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Saving Mosaics in Museums of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean
Partners
Hosted by the Jordan Museum, Amman.
Duration: 3 weeks (10 to 28 June 2012)
Place: Amman, Jordan
Participants
Nineteen professionals from Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey attended the course. The participants are archaeologists, curators, conservator-restorers, technicians, and teachers, who are all in some way responsible for caring for collections of mosaics in national museums, archaeological site museums, and storage depots of the nine represented countries.
Background
This initiative was organized in the framework of MOSAIKON, a long term programme for the safeguarding of mosaics in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. The programme is a partnership of the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), the Getty Foundation, the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics (ICCM), and ICCROM.
Although mosaics are an integral part of archaeological sites, many can be found in museum exhibitions and storage, and in archaeological depots. These collections are often not fully inventoried and lack proper documentation. They are at risk, due to lack of storage management procedures and storage equipment, inappropriate mounting and re-backing techniques, deterioration of the buildings, outdoor weathering and damage by visitors. As of today, there are rare training opportunities for museum professionals who have to deal with the day-to-day management, the preventive conservation and presentation of these mosaics. Furthermore, they have little opportunity to meet their peers in the region in order to share the challenges they meet and benefit from each other experience and approach.
This regional course is the first attempt to address these issues.
Aim and methodology
Why and how have mosaics become part of a museum collection? What are the commonalities and specificities of this situation in the region? What is the vulnerability of mosaic when they are in a museum? How to assess and document their conditions? What are the requirements for their preservation and how to plan for interventions? How to improve their presentation to the museum visitors and engage the professionals and the community in the preservation effort? The proposed pilot training initiative offered an opportunity to explore these issues and to gain knowledge and skills in the conservation and management of these important collections
The course methodology encourages discussion, interaction and contributions by the participants. Lectures were balanced with group work, individual and group presentations supplemented the course programme, and numerous site visits were planned throughout the course, courtesy of the Direction of Antiquities. The main challenge in such a course, however, is that there is little information in the field on the issue of mosaic conservation and presentation in museums. Another challenge was that the group was multi-lingual, which required special efforts on the part of teachers and some of the bilingual participants to assist with translation!
Programme
First week
During this first week the focus was on the history, techniques and iconographies of mosaics in the region. Lectures on this topic were complemented by the opportunity to visit the Madaba archaeological site and museum, where direct contact with in-situ and lifted mosaics was possible. Here the participants worked in groups to sharpen their observation skills and establish a common language for documenting the mosaics, taking into consideration their contexts, manufacturing techniques, iconographies, compositions and states of conservation.
We also examined the various reasons mosaics may be lifted from their original contexts and transported to a museum. Once in the museum, criteria for their preservation and exhibition must be established. Lectures on the adaptability of buildings for museum use, risks to cultural heritage in museum collections, the role of objects in transmitting a message to the viewer as part of a collection, and institutional and legal frameworks, formed the foundations of the museum context that is the focus of the course.
A highlight of the week was the visit to the archaeological site of Jerash and the site museum.
At the end of the week a more comprehensive view of the situation of mosaics in different museums of the region was provided by the Round-Table of participants’ presentations.
Second week
During this second week, the focus was on documentation methods in museums, and conservation approaches. In the first days, participants reviewed the conservation terminology, and discussed the techniques and problems related to lifting processes. They learnt to identify the various deteriorations of lifted mosaics, and their possible causes, and to document these findings in a condition report.
Although the course is not a practical conservation course, the course include illustrated lectures to inform participants on the various types of treatment which can be undertaken on a lifted mosaic, both structural and restoration treatments. A highlight of the week was the visit to a local mosaic conservation workshop at Mount Nebo, where participants could compare different approaches and discuss the challenges of finding or developing locally appropriate conservation materials.
The last part of the week was dedicated to preventive conservation, in displays, storage and archaeological depot. In this occasion, a storage condition assessment was carried out at the Central Storage of the Direction of Antiquities.
Third week
The last week was dedicated to presentation and education issues. Besides lectures on these topics, participants were responsible for the design and implementation of a special project: the Course Exhibition project. The proposed theme is “Saving mosaics in museums”. The objective was to present in 12-15 exhibition panels the various issues discussed during the course: What are mosaics? Why are they in museums? What are the risks and causes of deterioration? What is conservation and preventive conservation of mosaics in museums? How to organize and protect mosaics in storage? How to present and protect mosaics in exhibition? Participants were organized in small groups of 4 or 5, each responsible for one or two panels. Teachers were available for advice, as well as an exhibition technician/designer from Jordan in the last week of the course. The Exhibition was inaugurated on the last day of the course with the special participation of HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum, Jordan.
The event was also attended by Directors of Museums from participating countries, who were especially invited at the end of the course. In this occasion, they held a seminar on " Archeological Museums of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean: current situation and future opportunities " from 26 to 28 June 2012. The aim of the Seminar was to strengthen connections between museum professionals and Museum decision-makers in the region, to provide a platform for a regional reflection on the situation of the museums, and to encourage future joint strategies. The seminar will also ensure further dissemination and endorsement of the MOSAIKON strategy in the region.
Evaluation and future plans
A quick evaluation was carried out every day of the course and a final questionnaire was circulated 2 months after participants return to their home countries. The results will inform the next training activities.
The assets of the course were the interactive teaching, the variety of activities, the diversity and quality of the resource team. Overall, the content met the expectations of the participants. Among the issues most appreciated, learning how to "read" a mosaic and understand the meaning and message, the conservation terminology, issues related to legislation, presentation and storage reorganization. Aspects to review and consolidate in the future courses include the production of course materials which are non existent on the topic, possibly in the 3 languages of the network. Also, there is a need to overcome the language barriers and to reduce the intense timetable of the programme!
The next event is envisaged for 2014.
updated on:
4 December, 2012
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