Conservation-restoration of the Shroud of Turin

Part of a series on the

Shroud of Turin

1898 negative image by Secondo Pia (detail)

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* History
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* Research project
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The Shroud of Turin in 1931

During its history, the Shroud of Turin has been subjected to repairs and restoration, such as after the fire which damaged it in 1532. Since 1578 the Shroud has been kept in the Royal Chapel of Turin Cathedral (from 1694 to 1993 the Shroud rested in the Royal Chapel's Bertola altar). Currently it is stored under the laminated bulletproof glass of an airtight case, filled with chemically-neutral gasses.[1] The temperature and humidity controlled-case is filled with argon (99.5%) and oxygen (0.5%) to prevent chemical changes. The Shroud itself is kept on an aluminum support sliding on runners and stored flat within the case.[1]

## Public showings

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When the Shroud is not on public display, the case is closed; during the public display the case can be moved, raised and opened. During the last centuries, the Shroud has been publicly exhibited a limited number of times,[2][3] often on very special occasions.

18th century

* 4 May 1722.
* 4 May 1737: to celebrate the marriage of Charles Emmanuel III, Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia.
* 29 June 1750: to celebrate the marriage of Victor Amadeus III, then Prince of Sardinia.
* 15 October 1775: to celebrate the marriage of Charles Emmanuel IV, then Prince of Sardinia.

19th century

* 20 May 1814: to celebrate the return of Victor Emmanuel I, King of Sardinia, to Turin.
* 21 May 1815: requested by Pope Pius VII to mark the restoration of the Papal States.
* 4 January 1822: to celebrate the accession of Charles Felix, King of Sardinia.
* 4 May 1842: to celebrate the marriage of Victor Emmanuel II, then Duke of Savoy.
* 24–27 April 1868: to celebrate the marriage of Humbert I, King of Italy.
* 25 May–2 June 1898: to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Turin Cathedral and 50th anniversary of Italy's Statuto Albertino constitution. Secondo Pia took the first photograph of the Shroud.

20th century

* 3–24 May 1931: to celebrate the marriage of Umberto II, then Prince of Piedmont. The Shroud is photographed for the second time (by Giuseppe Enrie).
* 24 September–15 October 1933: requested by Pope Pius XI to mark the nineteenth centenary of the Resurrection.
* 26 August–8 October 1978: to commemorate the fourth centenary of Turin’s custody of the Shroud.
* 18 April–14 June 1998: to commemorate the centenary of the first photograph of the Shroud by Secondo Pia.
* 12 August–22 October 2000: to commemorate the Jubilee anniversary of the birth of Jesus.

21st century

* 10–23 May 2010: first public exhibition of the Shroud after its restoration in 2002
* 19 April–24 June 2015: to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of John Bosco.[4][5][6]
* 8–12 August 2018: in preparation for the Synod on Young People

## Restorations

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On 4 December 1532, the Shroud sustained a fire, which burned several holes in the fabric. In the spring of 1534, the Poor Clare Nuns patched the holes and placed a backing Holland cloth on the reverse.

On 11 April 1997, the Turin Cathedral sustained another fire, but the Shroud survived entirely unscathed. By that time the Shroud was being held within three walls of plate glass, each 11 feet (3.4 m) long and 6.5 feet (2.0 m) high. The fireman Mario Trematore decided to use a sledgehammer against the bulletproof glass to rescue the relic. Eventually he caused the 39mm thick material to shatter and another fireman arrived to help Trematore. When asked how he managed to break the glass, Trematore replied: "The bulletproof glass can stop bullets, but it cannot stop the strength of values represented by the symbol inside it. With only a hammer and our hands (still bleeding), we broke the glass".[7]

During the 2002 restoration, conducted by the Commission for the Conservation of the Shroud between 20 June and 22 July, thirty triangular patches, sewn by nuns in 1534, as well as the Holland cloth, were removed. The 2002 restoration has been criticized as causing damage to the Shroud.[8]

## Natural hazards

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Because of dehydration, which might have been involved in the image formation, the Shroud was not recommended to be stored in vacuum.[9] As the minor changes of temperature can enhance the pressure, humidity and mechanical stress, the Shroud's case was made climate-controlled.

An electron microscope investigation of the dust and pollens removed from the Shroud during the 1978 examination has revealed that some species of mites are resident on the cloth.[9] Lichenothelia and arachnids in one of the tape samples have been also observed.[9]

As the Shroud was rolled and unrolled for display throughout the centuries, it sustained a repeated abrasion of the charred edges to the areas holed in the fire.[10] The low magnification images of the blood areas already show an extensive abrasion of this type.[9] To reduce the stress of gravity the Shroud was suggested being in horizontal display. To minimize possible cosmic ray exposure, it was also suggested that the plane of the cloth be aligned perpendicular to the ground.

American researcher Alan D. Adler, confirming the presence of bilirubin on the fabric, noted that it is not light-stable and may change the color under any light.[10] According to Adler, since the image fibers are at or near saturation while the surrounding cloth is not, the latter will gradually get darker until the image first becomes a silhouette and later finally vanishes.[10]

## See also

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* Fringe theories about the Shroud of Turin
* History of the Shroud of Turin
* Radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin

## References

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1. ^ a b Barrie M. Schwortz. "Shroud Exhibitions". The Shroud of Turin (shroud.com). Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association, Inc. Archived from the original on 2010-04-05. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
2. ^ Barrie M. Schwortz; Ian Wilson (1996). "Shroud History". The Shroud of Turin (shroud.com). Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association, Inc. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
3. ^ Wilson, Ian (1998). The blood and the shroud: new evidence that the world's most sacred relic is real. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-85529-5.
4. ^ "Pope Francis to pray before the Holy Shroud in Turin". Archived from the original on 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
5. ^ "Santa Sindone - Benvenuto". Archived from the original on 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
6. ^ "Come funzionano gli investimenti online". turinforyoung.it. Archived from the original on 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
7. ^ Barrie M. Schwortz. "The 1997 Fire". The Shroud of Turin (shroud.com). Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association, Inc. Archived from the original on 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
8. ^ William Meacham, "The Rape of the Turin Shroud", 2005, ISBN 1-4116-5769-1
9. ^ a b c d Alan D. Adler, Larry A. Schwalbe. "Conservation Of The Shroud of Turin". Shroud Spectrum International, No. 42, December 1993. Archived from the original on 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
10. ^ a b c "Comments On The Restoration". Shroud.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2010-03-04.

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Shroud of Turin

History|

* History of the Shroud of Turin
* Secondo Pia, photographer
* Conservation-restoration of the Shroud of Turin

Location|

* Chapel of the Holy Shroud
* Royal Palace of Turin
* Turin Cathedral

Investigations|

* Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP)
* Radiocarbon dating of the shroud
* VP8 Image Analyzer

Researchers|

* Pierre Barbet
* Ulysse Chevalier
* Yves Delage
* Barbara Frale
* Walter McCrone
* Joe Nickell
* Lynn Picknett
* Raymond Rogers
* Phillip H. Wiebe
* Ian Wilson
* Frederick Zugibe

Related|

* Fringe theories about the Shroud of Turin
* Image of Edessa
* Pray Codex
* House of Savoy
* Holy Face of Jesus
* Relics associated with Jesus
* acheiropoieta
* blood
* Sudarium of Oviedo
* Resurrection of Jesus

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Cultural heritage and historic preservation

Topics
and issues|

* Agents of deterioration
* Archival processing
* Archaeological science
* Archaeology
* Archive
* Bioarchaeology
* Book
* Calendar (archives)
* Conservation and restoration of cultural property
* Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property
* Conservation and restoration of movable cultural property
* Conservation science (cultural property)
* Collecting
* Collection (museum)
* Collection catalog
* Collections maintenance
* Collections management
* Collections management system
* Cultural heritage
* Cultural heritage management
* Cultural property
* Cultural property documentation
* Cultural property exhibition
* Cultural property imaging
* Cultural property storage
* Cultural resource management
* Database preservation
* Deaccessioning
* Digital library
* Digital photograph restoration
* Digital preservation
* Disaster preparedness (cultural property)
* Film preservation
* Finding aid
* Fonds
* Found in collection
* Heritage asset
* Heritage science
* Inherent vice
* Intangible cultural heritage
* Integrated pest management (cultural property)
* Inventory (library and archive)
* Inventory (museums)
* Media preservation
* Midden
* Mold control and prevention (library and archive)
* Museum
* Optical media preservation
* Preservation (library and archive)
* Preservation metadata
* Preservation survey
* Provenance
* Repatriation
* Ruins
* Sustainable preservation
* Treasure
* Web archiving

Roles
and expertise|

* Archivist
* Art dealer
* Art handler
* Auctioneer
* Collection manager
* Conservator-restorer
* Conservation scientist
* Conservation technician
* Curator
* Exhibition designer
* Mount maker
* Objects conservator
* Paintings conservator
* Photograph conservator
* Preservationist
* Registrar (cultural property)
* Textile conservator

Methods
and techniques|

* Aging (artwork)
* Anastylosis
* Arrested decay
* Cradling (paintings)
* Cultural property radiography
* Detachment of wall paintings
* Desmet method
* Display case
* Digital repository audit method based on risk assessment
* Historic paint analysis
* Inpainting
* Kintsugi
* Leafcasting
* Lining of paintings
* Mass deacidification
* Overpainting
* Paleo-inspiration
* Paper splitting
* Reconstruction (architecture)
* Rissverklebung
* Textile stabilization
* Transfer of panel paintings
* UVC-based preservation
* VisualAudio

Conservation
and restoration
of immovable
cultural property
by item type|

* Archaeological sites
* Frescos
* Heritage railways
* Historic gardens
* Outdoor artworks
* Outdoor bronze objects
* Outdoor murals

Conservation
and restoration
of movable
cultural property
by item type|

* Aircraft
* Ancient Greek pottery
* Bone, horn, and antler objects
* Books, manuscripts, documents and ephemera
* Ceramic objects
* Clocks
* Copper-based objects
* Feathers
* Film
* Flags and banners
* Fur objects
* Glass objects
* Herbaria
* Human remains
* Illuminated manuscripts
* Insect specimens
* Iron and steel objects
* Ivory objects
* Judaica
* Lacquerware
* Leather objects
* Lighthouses
* Metals
* Musical instruments
* Neon objects
* New media art
* Paintings
* Painting frames
* Panel paintings
* Papyrus
* Parchment
* Performance art
* Photographs
* Photographic plates
* Plastic objects
* Rail vehicles
* Road vehicles
* Shipwreck artifacts
* Silver objects
* South Asian household shrines
* Stained glass
* Taxidermy
* Textiles
* Tibetan thangkas
* Time-based media art
* Totem poles
* Vinyl discs
* Woodblock prints
* Wooden artifacts
* Wooden furniture

Intangible
cultural heritage
preservation|

* Ancient music
* Applied folklore
* Dance notation
* Early music
* Endangered language
* Ethnochoreology
* Ethnomusicology
* Ethnopoetics
* Family folklore
* Folklore
* Folk art
* Folk dance
* Folk etymology
* Folk instrument
* Folk music
* Folk process
* Folk play
* Foodways
* Folklore studies
* Heritage language
* Heritage language learning
* Indigenous intellectual property
* Indigenous culture
* Indigenous language
* Language death
* Language preservation
* Language revitalization
* Living history
* Oral history preservation
* Preservation of meaning
* Prehistoric music
* Tradition preservation
* Traditional knowledge
* Traditional medicine

Notable
projects|

* Conservation issues of Pompeii and Herculaneum
* Conservation-restoration of Ecce Homo by Elías García Martínez
* Conservation-restoration of The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins
* Conservation-restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper
* Pompeian frescoes
* Conservation-restoration of the Shroud of Turin
* Conservation-restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes
* Conservation-restoration of the Statue of Liberty
* Conservation-restoration of the H.L. Hunley
* Conservation response to flood of Arno, Florence
* Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative
* Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies
* World Heritage Site

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