The poor conservation state of the original lampshade limited the possibility of restoring and exhibiting it: exposure to ambient light and the overall dryness of the environment had caused the discolouration of the silk, the warp and weft to loosen, and the fringes to almost disintegrate upon minimal manipulation. The facsimile, on display since 2017, has since allowed museum visitors to continue to see the object in its original location, while the original is now stored and preserved under optimal conditions to prevent further damage.
This project is a clear example of the possibilities offered by digitisation and facsimiles as facilitators of textile conservation, and it’s one of the very few projects where Factum Foundation has worked directly on an original object thanks to an in-house expert in fabric conservation.
The processes of preserving the original fabric and making the facsimile were developed and carried out in parallel, in collaboration with the Sorolla Museum. The trimmings, fringe and encapsulated fabric were micro-vacuumed to eliminate dust before carefully dismantling the lampshade. After laying the silk flat on a 75-micron Melinex® polyester sheet, moisture was applied to increase plasticity and re-position the deformed weft and warp threads, before digitising the colour information.
The photographic information was processed into a digital model of the fabric, which could be digitally restored to correct discoloured areas and tears in the fabric.
Eduardo López recording the colour © Factum Foundation
Using Factum Arte’s special flatbed printer, the final result was printed on a polyester and cotton mix fabric, which presents a shine closely resembling aged silk. In-house textile conservator Isabel Fernández, after thorough research and development, created a special transparent base for ink-jet printing of textiles. Numerous colour and texture tests were carried out to refine and control the fabric’s ink absorption, ensuring optimal results.
Isabel Fernández working on the original fabric to remove old restoration attempts and backstitching © Oak Taylor-Smith
Isabel Fernández working on the original fabric to remove old restoration attempts and backstitching © Oak Taylor-Smith
Isabel Fernández working on the original fabric to remove old restoration attempts and backstitching © Oak Taylor-Smith
Isabel Fernández working on the original fabric to remove old restoration attempts and backstitching © Oak Taylor-Smith
The printed silk was then mounted and stitched to the structure of the original lampshade, replacing the fringe but hand-stitching the original ribbons. The remaining original parts (the damaged fringe and silk fabric) are currently stored in the museum.
The facsimile on display © Courtesy of Museo Sorolla, Madrid
