The two Flemish tapestries from the priceless 29-piece collection, which have undergone intensive restoration in Brussels, are up and hanging at the St John's Co-Cathedral Museum in Valletta.
The tapestries, The Triumph of The Catholic Church and The Portrait of Grandmaster Perellos, first arrived in Malta in 1701. They returned from Brussels last December, following the facelift.
Temporarily hung back in the museum's Perellos Hall, they have taken the number of restored tapestries - from the largest and one of the few complete sets in the world - up to six, with another 23 to go in a project that is scheduled to last at least eight years and cost €1 million (Lm429,300).
The St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation intends to restore two a year, starting with those that have suffered most as a result of the passage of time and neglect, said its president Paul Attard.
The Institution of Corpus Christi and The Triumph of Charity have also been sent to the world-renowned De Wit Tapestry Laboratories in Belgium, which is carrying out the restoration.
De Wit Laboratories director Yvan Maes De Wit yesterday detailed the intricate, meticulous and technical procedure, dividing it into four phases: The cleaning by suction table, which humidifies the tapestry and is a fine-tuned, one-day job; the conservation treatment, one of the biggest problems due to the disintegration of the silk; the visual integration, as opposed to classical restoration so that the difference between the original and the new woven parts can be seen from close; and the lining to support their weight.
The restoration of the large tapestries requires around a year, and two experts on each, Mr De Wit said, adding that a detailed, scientific report of the process is being compiled.
The tapestries are being restored on the initiative of the St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation. Given the uniqueness of the collection, its president is justified in maintaining that it is "not only about preserving national, but also international jewels".
Transport was provided by the Belgian defence ministry on a military flight, thanks to the intervention of the Belgian ambassador to Malta, Thomas Baekelandt, who is also working on acquiring sponsorship for one of the tapestries from the King Baudouin Foundation in Brussels.
To be transported, the tapestries need to be rolled and stored in seven-metre-long boxes, which do not fit in an Air Malta Airbus, Mr Baekelandt pointed out.
The tapestries used to be hung around the Co-cathedral's nave every June for the feast of Corpus Christi and St John the Baptist.
A special hanging system, which would avoid tension and damage, has been created to easily mount and dismount the collection in the nave, although whether the system would be used is a "possibility", not a plan.
The idea is to have an appropriate chamber where to exhibit the entire collection alone, with controlled light, temperature and humidity levels, said the Co-Cathedral's curator Cynthia de Giorgio.
"The collection deserves a museum of its own," she said, adding that the foundation was in the process of identifying the adequate area.
Until the right conditions are sorted out - probably by the time the entire project is completed - the tapestries may be stored away in summer, which is considered the most taxing time for them, Ms de Giorgio said.
History of the tapestries
The tapestries had been commissioned by Grandmaster Ramon Perellos in the late 17th century. Woven by the Flemish atelier of Judecos de Vos, also famous for being the court weaver of Louis XIV of France, they arrived here in 1701.
Today the main exhibits of the museum, they were a gift from Grandmaster Perellos to the Conventual Church, ordered for the sum of 40,000 scudi.
The magnificent set was woven on the cartoons of Peter Paul Rubens, except for the panel of the Last Supper, woven on the cartoon of Nicholas Poussin. The panel showing Grandmaster Perellos was probably based on a drawing by Mattia Preti.