Schnell & Steiner GmbH The Textile Relics in SantAmbrogio, Milan:: Interweaving Craft, Cult and Politics

Precious fragments of late antique silk fabrics are well known as wrappings for relics - but not as relics themselves. Only rarely can we prove the veneration of, for example, a saint's garment based on an original fabric. However, this is possible in the Church of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. Here, many remains are preserved of a silk garment, which has been venerated since the 5th or 6th centuries as the dalmatic of the famous bishop and church teacher Ambrose. Like a second, slightly younger dalmatic, this textile relic has been lined and covered with protective fabrics over the centuries so that a total of 15 historical fabrics form the common thread running through the first 800 years of Bishop Ambrose's veneration.The results of this latest long-term conservation and research project are now being presented. Sixteen researchers from the fields of archaeology, art history, church history, Islamic studies, chemistry, and the latest 3D laser scanning technology provide insight into the conservation and reconstruction of this "textile archive."