Conserving the King Arthur Tapestry

Follow the conservation treatment of “King Arthur” from the “Nine Heroes Tapestries” series, among the oldest in The Met’s collection. The tapestry had not been treated since 1949, when it first came into The Met’s collection. Watch as conservators clean, stabilize, and reweave fragile areas of the work, finally reinstalling it at The Cloisters where it is now on view in gallery 18.
Featuring:
Kathrin Colburn, Kisook Suh, Anna Szalecki, Janina Poskrobko
Featured Artwork:
www.metmuseum.org/art/collect...
King Arthur (from the Nine Heroes Tapestries), ca. 1400. South Netherlandish. Wool warp, wool wefts, Overall (King Arthur (2a, f)): 168 × 117 in. (426.7 × 297.2 cm); Overall (Hebrew Worthies (2b, c, and h)): 168 × 250 in. (426.7 × 635 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Munsey Fund, 1932; Gift of John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1947 (32.130.3a; 47.101.4)
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[@stephenrgis]

Thank you for this wonderful video. Every visit to The Cloisters is very special for me, and watching this makes me want to return as soon as possible. I love the brilliant observation about "medieval pointillism," which perfectly captures what is so special about these tapestries. I hope there will be more films about your outstanding collection.

[@KrisRyanStallard]

I would have been happy with a longer and more detailed video. This is fascinating!

[@king0baka]

I am so proud of everyone involved in conserving these amazing pieces. These women are truly masters! Thank you Met for showing us their expertise! Can't wait to see more

[@skycloud4802]

I don't think these professionals get enough credit and exposure. It's very important work and so valuable in preserving history.

[@vernonbowling5136]

Imagine having the skills to weave such masterpieces.

[@sometimessiri.8559]

After seeing pictures of the unicorn tapestries in books as a kid it was always a dream of mine to see them in real life. On my first visit to NYC about 10 years ago I was able to visit this amazing museum and see them up close - thanks in part to the team behind the scenes who takes care of such treasures so they can be enjoyed now and hopefully years in the future. Edit: I know the video is about a different set of tapestries but the same sentiment applies. I'm a bit of a medieval nerd and this entire museum was right up my alley and one of the most fascinating places I've visited.

[@jakemoeller7850]

Very enjoyable short video. I could have watched more, especially the repair.

[@sobahmk]

I hope I’m able to conserve something of this importance some day ❤️

[@victoriadiesattheend.8478]

I wish I could have spent my life working in conservation. I never knew how to go about even beginning to learn or get an education in such a skill. It's just such fascinating, absorbing and rewarding work.

[@HKogen]

the happy faces of the two conservationists in the end is the best reward for such a meticulous work.

[@Ellieways]

Hope you all will keep us updated on the restoration of the other pieces as well!! 😄😁🙌

[@williamparker1085]

always strikes me how some people, like these and archeologists have a real passion for their chosen fields.......most of us never find this level of passion over our careers

[@melissamoonchild9216]

many people arent fortunate enough to find careers fitting their passions

[@annrotunno6791]

This was facinating. Thank you for taking the time to capture this process.

[@laracraft82]

Incredible work as just the cleaning alone would take so much organising as shown in the video. Fantastic how the older teach the youth and pass on those skills love to see this, which this happened much more often in the heritage skills but glad it is coming back a little bit now 😀❤️

[@NathanS__]

Wow that's amazing. I would have never guessed that the tapestry would be submerged like that for cleaning. And now I want tapestry curtains.

[@merlinthegray]

thank you for your work!

[@hd6mc7]

한국인이 영상에서 일하시는 걸 보니 저도 동기부여가 되요!!! 너무 멋지세요!!❤ And thank you for this wonderful video❤❤

[@2002yannick1]

great work gang

[@kathyjoklassen]

WoWzA ‼️ Just Fantabulous work❣️

[@mjdayetube]

Thank you for your diligence in this field.

[@franzrogar]

Wonderful work. Personally, I'd love to see in the missing parts a trace of the missing structures to facilitate the reading of the overall tapestry; something that it is sometimes done with mosaic lacunae.

[@barrymoore4470]

That's actually a good idea, and much to be preferred to any attempt to replace the missing portions with new materials. There seems to be a current preference for leaving lacunae in an ancient artifact blank, and inviting or compelling the viewer to make sense of the object knowing that some of the original visual coherence has been lost and must be imagined or inferred.

[@franzrogar]

@@barrymoore4470 even though you (the "restorer" in this case) might choose to do so (like done here), there's a huge problem in this specific case leaving the "visual coherence ... lost ... [to] be imagined or inferred" and that's having figures "floating" in the space (the ones in the "top floor"), thus rendering the original author intention moot and aggravating the concept further: it's not enough to have been destroyed (from tapestry to curtains) but not be allowed to reintegrate the overall structure... IMHO. I'd prefered something like the British Museum did to the Vulture Peak tapestry: tinting the lacunae to ease the overall reading, rather than the unmatched color.

[@DavidMavilio]

Well Done, thank you for sharing

[@secretbeach999]

Awesome. Thank you for your work.

[@SpanishEclectic]

An amazing series of tapestries. It's great to see them conserved, and preserved for people to enjoy in the future. They could have been so easily lost to fire or damaged during a war during their long existence. I'll have to come and see them in person. Thank you for your hard but careful work.

[@susantaylor5068]

Wonderful exhibition selecting such diverse paintings - Luved it thank you 😊

[@skpjoecoursegold366]

looks good.

[@viktoriaszima9149]

Congratulation 👏🥂

[@MrBrownnn696]

Very cool video….

[@robertafierro5592]

This is SO INTERESTING I'm watching it a 2nd time!

[@risk5riskmks93]

Never occurred to me it would be washed with soap and water. Amazing.

[@zhisu2665]

how stunning it would have looked when it was first created

[@JoshuaRastia]

I know it has to be done…but something about seeing a 600 year old tapestry getting washed down with a garden hose like a dirty throw rug hurts my brain 😅

[@robertafierro5592]

Id like to see this museum go back to the SUGGESTED admission price. They are separating the classes of people who wish to share the experiences but don't have the money to do so. ART is for everyone, not just the well off..

[@blaquemoonmajesty33]

Art and Knowledge should be acceptable to everyone. It is human heritage of earth. ❤ so I agree 😊

[@concretemode]

For NY, NJ CT residents, it's pay what you wish.

[@EliF-ge5bu]

It is a not a public museum so they have to raise funds to be able to do all of these wonderful work. While the collection is owned by the museum, the building is owned by the City of New York and the city also contributes to the utilities. As part of the arrangement with the City, the museum offers a pay as you wish to residents of New York State, and to students in from New Jersey and Connecticut.

[@ABC1701A]

You have to PAY to visit your museums?????????????? Wow

[@robertafierro5592]

@@concretemode only the Met has gone back to suggested admission. ALL THE OTHERS are very pricey to look up. Again, it's only the Met that has gone back to suggested admission.

[@TiredMomma]

Why are the fabrics not placed on a mesh like covered table that creates gentle vibrations to loosen dirt, skin, dust particles? You wouldn't have to flip it over during the cleaning process.

[@lfeb]

The water is crystal clear, was it really dirty?

[@theresamay9481]

The video doesn't mention the history of the tapestries and I couldn't locate this information online. neither does the Met website. Can you provide a link?

[@DavidMavilio]

Do you worry about dye migration (bleeding) when submerging this piece?

[@DavidMavilio]

Love the work BTW

[@patrickmcdonough5311]

Codex of kelts .. holy grail

[@jasminespencer3992]

When the tapestry was new, would it have been cleaned every year or something like that? And would they have done it in a similar way and a huge tray of water?

[@DrDingsGaster]

Probably not?

[@jasminespencer3992]

@@DrDingsGaster I get the idea you’re not an expert. I doubt it as well but they must’ve cleaned it because they wouldn’t want something dirty hanging on their wall because all the colors would get dark.

[@sonjasleeper1511]

How did they acquire them? After the war?

[@payteeohehn9229]

Is there a specific type of soap used to clean the tapestries? My immediate thought was that it was dish soap!

[@allanforget985]

Why did the tapestries leave Normandy ??

[@DevonaRavenhold]

This is a tapestry that looks as though it should have been if not was previously woven with thread of gold and silver. Did you find that to be the case, and what would it take to bring it back to its as near to original state as possible?

[@hulkhogansuperfan]

how long untill they tear this down?

[@patrickmcdonough5311]

St .. patrick best friend

[@stefanwild326]

[@ivanolsen7966]

insulation ?....

[@bookofdust]

Nicely done! Are there no males who work in textiles conservation?

[@tayfreeman7920]

It’s almost certainly a female dominated industry but I’m sure there are some dudes who do it as well

[@metmuseum]

The Department of Textile Conservation is currently a women-led department!

[@themanwhoknewtoomuch6667]

@@metmuseum OH no!

[@michelnowe7783]

What is the purpose of the loud music ? - Did you listen to your video ? - Do you really think that loud music helps to understand the video ???

[@rossroderickwhitney]

The video is overwhelmed by completely unnecessary and loud music. Beyond that, both of the women speakers speak with a heavy accent. So if communication of their messages was really important to the Met filmmakers, they've defeated their own purpose to a significant extent.

[@themanwhoknewtoomuch6667]

Let's see your accent. My office. By 5 pm today.

[@GGhazalGh]

It’s my dream to work there with your talented group 🥹❤️

[@SquidzitAce]

Not a very diverse team.

[@Alloneword-cp2xw]

🥱

[@dl7596]

Do you want diversity or quality?

[@Rasenganplanet]

Not diverse enough. Remove it.

[@billstevens3796]

Why play loud music during the narration? WHY? The music makes this unwatchable.