An internship at Zenzie Tinker Conservation by MPhil Textile Conservation student Jessica Hay
From May to August 2024, I had the opportunity to intern at the Zenzie Tinker Conservation studio as part of my student placement on the MPhil Textile Conservation course at the University of Glasgow. Being able to spend a significant amount of time with the team in Brighton was incredibly exciting and instrumental in shaping my approach to textile conservation. Now back in full swing at the University for my final year, I am reflecting on my experience and the projects I was involved in at the studio.
Over the placement, I was involved with many conservation projects. I worked with the team on studio projects and sitework, which were welcomed opportunities to widen my understanding of the role of textile conservation beyond an academic and practical perspective. As there are far too many experiences to discuss in a single blog post, I will focus on two projects: mounting a house coat and a military tunic.
Dame Margaret Greville’s House Coat
When I arrived at the studio I was shown a blue silk ermine fur lined Chinese house coat that needed mounting for display. The house coat had come from Polesden Lacey, a National Trust property in Surrey, last owned by Margaret Greville. Born in 1863, Margaret Greville was an affluent socialite who hosted politicians and royalty at Polesden from 1900 to the 1940s. Aside from its beautiful blue damask silk featuring a swirling dragon design, white fur, and reflection of 1920s Western fashion influenced by Chinese costume, the coat is hugely significant to the National Trust as it is the only surviving piece of costume belonging to Greville.
The Trust were looking to have an invisible mount made to display the coat in the property for upcoming exhibitions. I was incredibly excited by this project due to the challenges of mounting a loose fitting garment and the opportunity to refine my mount making skills. The coat was in a stable condition overall, however the fur lining had begun to shed. The mount needed to reduce any potential friction against the fur through the use of materials and removable arms.
When mounting fashion and costume, many approaches can be taken to accentuate physical features and social or cultural biographies of a garment. Deciding on a corporeal or non-figurative mount is a decision that is determined on the physical possibilities of the garment and the curatorial interpretation. In this case it was decided, with the curators at the National Trust, that a mannequin would be the right approach as it would reflect how the coat was worn. It therefore became important that perspective of presentation, pose, and anatomy, were carefully considered in order to refrain from the garment looking ‘inauthentic’. A distracting mount can easily take away from the experience of an exhibition and impact a viewer’s interpretation.
The physical mounting process involved altering and building up a mannequin using polyester wadding to create a stable and supportive mount. Net ruffles were used to fill out the shape of the coat without creating a structure too rigid underneath. The shoulders proved to be the most challenging aspect requiring lots of discussions and repeatedly standing back from the mannequin and assessing the created shape. The mannequin was covered with a silk cover allowing the coat to be slid on and off without the fur catching against a fabric with a coarser nap.
The experience allowed me to consider approaches to mounting for garments with materiality challenges, such as shedding fur and a loose fitting shape, as well as balancing curatorial interpretation. I want to thank Jamie for all her advice while she worked alongside me on her own mounting project. Being able to see Jamie’s approach was extremely insightful; her thoughtful decisions regarding poses and angles of mannequins brought garments to life and demonstrated the importance of storytelling through mounting.
Scots Guards Military Uniform
While working on the house coat, I also conserved and mounted a WWII Scots Guards military ceremonial tunic belonging to a private client. The tunic, once worn by the client’s grandfather, was intended for display in their home. My aim was to clean and stabilise the tunic in preparation for its custom mount. Overall, the tunic was in stable condition aside from the linen sleeve lining and wool torso lining which had significant wear under the arms, causing the seams to separate and expose the fraying wool.
The treatment began with a localised wet clean of the cream wool trim on the exterior of the tunic, which had a mottled brown discoloration. By controlling the process using a cotton wool swab and blotting paper, I was able to reduce the appearance of the staining and brighten the wool. The tunic was then dry cleaned using solvents, a process allowing soiling to be removed without impacting the object dimensions – a crucial and sensitive decision for wool which can readily shrink in warm water conditions!
Following this process, I focused on the underarms to support the worn wool lining and reattach the sleeves to the main body of the tunic. The wool had worn away from the arm lining, necessitating a patch support to strengthen the area and bring it closer to the seam. Inserting the support fabric along the curved underarm was challenging, but worn underarms are a common issue in costume, and the skills I have developed in aligning fabric will greatly benefit my future conservation treatments. Once the wool lining was secured to the support fabric using couching stitches, I was able to rejoin the arm and tunic linings carefully using the original stitch holes. To prevent further mechanical wear on the wool, I applied a protective net overlay.
The next stage was to construct a mount for the tunic. Unlike the house coat, the tunic did not require a mannequin, as it would be displayed inside a box frame. Instead, I created a ‘flat mount,’ which was inserted into the tunic’s main body and featured padded arms secured at the shoulders. This method added dimension to the tunic without requiring a bulky internal support. To secure the tunic without causing permanent alterations, it was mounted using magnets attached to a large padded board.
This project provided an excellent opportunity to consolidate and expand my practical conservation skills through cleaning, stitching, and mounting. I particularly enjoyed the challenge of stitching the underarm supports – a task that was both technically demanding and an opportunity to explore the construction of the tunic in detail, following the original maker’s intentions and processes with an intimacy that is often only the conservator’s privilege to experience.
Other Internship Highlights…
In fear of this blog post turning into a lengthy essay, I will wrap up by highlighting a few of the other experiences I had. During my time at the studio, many larger projects were happening which I was able to assist on. I wet cleaned a number of textiles, including a WWII British ensign, a wedding veil, a christening gown, and a chintz. I carried out condition assessments at Bloomberg London for large jacquard-woven textiles, and Zenzie and I assessed the Vickers 1103 VC10 ‘Sultan of Oman’ plane at Brooklands Museum – a bizarre yet exciting location to carry out a condition assessment that I still often think about! I visited the Royal Courts of Justice to carry out preventive conservation and had multiple opportunities at Intoart in London, where I rolled large printed textiles for storage, mounted costumes for photography, and created a mount for their subsequent costume exhibition.
Each of these experiences has refined my approach as a conservator, enhancing both my technical skills and my ability to think creatively when faced with unique challenges. They have given me invaluable insight into the collaborative nature of the ZTC studio, amongst the team and with clients, and the importance of tailoring solutions to meet the specific needs of every object and context. I cannot thank Zenzie and the rest of the team enough for welcoming me into the studio and sharing their expertise and time with me. Discussions about treatment options, conservation ethics and the nuance of private practice have highlighted the complexities of decision-making in the field. I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from such skilled professionals, work on exciting studio and remote projects, and for all the advice that everyone shared with me.