Ethical question: Textiles of Peru

 

    Embroidered textiles first came to archaeologist’ attention in the early 20th century.  These specific textiles were found between 1927 – 1939 during the dictatorship of Augusto. B Leguia.  There were 89 Paracas textiles recovered and later displayed in 1932 poorly.  With extensive handling, varying levels of heat and moisture and the exposure to UV light these items decayed faster than they should have.    Since textiles have such a lack of interest and can come off very dull to many, we rarely think about how to handle such items.  With unique historical textiles it is important to observe and handle these pieces properly to reduce the chance of the, being damaged more than they already have been.  Light is one of the most degrading threats to textiles.  It leads to fading and embrittlement of fibers.  When textiles are exposed to extreme types of temperatures and humidity the fibers can weaken and break.  With extreme humidity can lead to mold growth.  The environments needed for textiles must be constant to avoid damaging or destroying the textiles.  After doing some research on basic handling for textiles this brought up two questions.  How did the textiles originally make it to the Gothenburg Museum in Sweden and does Peru have the means to be able to preserve in such a way where the Gothenburg Museum has?  In this situation I think this is purely opinion based in what I think should happen with these textiles.  With there being little to no information on such item along with the amount f work having to be put into these textiles I would think that if there is a safe environment in Peru then yes return the textiles.  For the textiles to travel we also need to think how we can preserve the piece for a trip without further damage.  I understand that these were intended to be with the owners for all eternity, and with that bring the question I asked at another point in our other prompts in the semester.  At what point is something considered the preservation of history and not graverobbing?   The preservation or art is something excruciatingly hard to do as time continues to move forward.  With more information leads to more questions, and the lack of information can lead to frustration.  The technology we have currently could digitally inform those who are curious of our history around the world.  Though the physical piece is not present, we are able to bring the information through rendering and explanatory visuals. 



The History Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/30833

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