International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
Egypt: Sample from the Tomb of Nefertari, 1958

Egypt: Sample from the Tomb of Nefertari, 1958

This month, we are showcasing one of the samples taken by Cesare Brandi, the founder and first director of Istituto Centrale per il Restauro (ICR) in Rome, during his visit to the tomb in 1958. Analysis of this and other samples at the time helped experts assess the condition of the tomb and determine whether restoration was possible and how best to carry it out.

Survey of ancient monuments of Nord Viet-Nam, Paris 1959 – a grey workbook and a mental walk in the ICCROM Library

Survey of ancient monuments of North Viet Nam, Paris 1959 – a grey workbook and an architectural journey of the mind

More than half a century has passed since the death of Louis Bezacier, who was born on 4 May 1906 in the French town of Cuffy, Val de Loire and died 60 years later in May 1966. Although an architect by profession, Bezacier’s passion was archaeology, especially that of the Far East.

 Egypt: Detail of Mural Painting Depicting Queen Nefertari

Egypt: Detail of Mural Painting Depicting Queen Nefertari

From Nefertari’s Tomb (Valley of the Queens, Thebes, Egypt), this image is part of a series of photographic prints taken by Giorgio Torraca during an ICCROM mission in 1978. The mission was to assess the deterioration processes affecting the paintings of the tomb, and draft a conservation and stabilization plan, together with a work programme for the Egyptian Organization of Antiquities (now the Supreme Council of Antiquities).

Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel

Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel

A resource that was developed in the United States around 25 years ago by the National Task Force for Emergency Response: the Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel. This task force was a joint initiative of the National Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Property (NIC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Getty Conservation Institute.

Cyprus: The magnificent Greek-Roman theatre of Kourion

Cyprus: The magnificent Greek-Roman theatre of Kourion.

This image is part of a series of large format photographs depicting main cultural heritage sites and monuments in Cyprus, including Kiti, Kolossi, Kourion, Kyrenia, Larnaka, Nicosia, Paphos, Salamis and Soli.

Hand-drawn drawing of Kangi-in

The Japanese Conservation Report collection in the ICCROM Library: an introduction

Conservation reports published during the year in Japan are regularly sent to the ICCROM Library. This practice started in the 1970s when Bernard Feilden was Director-General of ICCROM, with the first 30 reports sent from the Cultural Property Division of Built Heritage of the governmental Agency of Cultural Affairs of Japan.

Algeria: Neolithic rock painting depicting human figures and a magnificent mouflon head

Algeria: Neolithic rock painting depicting human figures and a magnificent mouflon head

ICCROM Archives continue to showcase their older photographic prints (1952-1985), which are organized alphabetically by country. From Afghanistan’s heritage (Resource of the Month in October), we move to Algeria, specifically to Tassili. Tassili n'Ajjer is a national park in the Sahara Desert, which has one of the most important groupings of prehistoric rock art in the world. It is a World Heritage Site since 1982.

VI Mostra di restauri

VI Mostra di restauri : catalogo, Roma, marzo 1949

“VI mostra di restauri” is the exhibition catalogue of restored objects and photographic documentation of conservation treatments conducted during the year 1948 by the Italian Istituto Centrale del Restauro (Central Institute of Conservation), the first institute and school of conservation in Italy created by the Italian Government in 1939. Most of the objects were war-damaged artworks, which had suffered from the direct destruction of monuments...

Afghanistan: The shrine of the Small Buddha

Afghanistan: The shrine of the Small Buddha

This photo is of the shrine of the Small Buddha (35 metres high) in the Bamiyan Valley, taken after the restoration work carried out between 1969-1973 by an Indo-Afghan team of experts.