The Dress Attributed to Empress Charlotte of Mexico (1864-1867): Historical Evidences from its Restoration

Historical Evidences from its Restoration

Authors

  • Ana Julia Poncelis Gutiérrez Seminario-Taller de Restauración de Textiles, Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía (ENCRyM), Mexico https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3791-4053
  • Karla Castillo Leyva Independent restaurateur, Mexico https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5928-9024
  • Rosa Lorena Román Torres Seminario-Taller de Restauración de Textiles, Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía (ENCRyM), Mexico

Abstract

Textile collections vary, depending on their temporality, typology, and material characteristics. When people approach our work, they often ask what we find fascinating about restoring textiles. The answer is clear to us: they weave the secrets of history into their seams. In the following pages, we will expose a subtle idea regarding the restoration of a dress that is part of the collections of the Museo Nacional de Historia “Castillo de Chapultepec”, of the Instituto Nacional de Antro-pología e Historia (MNH-INAH, National Museum of History “Castillo de Chapultepec”, of the National Institute of Anthropology and History). This piece is attributed to the Empress Consort of Mexico, Marie Charlotte Amélie Augustine Victoire Clementine Léopoldine of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The restoration was significant thanks to the correct decision-making and the close link with the MNH. The result of assertive communication between the parties favored the restoration of the silhouette and of the ornamental elements to a state similar to their original creation.

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Author Biographies

Ana Julia Poncelis Gutiérrez, Seminario-Taller de Restauración de Textiles, Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía (ENCRyM), Mexico

B.A. in Restoration from the ENCRyM, from the Instituto Nacional de An-tropología e Historia (INAH, National Institute of Anthropology and History, Mexico), and a master’s degree in Art History from the Universidad Autónoma de México (UNAM, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico). She is specialized in the conservation of textile cultural objects, with particular interest in archaeological and viceregal ones. Since 2015, she has taught at the Textile Restoration and Conservation Seminar-Work-shop at the ENCRyM-INAH. She has also focused on restoration theory, collaborating with the Theoretical Configurations subject, and since 2017, she has participated as a teacher in the Restoration Theory course in Mexico. From 2019 to 2023, she was editor of the ENCRyM-INAH university journal Archivo Churubusco.

Karla Castillo Leyva, Independent restaurateur, Mexico

B.A. in Restoration from the ENCRyM, from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH, National Institute of Anthropology and History, Mexico), and the same university institution, a master’s in museum studies and Practices. She has directed her line of specialization to the conservation and restoration of textile cultural heritage, with which she has participated as a speaker in international conferences and has collaborated as part of the undergraduate teaching staff in the Seminar-Workshop on Restoration and Conservation of Textiles at ENCRyM. She has worked as a restorer-conservator at the Museo Nacional de las Culturas del Mundo (National Museum of World Cultures), INAH, in staging for international temporary exhibitions, in cataloging and valuing art at Morton Subastas as well as in different private projects, such as the restoration of Frida Khalos’s and Diego Rivera’s photographic collection from the Frida Kahlo Museum “Casa Azul”, and the textile works belonging to the UNAM university cultural heritage, among others.

Rosa Lorena Román Torres, Seminario-Taller de Restauración de Textiles, Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía (ENCRyM), Mexico

She holds a degree in Restoration of Movable Property from the ENCRyM, of the Instituto de Antropología e Historia (INAH, National Institute of Anthropology and History, Mexico). From 1982 to 1993, she worked in the conservation and restoration of textiles in the current Coordinación Nacional de Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural (CNCPC-INAH, National Coordination for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage). In 1993, she began teaching and, together with other specialists, formed the Seminar-Workshop on Conservation and Restoration of Textiles at the ENCRyM, which she is currently coordinating, apart from being a full-time professor. Here, textile restoration professionals are trained day by day, in collaboration with other specialists. An example of this kind of work is the dress of Empress Charlotte, from the 19th century, and the huipil, attributed to Malinche, from the 17th century, among others.

References

Carta de México en defensa del patrimonio cultural. (2019 [1976]). Conversaciones 6, 348–349. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/conversaciones/article/view/13570

Castillo, K. (2023). El acervo enclaustrado: estudio de la colección de indumentaria litúrgica del Seminario Conciliar de México desde la Conservación Preventiva (Master’s Thesis). Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía.

Gallardo, M. (2017). Las prendas enconchadas de Mesoamérica prehispánica: una propuesta para su estudio y conservación. Congreso de Conservación de Textiles de América del Norte (NATCC).

Laumain, X. y Sabater, Á. L. (2019). Sólo se protege y conserva lo que se conoce y se valora: el funcionamiento de los molinos. In Actes. XI Congrés Internacional de Molinologia. Memòria, arquitectura, enginyeria i futur. Mallorca, 18-20/X/2018 (pp. 415-422). Departament de Cultura i Patrimoni.

Moreno, M. (1965). Relato que hizo el señor doctor Gabriel Moreno Robles, quien donó al Museo Nacional de Historia un vestido de la emperatriz Carlota. Material inédito. Museo Nacional de Historia. Ciudad de México.

Ocampo, C. (1990). Los años pioneros de la industria textil 1850-1920. Investigación Económica, 49(194), 207-259.

Vista de la Sala del Pueblo Sami terminada, expuesta en el Museo Nacional de las Culturas del Mundo de la Ciudad de México (Fotografía: Celeste Jardinez, 2023; cortesía: MNCM-INAH).

Additional Files

Published

2024-07-31

How to Cite

Poncelis Gutiérrez, A. J., Castillo Leyva, K., & Román Torres, R. L. (2024). The Dress Attributed to Empress Charlotte of Mexico (1864-1867): Historical Evidences from its Restoration: Historical Evidences from its Restoration. Intervención, 1(29), 65–94. Retrieved from https://revistaintervencion.inah.gob.mx/index.php/intervencion/article/view/6550

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 29 (2024): enero-junio

Section

Showcase

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