Addressing the Challenges of Conserving and Maintaining Mosaics in Storage
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: Many countries in the Mediterranean region face the enormous challenge of conserving detached mosaics abandoned in storage for decades without any re-backing support and with only their facings to hold the tesserae in place. As part of the MOSAIKON initiative's technician training courses, sustainable techniques have been developed to address this problem, providing national authorities with the skills and knowledge to begin to provide proper long-term storage for the significant backlog of detached mosaics under their care. Mosaics in storage at the sites of Volubilis in Morocco and Sidon in Lebanon have provided the opportunity to develop new documentation and treatment methodologies. Low–cost techniques were sought using purpose-built, locally-constructed shelving structures and lime-based mortar re-backing supports which allow the removal of deteriorated facings and the identification and stabilization of the mosaics for long-term storage or eventual display in a museum or re-laying on site when more substantial funding is available. In both cases, the absence of sufficient storage facilities nearby the sites led to the lifted mosaics’ transportation to other locations within the country, highlighting the lack of planning when the excavations took place. Lack of surviving documentation about the mosaics has in both cases necessitated a treatment and storage approach which favors reversibility, accessibility and portability.
Source: Studies in Conservation
Institution: Getty Conservation Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Conservation
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W3024528784