Restoration works as part of the “www.muzeach” project at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
During the “www.muzeach” project in the years 2019-2021, over 3,000 items were preserved and prepared for digitisation in the Conservation Section of the POLIN Museum Collections Department. The restoration works were carried out mainly on the spot – in a studio specialising in paper conservation.
Due to the specification of some items, preparatory work also took place outside the facility. For this purpose, cooperation was established with restorers of other specialisations, such as metal, fabric, painting and polychrome sculpture conservation. The involvement and presence of museum conservators was also necessary in other activities related to digitisation. In the case of selected objects, the specialists provided help and consultations concerning their safe packing, carrying, setting etc. Stationary objects required coordination of activities in order to properly secure the space and instruct people in direct contact with them.
On a daily basis, restorers also cooperated with the collection custodians, helping to identify the materials from which the objects were made and the techniques employed. This increased the precision of works, the level of security and preparation of the objects for making them available. Cooperation during the digitisation process was also conducive to better visual recording of the state of preservation in digital form, which was needed for conservation purposes.
It is impossible to describe all the conservation works on the "www.muzeach" project, therefore we have selected and presented below three of them.
Photo album
Inventory number: MPOLIN-A.14.1.1
The preserved album dates from the first half of the 20th century and was made by Feliks Matuszelański, a cameraman working for the Leo-Film studio. The album is filled with photos from the production of "Czerwony błazen" [The Red Jester] based on the novel by Aleksander Błażejowski. The film was made in 1926 (in the same year Maria Hirszbein bought the shares of Leo Film). Apart from the photos from this album, only a dozen or so photos from the set have survived. Some of them present members of the film crew, including actors: Nora Ney, Adolf Dymsza and Eugeniusz Bodo ("The Red Jester" is the second most significant film of this prominent Polish actor).
The picture was considered one of the most successful American-style productions in the history of Polish cinema. It was directed by one of the most interesting Polish pre-war directors: Henryk Szaro (actually Henoch Szapiro), author of both popular and more artistically ambitious productions.
The photo album consists of 30 sheets with 61 photos glued onto them. It was very dirty, as can be seen on the covers, first pages and photos. In addition, traces of insects were visible on the cardboard of the cover and in some photos.
Due to the poor condition of the album pages (stains, dirt) during the conservation works, we decided to disconnect the sheets from the covers for the duration of the work. For thorough cleaning, we also removed the photos from the album pages. Then, we cleaned each photo mechanically using specialised tools and compresses that dissolve the products of degraded paper and the adhesive layer on the reverse. Because the photos are gelatin silver prints sensitive to water, we decided to clean the face of the photo with a mixture of water and ethyl alcohol. For the purification, we used mixtures with two different alcohol concentrations. The covers, the lining cloth and the album sheets were treated with water and surfactants in order to remove dirt and stains.
The canvas on the covers was in poor condition. It had a lot of chafing and holes. We decided to reinforce it by gluing thick Japanese paper underneath. This not only strengthened the structure of the canvas but also filled in the cavities. The canvas prepared in this way returned to the original covers. The entire block of the album was reassembled, and the photos were placed in photo corners to make it easier to take the photo out, e.g. for an exhibition. The restoration works were carried out by Marta Stawińska from the Conservation Section of the Collections Department.
“Le souci” – a drawing by Ryszard Moszkowski
Inventory number: MPOLIN-M872
Little is known about the author of the drawing – sculptor and architect Ryszard Moszkowski (1906–1945). The artist was born and lived in Belgium for many years, then he moved to France. He returned to Poland in 1937. In 2021, the artist's nephew found the drawing in a pre-war magazine kept in the archives of the Moszkowski family. A sketch of a woman, man and child created in Paris is entitled “Le souci” [sorrow].
At the time of handing over to the collection, the object was not suitable for exhibition due to numerous folds, deformations and dirt. The drawing also disintegrated – it was torn into two parts along the longer edge.
Before starting the work, it was necessary to straighten the folds with the use of bookbinding tools. Thin and delicate paper was susceptible to further mechanical damage, therefore this procedure required great care. Due to heavy soiling on the surface, it was impossible to work in conditions with increased air humidity so that the paper became a bit more flexible. While straightening the paper substrate, we noticed a missing fragment – a long strip on the left side (containing part of the composition) and a smaller one at the right edge. After unfolding the object and laying it flat, it was possible to clean it mechanically using brushes and specialised rubber bands. After cleaning the substrate on both sides, we started water-based treatments. Due to the remaining dirt, we included a static water bath. These treatments were combined with increasing the pH of the paper. In the final stage, the object was placed in a hydraulic press to let it dry completely. The next step was to complete the already mentioned larger portion of missing paper. Since the colour of available pieces of paper did not match, we decided to mould the desired paper from available cotton-linen masses. By trial and error, we managed to obtain the colour consistent with the original. To supplement the defect, we chose the thinnest of the moulded papers, onto which we pasted a layer of thin Japanese paper. In this way, we obtained the appropriate thickness, colour and texture. Currently, the object is stored in an acid-free file custom-made for the drawing to fit inside. The conservation works were carried out by Agnieszka Cyrulik from the Conservation Section of the Collections Department.
Sukkah
Inventory number: MPOLIN-M1132
The sukkah was donated to the collection of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in 2008 as a gift from the then inhabitants of the Tanner’s House in Szydłowiec: Norbert Bekiel and his wife, Monika Łukomska-Bekiel. The multi-stage restoration of the sukkah began immediately after its transfer to the POLIN Museum. The final stage of those works, i.e. the preparation of the object for final 3D digitisation was completed as part of the "www.muzeach" project.
The main purpose of the work was to remove the secondary layer of white from the background of decorative panels and ceiling panel frames, and to clean and protect the original paint layer. The detached original paint layer and mortar in the preserved areas of the polychrome was also glued and then retouched. The aim of the works was to unify the perception of the interior of the sukkah and level the aesthetic dissonance (impressions of foreign elements). The project also included art history research as well as the ordering of the chronology and technology of the secondary and primary materials used. All dispersed materials were listed and described in the completion documentation. The works were carried out by a certified painting and polychrome sculpture restorer, Grażyna Malcher. Currently, the sukkah is on display at the permanent exhibition of the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw. The restoration work on the part of the POLIN Museum was coordinated by Erika Krzyczkowska-Roman in cooperation with Urszula Świderska and Marcin Burzymowski from the State Ethnographic Museum.
The project “www.muzeach” is co-financed from European Funds and from the funds of the Ministry of Culture and National of the Republic of Poland. The project is implemented under the Operational Programme Digital Poland for the years 2014-2020, Priority Axis 2 “E-government and open government,” Action 2.3 “Digital availability and usefulness of public sector information,” Sub-action 2.3.2 “Digital availability of culture resources.”
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