St John’s: 2 More Tapestries Ready
Restoration of the second set of tapestries from the St John’s Co-Cathedral collection is now complete and the Belgian Embassy in Malta is investigating how to bring them back to Malta – although it is still not clear where they will be displayed.
The Cathedral Foundation recently dropped unpopular plans to create an underground museum beneath St John’s Square which would enable all 29 tapestries to be displayed at the same time. However, no other plans have been put forward yet.
The Cathedral Chapter, which is represented on the Foundation board, was unanimously against the project and has recommended that an extra floor be built on top of the annex.
The tapestries are being restored by the King Baudouin Foundation at the Royal Manufacturers De Wit, a company of weavers and restorers founded in 1889. Today, it is the leading tapestry restorer in the world for museums and one of the leading laboratories for private customers.
The first 2, depicting Grandmaster Perellos and the Triumph of the Catholic Church, were sent to Belgium in November 2006 but the delicate restoration process took less than the 2 years expected and they were returned to Malta in December 2007.
The embassy in Malta got involved to sort out a tricky logistical problem: Getting them to Belgium, no easy task given their size and weight.
Current ambassador Jean-Francois Delahaut explained that his predecessor, Thomas Baekeland, managed to get help from the Ministry of Defence to use a military plane, which stopped off in Malta on its way back from an overseas assignment.
They were then taken from the military airport to Brussels and then back the same way to Malta.
Mr Delahaut confirmed that the next 2, Triumph of Faith and The Institution of the Feast of Corpus Christi, were sent to Belgium in December 2007 and are now ready.
“The whole collection of 29 needs to be restored. The long-term intention is to go on with the restoration of the whole set so there is quite a few years’ work. Each of the tapestries has its own particular problems. Time has not treated all of them equally,” he told www.di-ve.com.
The budget for the first 2 alone ran into 6 figures. The set, considered to be priceless and unique, was ordered from the Brussels atelier of Judecos de Vos for the sum of 40,000 scudi and was based on cartoons of the same subjects by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), except for the panel representing the Last Supper that was woven on the cartoon of Nicholas Poussin and a panel with the portrait of Grand Master Perellos, probably based on a drawing by Mattia Preti.
Mr Delahaut expressed confidence that the right solution would be found for the tapestries’ display.
“The tapestries survived the centuries in good condition, which shows that they were cared for, for over 400 years, by very competent people,” he said.
Taken From Di-Ve.com
The Cathedral Chapter, which is represented on the Foundation board, was unanimously against the project and has recommended that an extra floor be built on top of the annex.
The tapestries are being restored by the King Baudouin Foundation at the Royal Manufacturers De Wit, a company of weavers and restorers founded in 1889. Today, it is the leading tapestry restorer in the world for museums and one of the leading laboratories for private customers.
The first 2, depicting Grandmaster Perellos and the Triumph of the Catholic Church, were sent to Belgium in November 2006 but the delicate restoration process took less than the 2 years expected and they were returned to Malta in December 2007.
The embassy in Malta got involved to sort out a tricky logistical problem: Getting them to Belgium, no easy task given their size and weight.
Current ambassador Jean-Francois Delahaut explained that his predecessor, Thomas Baekeland, managed to get help from the Ministry of Defence to use a military plane, which stopped off in Malta on its way back from an overseas assignment.
They were then taken from the military airport to Brussels and then back the same way to Malta.
Mr Delahaut confirmed that the next 2, Triumph of Faith and The Institution of the Feast of Corpus Christi, were sent to Belgium in December 2007 and are now ready.
“The whole collection of 29 needs to be restored. The long-term intention is to go on with the restoration of the whole set so there is quite a few years’ work. Each of the tapestries has its own particular problems. Time has not treated all of them equally,” he told www.di-ve.com.
The budget for the first 2 alone ran into 6 figures. The set, considered to be priceless and unique, was ordered from the Brussels atelier of Judecos de Vos for the sum of 40,000 scudi and was based on cartoons of the same subjects by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), except for the panel representing the Last Supper that was woven on the cartoon of Nicholas Poussin and a panel with the portrait of Grand Master Perellos, probably based on a drawing by Mattia Preti.
Mr Delahaut expressed confidence that the right solution would be found for the tapestries’ display.
“The tapestries survived the centuries in good condition, which shows that they were cared for, for over 400 years, by very competent people,” he said.
Taken From Di-Ve.com
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