Linda Mansouri, the president of the Association could not attend the event due to her knee surgery. Dick Smith, the vice president of TMASC delivered a brief welcoming speech. Then Cheri Hunter in her beautiful Syrian costume gave a brief history of TMASC and how it got started 25 years ago. Cheri has served in different capacities including being president on the board of our association. She now serves as the program chair. I joined TMASC almost six years ago and served on the board of this wonderful non-profit and volunteer organization for four years. It was a nice experience. Cheri then introduced introduced the first speaker and the program moved on.

We also had Maryclair Ramsey, Director and Bruce P. Baganaz, President, Board of Trustees, The Textile Museum from Washington D.C. with us as our Guests of Honor.

Conserving Textiles in the Topkapi Palace Collection, and in Our Own Collections” with Paul Hepworth, Istanbul, Turkey

During conservation treatment, the study of a group of textiles in the Topkapi Palace Collection for the Istanbul ICOC (International Conference on Oriental Carpets) brought many insights into how they have been cared for and repaired in the past, as well as their current needs. Special focus on a series of chatmas (Ottoman cushion covers) and wrapping covers that had never been exhibited or published before revealed a use of patchwork techniques of extraordinary sophistication. Examination of these techniques and the fabrics used in the creation of these cloths allow for better understanding and interpretation of the artistic and material culture in which they were produced. As the conservation issues addressed in such museum treatments are the same as those faced by private collectors, a practical approach to treatment and storage can also be applied to the textiles we acquire and live with in our homes, including considerations about how conservation can affect, both positively or negatively, the value of these rugs and textiles.Paul Hepworth graduated with an Advanced Certificate in the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works and an M.A. in art history from the Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. His training focused on the conservation of textiles and paper from Islamic cultures. He worked for three years as a manuscript conservator at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland where he had special responsibility for the collection of Islamic manuscripts. Subsequently, for five years he has been in private practice in Turkey providing conservation services to museums and institutions. For many years he has been involved in expanding the collection of ethnographic textiles from the Middle East for the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. His own extensive collection of Syrian costume from the late 19th and early 20th centuries is now in this museum. Prior to becoming a conservator, he was an educator of science and mathematics for many years. As a conservator he has continued to teach approaches to conservation in programs in Turkey, Algeria, Iraq and Egypt.