Ayrshire christening robe restored for V&A Dundee debut
- Published
The robe was carefully dried with cold air after being cleaned
A 180-year-old Ayrshire christening robe has been restored by textile conservation experts ahead of being displayed in V&A Dundee.
The garment has been taken out of storage for the first time in 50 years.
The christening robe features an intricate hand-embroidered design of trailing stems bearing flowers and leaves.
It will be displayed in the museum's Scottish Design Galleries when V&A Dundee opens on 15 September.
Linda Fairlie and Bruce Morgan, museums officers at East Ayrshire Leisure, travelled to London to help choose which gown from the V&A collections should go on display in Dundee.
Ms Fairlie said: "We went through all of the robes in the V&A collections.
"We chose the three that best represented Ayrshire needlework and then came back for a second visit because it was quite tricky to decide between them.
"The thing that's most distinctive about Ayrshire needlework is that the designs all derive from nature, and we chose the robe with the most aspects of this."
The garment was washed in a shallow bath constructed on a specially-designed table
Ayrshire needlework, which saw embroiderers stitch designs on a microscopic scale, flourished during the first half of the 19th Century.
Elizabeth-Anne Haldane, senior textile conservator at the V&A, said the robe was in "very good structural condition" but had become yellowed
She said: "It was really improved by being washed and the fine white cotton now looks as clean, fresh and crease-free as it would originally have been intended to be for a baby's christening.
"We are currently preparing a number of wonderful textiles so they are ready to be transported to Dundee and displayed in the Scottish Design Galleries."
The museum's Scottish Design Galleries will include about 300 objects, including a 15th Century book of illuminated manuscripts and a Jacobite garter described in a contemporary magazine as "daubed with plaid and crammed with treason."
The robe will be displayed in V&A Dundee's Scottish Design Galleries