[MR] The Unicorn Tapestries (Fwd: [SCA_NaturalDyes] Digest Number 979)

[SNSpies at aol.com]

Great  story.  Had to share.  The people who got to be in on this  project
must have really been living  right.

Cassandra
>
> >  http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/050411fa_fact
>  >
> > One heck of a story on several levels. Here's a hook-like  excerpt:
> >
> > The Unicorn tapestries are considered by  many to be the most
> > beautiful tapestries in existence. They are  also among the great work
> > of art of any kind...
>  >
> > ...In the wet lab, a team of textile conservators led by a  woman
> > named Kathrin Colburn unpacked the tapestries and spread  them out
> > face down on a large table, one by one. At some point,  the backs of
> > the tapestries had been covered with linen. The  backings, which
> > protect the tapestries and help to support them  when they hang on a
> > wall, were turning brown and brittle, and had  to be replaced. Using
> > tweezers and magnifying lenses, Colburn and  her team delicately
> > removed the threads that held each backing in  place. As the
> > conservators lifted the backing away, inch by inch,  they felt a
> > growing sense of awe. The backs were almost perfect  mirror images of
> > the fronts, but the colors were  different...