Restoring Glass Negatives in the Center of Documentation in Cairo (Egypt)

Egypt comprises ca. 14,000 objects, mainly silver gelatine glass negatives and acetate sheet film negatives. Since 2002 the German Archaeological Institute Cairo is involved in a restauration and training program. The project aims at helping to secure, safely store, and conserve the glass negatives and at training of local inspectors in order to create local conservation and restauration capacities. The  restoration program is supported by the German Foreign Ministry.

 

The Photographic Archive of the Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l’Art Arabe at the Citadel in Cairo contains approximately 14,000 photographs. The objects are mainly silver gelatine glass negatives dating into the first half of the 20th century. Only a small part of the archive consists of acetate sheet film negatives and albumen photographs, which were used in the 19th century. To this day the images, showing antiquities, monuments and ancient cities, have not lost any of their fascinating appeal. To store the glass negatives, special wood cabinets were made, presumably 1931. The glass negatives were stored in the boxes in upright position. The improper handling and storage of the panels led to significant damage and contamination such as breaking, silver-mirroring, bacterial attack and insect infestation.

Storage and resulting damages. (© G. Harich-Hamburger).

The Restoration of the Glass Negatives

Between October 2002 and October 2003, the German Archaeological Institute Cairo carried out the first restoration phase. The glass panels were taken from the wooden cabinets and stored in envelopes and boxes especially suited for archiving photographs. The new material was imported from Germany. During the process the existing numbers on the glass plates were compared with the remaining registry book of the Comité and corrected if necessary. The boxes are stored today in newly purchased metal cabinets. However, due to difficulties on-site and significant damage to the panels, further work is needed.

 

Left: Konserving broken glass negatives (© K. Bartels). Right: New storage units in Cairo. (© N. Ahmed)

Trainingprogram in Egypt

In order to complete the restoration of the glass negatives, a second restoration phase was carried out in 2015/2016. The major focus was on the practical training in restoration of the inspectors. After completing the final phase, the team of the citadel is now able to restore almost all the state images on the glass negatives independently. With the restoration of the glass negatives and the training of the inspectors on the citadel, a first step has now been taken. With the help of the trained staff of the Center of Documentation, this important restoration project can now be completed in near future.

 

 

Cooperation: Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs/ Egypt, Center of Documentation, Citadel; Institut Francais d‘Archéologie Orientale du Caire.

Funding: German Foreign Ministry

Project Coordination: Wolfgang Mayer.

Team: N. Ahmed, K. Aue, K. Bartels, S. Falk, S. Heckert

 

 

 

Read more

E-Research report of the German Archaeological Insitute (GER)

Photographic Archive Projects in Sudan

 

 

 

Zooming in on archaeology – Photography workshop in Cairo (Egypt)

Photography is one of the most important documentation tools in archeology. Photos of objects help capture the condition of an object during the excavation as well as before and after restoration work. They are used for publishing or for digital reconstruction. Today, photos of objects can also be used as templates for 3D models. And photography can be used as an advertising medium or for research, without jeopardizing the original. But to present an archaeological object both scientifically usable and aesthetically pleasing requires some knowledge.

The DAI Cairo regularly organises training courses for Egyptian colleagues to familiarize them with the latest methods and techniques. Between the 28th of January and the 8th of February 15 archaeologists of the Ministry of Antiquities had the opportunity to participate in a photo workshop, given by photographer Andreas Paasch. Paasch lived in Egypt for 10 years and took photographs on a variety of excavations and in museums, partly on behalf of the DAI. Due to his vast knowledge of the difficult working conditions on excavations the participants are well prepared for the task at hand. The work shop offers not only hands-on-experiences necessary for the job, but due to its profound introduction, valuable insight into object photography.

We thank Mr. Paasch for his efforts and the Federal Foreign Office for providing special funds for this workshop.

 

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Source: German Archaeological Institute