This exhibition provides an answer to this question, revealing the background: the work of conservators-restorers performed in the Museum and Galleries of the City of Ljubljana as part of the Conservation Service, in particular in the Ščit Conservation Centre.

The Museum’s collection contains over 250,000 objects. They are typically acquired through archaeological excavation, donations, gifts and purchases. We keep artworks and useful objects from the near and distant past: everything from prehistoric finds to objects that were still in use yesterday. Made of a variety of materials, the objects vary in age and the extent to which they are preserved.

Museum conservators-restorers are in charge of preventive protection, conservation-restoration, safe keeping and exhibiting. We aim to preserve the objects in the best possible condition. When their preventive conservation is sufficient, the objects are kept in suitable packaging and appropriate climatic conditions, safe from harmful factors. Endangered and more fragile objects are subject to more complex interventions. Regardless of how much work they require, we choose the most appropriate salvage methods to ensure their safety.

When dealing with some objects in our collections, we sometimes do not have enough expertise, equipment, space or time. In these cases, we team up with external experts specialised in individual materials and procedures. When preserving and studying Ljubljana’s cultural heritage, we partner with the Restoration Centre of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, students of relevant disciplines, other museums in Slovenia and abroad and with numerous freelance restorers, researchers and scientists. We associate with people who share our goal of preserving the physical existence of objects. While we are aware that deterioration is a natural process, we try to prevent it from happening as much as possible with museum items.

POGLED Z DRUGE STRANI, Strokovnjaki, združeni za ohranjanje skupne kulturne dediščine

Spletni katalog ob istoimenski razstavi (2023) laičnemu bralcu ali strokovnjaku prinaša konservatorske zgodbe konkretnih predmetov oz. muzealij, katerih procesi za zaščito in ohranitev so še posebej zanimivi - zaradi svoje ...