AIC's 47th Annual Meeting

This paper presents two results of interdisciplinary collaborations between professionals from different areas in the field of conservation of cultural assets and evidence of fruitful results. It is necessary to contextualize some points related to this investigation: the Rui Barbosa Historic House Museum is a division of the Casa de Rui Barbosa Foundation, a Brazilian federal institution linked to the Ministry of Culture located in the city of Rio de Janeiro/RJ. In 2016, a Scientific Initiation Fellowship was created and named “The kimonos of Maria Augusta Rui Barbosa: research, conservation and access to the public.”

The scope of the grant included activities such as cataloging revision, nomenclature, construction of preliminary biography of Maria Augusta Rui Barbosa, wife of the patron, conservation processes and exhibition. These last two procedures are the focus of this presentation. For the proper accomplishment of conservation strategies, it was first necessary to understand the materiality of these garments. The deep study and knowledge of textile engineering are not usually part of the conservation’s expertise, and it is necessary to engage a qualified professional in the area, found in the Brazilian private institution Technology Center of the Chemical and Textile Industry. Two professionals trained in chemical engineering and garment production technology assisted in the production of a technological product that presents results of fabric typologies, embroidery and applications (both material and technical), justifications, organoleptic exams and microscopic examinations, thus obtaining scientific results that aid in the proper process of packaging and preservation. The other collaboration involved professionals from artistic and heritage fields. The conservation examinations proved that it was impossible to expose these parts, both in the mannequin and in the horizontal showcase, due to its advanced state of degradation. A methodology was then devised to allow the display of this collection, without affecting the materiality of these textiles. To achieve this goal, the technology became a strong ally. The production of high-quality photographs by the field professional was then made using the 360º technique, which consists of assembling the piece on top of a rotating base, the base will be moved, allowing frames in all possible positions of the clothing. Furthermore, the frames were mounted on a video. In the case of kimonos, a factory mannequin was used, adjusted with the advent of mannequinage. This photography technique allows visualization at all angles, thus preserving the three-dimensionality and the collection since it will remain conditioned and monitored in the technical reserve. Thus, it becomes possible to continue the exposure, without harming their physical conditions. In addition to the presentation of the results of the research and the presentation of both the technological product and the video production process, this paper shows how collaboration with allied professional fields influences the processes, dynamics and innovations of conservation, thus allowing a treatment that focuses in methodologies, that offers a product of continuous research and exhibition and also the verification of the importance of the interdisciplinary work between the areas, that, somehow, are concerned with the preservation of memory and history.