Fibres and textiles

This intervention reflects on the opportunities for textile art, and its exhibition and making, to inform our study of conflict, violence, and resistance in International Relations. In a dialogue drawing on the Threads, War and Conflict exhibition at the Byre Theatre, St Andrews, this piece grounds our understanding of violence and its resistance through engagement with materials displayed at and promoting the exhibition. Our discussion of the exhibition and its associated events draws on metaphors of thread-work to explore the contributions of textile to international relations and the possibilities that textiles’ material, affective and transgressive politics hold.

This international conference aims to investigate how smart textiles are through time, from Antiquity to our contemporary world. Indeed, how, why and in which extent clothes and textiles have been used and are still used as an extension, development and augmentation of human identity, intelligence, and physical capacities? How does this impact and what does this require in terms of production, consumption and use? The event is thought as an exploratory fruitful dialogue between research on ancient textiles production and use, and research on modern textile performance and clothes properties, resistance, and consumption. It also builds on the exceptional history of textile production, groundbreaking research and innovation that have been at the heart of the French region Hauts-de-France for centuries.

Summary: The British Museum houses a significant collection of organic material from prehistoric Swiss lake dwellings (c.4000 to 500 bc) excavated in the late nineteenth century. The waterlogged, anaerobic, alkaline burial environment provided conditions suitable for the preservation of a range of organic materials including many textiles. The textiles, which represent a range of techniques and include fine complex weaves, netting and skeins, largely remain as treated at the time of excavation. Recent assessment of the condition of this textile collection, with a view to improving the storage and display of these rare survivals, has allowed nineteenth-century approaches to the recovery, treatment, mounting and display of archaeological materials to be documented. The collection has been rehoused in a suitable standardized storage system, preserving the original and highly informative historic mounts. Some of the textiles remain, however, at risk due to acidic mounting materials, broken glass or the fragments being insecure in their frames. The opportunity was also taken to assess the potential of this historic textile collection for detailed investigation, including fibre identification, technological study and dye analysis. A range of analytical techniques was employed, including macroscopic analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Weave analysis and technological classification of the textiles was possible, even for textiles still in their original mounts. Many of the textiles showed signs of early consolidation and the presence of detrital material but, using SEM, fibre identification was possible in every sample examined. This demonstrated the use of flax fibres (Linum usitatissimum), lime/ linden (Tilia sp.) bast fibres and lime/linden bark showing various degrees of processing. The majority of the fibres examined showed evidence for low temperature or incomplete charring. Using FTIR a range of consolidants has been identified, including natural resins and a carbohydrate material, possibly a gum or sugar solution. The chemical condition of some of the fibres, determined by Raman spectroscopy, and the presence of consolidants and other detrital material, suggests that potential dye analysis and other forms of (bio)molecular analysis could be compromised for some of the collection. The results of this pilot study will guide the future conservation strategy for this historic collection and allow informed decisions to be made regarding future access for technical and scientific study.