Der Tod geht uns nichts an

Dokumentation und Restaurierung von Totenkleidung aus dem 16. bis 19. Jahrhundert

Abstract

Death does not concern us. Documentation and Restoration of the Deads' Clothing from the 16th to the 19th Century
The collections of the City Museum Dresden hold numerous such grave-finds. They originate mostly from emergency recoveries during the demolition of the Sophienkirche 1962/1964. Since that time they were kept in storage, not always under good conditions. Due to lack of space and also underrating their significance they were arranged arbitrarily and kept in boxes without any kind of systematic order. The coherence of the finds was totally lost. Two grave-finds from the Dresden Frauenkirche escaped this kind of fate. They were transferred to the City Museum in 1994. In contrast to the textiles from the Sophienkirche their original context was saved, the location of their burial places and the names of the buried remained known. Working on these finds lead to further occupation with the subject of sepulture and the clothing of those buried. The good cooperation with the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Sachsen facilitated the participation in several necessary openings of graves; it also made the documentation of the situation discovered possible.