Manuscripts Museum’s Restoration Lab Wins Best Restoration Lab in Egypt Award
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The BA Manuscripts Museum’s Restoration Lab has received the 2015 Best Restoration Lab in Egypt Award for its tangible efforts in restoring manuscripts and documents. The award is sponsored by ICOM Egypt, and the award ceremony will be held on Monday, 18 May 2015 at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo as part of the International Museum Day celebrations. The event will be attended by Dr. Mamdouh
el-Dematy, Minister of Antiquities.
The Manuscripts Museum, which is part of the BA Cultural Outreach Sector, comprises six sections: the Restoration Section, the Museum Tours Section, the Chemistry and Environmental Monitoring Section, the Exchange and Archive Section, the Rare Books and Collections Section, and the Administrative Section. All of these sections work harmoniously together to serve Arab heritage in particular and all of humanity in general.
The Restoration Lab works on restoring BA collections, such as manuscripts, rare books, maps, documents, and images. The lab has also collaborated with several international institutions to restore several collections belonging to foreign organizations, such as Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah and the Amiri Diwan of the State of Kuwait. Additionally, the lab, in collaboration with the Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria, is taking part in the largest Byzantine manuscript restoration project in Egypt. The lab also cooperates with several scientific universities and colleges in Egypt by organizing restoration training sessions for students.
The section offers advanced training programs designed according to the needs and work field of the organization undertaking the training sessions in order to make the utmost use of these sessions. The training program comprises two sections: preparatory training, which involves the basic principles of the restoration and preservation process, and advanced training, which covers all the stages of restoration, scientifically and theoretically.
The Manuscripts Museum’s Restoration Lab team comprises restoration experts who have been trained inside and outside of Egypt. The Restoration Lab has been restored in 2002, supported by a grant from the Italian government, and it has now become one of the most important restoration labs in Egypt and the Middle East.