The Department of Restoration was established in 1939, coinciding with the relocation of Matenadaran to Yerevan. It remains the sole institution of its kind in the region. The department specialises in the conservation and restoration of paper and parchment manuscripts, archival documents, miniatures, and graphic works that have suffered deterioration due to moisture, fire, fungi, bacteria, rodents, and insects.
The department utilises advanced equipment and adheres to traditional conservation methods, incorporating technologies endorsed by the European Confederation of Conservation and Restoration Organisations (E.C.C.O.).
The department’s activities encompass the following areas:
- Microbiological and entomological examination, disinfection, and treatment of manuscripts and documents.
- Determination and neutralisation of ink acidity.
- Restoration and preservation of all types of leather bindings.
- Softening parchment, correcting deformations and other types of damage, and performing restoration procedures.
- Conservation of manuscripts, old printed books, and documents; reinforcement of torn areas; restoration of missing page sections; and assessment and stabilisation of miniatures.
- Repair of medieval silver manuscript bindings and their reconstruction in their original form.
- Investigation of new plant-based antiseptic and anti-fungal agents, as well as the development of methods for their evaluation.
- Comprehensive analysis of the chemical composition of pigments in medieval Armenian manuscripts using advanced instrumentation, and identification of innovative methods for paint stabilisation.
- Monitoring of the physical condition of manuscripts, old printed books, and documents of Matenadaran.
- Study of new, non-toxic polymer materials to stop the ageing process of medieval papers and parchment.
- Study of the condition of medieval leather grouping by type of tanning and degree of damage, and creation of oils necessary for softening.
- Training and retraining of specialists.
- The department cooperates with well-known foreign centres (Berlin National Library, Italian Institute of Book Pathology, Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, State Library of Russia, Grabar Restoration Centre (Moscow), King’s College London, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rosfoto Association in St. Petersburg).
In addition to preserving and restoring the Matenadaran collections, the Department of Restoration undertakes conservation and restoration projects for comparable collections in museums and libraries throughout Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora.
Head of the Department: Gayane Eliazyan
PhD in Chemical Sciences
Phone: +37410 513017, Internal: 1-30