Kovács Petronella (szerk.): Isis - Erdélyi magyar restaurátor füzetek 4. (Székelyudvarhely, 2004)
Mester Éva: A Kárpát-medence üvegfesztészete. II. Az üvegfestmények és díszműüvegezések jellemző károsodásai
Ágnes SZENDRŐDI-GOMBÁS Practical and preventive conservation methods in the Open-air Ethnographic Museum of Szentendre In the introduction, the author gives a general review of the conditions of the establishment of open-air museums in Hungary, the purposes of the Open-air Ethnographic Museum of Szentendre and the results it has attained. The condition of the objects of art exposed to unfavourable environments and destined to a fast decomposition urges the specialists to find special solutions. The need to preserve the holdings of the open-air museum necessitated specific restoration measures and often the application of materials that are alien in the practice of the protection of art objects. The conservation of iron objects is usually carried out with the single-component synthetic emulsion Noverox (SFS Stadler, CH-9435 Heerbrugg). Phosphine (phosphorous-hydrogen) is used for the fumigation of wooden substances. The large building elements, which had been pulled down to be rebuilt later, are treated with Biokomplex concentrate, the aqueous solution of a combined fungicide and pesticide (agents: 20% 2-(thiocyano-methylthio)benzthiazol and 0,25% deltametrine (synthetic pyretroid). The outdoor building elements exposed to the beating of the rain are disinfected with Wolmanol BX of an organic agent dissolved in benzine. Specialists are invited from outside to help in the protection of wooden materials against Herculean ants, which appeared recently. A substance called Pesquard-B is used for this purpose. Once a year, outside specialists treat the materials in the textile store-room with a synthetic pyretroid marked Coopex 2,5EC independent of the presence of infection. In the case of insect infection of textile objects, Globol (paradichlorobenzene) is placed into a hermetically closed case for one or two months. As a preventive measure, the endangered objects are removed from the exhibition after it had been closed in the autumn and they are deposited in a specially prepared area of the store-room. The larger pieces of furniture, which are left in the houses, are pulled away from the walls and wooden cubes are place under the ones that stand on the rammed floor to ensure their free airing. Linen covers protect the furniture from dust. To protect historical curtains, UV-foil is put on the windows. Acid-free cardboard back covers are used at photos and paper pictures, and also acid-free paper and acid-free polyethylene foil is placed on the shelves and between the textiles kept in cupboards. A 1 mm thick polyethylene foam plate, which isolates moisture and arrests humidity, is inserted between the moist building elements and the objects of art when the objects are hanged on the wall or they stand on the rammed floor. In the case of objects that are strongly endangered from the respect of the protection of art objects, like curtains, paper pictures, photos or outdoor sacral monuments, certain stone statues or pictures on a metal base, exact copies are made. Regrettably, ageing processes caused by exterior factors cannot be stopped. They can, however, be slowed down to a certain degree, thus preventive conservation plays a crucial role in open-air museums. The purpose is the establishment of an optimal environment for the objects of art. For the sake of prevention, special attention needs to be paid in the open-air museums to the signs indicating active deterioration on wooden building elements and objects. Deterioration must immediately be treated according to the expert’s opinion so that the infection does not spread. In summary we can say that permanent control (even in the winter season) and systematic preventive conservation can bring a satisfying solution against the above sketched problems. To comply with the processes that evolved in international museology in the last decade, the first visual store-room in Hungary was opened to the public in the Open-air Ethnographic Museum, which was established within an optimal environment. The exhibition store-room is a transition between a traditional storeroom and an exhibition, where in different groups masses of objects can be shown. A double aim was attained: the store-room of the institution was opened both to the specialists and the public and it ensures a better storage possibility for the collection. Ágnes Szendrődi-Gombás Wood and furniture restorer MA Head of department of conservation Hungarian Open Air Museum, Szentendre Mária ÚJVÁRI Storage, conservation and exhibition of ethnographic textiles Ethnographic textiles are among the most sensitive components of a museum collection. They are extremely exposed to damage, so their treatment, movement, storage and exhibition need prudence and a great circumspection. Solving problems of the protection of art objects is often not a question of money but of consideration and the sharing of tasks. The aspect of preventive protection of art objects opens the door to more rational and cheaper solutions, which can be realised, however, only with the co-operation of the staff of the museum. Preventive conservation means the complexity of measurements and activities that do not endanger the coherence of the objects, and which are necessary to prevent the development of any kind of deterioration that can be evaded. 92
