A Brocade Jacket from Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles : Creating a Concept of Conservation for a Fragile Three-Dimensional Costume

Abstract

A Brocade Jacket from Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles

Creating a Concept of Conservation for a Fragile Three-Dimensional Costume

A men’s gold brocade jacket from the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles (QSMT) collection, Bangkok, is being conserved. The jacket was previously in possession of Professor Smitthi Siribhadra, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s senior adviser on artistic affairs and a significant figure in establishing the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles. Currently, it is stored in QSMT’s storage.

The gold brocade jacket is part of the history of the Siam court dress code from the late 19th century until the early 20th century. ‘Yierabab’ (Thai: เยียรบับ) gold brocade contains a high percentage of gold threads in the fabric and indicates the high status of the wearer. The tailoring style also reflects the influences of Westernisation during that period.

Conservation and restoration was carried out by the Department of Conservation and Registration, QSMT, in 2012. However, the treatment had not been finished yet. The jacket’s condition is fragile because of the deterioration of the primary fibre and lining fabric as a result of weighting materials that have been added during the production process. It weakens the structure. The loss of blue silk fabric, the exterior fibre, causes horizontal tears, which generally appear all over the jacket. The deformation of the structure occurs at the fold lines and creases. The lining fabric also shows extensive damage from insect infestation.

Thus, conservation and restoration goals are developed to stabilize the object's condition for long-term storage. The main measures applied on the jacket can be divided into; removing the previous restoration, dry cleaning and stabilisation.

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