Works" Patriotic Santa, a textile used as a banner and a doll.

We often speak about how artifacts that come into the Spicer Art Conservation studio are completely unique or rare. Additionally we've also commented about how one artifact that has come in for treatment has a relationship to another artifact that we have treated. This happened just a few weeks ago when we treated a pillow case from the Mexican Boarder Service from 1916. We later found out that General George Patton's early military career took place at the Mexican Border. Having recently treated some of General Patton's artifacts, it was interesting connection. (It also seems that "all roads lead to Patton" as this was not the first time we have had a connection to him. Weird.).

We certainly never thought that an 1868 print made by Oriental Print Works of Warwick, Rhode Island would have any relation to George S. Patton. We had treated a printed textile "Patriotic Santa Claus" earlier in 2016. The printed textile was brought to us by a private owner who had this piece in her family for over 100 years. Her textile was heavily stained with liquid tidelines, was heavily creased from being folded while stored and had small holes requiring stabilization. Additionally, the red dye was found to be water soluble, which explained the bleeding of the red edges that was present at the top and bottom. The owner reported that this piece was used as a Christmas decoration and was hung. The textile is listed on other websites as a banner, handkerchief (oversized), scarf, or table cover. The Oriental Print Works produced handkerchiefs and perhaps that is why this textile was classified as such. For our purposes we will refer to it as a textile hanging as that is what our client used it as.

Before treatment photo of "Patriotic Santa". The textile had been
exposed to liquid staining and was creased from being folded.

After Treatment photo of "Patriotic Santa" textile. The
hanging was brought to Spicer Art Conservation for cleaning,
repair, mounting and framing with archival supplies. 

The textile was designed by Edward Peck, who later used the print for a cut-out "make your own doll" which was printed on a full fabric sheet as craft piece. Patton had this doll among his playthings, and it is included in an exhibit of "Georgie's Dolls" at the Patton Museum of Leadership in Ft. Knox, Kentucky. This type of textile seems to have been a niche manufacturing item for Oriental Print Works; among their other unique textiles are whole cloth quilts, and textiles that featured playing cards.

From the exhibit at the George S. Patton Museum of Leadership in Ft. Knox Kentucky,
"Patriotic Santa" is among the General's favorite childhood toys.

Oriental Print Works only made these items for a short time as the company fell on hard times during the Panic of 1873; the company was sold and changed names several times over the years (as well as its focus on textiles - at some points it specialized in fine fabrics, other times bleaching and dying, and later finishing of fabrics). It finally closed in 1958.

From the Library Company of Philadelphia's digital
collection, a label from the Oriental Print Works.

The "Patriotic Santa" by Oriental Print Works is unique in that Santa is portrayed with an American flag under his arm, a red, white, and blue fan in his hat, and in his hands are toys including a red, white, and blue pinwheel. A "Patriotic Santa" banner is in the collection of the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt Museum and a full uncut santa doll is in the collection of the New York Historical Society and Museum.  Additional items are found in other museum collections.

From the Collection of the Cooper Hewitt, this photo from their
webpage shows the "banner" version of  the Patriotic Santa textile.

From the Collection of the New York Historical Society and Museum,
this photo from their webpage shows the uncut doll textile complete with the
instructions. This is the doll that was made for little George Patton.

We had wondered why a Santa would be portrayed as patriotic at this time. A look at that year in history shows that following the Civil War, 1868 was a year when many of the southern states were being re-admitted to the Union, the 14th amendment was ratified, the first Memorial Day is celebrated (called Decoration Day), Wyoming becomes a US territory, the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson occurs, and Ulysses S. Grant is elected as president.

An illustrated souvenir from Decoration Day, which was first celebrated in 1868.  This day of
remembering and honoring those lost in battle was latter re-named Memorial Day. In post
Civil War America, this was very important as 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died
during the War that was very fresh in the memories of every American.
This image from the United States Library of Congress.

This Patriotic Santa is a lovely representation of 19th century Christmas decorations and how Santa was being portrayed. His image clearly draws on the Clement C. Moore poem, "A Visit From St. Nicholas", and several of the illustrations on the banner feature wording that mirrors Moore's words. These textiles are often featured on antique collector websites, in fact, if you would like to read more about this textile, visit the recent editorial written about it on Busy Bee Traders.

We at Spicer Art Conservation wish everyone a peaceful Holiday season and a prosperous 2017!

A Printed Pillow Sham and the Mexican Border Service of 1916

by Gwen Spicer, Barbara Owens, and David Fitzjarrald

A client recently brought in a unique heirloom; a printed satin pillow sham with a portrait of a beautiful young woman wearing a sombrero and smoking a cigarette. Colored highlights of red, blue and yellow were painted into the design. Attached to the perimeter was an intricate and wide cotton fringe. Located on the lower proper right corner is "Mexican Border Service, 1916" painted in red. The construction of the pillow sham was quite simple, with one row of machine-stitching that secured all of the layers and the fringe together.

The silk satin had been folded while it was stored and this long-term folding had resulted in several vertical tears that were present across the woman's face.

The 100 year old pillow sham as it arrived at Spicer Art Conservation for stabilization and archival mounting and framing. 

As work began, we began to wonder about the message. What was going on at the Mexican border in 1916? With a bit of investigation, it became apparent that a hundred years ago, there was conflict at the border that included a dictator, southern migration for cheap labor, a revolution, an invasion of the United States by Pancho Villa, and the first taste of combat for a young U.S. Army lieutenant named George S. Patton.

The pillow sham after treatment. The tears are stabilized, the creases are removed, fringe cleaned and straightened,
and the pillow case is mounted with archival materials and placed in a sealed frame with UV filtering Plexiglas.

This pillow sham was a souvenir for soldiers involved in the Mexican Expedition. In fact, pillow shams have been a popular item for soldier to send home during war or service. This is a more personal type of souvenir, one that was different from embroidered commemorative "trapunto" textiles brought back from the voyage of the "Great White Fleet" in World War I.  

Pancho Villa (1878-1923) was a famed Mexican revolutionary and guerilla leader. 

So why was there a conflict at the Mexican Border in 1916?  Several things were happening; and it starts with the Mexican Revolution.

Pancho Villa may be a familiar name if you know about the Mexican Revolution. Villa joined Francisco Madero's uprising against Mexican President Porfirio Diaz in 1909, and he later became leader of the Division del Norte cavalry, then governor of Chihuahua. According to Wikipedia, trouble between the United States and Pancho Villa had been growing since October of 1915, when the US government officially recognized Villa's rival and former ally Venustiano Carranza as head of Mexico's government. Moreover, the U.S. provided rail transportation through the U.S. from Texas to Arizona for the movement of over 5,000 of Carranza'a forces to fight Villa at the Battle of Aqua Prieta; where Villa's Division del Norte was smashed. Villa felt betrayed and began to attack U.S. nationals and their property.

Villa killed more than 30 Americans in a raid on the U.S.-Mexican border town of Columbus, New Mexico in March of 1916. In response, the U.S. government sent General John J. Pershing and his troops to enter Mexican sovereign territory and capture Villa (Pancho Villa Expedition, later named the Mexican Expedition). Pershing was unsuccessful and Villa proved elusive during an 11-month manhunt.

1916 cartoon by Clifford K. Berryman, via National Archive Berryman colletion This media is available in the holdings of the
 National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the ARC Identifier (National Archives Identifier) 306154.

But it wasn't just the Revolution that was going on; in fact something larger was on the horizon. The U.S.-Mexico border was a potential location for a German-backed invasion by Mexico. The threat of such an invasion was discovered in January of 1917 when the British intercepted and deciphered the Zimmerman Telegram, discussing Germany's proposal to Mexico to form an alliance with Germany should the U.S. enter World War I. In March of 1917 the contents of the telegram were made public and affirmed by Zimmerman himself. The Mexican Expedition ended when the United States entered World War I (the U.S. declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917) and Pershing was recalled.

As an interesting side note, who happened to be serving under General Pershing? None other than a young lieutenant George S. Patton. There is a strange coincidence for us here at Spicer Art Conservation as we had recently conserved several items from the collection of the George S. Patton Museum of Leadership. We of course wondered, is there a pillow case among Patton's personal items from his service at the border?

We also discovered that a pillow sham is a common souvenir that was not only sent home to loved ones by service men, but it was also received by them as well. And, it is just as common today as it was one hundred years ago.

Examples of military souvenir pillow cases

At Spicer Art Conservation we conserve historic textiles and artifacts. Whether it is a military uniform, a historic flag or banner, a tablecloth or quilt from your Aunt Sally, or General George Patton's famous Green Hornet Uniform, it is conserved with care and professional exacting standards. Visit our website and check out our textiles page for more about previous projects and artifacts we treat at Spicer Art.
_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice. Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper. Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled. To contact her, please visit her website.

Lincoln Presidency and Assassination bring a world of memorabilia to be conserved

April 14th marks the 150 anniversary of the fateful day when President Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theater, dying of his wounds early the next morning.

The memorabilia items that we see linked to this great president are in no short supply. Items that are either directly related to him, or related to some event that included him, are prized. In 20 years of private practice at SAC, clients have brought a multitude of Lincoln iconography to be conserved. And that doesn't even include the items linked to him from the Civil War or the Abolition of Slavery. Lincoln truly was prolific and his image on an item often meant it was kept.

Textile banners like these commonly appeared
with bunting and were hung on a building.
Private Collection.

The artifacts we have treated have been in textile form, like the banner (above), transparency sign (further below), or silk ribbon (furthest below). Objects, like the gloves worn to Lincoln's funeral (immediately below). Paper, like letters believed to be from Lincoln, or letters and newspaper clippings that spoke about him, his presidency, or his untimely death.

These leather gloves were worn to Lincoln's funeral. Surprisingly, we
consulted with another collector on a very similar pair, also worn to
Lincoln's funeral, but by a completely different person.
Owned by the NYS Millitary Museum.

Objects from Lincoln's presidential campaign are also highly prized, like the campaign banner below.

This transparency sign, made of cotton and mounted on a wooden
frame box to be illuminated by candle, is owned by the
Columbia County Historical Society in New York. 

This silk ribbon, from the 1860 Presidential election
suggesting "A. Lincoln for  president" and "H. Hamlin
for Vice-President".  Private Collection.

Often when a client brings an item relating to Lincoln or any other historic figure, they want the item to be substantiated. Is it real, is it from the actual event, or was it from an anniversary to commemorate the event? This is usually unknown, yet they want to conserve the item because of the image of Lincoln and because, after all this time, he is still regarded as a great president.

Interestingly, many items that we treat are what is considered ephemera, and therefore were originally not meant to last (such as the campaign ribbon, or the cotton transparency sign). This of course means that these items arrive at the studio in quite fragile condition. And although many of these artifacts have been kept carefully, these items that were meant to be short-lived are just inherently delicate. It is also interesting that often a client wants their Lincoln ephemera placed in an archival mount or storage, but does not want to change the look of it (meaning that they want to keep the wrinkles in the paper or fabric, and the marks that make it look old). Perhaps it feels more "authentic" if the object's history of use is still clearly visible.


_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled.   To contact her, please visit her website.

Women want to vote! Conservation of artifacts from the Women's Suffrage Movement.

The most important way I can think of to celebrate International Women's Day on Sunday, March 8th is to honor the women who fought tirelessly to secure the right to vote. The Women's Suffrage Movement is one of the quintessential time periods in women's history; and to imagine that the 19th amendment is just 95 years old this year is amazing. How far we have come, and how far we need to go.

The Finger Lakes region of Central New York was an active place in the nineteenth century. So many of us are familiar with the stories of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the town of Seneca Falls, New York; birthplace of the Women's Suffrage movement. But less than 25 miles away there was a hot bed of activity in Sherwood, New York, which then, like now, is just a dot on the map with no traffic light, only cross roads.

In 1837 Slocum Howland (1794-1881), a Quaker, abolitionist, prohibitionist and suffragist, built the Howland Stone Store Museum in Sherwood, a crossroads between Cayuga and Owasco Lakes to the west and east and the cities of Auburn and Ithaca to the north and south. Cayuga Lake gave it easy access to the Erie Canal. According to the museum, "The Howland family, particularly Emily (1827-1929) and her niece, Isabel (1859-1942) were prominent in important reform movements throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century, particularly in the abolition of slavery, education, and women's suffrage. A prized Museum possession is an Underground Railroad pass brought by two slaves who escaped from Maryland and came to Slocum Howland seeking freedom in 1840 (image is below. the display mount is two-sided). Emily Howland first taught in schools for free blacks in Washington, D.C. in 1857. In addition to building a school in Sherwood, she founded and financially supported fifty schools for emancipated slaves, teaching in several of them." Both Emily and her niece, Isabel were active in the local, state and national women's suffrage movements. The sign below, is from the collection at the Museum and is a clear message. The sign was treated here at SAC last year. The tears in the canvas, as well as the cracking paint, were all quite pronounced. The top image is before the treatment, while the bottom image was taken after treatment. Patricia White, director of the Museum and a descendant of the Howland family said Emily Howland first met Susan B. Anthony in 1851, and maintained a close friendship with the woman throughout her life. Although her sympathies always remained with the fight for equality (and her unending desire for education for anyone, regardless of their color), Howland started to get more heavily involved in the national movement for suffrage in 1891. That year, Howland started the Cayuga County Political Equality Club (image above with the "5315" sign in the foreground), and organization. White said the politically active group, housed on Auburn's Exchange Street, was comprised of both men and women who carried around and collected petitions (which, I would imagine from the image above, were signed by 5,315 women!). And although women didn't earn their final goal until 1920, White said Howland and her colleagues won small victories along with way — such as the right for men and women to share joint legal custody of their children, and finally changing the law to allow women to inherit property from their husbands. But eventually, the petitions, speeches and marches paid off. And at age 92, Emily Howland headed to the polls and, for the first time, legally cast her vote. Recently, our SAC studio manager's 9 year-old daughter had the opportunity to play with her third grade basketball team on the "big court" at a local college just prior to the women's basketball team taking the floor for a game against a rival university. They quickly realized there was a big event also taking place on the campus, a "Woman's Expo". As they neared the door, the 9 year-old looked up at her mother and asked, "what is a woman's expo anyway?". The reply from mom was that she hoped it was about leadership and decision making and equality and the amazing things women are capable of, and do, each and every day! Sadly, it was focused on shopping and make-up. UGH! _____________________________ Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled.   To contact her, please visit her website.

Surprises that can be found when treating an artifact

A wonderful printed cotton Palampore "quilt" from the collection of Doris Duke is at her home Rough Point in Newport, Rhode Island.  The late 18th century palampore, was treated here at SAC studio. Palampore is a textile that is, according to wikipedia:

 "a type of hand-painted and mordant-dyed bed cover that was made in India for the export market during the eighteenth century and very early nineteenth century. Only the wealthiest classes could afford to buy palampore; therefore, the few examples that have survived are often quite valuable today. Palampore were primarily exported to Europe and to Dutch colonists in Indonesia and what was then called Ceylon. A palampore was made using the kalamkari technique, whereby an artist drew designs on cotton or linen fabric with a kalam pen containing mordant and then dipped the textile in dye. The dye adhered to the cloth only where the mordant had been applied. This lengthy process had to be repeated for each color in the design. Small details were then painted by hand on the cloth after the dying process was completed. Palampore patterns were usually very complex and elaborate, depicting a wide variety of plants, flowers, and animals, including peacocks, elephants, and horses. Because a palampore was hand-created, each design is unique."

Image of a traditional Palampore. This 18th
century Palampore is at the Cornell University
 Johnson Museum of Art

Palampore is probably derived from a hybrid Hindu-Persian word "palangposh" meaning bedcover.


This particular Palampore is unique in that it is not in the one-cloth tradition like the example above. Instead, the bedspread from Doris Duke's collection is made from many printed fabrics that have been pieced together. It is edged with a striped woven tape and lined with a buff colored twill-woven cotton textile.

The Palampore bedspread before treatment. The presence of fading on the right side, illustrates where a window was located.

The obverse is made up of four different printed cottons; a central square and three concentric borders. The central printed fabric is square with a central oval design of two nesting birds in a rose bush, there are also two deer and two water birds and a broken column. The oval is flanked by floral and foliate motifs forming a square. This central motif is then bordered with three repeating printed motifs. The piece is printed in shades of brown, pink and blue-green.

The border is made up of twelve pieces of three different patterned textiles. The pieces are hand stitched together to form concentric squares. The pieces are mitered at the corners. All are stylized foliate designs of red, pink, blue/green and undyed cotton.

The bedspread is padded with a layer of woven napped cotton between the obverse and lining, this has been pieced vertically with machine stitch. Large herringbone type stitches have been worked in a white synthetic floss thread to the obverse, tape and reverse to hold the layers in position. This is padding and construction is not contemporary with the original construction of this bedspread.

The lining has been pieced together with three vertical seams, which have been machine stitched together. The lining has been slip stitched by hand to the reverse of the tape binding. It is likely that this lining is a later addition.

The dark brown printed areas are quite deteriorated and had been actively deteriorating. Evidence of several previous attempts to fill the losses were found. In the image below, the use of a black pen or marker can be seen at the neck of the deer. It now is edged in white, as more of the original fabric is lost. In other areas, stitching with black thread was used.

The bedspread was in fragile condition. The printed colors were faded and the cotton was brittle. The dark brown printed areas were especially brittle resulting in the powdering of the cotton fabric in these areas, it is likely that the mordant or dye stuff used to produce this color was acidic, therefore causing breakdown of the cotton. This type of damage is accelerated by exposure to light. The bedspread is creased and is cockled and distorted, due to its pieced construction, tape edging, and its former day-to-day use.

The central fabric was quite faded, reducing the impact of the design. This fabric has the dark brown printed areas, many of which are showing areas of loss. There has been an attempt to fill in some of the larger areas of brown, the deer, in the oval. There is a repaired area of loss along the top edge in an unprinted area. There are numerous waterborne, tide-line stains across the surface of the textile.  

There are a series of round, brown stains on the proper right bottom corner on the two innermost border fabrics. Where the stains are located is where the cotton is breaking down or has been lost. Two large splits in the second concentric border were present, one on the proper left side and one along the bottom edge. This fabric was also faded and yellowed, as a result of exposure to light.

The outermost border best illustrates fading as it has a red ground and appears to have been protected from light at the corners, top edge and proper right side possibly indicative of its use on a bed.

The tape binding is in good condition, it appears to be strong with no areas of loss or damage.

In order to better stabilize the losses and weak areas of the Palampur, the layers were released. And here is where the surprise was found. Behind the top layer was a printed fabric that was used as a fill material. It was the reverse side of the printed fabric that was used to fill in the losses. The printed fabric is clearly later, possibly early 20th century.

Why was it used? The color apparently was not correct, as that a dark pen was used in the losses.

Could this fabric have been a scrap from a previous decorating scheme of Doris'? The curator had not recognized it, but something could still turn up.

The reverse side of the Palampore after the backing fabric was
removed, revealing the fill fabric used.

Detail of the attached patch and its stitching used.

The patch with the added black filling stitching.

Detail of the center motif, after treatment.

After wet cleaning, the losses were color compensated with a sheer fabric positioned behind the printed Palampore in a color that blended with the overall appearance. The weak areas were all stabilized with stitching. The entire artifact was fully backed. It can now hang straight, as the site requested.
_____________________________
Gwen Spicer is a textile conservator in private practice.  Spicer Art Conservation specializes in textile conservation, object conservation, and the conservation of works on paper.  Gwen's innovative treatment and mounting of flags and textiles is unrivaled.   To contact her, please visit her website.