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.