site.btaNational Archeological Institute with Museum Presents Exhibition Focused on Restoration Work

The National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is presenting a temporary exhibition focused on the contribution of conservationists and restorers. Quite off the beaten track, the event will present the work of all museum specialists involved who dedicated their professional skills to preserve and protect Bulgaria’s cultural and historical heritage even from thе end of the 19th century when the museum was established as the People’s Museum, said the institute’s Director Hristo Popov.

Titled “Time, Matter and Spirit. Restoration at the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences”, the exhibition will be unveiled at 6:00 pm in the museum’s Temporary Exhibitions Hall on March 23 and will be open to visitors from March 24 until September 18.

The exhibition is part of the calendar of events dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the People’s Museum.

Today the National Archaeological Institute is equipped with a restoration laboratory with a branch in Shumen (Northeastern Bulgaria). The eight specialists who work there have a broad expert range and meet even the highest of standards in this important profession.

It is one thing to discover and artefact during digs, study it and analyse the information it bears, and quite another to couple this information with the material artefacts before they reach the public. This is where restorers come in, Popov said.

The exhibition features over 200 artefacts from 22 museums, the head of the laboratory Reneta Karamanova said. Twenty-one of these are historical and archaeological museums across Bulgaria which contributed finds from their repositories.

A catalogue of the exhibition has also been published, including both important figures in restoration and “then and now” photos of all exhibits.

The exhibition became possible in relation to the institute’s activity under the IFRAMAT research project and with the support of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Culture, Glavbolgarstoy Holding EAD and Dundee Precious Metals EAD.