The conservation of tapestries is fraught with difficulties due to their size, weight, exposure to light, dust etc. Wet cleaning of tapestries has always been a challenge but over the last 30 years, since De Wit Royal Manufacturers installed a large aerosol suction cleaning chamber at their Mechelen (BE) conservation studio, they have developed an efficient and safe cleaning system which, together with their team of restorers, scientists, conservators has produced results which have been applied to many of the most important tapestries from the most prestigious collections worldwide. In this seminar Pierre Maes not only shows and explains how this works in terms of wet cleaning, drying, conserving etc. but also indicates how, despite the inherent advantages of the system, new challenges have constantly faced them, notably : Tapestries of exceptional dimensions; tapestries with exceptional damage; cleaning of tapestries with extremely unstable dyes; using aerosol suction in the cleaning of other textiles.
Pierre Maes is director of the, Brussels-based , family run, De Wit Royal Manufacturers, a long established (since 1889) world leader in the conservation and restoration of tapestries. He has a degree in Art History from the University of Liège (including a thesis on the study and conservation of the exceptional choral tapestries of the Collegiate Church of Montpezat-de-Quercy, France). Pierre also previously graduated in human resources management at the Haute École de la Province de Liège in 2010. He took on the management of De Wit Royal Manufacturers in 2020.
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You will need an internet connection with a device that supports Zoom. You do not need a microphone or camera to attend.This seminar will not be recorded.
