Zprávy památkové péče 2020, 80(2):174-184 | DOI: 10.56112/zpp.2020.2.04

Liturgical textile and its restoration. The beginnings of textile restoration in the period from the late 1950s to the early 1970s

Markéta Grill Janatová

UPM

The development of collecting in the 19th century also focused on historical liturgical clothing and textiles which had lost their original function as a part of the liturgy and were rather appreciated for their artistic and craft qualities. The recognition of the heritage value of liturgical textiles led to the realization of the urgent need to change the approach to their care, including repairs. The workshops of women's monasteries had been the traditional place where liturgical garments were repaired, then the production of paraments was later added in the 19th century. The renovations carried out here were intended to bring the garments back into use in the liturgy, but the possible artistic value of the fabric was largely not taken into account. At the beginning of the 20th century, a workshop was established in Stockholm promoting a professional approach to the care of historical textiles, including liturgical textiles. After the Second World War, European museums established their own textile restoration workshops. In the Czech environment, this field was established and developed in the second half of the 1950s following the adoption of the necessary laws. In the early 1950s, the state stepped up its activities against churches and religious communities, resulting in the confiscation of religious property and a number of high-quality liturgical textiles passing into the administration of state institutions. The restoration of arts and crafts, including historical textiles, was under the auspices of the Restoration Commission of the Czech Association of Fine Artists. The first workers Marie Štěpánková-Moudrá and Božena Rothmayerová Horneková, both graduates of the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design, and who already had a rich career in the field of textile art, specialized in textile restoration. Restoration contracts came mainly from state institutions, heritage care centers, and museums. The reasons for the restorations was the reinstallation of heritage property interiors or preparation for a new exhibition. Liturgical textiles were abundant among the restored textiles. At Prague Castle, a reinstallation was being prepared for the treasure of the Church of St. Vitus, for which medieval liturgical garments were restored in the 1960s. Marie Štěpánková-Moudrá restored the chasubles which were traditionally associated with the figures of St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert. Textile relics were also restored, including a supposed veil of the Virgin Mary and a tablecloth used during the Last Supper of the Lord. Liturgical textiles and clothes from the treasury and the Cathedral of St. Vitus were gradually restored in the 1970s as well. For the purposes of an exhibition, the National Gallery had the most important High Gothic liturgical embroidery restored on the Rokycanská and Broumovská chasubles, with the latter being transferred from the Benedictine Monastery in Břevnov to the collections of the Museum of Applied Arts in Prague. The National Heritage Institute had the Hasištejn-Lobkowitz pearl altar restored, and a set of paraments from Karlštejn Castle and liturgical textile heritage items from other buildings were restored. A considerable number of realized orders for the restoration of liturgical textiles indicate that the activities of the Czech Fund of Fine Artists were governed by a purely professional point of view. This was possible only thanks to the efforts of professionals from among the heritage care and museum community.

Keywords: liturgical textile, monastery workshops, Christian Academy in Prague, textile restoration, Czech Fund of Fine Artists, Marie Štěpánková-Moudrá, Božena Rothmayerová Horneková, Blanka Klosová, Jarmila Sikytová

Published: June 1, 2020  Show citation