Courses guidelines


THE TRAINING COURSES OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES
Dr. Arch. Donatella Cavezzali
ISCR, Istituto Superiore Conservazione e Restauro, Rome
Training Courses Programme Manager


The Programme of the ISCR Training Courses is provided for the curators and conservators of five Museums in Cairo: Egyptian Museum, National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), Islamic Art Museum, Coptic Museum, Textile Museum.
More than 120 participants have been interviewed between February and March 2008 in order to know the participants, to establish the needs and to create courses that will be fit to the purpose.
In terms of methodology the application of the international recognized standards for museums management and cultural heritage conservation are to be applied to the Egyptian's history and culture.
It is first of all a process of knowledge historical, technical and scientific, to determine the most suitable protection means, and advanced conservation steps necessary to preserve and transfer the Egyptian cultural heritage with to the future generations.
The following guidelines describe the methodological approach, implementation steps and timetable. They serve as standard reference point for the methodology to be applied in the courses organization.
All ISCR training activities are organized in full agreement with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and with the approval of Cairo Museums’ Directors and under the supervision of the Italian Cooperation Office in Cairo.

TRAINING COURSES OBJECTIVES
The programme of the ISCR training courses includes both theoretical lessons and practical training in the field of museum conservation and management, preventive conservation of museum collections, restoration treatments of ancient materials. The principal objective of the training courses is to increase the local professional skills and capability in developing global conservation strategies as well as restoration works.
Moreover the ISCR courses are also implemented to train the participants on the most updated scientific technologies in the field.

Courses organization
The Courses programme include five areas of teaching and training:

  1. UNIT 1 Informatics
  2. UNIT 2 Museology and conservation in museums
  3. UNIT 3 Conservation planning
  4. UNIT 4 Conservation: Theory and practice
  5. UNIT 5 Library conservation and management

The programme includes both theory and practice by means of lessons in classroom, practical experiences, working groups, laboratory activities and direct training in the Conservation Department of the Egyptian Museum of El Cairo.
Lessons are carried out on the bases of an interactive method with a wider cooperation between teachers and students. Lessons are organized on a weekly base for five hours a day. Lessons are carried out in English or in Italian with translation in Arabic language and audio-visual supports.
Each UNIT has a tutor of the ISCR staff and a reference person of the Egyptian Museum staff.
Teachers and lecturers (almost 100) are chosen among experts inside the ISCR and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, supported also by private senior conservators for long-term practical training.

Participants
Participants are 120 among curators (70), conservators (30) and librarians (20). They are all working in 5 Museums in Cairo: Egyptian Museum, National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), Islamic Art Museum, Coptic Museum, Textile Museum.
The selection of participants is based on their CV and direct interview. Intermediate documents have been draw up (questionnaires, report forms etc.) to facilitate the self-presentation and ISCR evaluation .
Selections are done in agreement with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and with the approval of Museums Directions.

UNIT 1. INFORMATICS
Duration: 40 hours for each participant
The course provides participants with the necessary knowledge on the main soft-wares to be applied during their working experience.
Participants have been divided into 4 different groups according with their computer experience and skill. The course has been organized with the support of an Egyptian specialized company.

UNIT 2. MUSEOLOGY AND CONSERVATION IN MUSEUMS
Duration: 4 weeks

  1. Museum management
  2. Museum risk assesment
  3. Inventory and cataloguing
  4. Museum communication
  5. Preventive conservation in museum
  6. Environment monitoring and pollution indicators
  7. Deposits and handling
  8. Regulations on cultural heritage protection: International regulations and Egyptian rules

UNIT 3. CONSERVATION PLANNING
Duration: 4 weeks
The course is directed both to curators and conservators. It provides the participants with the necessary general framework on the process of knowledge of the work of art, preliminary to the restoration, that include: archive documentation, historical background, photographic documentation, dimensional and structural survey, studies on the techniques of execution and scientific diagnosis of the conservation conditions of the object and of its environment. Main issues of the course are:

  1. Theory of conservation and restoration
  2. Principles of archaeological conservation
  3. Preventive conservation of archaeological collections
  4. Conservation on the field: terrestrial and water logged conservation
  5. The conservation and restoration project
  6. Photography applied to conservation
  7. Survey and 3D laser scanning of museum objects
  8. Management and processing of images for restoration documents

UNIT 4. CONSERVATION THEORY AND PRACTICE
Duration: 16 weeks
The course is addressed to the conservators of 5 Museums in Cairo: Egyptian Museum, National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), Islamic Art Museum, Coptic Museum, Textile Museum. The course aims to improve the technical and scientific local skills in the field of conservation and restoration of archaeological collections.
The training provides a professional growth and specialization to create multidisciplinary equips to manage the problem of conservation in museums.
Particularly, participants develop technical abilities in restoration and scientific skills to get a global conservation and restoration project.
Training is organized according with three field of specialization:

  1. Wood conservation: painted sculptures and painted tables
  2. Stone conservation: painted limestone sculptures, granite and sandstone sculptures
  3. Metals conservation: bronze, silver and gilded silver

Theoretical programme
The course include theoretical lessons common to the three specializations: conservation and restoration principles, integrity and authenticity, study of conservation conditions, NOT- destructive analytical methods, techniques of execution. Teachings include also chemistry, biology and environment monitoring.

Practical training Direct restoration training is organized in the Conservation Department of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Conservation studies and restoration treatments are carried out on 28 work of art chosen in the archaeological collections of the Egyptian Museum , according with the Museum Direction.
A preliminary phase to restoration training includes:

  1. data collection on the conservative history of the object and previous restoration treatments
  2. photographic and graphic documentation
  3. diagnosis on the conservation condition of the object
  4. microclimatic monitoring of the environment conditions (temperature, relative humidity, lighting) of the Egyptian rooms and deposits.

UNIT 5. LIBRARY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT
Duration: 3 weeks
The course deals with the procedures for managing and cataloguing library materials. The programme include the following main issues:

  1. Preventive conservation in libraries
  2. Books handling and deposits
  3. Principles of books and paper conservation
  4. International standard books description
  5. Reference and document delivery