The preservation and conservation of grave textiles from the St. Teresa of Avila cathedral crypt in Požega

Matošević, Vanesa. (2018). The preservation and conservation of grave textiles from the St. Teresa of Avila cathedral crypt in Požega. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Art History. [mentor Bralić, Višnja and Jurić, Zlatko].

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Abstract

Grave textiles offer a rare view into perceptions of life and death, textile trade and type of clothing used in a particular area at a particular time in history. One such rare example was found in the St. Theresa of Avila cathedral crypt in Požega, where both clergy members and prominent citizens of Požega from the 18th and 19th century were buried. Of the 546 individuals buried in the crypt, most were mummified and thus their garments were perfectly preserved as well. The dresses were found in such an excellent condition that it was decided to conserve, restore and exhibit them for the general public. This is rather unusual for grave textiles, which we found out through a comparison with three other similar examples of grave textile sites: Spitalfields (United Kingdom), North Brisbane (Australia) and Ostrobothnia (Finland). Due to different levels of preservation (mostly worse than those found in Požega), different approaches and goals were chosen, so the grave textiles were not restored in neither of the three cases.

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