Seminar: "Textile degradation in indoor cultural heritage" by Pauline Uring, LISA UMR 7583 CNRS

Textile degradation in indoor cultural heritage

Tapestries, embroideries, upholsteries, curtains, clothes: many artefacts preserved in museums and historic monuments are made of textile. Unfortunately, natural fibers are fragile organic materials and many factors like light and airborne pollutants can lead to their degradation. Dust in particular is of great concern for textile conservators since their cleaning is delicate.
The specific role of gaseous pollutants and deposited particles in the degradation of textiles has to be defined to ensure the best preservation conditions of these works of art. To address these issues, a specific method was developed, combining in-situ analyses and laboratory experiments.  
I will focus on presenting the specificities of cultural heritage environments and their impact on textile degradation, studied through artificial ageing in a dedicated environmental chamber.

Bio: Pauline Uring is currently a PhD candidate at the LISA (Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques, UMR 7583 CNRS – University Paris Est and Paris Diderot) in Créteil, France. She focuses on textile degradation in indoor cultural heritage monuments due to airborne pollutants. She studied physics and environmental sciences in Paris. She also has a BA in history of art from the École du Louvre.