Saturday, May 2, 2015

“Fragments – a Stepchild in a Museum’s Display?”

with

Anna Beselin

Senior Carpet and Textile Conservator,

 Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin

Very often examples of old, or extremely antique, carpets and textiles are found only in fragmentary form, rather than in their complete and original format.  This talk will focus on the role of fragments in museum exhibitions.  In most exhibitions one sees carpets that are more or less complete or largely restored.  However, although rarely seen, fragments can be as beautiful and sometimes even more meaningful than complete carpets.  Why do curators have difficulties showing them? This talk will cover problems associated with exhibiting fragments, as well as solutions showing how conservation and presentation concepts can facilitate the understanding of fragments.

After several internships at Museums in Berlin and Turkey, Anna Beselin started to work as a textile conservator at the Gallery Spuhler - Gallery for Islamic Art in Berlin.  During her 10-year career she furthered her studies and finished a master’s degree in European Art History / Medieval History Studies.  Her thesis focused on “Oriental Carpets in European Paintings.”  Since 2001, Anna has worked as a full time textile conservator at the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, looking after more than 1300 carpets and textiles.  In 2012 she became the Senior Textile Conservator responsible for the new workshop and storage of the museum, opened in 2012. As the head of the textile conservation department, Anna is now in charge of the conservation, restoration and installation of the objects for the new permanent exhibition, which is to be opened in 2020.  Her visit today is thanks to an ACOR Overseas Travel Grant.  Anna invites TMA/SC members to bring examples of carpet & textile fragments for show & tell.