Reconstruction – Addition – Retouching. History(ies) of the Restoration of Archaeological Treasures International Symposium
Submitted by Marina Herriges on 18 Mar 2024
29-31 May 2024
The rediscovery of ancient cultures also marked the beginning of almost 500 years of restoration work on recovered artefacts. The central concerns that soon emerged were the reassembly of fragments, the stylistic reconstruction of missing parts, the resulting additions, and the rendering of the surfaces. Today often regarded as outmoded restoration outcomes, the objects are proving to be manifold repositories of knowledge providing information about reconstructions between desire and reality, technical restoration possibilities, the skills and abilities of those who carried out the restorations, materials and materiality, and the subsequent handling of restoration heritage.
The international symposium kulturGUTerhalten from 29 to 31 May 2024 at the Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst (Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art) in the Bode-Museum brings together current research in an interdisciplinary exchange on these key topics.
The symposium will be held in German and English. Attendance in person only, no conference fee.
Sessions:
- Aesthetics – Style – Ethics: Reconstruction between Historicising Wish and Scientific Reality
- Personalities: The Work of Early Restorers
- Additions and Retouching: Possibilities and Limitations
- Material – Materiality: Composition and Effect
- Dealing with Heritage: New-Interpretation and New-Restoration