Műtárgyvédelem, 2005 (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum)
Összefoglalók
SUMMARIES The history of restoration work in the Hungarian National Museum - up to 1960 András Morgós The very first public museums were founded in the second half of the eighteenth century, for example the British Museum in London in 1759 and the Louvre in Paris in 1791. The Hungarian National Museum was established in Budapest in 1802. In the early days, since they typically worked alone, it was the curators themselves who undertook to restore articles in their care. Only later when they were able to hire museum assistants could they direct manpower towards restoration duties. From the end of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century this assistance was often provided by craftsmen and staff without specialist qualifications. They had not only to deal with objects in the collection in need of restoration, but they commonly had to do the cleaning, routine maintenance and repair jobs, prepare exhibitions and act as messenger as well. Although they were occasionally officially recognized as restorers it was more usual for them to be known simply as museum assistants, even if this could not possibly convey the extent of their responsibilities. At this time it was still rare for restoration procedures and details of materials used to be documented, in part because the majority of early restoration work amounted to little more than cleaning and gluing together; it was not in the real sense of the word restoration at all. The first recorded restorer to work in the Hungarian National Museum was Bálint Kiss (who lived from 1802 to 1868). He was custodian of the Museum’s pictures and curator of the Pyrker Collection that was acquired in 1844. It was in that same year that he joined the Museum, although it was another three years 193
