State of the art: non-invasive interrogation of textiles in museum collections.

Heritage professionals are keen to see analytical science applied in support of the long-term preservation and access of our heritage. While textiles and other organic artefacts can be characterised by laboratory-based, non-destructive microanalytical techniques, rapid analytical methodology which is non-invasive, requires no sampling and can be performed on-site conveys particular advantages. Here we present an overview of our recent studies which have been directed at developing near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as such a non-invasive collections management tool to assist textile curators and conservators. We review some of our earlier studies on FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, which were the prelude to our recent venture, before recounting our experiences with the NIR technique in the textile heritage context. It is our contention that a NIR spectrometer will become an essential part of the conservation scientist’s tool-kit for interrogating textiles directly, enabling the identification of modern fabrics that inform decisions on storage and display, and the non-inteventive, routine condition assessment of aged textiles such as historic silks, informing the collections management strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]