Museum Catharijneconvent
Saving valuable ecclesiastical textiles
Ecclesiastical garments dating from the 17th and 18th centuries represent enormous cultural value. They reveal a great deal about the religious, social and political artistic developments of the time. But these delicate textiles are extremely fragile. Museum Catharijneconvent is committed to saving this cultural heritage.
The museum already has several 17th- and 18th-century masterpieces in the collection, but many of them remain tucked away in various churches. The conditions of storage there are often unsatisfactory. Light, moisture and insects may damage this cultural heritage irreparably. Furthermore, these places of storage are disappearing because of secularisation, which means that more and more churches and monasteries are being used for other purposes. That is why, they are looking for more suitable places to preserve these textiles, together with, for instance, their monumental statues and paintings.
Careful selection
However, many museum repositories are filled to the brim. And storing everything for all eternity is not feasible. Therefore, Museum Catharijneconvent will work with a committee of experts to determine the best possible approach to selecting church textiles. For instance, how rare a certain piece is. How important is its artistic and cultural-historical value? Would it be possible to exhibit the item? And how to deal with the items which cannot be stored in a museum?
Fashion for God
It has already become clear that the public are curious about these rare exhibits, evidenced during the hugely popular and highly acclaimed Fashion for God exhibition. Many rare robes dating from the 17th and 18th centuries belonging to the Old Catholic Church were on display.