Workshop – 2009 Conservation and Restoration of Murals unearthed in Central Asia

Experience of restoration by participants in workshop

 From October 23 to 28, we held a workshop titled “2009 Conservation and Restoration of Murals unearthed in Central Asia” at the National Museum of Antiquities, Tajikistan. This workshop took place as part of a project for the conservation and restoration of mural pieces owned by the National Museum of Antiquities, Tajikistan. The National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo has been working on together with the Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography, Academy of Science, Tajikistan, under the framework of Networking Core Centres for International Cooperation on Conservation of Cultural Heritage funded by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. This was the second such workshop held, following a similar one held last year. This year, in addition to the three experts from the Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz and Turkmenistan), we invited two experts from the Mural Restoration Laboratories of The State Hermitage Museum, Russia, and one expert from the DunHuang Academy. Six trainees from the National Museum of Antiquities, Tajikistan also participated in the workshop. At the workshop, the Russian restoration specialists reported on the method of restoring murals unearthed from the Central Asia executed in the former Soviet Union, and other participants reported on conservation/restoration activities in their own countries. We introduced restoration/conservation methods currently being employed in Tajikistan, and asked participants to experience part of the actual works. We will hold the similar workshops in the future with the aim of promoting mural restoration/conservation activities in Central Asia and improving restoration/conservation methods.

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