Xavier Aure from the Centre for Print Research has been awarded fellowship funding through the “AHRC research, development and engagement fellowships: early career researchers route” from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for a project which will bring together advanced imaging techniques and digital fabrication technologies to contribute to the conservation, study, and presentation of historic textile collections.
The research project will work with the collection of Stuart embroideries at The Holburne Museum in Bath, alongside the curatorial and digital learning teams to contribute to the understanding of the stumpwork embroideries’ manufacture and conservation while providing new avenues for engagement and overcome the glass box experience.
Using the collection of Stuart embroideries as a case study, the project will aim to develop a novel methodology for accurate image-based 3D capture of fragile textiles using a combination of computational photographic techniques often applied separately in other heritage fields.
The research will further exploit the data produced to facilitate both visual and tactile engagement with the materiality and making of delicate historic textiles. Fragile embroidered textiles require protection from overexposure and control of environmental conditions to avert deterioration and enclosed display cases provide the necessary measures to protect such historic textiles but obstruct access and reduce the possibilities for interpretation and engagement.
Xavier has previously been involved in the digitisation of artworks for the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Guildhall Art Gallery, and the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, and collaborated with the Museum of Bristol to generate a 3D model for the BBC Civilisations AR app.
He also worked with the Woburn Abbey Collection and the Holburne Museum in Bath to display the results of the 3D digitisation of an 18th century painting by the famous Italian artist Canaletto for an exhibition in 2021.
He was awarded a UWE Bristol’s Vice Chancellor’s Early Career Researcher Development Award (20/21) for the project ‘A 3D surface scanner: development of workflows and processing algorithms.’ This project approached the 3D digitisation of artefacts in a novel combination of methods to guarantee a scientific workflow when digitally capturing and processing data. The research findings also informed the potential of the scanning methodology for use in other industrial and commercial applications. Dr Aure designed and developed the prototype scanner in 2019 through an Immersion Collaboration Grant from the South West Creative Technology Network.
Xavier commented on the AHRC fellowship funding: “This research will facilitate the development of enhanced methods of recording and monitoring complex historic textiles to support UK’s world leading approach to textile conservation. This project will also enable The Holburne Museum and, in the future, other historic textile collections to gain a better understanding of their collections and help them find new forms of interpretation.”