Restoration of the textiles
History
Upon their August 1904 move-in, the Hannon couple swiftly commissioned furniture, glassware, lighting, and textiles for their house from the Établissements Gallé. The years spanning from 1905 to 1910 are meticulously documented, owing to preserved invoices, correspondences, and contemporary photographs featured within the pages of the architectural magazine L'Émulation.
In practice
It's thanks to the combination of archives and scientific field research that it was possible to determine the color palette and material of the fabric. In addition, the decorative elements played a central role: the veins of the mauve and beige marble of the plinths, the color of the ceiling and the lily of the valley decorations made it possible to specify the tone of the color. In addition, stratigraphic surveys made it possible to identify the light beige tones of the initial pictorial layer, close to NCS S2010-Y30R, i.e. the shade that has been chosen today. The restoration process that guided the decisions therefore merges history and field reserch.
The fabric was reconstituted from historical patterns from the Prelle Manufacture (Lyon, France). The cladding was carried out by the craftsman Jayne Thielemans, from September 25 to 28, 2023, while the house was open to visitors, who were able to discover behind the scenes of this construction site.
Stakeholders
→ Claire Berthommier, textile specialist at the Musée de l’École de Nancy
→ Marianne Decroly, restorer for the Stratigraphic Study at KIK-IRPA
→ Jayne Thielemans, upholsterer
→ Wivinne Wailliez, Wallpaper specialist at KIK-IRPA
→ Grégory Van Aelbrouck, curator at Maison Hannon
For each ticket sold, €2 is dedicated to the restoration of the house. The Brussels-Capital Region (URBAN) also provided 80% support for this initiative. Thanks for your help!