Issues associated with conservation of a medieval chasuble with embroidered orphrey from St. Mary’s church in Gdańsk, currently in textiles collection of the National Museum in Gdańsk

Condition of the chasuble was exceptionally bad, the orphrey was detached from the chasuble, and velvet fabric was considered deteriorated – the chasuble left unprotected would undoubtedly be destroyed completely within several years. Undertaking the task of conservation, I had to demonstrate many skills, precision, and above all patience, as conservation measures used to secure and strengthen the velvet fabric of chasuble were difficult, time-consuming tasks, requiring concentration. Conservation not only enabled saving a precious medieval chasuble, but also restored its original form thanks to re-attachment of the orphrey. Conservation works on the object allowed me to further my knowledge in the field of design and execution of medieval textiles and embroidery, I got acquainted with methods of textile conservation and selected the most appropriate one to protect the velvet fabric of the chasuble. As part of my Master’s thesis I conducted a detailed analysis of how the embroidered orphrey of the chasuble was made and on that basis I developed a research methodology for medieval embroidery from the collection of Gdańsk. As part of theoretical study I conducted a comparative analysis of technology and technique of twelve embroidered vestments.