NEW LOOK

Examples of restoration from the Collection of Icons and Sacral Art of the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina

National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 9 – 25, 2023

Exhibition opening: March 9 at 7 pm

Exhibition NEW LOOK – Examples of restoration from the Collection of Icons and Sacral Art of the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina which presents preliminary results of the project “Saving the Heritage” will open on March 9 at 7 pm at the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The goal of the project was to conserve and restore icons and other works of sacral art from the collection of the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project was realized primarily thanks to the support of the Sumitomo Foundation from Japan

Collection of icons and sacral art of the National Gallery of B&H contains about eighty works that were made in the timeframe between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 19th century. The collection includes the works of local, Italo-Greek and Russian authors. Amongst represented local authors it is worth noting Dimitrijević – Rafajilović family, as well as individual authors such as Stanko Daskalo, Simeon Lazarević to name a few; as well as foreign authors who belonged to the Corfu, Moscow and other schools.

During the regular inventory review, it was noted that the significant number of works from this collection needs an urgent conservation treatment due to the impurities, damages, and appearance of mold.  

The exhibition will present works that have undergone restoration and conservation treatment, as well as a presentation of the process itself through photographs. The significance of the implementation of this project is reflected in the fact that the Collection of Icons and Sacral Art of the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina is our most endangered collection and its preservation is of great importance for the cultural and historical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 45 of the most valuable icons were stolen from this collection at the beginning of the war, under circumstances still unclear. Those icons are still being searched for, and it is our duty to preserve the ones we still have.

The “Saving the Heritage” project started a year ago and will last until the end of this year.

*** As part of the exhibition, on March 23, 2023, at 6 p.m., conservator-restorer Maida Garić will give a presentation on the process of conservation-restoration.