Chemical and Technological Department
Friday, May 08, 2015
Chemical and Technological Department, Monuments Board
of the SR – History and the Present
EVA
KLUČKOVÁ
JANA
ŽELINSKÁ
In 2011 we commemorated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the
first state organisation of monument conservation, the Slovak Institute for
Monument Preservation. It was established in 1951 under Decree of the Ministry
of Education, Sciences and Arts No. 9864-I/5 dated 15 March 1951, which came
into force and effect on 1 January 1951. On this occasion we would also like to
remember the origin and development of the Chemical and Technological
Department.
As the responsibilities of the
Slovak Institute for Monument Preservation also included restoration works, akad.
mal. Pavol Fodor, head of the Restoration Department, established a physical
and chemical laboratory. The Restoration Division thus comprised Restoration
Department and Physical and Chemical Laboratory. The list of activities of the Restoration
Division has been adjusted over the years.
The Physical and Chemical
Laboratory as part of the Restoration Division started working in 1960, after
the arrival of Ing. Oľga Šujanová and Ing. Teodora Maňková. The laboratory was
temporarily located in building of the Slovak National Museum at Vajanského
nábrežie in Bratislava. The lab started processing samples that have been collected
since 1955 and tested the application of methods of qualitative and
quantitative analyses for material analyses of monuments and historic sites. Another
test concerned the suitability of available synthetic resins for making micro-sections
of samples. The types of protein binders have been identified using paper chromatography.
After the arrival of Ing. Slavomír Motaj two X-ray apparatus discarded from
medical facilities were put into operation, and the emission spectrograph for
elemental analysis was replaced with Heyrovsky polarograph. While preferring
physical and chemical examinations of monuments restored by the Division, the
laboratory also examined monuments restored by the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava,
galleries, museums and Dielo. Sporadically they also made analyses for the
Division of nature conservation. The laboratory staff also cooperated in architectural
and archaeological surveys of built heritage. In 1966 they developed a project
and carried out the renovation of wooden Evangelical Church of Augsburg
Confession in Paludza, which was largely infected with ligniperdous fungus,
Serpula lacrymans. They managed to disassemble the construction and move it
away from the floodplain of the Liptovska Mara dam. They also cooperated in transferring
the Roman-Catholic church from Liptovská Mara, the castle from Parížovce, and
mural paintings.
Responsibilities and duties of
the laboratory were related mainly to the following areas: physical and
chemical analyses for the examination and restoration of monuments, research in
the area of technology and documentation of monuments, studies on the theory
and methodology of monument preservation, development of technical manuals, and
control of restoration procedures. The research tasks included, for instance,
the examination of historical mortar and plasters that extended the knowledge
on historical construction technology in Slovakia; examination of medieval
mural paintings; examination of Neolithic pottery; examination of the impact of
the atmosphere on stone monuments; examination of climatic and microbiological
conditions on historic sites in Slovakia, and solutions to a number of other
technological problems in the area of conservation. The extensive research work
can be considered the Technical documentation of wooden polychrome sculptures
within which a total of 95 Gothic statues were processed between 1969 and 1972.
The statues were documented in photographs and X-ray pictures; the measurement
of typological characteristics was carried out that allowed for comparison of individual
woodcarving workshops; and stratigraphic analysis for polychrome samples was
made. The samples for physical and chemical analysis of pigments, supports and binders
were taken as well as samples for the identification of the type of wood. For
nine years, the Physical and Chemical Laboratory also served as a secretariat
of ICOMOS Czechoslovak Committee.
In 1974 the lab moved to newly
reconstructed premises of former barracks at the Bratislava Castle. In 1976 the
restoration activities were delimited to the Arts and Crafts Centre (Ústredie
umeleckých remesiel). The Physical and Chemical Laboratory underwent
restructuring; the Chemical and Technological Division was established, headed
by Ing. Oľga Šujanová, consisting of two departments: the first department
focused on the examination of monuments from the area of fine art (Ing. T.
Maňková, E. Klučková, Ing. S. Štefánik), while the second one (Ing. I.
Cebecauer, Ing. M. Mirza, Ing. Rozinaj) engaged in the technology of renovation
of built heritage (plasters, stone, wood, and statics).
In 1981, the State Restoration
Ateliers were established as part of the Centre of State Monument Preservation,
which incorporated restorers from Arts and Crafts Centre as well as the Chemical
and Technological Department. The laboratories were moved from the Castle to
temporary (and unsatisfactory) premises in so-called office containers in Lamač.
The activities of Chemical and Technological Department have been fully
re-established in 1985 after the completion of reconstruction of a dwelling
house at Leškova 17. In the State
Restoration Ateliers, which was an allowance organisation, the field of
activity of the Chemical and Technological Department was extended to cover the
entire territory of Slovakia. As a result the Department carried out research
and survey also for museums, galleries, and restorers and preservers working as
free-lance artists. As the Department had nine employees, part of them could engage
in practical tests of renovation and reconstruction technologies directly in
the field. The department was headed by Ing.
Ivan Cebecauer, Ing. Karol Bayer dealt with restoration technology, Ing.
Daniela Straková-Cebecauerová specialised in wood, and RNDr. Miroslav Lipovský
focused on stone. The better part of staff members focused on the analyses of pigment
layers: Eva Klučková, Ing. Jana Želinská, Ing. Tatjana Bayerová, Ing. Mária
Krajčírovičová, Ing. Jana Sanyová-Kunová. As for the instrumentation, the lab
managed to obtain high-quality Jenapol polarised optical microscope and infrared
spectroscope for the analysis of organic materials; a new X-ray apparatus was
purchased and installed too. Unfortunately, as a result of frequent transfers
and the common wear and tear (impaired optics), the emission spectroscope serving
mainly for elemental analysis of pigment layers had to be discarded.
During the existence of the
State Restoration Ateliers, a number of research tasks, technological plans and
procedures relating to monument conservation and restoration have been
developed. In Banská Štiavnica, for instance, they included the examination of facades
of Calvary chapels, survey of wooden reliefs in Calvary chapels, examination of
plasters, mortars, stone and mural paintings at both Old and New Castle,
examination of the Plague Column, survey of mural paintings at the Metropol
Hotel, in Old Hospital and in the town hall, and examination of Renaissance
timber ceilings in burgher houses. One should also mention the examination of
the castle in Sv. Anton, where the lab analysed mortars, plasters, stone components,
mural paintings on the facade, on the floor and in the chapel, wallpapers, etc.
Among the surveys carried out in Bardejov were the survey of mural paintings,
stone components, roof frame and coffered ceiling of the town hall; examination
of plasters and stone components in St Egid Church; examination of the facade
of Šariš Musuem, and survey of plasters from town fortification. The attention
should also be paid to the examination, assessment of condition and development
of restoration plan of the travertine monument of M.R. Štefánik at Bradlo. The
lab examined Baroque altars and pulpit from St Stephen Church in Beckov as well
as chapels in early-Baroque Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Trnava, where
the samples from altars, mural paintings and crumbling stucco decoration were
analysed.
One must not forget the number
of researches conducted in Bratislava. The survey of Gothic mural paintings,
Baroque sculptures, Rococo pulpit, Loretan chapel, and fragments of the
original portal was conducted in the Franciscan Church. The Department cooperated
with the Regional Restoration Atelier Bratislava in renovation and restoration
of Grassalkovich Palace; examined mural paintings in Sala terrena and in the
chapel; carried out examination of gilded elements in the main room, balustrades,
chandeliers and other elements in the palace. The cooperation with the Regional
Restoration Atelier Bratislava also included the restoration of reliefs on the
fence of the Office of the Government. The Department also examined paintings
in St Ladislaus Chapel at the Primate´s Palace for Polish restorers. Among the
significant surveys were Baroque mural paintings by P. Troger in a church and
other buildings of St Elizabeth´s Monastery; condition of wood panelling at Esterházy
Palace, roof frame and roofing material in Segner´s mansion, etc. One must not
forget the number of surveys conducted in Levoča, in particular altars in St
James´ Church, timber ceilings in the town hall and burgher houses, mural
paintings in the cloister of Minorite Monastery and other statues, paintings
and stone elements restored at the Regional Restoration Atelier Levoča. As for
the restoration of Evangelic wooden articular church in Kežmarok, the Chemical
and Technological Department took part in the examination of timbering, wood
panelling, mural paintings, altar, pulpit, font and organ as well as in the
development of technological plan for the restoration of mud plaster (daub)
used on the church facade. In Košice one should mention examinations carried
out at St Elisabeth´s Cathedral, namely high altar of St Elizabeth, sculptures
of Calvary, stained-glass windows, dome, and the assessment of and technological
plan for the reconstruction of wood roof frame and conservation and renovation
of stone components. The Department also examined mural paintings and stone elements
in the interior, and pastoforion and main portal of St Michael´s Chapel. In Dominican
Church, the Department assessed damages to plasters of the vault, and carried
our physical and chemical survey of a mural painting on the ceiling.
In 1994, the Monuments Board of
the SR was established as a result of the merger of State Restoration Ateliers
and the Slovak Institute for Monument Preservation. Ing. Daniela Cebecauerová
was appointed a head of the department. The number of employees of the Chemical
and Technological Department has gradually reduced to four people. After the
departure of Mr and Mrs Bayer in 1996, Mgr. Martina Stillhammerová arrived. In 2000
the laboratories were moved from Leškova Street to the seat of the Monuments
Board of the SR (Cesta na Červený most). After a years-long effort, the Chemical
and Technological Department staff succeeded in obtaining new instrumentation
for their department and for the Department of Graphic Documentation from Cultural
Grant Assistance granted by the Japanese government. The Chemical and
Technological Department received a scanning electron microscope JEOL JSM-6060
LA with energy dispersion X-ray analyser EX-23000 BU, which increased the technical
and informative value of research works.
Today the Chemical and
Technological Department, a specialist laboratory headed by Ing. Jana Želinská,
PhD, has three permanent employees. Along with Regional Restoration Ateliers it
is part of the Division for Restoration Activities of the Monuments Board of
the SR. Over the last decade, the most important activities of the Chemical and
Technological Department included participation in international projects “Research
and documentation of medieval mural paintings in the Carpathian Basin” and “Research
and documentation of painted-wood ceilings and tribunes in the Carpathian
Basin” within which the examinations of Roman
and Gothic mural paintings and painted-wood coffered ceilings and tribunes in
churches in south-eastern Slovakia and northern Hungary were carried out. In
the period of 2003–2006 another international research project “EVK4-CT-2002-00084
– ROCEM Roman cement to restore built heritage effectively” was carried out aimed
at putting the original historical material used on facades of many representational
buildings in Europe at the turn of the twentieth century into restoration
practice (For more information visit www.pamiatky.sk/pamiatky/ochrana-pamiatkoveho-fondu/rocem-/).
In 2006 the supply of technological devices in a total amount of SKK 15 million
was successfully completed, funded from the Cultural Grant Assistance granted
by the Japanese government (Annual Report of the Monuments Board of the SR,
2005).
As part of the cooperation with the Slovak
National Library in Martin, the Chemical and Technological Department
participated in 2009 in the project “APVV-0165-06 Examination of conservation
and cultural and historical assessment of parchment documents in the Slovak
National Library in Martin. Pigments used in the initial painting on parchment
documents from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries were analysed using SEM-EDS
method. The analyses were extended to include the determination of optical and
morphological characteristics of individual pigments in optical microscope.
Performing main tasks of the Monuments Board
of the SR, the activities of Chemical and Technological Department continued in
the monitoring of all wooden churches in Carpathian region conducted in the
past. In 2011 the Department carried out the monitoring of wooden churches in
Slovak part of the Carpathian Mountain Area, included on the UNESCO World
Heritage List (Bodružal, Hervartov, Kežmarok, Ladomírová, Ruská Bystrá,
Hronsek, Leštiny, Tvrdošín). The monitoring focused on a relative humidity of
air in the interior of the construction and on a relative humidity of wood. The
attention was also paid to the condition of wood in both the interior and the
exterior, to altars and equipment as well as to the activity of ligniperdous
organisms (For more information visit www.
pamiatky.sk/pamiatky/data/File/unesco/drev_kostoly_monitoring.pdf).
The Chemical and Technological
Department also focused on panel paintings and iconostases in the region of
Eastern Slovakia. The results of an array of exact analytical methods have been
presented in the 2011 international scientific conference by the current head
of the Department, Ing. Jana Želinská, PhD. Technological composition of icons
was represented by samples taken from panel paintings on the iconostas at the Greek-Catholic
Church of St George the Great Martyr in Jalova. General findings concerning the
materials used such as underlayment, supports, layers of pigments and varnish
glazing typical of icons of the Central Carpathian Region in the seventeenth to
nineteenth centuries could have been formulated based on the examination of iconostases
and mural paintings from Kalná Roztoka, Bodružal, Jalová, Matysová, Šmigovec,
Ruská Bystrá, Jedlinka, Uličské Krivé, Topoľa, etc.
The Chemical and Technological Laboratory
of the Monuments Board of the SR is the only workplace in Slovakia focused on physical,
chemical and technological examination and both destructive and non-destructive
analyses of all types of movable and immovable monuments. Carrying out research
and surveys related to the restoration and conservation of monuments, the
specialised workplace offers its services to not only the Monuments Board of
the SR and other memory institutions but also private owners of monuments in
Slovakia and abroad. The Chemical and Technological Department takes active
part in specialised research projects, significantly contributing to the
extension of knowledge on Slovak monuments and historic sites and their restoration.
1. PhDr. Katarína Kosová, Director General, Monuments Board of the SR, and
then ambassador of Japan, at the opening of electron microscopy lab, 2005.
Photo: ChTO Archive
2. Mgr. Martina Stillhammerová and Eva Klučková working with an electron
microscope. Photo: ChTO Archive
3. Ing. Daniela Cabecauerová in her office. Photo: ChTO Archive
4. Ing. Karol Bayer taking samples from the facade of Grassalkovich Palace, 1993.
Photo: ChTO Archive
5. Mgr. Katarína Pagáčová taking samples in Kostoľany pod Tribečom, 2007. Photo:
ChTO Archive
6. Ing. Jana Želinská desalinating a mural painting on Biela Street in
Bratislava, 1987. Photo: ChTO Archive
JANKOVIČ, Vendelín. Dejiny Slovenského ústavu pamiatkovej starostlivosti
a ochrany prírody (úsek pamiatkovej starostlivosti) v rokoch 1951 –
1981. In 30 rokov Slovenského ústavu pamiatkovej starostlivosti a ochrany
prírody v Bratislave. Jubilejný zborník. Bratislava: Obzor, 1981, pp.
9-36.
OROSOVÁ, Martina. Odkaz zakladateľov. In Pamiatky a múzeá: revue pre
kultúrne dedičstvo, 2011, Vol. 60, No. 4, pp. 2-9.
ŠUJANOVÁ, Oľga. Reštaurovanie a technológia obnovy kultúrnych
pamiatok. In 30 rokov Slovenského ústavu pamiatkovej starostlivosti
a ochrany prírody v Bratislave. Jubilejný zborník. Bratislava: Obzor,
1981, pp. 231-258.
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