Abstract
Digital technologies provide new opportunities to envision, explore and create material culture, and thus to engage audiences and to undertake research. This paper introduces Polynomial Texture Mapping (PTM), one application of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), to the documentation and examination of a small number of textiles, straw plaits and wax seals. This technology enables the user to ‘re-light’ the on-screen ‘object’ (allowing the user to direct the lighting to meet their needs) and is particularly useful for inspecting textured surfaces online. PTM/RTI was explored as part of an integrated strategy to enhance access to, and preservation of, a unique set of design records: The Board of Trade Representations and Registers of Designs, 1839–1991, held in The National Archives, London. The use of PTM/RTI expands concepts of envisioning and encourages exploration of the role of digital technologies in the interactions between the viewer and what is viewed, between researchers and textiles of all sorts, and thus has the potential to offer both close-hand and remote ways of seeing the range of material fabrics and surfaces that would have adorned early modern and other historic interiors.
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