INVESTIGATION AND CONSERVATION OF A RARE AND COLOURFUL WOOLLEN RUG BELONGS TO THE IRAQI ROYAL RULE (1921AD)

The importance of this research is due to the study of a unique and multi-colored woolen rug, dating back to the modern Iraqi royal era (1921AD)  preserved in the Museum of the Faculty of Archeology at the University of Samarra in Iraq.The main objective of this research is to present the scientific analyses that were carried out in order to identify the material constituents of the historical rug, methods of manufacture and their deterioration state. The investigations were achieved by using USP Digital Microscope, Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with an Energy Dispersive X-ray unit (SEM with EDX) and Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy [FTIR-ATR].The dyes of the rug fibres were identified chemically in the lab. The examination results demonstrated that the Iraqi rug is made of wool fibres dyed with synthetic dyes as weft threads and the warps are cotton fibres, a weave structure is a tapestry weave. The rug fibres suffer from weakness and severe damage as dirt, dust and accumulations that obliterated its features, in addition to tears, cuts and separation in some of its parts. Moreover, this paper presented the  treatment and conservation processes that were carried out on the historical rug for the first time, which included documentation, cleaning, assembling and strengthening, finally displaying on a new support.