Venue: Slovenian Ethnographic Museum,  Metelkova ulica 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia 

This expert meeting is part of the SAFESILK research project, an FWO/ARIS funded WEAVE project and jointly organized by the University of Antwerp (ARCHES), Belgium and the University of Ljubljana (FKKT), Slovenia. The workshop will take place on Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th of March 2025, and aims to bring together researchers and scholars who are interested in the preservation of historical salt-treated silk fabrics. The goal is to share, update, and discuss our current knowledge on the production, trade, degradation and conservation of historical salt-treated silk fabrics. Besides the seminars, the two-day interdisciplinary workshop will include a guided tour through the National Museum of Slovenia.

Expert Meeting Program

Monday 24 March 2025

9:00 - Welcoming talks: Prof. Matija Strlic (UNI-Lj) and Prof. Geert Van der Snickt (UAntwerp), promotors of the SAFESILK project

Morning session 1:  Introduction to (weighted silk)

9:15-9:45 Dr Andreja Urbanek Kranjc and Dr. Silvo Hribernik, University of Maribor: ARACNE Project: Advocating the Role of Silk Art and Cultural Heritage at National and European Scale

9:45-10:15 Dr. Eva Ilec, Regional Museum Ptuj-Ormož: The Prestige of Silk in Museum Collections in Slovenia

10:15-10:30 COFFEE BREAK

10:30-11:00 Dr. Paul Garside, Kelvin Centre for Conservation Cultural Heritage Research, University of Glasgow: Investigation of Early Onset Changes in Weighted Silk 

11:00-11:30 PhD Chiara Vettorazzo, University of Antwerp: What is weighted silk: historical recipes, reproduction and aging experiments​

Morning session 2:  Weighted silk in collections (Part 1)

11:15-11:45 Kim Verkens, MoMu Antwerp: Sleeping Beauties of fashion: Conservation Challenges of Weighted Silk in Fashion Museum Collections – Insights from Case Studies

12:00-13:00 LUNCH

Afternoon session 1: Weighted silk in collections (Part 2)

13:00-13:30 César Rodríguez Salinas, Textile and Fashion Conservator Kunstmuseum Den Haag: Weighted silk? Understanding the degradation elements presented in few pieces from Kunstmuseum Den Haag fashion collection​

13:30-14:00 Chiara Tricerri and Anna Piccirillo, CCR 'La Venaria Reale': Treatment of degraded silk objects in collections: the case study of an 1850s upholstery

14:00-14:30 Marjolein Koek, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam: Ticking time bombs? Collecting and monitoring data for preservation and decision-making plans in the costume collection of the Rijksmuseum​

Afternoon session 2: Tracing and monitoring degrading silk  

14:30-15:00 PhD Alina Krotova, University of Antwerp: Indentification and classification of weighted silks using PXRF

15:00-15:30 Dr. Ludovico Geminiani, University of Insumbria: Evaluating silk condition by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and thermal analysis

15:30-15:45 COFFEE BREAK

15:45-16:15 PhD Ibrahim Elrefaey, University of Ljubljana: Spectroscopic Characterization of degrading weighted silk

16:15-16:45 Dr. Ana F. Albano Serrano, UvA;  Dr. Ineke Joosten & Dr. Luc Megens, RCE: A study into the long-term preservation of archaeological maritime silk textiles

Tuesday 25 March 2025

9:00-9:15 Opening word by Mr. Koenraad Van de Borne (Diplomatic Representative of Flanders in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia)

Morning session: Understanding the chemistry of degrading silk

9:15-9:45 Dr Monika A. Koperska, Jageiellonian University: Problems with Artificial Thermo-Aging of Bombyx Mori Silk Fibroin – What Are We Really Triggering?

9:45-10:15 Dr. Nathan Ferrandin-Schoffel, SIMM laboratory: Spectroscopic investigations into the dyeing properties of wild silks

10:15-10:45 Dr. Fabiana Di Gianvincenzo, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam: Proteomic methods for species and degradation analysis of weighted silk

LUNCH

Afternoon session: 

Guided visit to the Narodni Muzej Slovenije Metelkova (National Museum Slovenia)