Monumental Treasures.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
XX NKF Congress 21–23 October 2015 Helsinki, Finland Preservation and Conservation XX NKF Congress 21–23 October 2015 Helsinki, Finland Picture on page 3: Skillful carving underlining facial details. Frederik Leils epitaph. After conservation. Photo: Roberto Fortuna. Picture on page 12: Hall of State. Photo: Tiina Tuukkanen / Eduskunta. Picture on page 44: Hoard object before conservation. Photo: ©Birmingham Museums Trust’. Picture on page 248: Tower after restoration. Photo: Juris Pavlovs. Picture on page 274: Ornate art nouveau gate at advanced stage of rusting, showing handicraft and mixture of materials. ©2015 The Nordic Association of Conservators All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher and author. ISBN 978-952-93-6194-6 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-93-6195-3 (PDF) 1st edition Published by: The Nordic Association of Conservators Finnish section Edited by: Anna Rajainmaa, Marleena Vihakara, Satu Haapakoski, Stina Björklund, Erika Tiainen, Kaarina Holmqvist Design by: Roy Haapakoski/Supergroup Studios Printed by: Libris Oy, Helsinki 2015 forewords Funding has become a challenge and Museum and Museum of Kymenlaakso Nordic Association of Conservators, Finn- monumental theme was handled in the therefore we are sincerely grateful for all the permissible attitude they have shown ish section, IIC Nordic Group (Nordiska papers: grave monuments, embroidered the grants, sponsors and funding sources towards our contribution to make this konservatorförbundet rf - Pohjoismainen wall textiles, archeological treasures, small and large. Thank you for believ- congress happen. We also give our thanks konservaattoriliitto ry) has hosted three wall murals, circus horses and epitaphs to ing in the importance of these Nordic to the senior lecturer of paper conserva- NKF Congresses in Finland since 1972. name a few. The presentations do not only encounters and in the success of the tor Päivi Ukkonen, and the conservation Now, forty years later it is a great honor to deal with technical conservation aspects; congress. A special thank you goes to the students from the Metropolia University host the NKF’s XX Congress “Monumental ethics, attitudes and involvement are also Finnish National Antiquities and Director of applied sciences for their help during Treasures - Preservation and Conserva- discussed: treasure or trash, who funds, General Elina Anttila and Chief Intend- the congress. tion” in Helsinki on 21-23 October 2015. who cares, who decides, for whom and ant Kaija Steiner-Kiljunen in particular, why do we preserve. The publication also for their immediate support in giving us Our sincerest thanks of all goes out to the The Monumental Treasures theme is the notes how these various projects succeed- venue in which to hold the congress, it congress committee for its simply great most suitable topic for the celebration ed, their strengths and the deficiencies took a heavy burden off our shoulders.We spirit; youthful, joyful, hard-working and year due to the several ongoing massive that still need to be dealt with. appreciate our employer, the Helsinki City fearless touch to everything. renovations projects in Helsinki includ- ing the Parliament Building, built in 1931 The NKF’s main duty is to share our and the National Library of Finland, built knowledge and expertise via these con- in 1840. gresses. We possess an amazing cultural A renovation of the Presidential Palace heritage and we strive to preserve it for Helsinki, on 11 August 2015 (built in 1837) was finished in late 2014. future generations. The congress working These huge projects have challenged and language English has made the congress offered great working and cooperative accessible internationally. We are de- Maarit Jones, Head of Congress Committee, Textile Conservator, Helsinki City Museum opportunities to the different cultural lighted that in addition to Nordic present- Jaana Kataja, Chairman NKF Finland, Textile Conservator, Museum of Kymenlaakso heritage authorities and conservators. In ers there will be presentations from Baltic addition to learning about these Finnish countries and Europe and from the USA. projects we also visit some of the more We look forward to strengthening our Members of the congress committee important ongoing projects and hear collaboration with international and Eu- from the authorities responsible for their ropean conservation organizations (IIC, Stina Björklund, Objects Conservator, National Board of Antiquities renovation. ICON, ICOM-CC, ICCROM and E.C.C.O.). Satu Haapakoski, Objects Conservator, Koboltti Kaarina Holmqvist, Paper Conservator The congress theme appreciates the base The NKF Finnish Section and Congress Nina Jolkkonen-Porander, Art Conservator idea of the Nordic meetings; that all Committee would like to thank all the Henna Koskinen, Textile Conservator, Arvotekstiilipalvelu Tupulatäkki Oy conservation fields should be represented presenters, poster owners, invited speak- Katja Luoma, Historic Interiors Conservator, OSK Rotunda and all conservators have a possibility to ers and authorities, and the chairpeople Mari Lenck, Senior Art Conservator, Helsinki Art Museum get their work presented at the congress. for their contribution in making this Anna Rajainmaa, Paper Conservator, Helsinki City Archives The call-for-papers resulted in plenty congress and dialogue happen. This con- Mari Saari, Textile Conservator, Rauma Museum of high-quality articles for the congress gress and the publication are the result Erika Tiainen, Paper Conservator, Elka Central Archives for Finnish Business Records committee to choose from. It was our of the valuable cooperation between all Marleena Vihakara, Paper Conservator, The National Library of Finland pleasure to see how comprehensively the contributors. Kaisu Voutilainen, Paper Conservator, Finnish National Gallery greetings from congress the editind group committee So, How many conservators does it take to with the contributors, who had the time make a congress publication? In this case, and energy to polish their articles along six, which is not very many. There has with us, send us pictures again and again been a huge amount of work between the and answer our every question ever so call for papers and getting the freshly- patiently. printed publication to us for the first time. Although four of us are paper conserva- When we started working on this project From left to right: Stina Björklund, Mari Saari, Marleena Vihakara, tors, and thus, worked with different a year ago, in Autumn 2014, we only had Jaana Kataja, Maarit Jones, Kaisu Voutilainen, Satu Haapakoski, kinds of publications, we usually come abstracts of the selected articles and post- Erika Tiainen, Kaarina Holmqvist and Anna Rajainmaa. Photo: Elisa Carl. along at the end, not in the beginning. ers and conservators who were not exactly sure if they would have the necessary However, the quality made up for the skills to do- well, whatever it was that quantity. As, among conservators in needed to be done. But the further we got, general, our team consists of pedantic the clearer the destination loomed in the pettifoggers, diligent executors and horizon. When the publication was finally neurotics with the need to master the big ready to be shipped to the printing house, picture. We had different means, but the the feeling was a wonderful mixture of same goal, and that is what made us so relief, pride and pure joy you get for being close-knit, efficient and motivated as a able to wrap up such a big project. group. Did all this take up a lot of our time? Yes, it Like the whole congress, this publication did. (What do you mean, “a life outside the was also done by volunteer work (with the congress”?) Were there moments when exception of our professional graphic de- we weren’t sure if the whole project was signer, Roy Haapakoski, who created the ever going to end? …maybe a few. But we layout of this publication). Nevertheless, would do the same thing all over again – our motivation has been high through the only this time, with much more experi- whole process; we have learned much, not ence! And be kind about any (hopefully only about making a publication, but also only a few) errors you may find: we are about each other and ourselves. When it still just conservators learning as we go. comes to the congress and its content, we got the sneak-preview in the front row Stina Björklund seats. We have proof-read, edited and Satu Haapakoski laid out over 20 articles, 10 posters and Kaarina Holmqvist everything else that you are now holding Anna Rajainmaa in your hands. And most importantly: we Erika Tiainen had the opportunity to be in touch Marleena Vihakara venue sponsor silver sponsor other sponsors supported by HISTORY IS HERE! bronze sponsors A museum filled with the riches of Finnish history. The National Museum of Finland is the historic central museum of Finland with the core mission of archiving and sharing the nationally key capital of cultural history. The museum family of the National Mu- seum of Finland includes nine museums and two castles - the National Museum of Finland, the Museum of Cultures (whose operations continue at the National Mu- seum), the Maritime Museum of Finland, Seurasaari Open-Air Museum, Tamminie- mi, Hvitträsk, Louhisaari Manor, Urajärvi Manor and Alikartano Manor as well as Olavinlinna Castle