Abstract:

The unusual, but well-documented history of the unique tapestry collection of the ‘Arrases of Wawel’, the Polish kings’ castle in Krakow, is briefly presented and its cultural importance emphasised. The problems of maintaining, preserving and restoring historical textile fabrics are mentioned, and the questions of biodeterioration, molecular and submolecular structure changes, de-colouration, and the appearance of stains are stressed. A further article, which will discuss these problems in detail, will be published in a subsequent issue of Fibres & Textiles in Eastern Europe.