'The Hunt of the Unicorn' tapestries' renovation reveals ...

The New Yorker's story is fascinating on several levels.

At some point, the backs of the tapestries had been covered with linen. The backings, which protect the tapestries and help to support them when they hang on a wall, were turning brown and brittle, and had to be replaced. Using tweezers and magnifying lenses, [lead conservator Kathrin] Colburn and her team delicately removed the threads that held each backing in place. As the conservators lifted the backing away, inch by inch, they felt a growing sense of awe. The backs were almost perfect mirror images of the fronts, but the colors were different. Compared with the fronts, they were unfaded: incredibly bright, rich, and deep, more subtle and natural-looking. The backs of the tapestries had, after all, been exposed to very little sunlight in five hundred years. Nobody alive at the Met, it seems, had seen them this way.

A tapestry is woven from lengths of colored thread called the weft, which are passed around long, straight, strong threads called the warp. The warp runs horizontally, and provides a foundation for the delicate weft, which runs vertically. Medieval tapestry weavers worked side by side, in teams, using their fingertips and small tools to draw the weft around the warp. When they switched from one color to the next, they cut off the ends of the weft threads or wove them into the surface of the tapestry. The Unicorn weavers had been compulsively neat. In less well-made tapestries, weavers left weft threads dangling in a shaggy sort of mess, but the backs of these were almost smooth. Kathrin Colburn recalls that as she and her associates stared into the backs of the Unicorn tapestries it “felt like a great exploration of the piece.” She said, “We simply got carried away, seeing how the materials were used—how beautifully they were dyed and prepared for weaving.” An expert medieval weaver might need an hour to complete one square inch of a tapestry, which meant that in a good week he might finish a patch maybe eight inches on a side. The weavers were generally young men, and each Unicorn tapestry likely had a team of between four and six working on it. They wove only by daylight, to insure that the colors were consistent and not distorted by candlelight. One tapestry would have taken a team at least a year to complete. ...

Philippe de Montebello, the director of the museum, declared that the Unicorn tapestries must be photographed on both sides, to preserve a record of the colors and the mirror images. Colburn and her associates would soon put new backing material on them, made of cotton sateen. Once they were rehung at the Cloisters, it might be a century or more before the true colors of the tapestries would be seen again. ...

It took two weeks to photograph the tapestries. When the job was done, every thread in every tile was crystal-clear, and the individual twisted strands that made up individual threads were often visible, too. The data for the digital images, which consisted entirely of numbers, filled more than two hundred CDs. With other, smaller works of art, Bridgers and her team had been able to load digital tiles into a computer’s hard drives and memory, and then manipulate them into a complete mosaic—into a seamless image—using Adobe Photoshop software. But with the tapestries that simply wouldn’t work. When they tried to assemble the tiles, they found that the files were too large and too complex to manage. ...

Perfect GHD online sell, many kinds of hair straighteners provided. Cheap price and good service waiting for you. GHD straightners bring you ever-changing styles and give you more wonderful enjoy.Please login http://www.ghdoutlet-au.com,, we are always welcome your coming !
ghdoutlet-au () (URL) - 04 06 10 - 22:14

Many people like to do sports not only the boys, now there are also many girls like to do sports. MBT anti shoes play a very key role in enhancing the appearances of the person wearing them. MBT chapa shoes activate more muscles than normal shoes because the rockers simulates an uneven surface. So it is like walking on grass or sand. We will give you the best price. Our MBT shoes discount are all of top quality. And any problem, we can negotiate it. Believe that we will have a good business in the future. http://www.mbtcheapshoes.com
mbt shoes sale () (URL) - 04 21 10 - 09:37

Paul Smith clothing.Most of men want to have it, Fashionable design, never out of style http://www.paulsmiths-outlet.com..
paul smith clothing (URL) - 05 01 10 - 22:02

I’m a little late finding this article, but I loved it.

As we know, [url http://www.eyewear-rayban.com]raybanrayban sunglasses[/url] are loved by more and more people, and everyone would like to have a pair of comfortable ray ban aviator,save up to 47%.welcome to http://www.eyewear-rayban.com
[url http://www.eyewear-rayban.com/ray-ban-20..ray ban aviator[/url],[url http://www.eyewear-rayban.com]rayray ban wayfarer[/url]
cheap ray ban,
new ray ban
rayban sunglasses () (URL) - 05 13 10 - 23:14

technology http://www.sellnikesbs.com/ develops, people’s living standards improve, people increasingly value the quality of life, of course, this also includes food and clothing and so on. This is mainly manifested in the form of the stress on the wear is, such as shoes: we all have hobbies http://www.salesmbt.com pursue their favorite http://www.selluggsboots.com/tory-burch-..
ugg boots () (URL) - 05 14 10 - 02:10

http://www.sneakerslike.com/adidas-shoes.. http://www.bayuggboots.com/ugg-classic-t.. http://www.uggkissyou.com
Cheap Ugg Boots () (URL) - 05 15 10 - 04:31

Domenico Dolce,1958 the year is born in Sicily, then study is the designer since childhood in father’s clothing store; Has Venice blood relationship Stefano Gabbana, was born in 1962 in Milan. At the same time them holds the post in Milan designs the assistant to become a buddhist get to know, because to the Baroque artistic style’s affection, two people decided similarly opens the brand together the name union. in 1985, Dolce & Gabbana the female attire publication which will conduct for the first time in Milan will receive the high praise greatly, has established the greatest confidence for them http://www.coachofnewyork.com/

http://www.handbags-style.com/ http://www.coachgoods.com/ http://www.ilikejordan.com/
deleted () - 05 24 10 - 01:24

Domenico Dolce,1958 the year is born in Sicily, then study is the designer since childhood in father’s clothing store; Has Venice blood relationship Stefano Gabbana, was born in 1962 in Milan. At the same time them holds the post in Milan designs the assistant to become a buddhist get to know, because to the Baroque artistic style’s affection, two people decided similarly opens the brand together the name union. in 1985, Dolce & Gabbana the female attire publication which will conduct for the first time in Milan will receive the high praise greatly, has established the greatest confidence for them http://www.coachofnewyork.com/

http://www.handbags-style.com/ http://www.coachgoods.com/
deleted () - 05 24 10 - 01:25

Birkenstock is a German brand of sandals and other shoes, notable for their contoured cork and rubber footbeds which conform somewhat to the shape of their wearers’ feet. Birkenstock shoes have deep heel cup to ensure proper weght distribution and foot alignment. You can wear Birkenstock sandals to everywhere you want to. Latest Birkenstocks are on nearly 50% discount in now. Free shipping worldwide! http://www.digdig-birkenstock.com birkenstock shoes http://www.digdig-birkenstock.com birkenstock http://www.digdig-birkenstock.com birkenstock sandals http://www.digdig-birkenstock.com birkenstocks
birkenstock () (URL) - 06 09 10 - 02:10

Thanks for this post. http://www.topedhardy.co.uk
ed hardy swimwear uk () (URL) - 06 12 10 - 02:02

Thanks of your infomation,i have read it is very helpful for me. http://www.finesale.net nike shoes http://www.nike-air-force-1.com nike air force 1 http://www.buynikeshox.com nike shox
nike shoes () (URL) - 06 17 10 - 20:11

Welcome to the MBT Shoes Sale Store at http://www.MbtShoesStorm.com – Buy the entire collection of MBT Shoes, Free Shipping, No Tax, Save 30-60% Off, Low price guarantee on all MBT Shoes for Women and Men are Provided In http://www.mbtshoesstorm.com , you maybe also like air max shoes, please visit: http://www.airmaxstorm.com
http://www.mbtshoesstorm.com () (URL) - 07 05 10 - 00:00

Welcome to the Discount Jean Shop store at http://www.discountjeanshop.com ,there are some kinds of jeans we offer to you, su[[ly high quality,low price and best service,for more informations,you can visit our shop.
discount jean shop () (URL) - 07 10 10 - 02:12

Don’t get how to format your research paper? Bother no more and simply buy custom research papers. [url http://www.keepbrands.com/]mbtmbt shoes on sale[/url]Experts will be able to do everything according to your requirements
[URL http://www.leadbrandstore.com/coach-hand..coach handbags[/URL]
ecco shoes clearance () (URL) - 07 31 10 - 04:24

there are more and more people choose [url http://www.mbt-usa.com/mbt-habari-sandal..mbt sandals[/url] as their summer shoes,[url http://www.mbt-usa.com/] mbt[/url] is the speical shoes , the different design for [url http://www.mbt-usa.com/]mbtmbt shoes usa[/url] gain high reputation.
mbt () (URL) - 08 31 10 - 02:35

Very pleased to be here.
royalsneakers () (URL) - 09 01 10 - 03:57

No trackback:

Trackback link: