Ann French
PhD research
Working Title: 'Archaeologists as Collectors:: The Greek Embroidery Collections of R M Dawkins and A J B Wace'.
The archaeologists R.M. Dawkins (1870-1955) and A.J.B. Wace (1878-1957) while based at the British School of Archaeology in Athens in the early 20th century, amassed significant collections of Greek embroideries which are now in public collections in the UK (specifically Liverpool Museums and the Victoria and Albert Museum).
Research and publications to date have concentrated on the textiles themselves, analysing and describing the designs, stitches and technology involved, together with theories of provenance. Apart from brief biographical accounts of the collectors within these publications, there has been no study or analysis of their methods, motives and interpretations.
My thesis will use contemporary theories of collecting to examine Dawkins' and Wace's possible motivations; for example, were they collecting as 'salvage ethnographers', were they trying to demonstrate evolution of design, were they using more recent artefacts to inform their archaeological work, and how did their collecting relate to archaeological, anthropological and folklore theory of the time? Their collecting methods will be examined and compared; for example, were the collections made as part of 'fieldwork', or bought from dealers either Greek or British, and what connections can be made to other collectors and collections already then existing in UK public collections?
Dawkins' and Wace's interpretations, representations, displays, and publications relating to embroidery designs, techniques and provenance, and how their analyses are currently viewed. This might consider involving some analysis of British perceptions of Greek culture, whether they viewed embroidery as art or ethnography, its designs and uses, and whether these factors played a role in determining the fact that most of the Greek embroideries collected were bequeathed or sold as complete collections to British museums.
Biography
I am undertaking my phd part-time while working as Textile Conservator at the Whitworth Art Gallery within the University of Manchester. After graduating in history from the University of Sheffield in 1984, I trained in textile conservation at the Victoria and Albert Museum from 1984-88. Since then I have worked in conservation for a variety of museums and for the National Trust before joining the Whitworth in 2002.
My phd involves studying the life and embroidery collections of my grandfather A.J.B. Wace, (whom I never knew), and of his friend and colleague R M Dawkins. It will reflect not only family history and interest but also my own career to date with working to conserve textiles including many embroideries. I am also hoping to illuminate why Britain has such an extensive collection of Greek embroideries, and how museum collections reflect the interests and interpretations of their contributing collectors.
Publications
- 'Costume and Accessories' in National Trust Manual of Housekeeping: The Care of Collections in Historic Houses Open to the Public, pp. 445-453 with Althea Mackenzie. The National Trust & Butterworths — Heinemann, London, 2006.
- 'Textile or Art? The Conservation, Display and Storage of Modern Textile Art', Modern Art , New Museums, pp. 34-39, ed Ashok Roy and Perry Smith, International Institute for Conservation Congress, Bilbao, 2004.
- 'Go Thou and Do Likewise? The Conservation of the Ebrington Friendly Society Banner', Tales in the Textile: The Conservation of Flags and other Symbolic Textiles pre-prints of North American Textile Conservation Conference 2003, pp. 119 — 126, with Nicola Gentle.
- 'A Division of Skills', Fabric of an Exhibition: An Interdisciplinary Approach: Textile Symposium '97 pre-prints of North American Textile Conservation Conference 1997, pp. 157 -161 with Susan Stanton and Lesley-Anne Kerr.
- 'Caring for Shawls', Ours to Keep? A Resource Pack for Raising Awareness of Conservation and Collection Care, p. 7.61, Museums & Galleries Commission 1997.
- 'The Use of a Pyrograph to heat cut Stabiltex', Conservation News No. 50 1993, pp. 17-18.
- 'The New Textile Store at the Burrell Collection: A Case History', Journal of the Scottish Society for Conservation and Restoration Vol 4 No 3 1993, pp. 17- 20.
- 'Momento Mori: Ottoman Children's Kaftans in the Victoria and Albert Museum' Hali Vol 51 1990, with Jennifer Wearden and Patricia Baker pp. 131 -140.
- Conservation of Furnishing Textiles (ed) Scottish Society for Conservation and Restoration 1990.
- 'India Revisited' Conservation News Vol 37 1988, pp. 20 — 22.