Drawing on a multi-year conservation project, this talk will explore how close material examination and documentation uncovered the human stories quietly embedded in two sets of 17th-century tapestries at Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire.
While tapestries are often appreciated primarily for their imagery, investigation of those at Doddington revealed extensive cutting, rearranging, patching, and reuse during the 1760s, showing how they were deliberately reshaped to suit changing tastes and cultural contexts. These unrecorded interventions offer insight into the decorative strategies of eighteenth-century landowner John Hussey Delaval, revealing previously untold stories of identity, lineage, and authority.
Through consideration of this case study, the presentation will highlight the strength of conservation as an interpretive discipline, capable of uncovering hidden histories through the physical traces of making, use, and adaptation.
The event will be run in collaboration with the Historic Interiors group.
