The boat is about 1,800 years old, the Bosnian hut and ortaluk and a part of the old Bosnian house’s ceiling are unique artifacts of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and are being restored by our and Italian restaurateurs. The artifacts are being restored using new techniques, with materials that are harmless or are least harmful to human health, and in a way which obviously all our interlocutors are enjoying.
Specialist conservator and advisor Esad Veskovic told us that the boat has been in the museum for more than 100 years, but it has been preserved in an outdated way with materials that are harmful. Now, it needs to be restored using new methods.
“The boat has been in the museum for more than 100 years and is preserved in a way was current at that time with materials that were available at that time. Unfortunately, it has now been proven that these materials are harmful to humans.”
At the same time, the boat is need of a new restoration. In the project of revitalizing the exhibition from the prehistoric period, it is necessary to move the boat to a different position, and this is a very delicate job since it is a large-sized boat, about 12.5 meters in length and in a poor structural state. The boat is about 1,800 years old, and what is currently being done by experts from the Institute in Rome is an effort to improve the quality of conservation by introducing new methods that are not harmful to human health. Rehearsals have been made that are essential for further restoration,” said Veskovic, later adding that this is the initial phase of the work and that the museum had already already carried out some preparatory work, including photogrammetric recording, and X-ray scans, which are important for the further course of restoration work.
“This is a very complex artefact due to the dimensions and the previous conservation treatment. Now we are in the initial phase of the restoration, which involves surface cleaning. We are trying to remove the substance that is currently on the surface, which was used 100 years ago. We did tests with the applied materials on the surface and removed it after an hour, which extracts the substance that has soaked the surface of the boat. This is the method that we use during cleaning. Naturally, the boat has several mechanical damages and is cracked.
Bosanian restaurateurs will solve the mechanical problems after the cleaning phase, because now we cannot see the surface in its proper state. There have also been past gypsum treatments to be removed, then the iron wire that should also be removed, but this will work in the future after cleaning, when the state of the boat surface can be clearly seen,” Italian restaurateur Irene Cristofari said.
Roberto Sacumman from the Institute of Rome and Senior Conservator of Textile Azra Beccevic-Sarancak are currently working on the restoration of the boat.
“Robert is a wood specialist and we are doing the restoration on the hut and the ceiling of the old Bosnian house with him.” We are currently returning parts of the boat because the wood dries and changes its dimensions over time. It takes two days for some restorations and two, three, or even five years for others. It’s a job that takes a lot of time if done right,” Beccevic-Sarancenka said, adding that the boat is at least 100 years old.
(Source: Klix.ba/ photo blic.rs)
