Central Conservation Laboratory

CENTRAL CONSERVATION LABORATORY - (CCL)

The Central Conservation Laboratory (CCL) at the NI Museum of the RN Macedonia, Skopje, performs the protection of movable cultural heritage from its own collections, and according to its institutional mandate, provides services to other museums in Macedonia.

Within its scope of operation in the museum field, CCL acts in several segments and activities through programs and projects, utilizing six basic directions of action: conservation research, direct protection, preventive protection, as well as performing other tasks in the fields of education, documentation, and presentation of cultural heritage. CCL is of exceptional importance to the museum profession; a professional team of specialists from various fields, including conservators, researchers, and technicians, works on the primary-preventive and direct protection of museum collections in exhibition halls and museum storage facilities for the Departments of Ethnology, History, and History of Art.

Through the preparation of conservation studies, CCL studies, researches, and processes data using scientific methods during the conservation process. It performs professional expertises and damage assessments of items subject to conservation, executes conservation-restoration and other direct protection works, prepares documentation, organizes presentations, and issues publications, thereby popularizing cultural heritage both within the country and abroad. The care for cultural heritage and the preservation of its historical, artistic, and cultural values represents a complex domain of action involving multiple entities working towards the common interest of cultural heritage protection.

As the competent laboratory for the protection of movable cultural heritage in the territory of the RN Macedonia, within its primary mandate, it: performs professional verification of conservation projects in the field developed by national institutions for protection and local museums, maintains records of projects, appoints and conducts conservation supervision over the execution of works, coordinates activities during the implementation of protection projects, performs professional control of executed direct protection works, offers expert assistance, professional opinions, and proposals, and takes care of advancing the profession and the continuous professional development of staff.

Conservation within the museum is a complex and intricate domain of action, a field where professionals specialize in distinct areas: conservation of textile materials, icons, wood, furniture, bone, leather, metallic materials, ceramics, glass, porcelain, stone sculpture, wall painting, etc.

The activity takes place through interdisciplinary teamwork, which requires essential collaboration with competent professional and scientific experts from other institutions, as well as from the fields of art, history, ethics, and aesthetics. The contemporary approach to action implies understanding the processes, causes, and agents of material deterioration, the impact of fluctuating climatic factors, storage environment conditions, and the application of new, more efficient methodologies with appropriate materials and protection methods based on the principle of establishing long-term and sustainable development.

The conservation activity also requires knowledge of several principles and theories in accordance with international regulations, conventions, and recommendations in the field of cultural heritage conservation. The basic concepts in clarifying and applying conservation treatments and terminology are aligned with the Resolution on Terminology for the Conservation of Tangible Cultural Heritage and the International Committee for Conservation of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-CC).

Through conservation research and the implementation of projects at national and regional levels, CCL contributes to the advancement of the profession as both an expert field and an academic discipline. It is focused on training, further specializing, and upgrading the skills of existing staff. It increases the capacities for cultural heritage protection in the RNM through the education of new professionals with continuous practical work and professional training for beginners, students, and volunteers in the field. CCL develops and improves its work by introducing new principles into conservation documentation.

It acts towards introducing durable and sustainable systems for the regular control of environmental conditions for prevention and risk assessment, which constitutes the foundation for comprehensive care and the establishment of a more efficient system for the protection of collections. It participates in raising the awareness of individuals and various user groups, such as institutions, managers, and handlers of cultural property, regarding the significance and role of cultural heritage protection, thereby complementing the activities of other institutions. It also participates in the formulation of a national strategy and systemic protection of cultural heritage.

Internal Organization of CCL:

protection of textile materials,

protection of metallic materials,

protection of ceramics, glass, and porcelain,

protection of wood and wooden sculpture,

protection of icons and wall painting,

protection of stone sculpture,

protection of organic materials (leather, paper, bone...)

photo and technical documentation at CCL,

chemical laboratory,

carpentry workshop,

Employees: