The conservation and restoration of textiles have been a key mission of the Abegg-Stiftung ever since its founding fifty years ago. Elaborate measures are often required before historical textiles can be durably preserved and their beauty fully appreciated when they go on show. The paramount goal is always to conserve what is there, even if that means leaving alterations and signs of age and wear clearly legible.
The Abegg-Stiftung’s special exhibition 2017 is dedicated to methods of analysing and treating textile works of art and explains what these can tell us about the production, function and history of such works. At the heart of the exhibition are medieval textiles from Central Asia and China, here presented to the public for the first time.