Tytuł pozycji:
Konserwacja ubiorów pochodzących z sarkofagów książąt słupskich
I. The sarcophagi o f Słupsk princes, found in the crypt of St. Jacek’s
Church at Słupsk, were opened in 1977. A special commission
stated that the coffin containing the body of Princess Anna
de Croy had not been opened before. It has been decided that the
conservation of textiles taken out o f the sarcophagi should be
made by a textile conservation laboratory of the State Enterprise
for Conservation of Art, branch office in Warsaw.
From the viewpoint o f costiumology, coffin robes of Słupsk princes
may be divided into two groups:
1) Textiles associated with the person of Princess Anna, and
2) Textiles taken out from the sarcophagus of Prince Ernest Boguslaus.
Ad. 1. A funeral robe of the Princess (died in 1660) consisted of
a velvet dress in Italian velvet, a small silk coif with some thin
silk material on it. The coffin contained also a pillow, which just
like coffin’s inside covering, was made o f silk as well.
Ad. 2. The Prince’s robe consisted o f trousers and stockings in
thin silk. His funeral underdress was made from French brocade,
while his outer robe was a kind o f coat in black velvet, with rich
braiding. This group includes also a brocade pillow. The robes
were made specially on the occasion o f the burial, which is shown
by the cutting and the mode o f their execution.
Because of a high degree o f the damage the analysis of robes and
textiles has been largely based on reconstruction. The analysis is
much easier in the case of the Princess robes, as there is an important
source in the form o f an epitaph in St. Jacek’s Church
at Słupsk. The figure of the Princess is presented there in a very
realistic way and dressed in the attire analogous to the one found
in the sarcophagus.
As far as the attire o f the Prince is concerned, there exists some
other source material, namely the Prince’s will with instructions concerning
a ceremony o f his funeral and his funeral attire. There are
however some circumstances which lead one to suspect that the
will was executed only in part, and thus it cannot be regarded as
a reliable source. The analysis o f the Prince s robes allows us to
suppose that Ernest Boguslaus was buried in the dress corresponding
to the functions he performed during his life.
II. The condition of the textiles taken out of the coffins was very
poor. The objects remaining in the conditions so much unfavourable
for textiles underwent serious damage due to a natural process
of the aging of silk fibres, but mainly due to processes o f the
body’s decay. Preserved parts o f the textiles crumbled and got
broken when touched. Organic remainings tightly adhereing to the
textiles formed in some parts a thick shell. Embroided braidings
in the Prince’s robe done in thread with metal convolutions got
corrugated almost totally and came off the base.
The aim o f investigations and trials was to find the best way o f
procedure that would make it possible to preserve everything that
existed at the starting point of conservation. To this end it was
necessary to work out (1) methods to clean and reinforce the textiles,
and (2) the way to adjust specimens for the exhibition with
a simultaneous reconstruction of their cutting.
Ad. 1. Prior to commencing conservation the textiles were disinfected
with „Rotanox“ . All impurities were then removed from the
surface o f the textiles with brushes and scalpels. Then, each o f the
textiles was subjected to soaking on special frames in water solution
of „Pretepon ’, with frequent changing of the bath. To soften
the textiles and the dirt prior to washing glycerin was used, while
to clean the dirtiest places PEG 200 was applied during the bathing.
After washing each detail was put in its place and left to get
dry. To protect the textiles against biological pests 0.5% ethanol
solution of pentachlorofenol was used. In order to reinforce and
at the same time to plasticize brittle parts of the textiles, 2% solution
o f methyl polymethacralan in the mixture o f chloroform, toluene
and methanol containing 20% of PEG 300 was put on by
means o f a sprayer.
Ad. 2. Despite their very bad condition, the parts preserved allowed
us to reconstruct the original cutting and dimensions o f the
attires of the Prince and Princess. In order to reconstruct their
original form, after eliminating needle techniques, the only solution
was to double the parts preserved on a new silky base. The
method of the so-called hot stamping with Polyacrylate D-312
adhesive was employed. Then, the foil was removed from the
places where losses occurred and the textiles were pressed from
the left side with an iron at temp. 60°C. Coming-off and corrugated
threads o f the embroidery were covered and fixed with the
solution o f methyl polymetacrylan. The last operation was to saw
individual parts o f the attires according to their original form. After
the completion of conservation works the specimens under discussion
will be exhibited in the Museum of Middle Pomerania
at Słupsk.