Cosmetic Surgery By Textile Dealers & Remedial Conservation

I certainly wouldn't want to give the impression that all dealers resort to a bit of nip and tuck when sprucing up some of their purchases for sale, but some do give into temptation. Shocking, I know, and I couldn't believe it myself when I first came across the practise. In the video below you can hear how Elizabeth-Anne Haldane, Textile Conservator at the V&A, went about corrective surgery on an 8th-century Egyptian tunic which had been tidied up by a dealer.