It was like moving Asia when seventeen participants and three course assistants from museums in Southeast Asia and South Korea were gathered at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, The Netherlands from 24th of August to 17th of September 2005, attending a course on Conservation of Textiles in Southeast Asian Collections .
This was the second international workshop within CollAsia 2010. CollAsia 2010 is a 7-year programme planned for implementation from 2004 to 2010 to improve the conditions for the conservation of heritage collections in 10 Southeast Asian countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam (http://www.collasia2010.org).
Partner Istitutions were ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property), based in Italy and SEAMEO-SPAFA (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts), based in Thailand as well as the Getty Foundation and the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. The first course was held in Bangkok in January 2005 on Conservation and Exhibition of Southeast Asian Collections. For the second course the location was chosen in the Netherlands, thus outside of South East Asia, in order to enable and include the participation of the course attendies at the 14th triennial meeting of ICOM_CC in The Hague.
It was a proud moment for us, we were here talking about asian textiles. Discussing how to care and preserve the collections, how to gather information and to share knowledge and experience thousands of miles away from Asia where the climate is very different. We also had the opportunity to learn and share information with staff from the National Museum of Ethnology and other dutch institutions such as the Instituut Collectie Nederland (ICN).
The three and a half week long course aimed at improving the capacity of professionals working with Southeast Asian textile collections to devise long-term conservation strategies. We learned not only what a textile is, but more importantly why and how is it deteriorating, and what can we do, how do we care for the collections?
We started with the beginning, trying to spinn thread with cotton. We learned how to weave using a small loom made of a postcard and strings, and we realized that weaving was not easy. This developed more respect for our collections and a deeper understanding of the work involved in the production of objects within our collections. We also learned about the messages and information contained in textile objects and their significance. We learned that if objects change and their meanings change, these changes affect how we document, conserve and exhibit the textiles.
At the end of the course we realized that there is no one right solution but that it is our task to think about what to do within our own institutions. We have to decide –of course within reason - what to do and what not to do with our textile collections, understanding that sometimes to do nothing may be the better choice.
At this place I also want to thank our resources persons: Katriina Simila (ICCROM), Dinah Eastop (Textile Conservation Centre, UK), Graeme Scott (RMV), Farideh Fekrsanati (RMV), Agnes Brokerhof (ICN) and Foekje Boersma.
Ita Yulita (Course assistant in Leiden and participant in Bangkok)
Conservator
National Museum Indonesia, Jakarta
Email : yulita_conserv@yahoo.co.id
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