Didactic Programme


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.
The course is directed to the Curators of 5 Museums in Cairo. It deals with:

  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