Since the late Gothic period various imitations of textile techniques have been observed in European sculpture. On the other hand, sculptors also influenced the textile arts, as, for example, in the development of textile relief between 1450 and 1600. In Austria these reliefs included precious pearl embroideries, which now undergoing conservation and examination in the laboratories of the Bundesdenkmalamt in Vienna. During baroque times, religious manifestations meant that dressed sculptures again came into vogue, both medieval pieces, which were covered a la mode , or newly made figures, which often had articulated joints so that they could be moved into different positions. Several of the restored pieces of the 17th to 19th centuries were made ofpainted wood or had wax heads with natural hair, glass eyes and beautiful dresses from different periods. Examination of the construction, the polychromy and the textiles, together with the possible functions, has been part of the conservation process.