Conservator Toralf Gabsch has been planning the Museum of Asian Art’s new exhibition in the future Humboldt Forum for eight years. The museum’s move to the newly built Berlin Palace is a major challenge for the coordinator with many new problems. RESTAURO spoke to Toralf Gabsch about transportation on trolleys, façade openings and other logistical feats.
Restauro: Theexhibitionroomsin the Asian Museum in Berlin-Dahlem havebeenclosed and emptied.Some have been turned intorestorationworkshops.Isn’t it a paradisefor you tobe ableto examineall thepieces in the collection for restoration?
Toralf Gabsch: What we are now experiencing with the interim move as part of the construction clearance of the Museum of Asian Art naturally offers the opportunity to examine the entire collection in its entirety from a conservation and documentary point of view. In a normal museum operation, this usually happens every 40 to 50 years.
What are thebiggest challenges in this move?
It is a huge responsibility to move an entire museum. Just moving the two Buddhist cult caves with their wall paintings from the fifth and sixth centuries AD is the equivalent of moving two detached houses. In addition, many things have not yet been conclusively clarified. For example, the exact procedure for the relocation will have to be specified next year and the year after. After all, the trucks full of artworks cannot queue up in front of the Humboldt Forum.
The collections of the MuseumofAsian Artinclude many murals. They were the last pieces in thecollectionto be removed at the end of May. How are they transported?
For the dome of the “Cave of the Ring-Bearing Doves”, we will have to open the façade of the Dahlem museum in order to load it onto a heavy-duty transporter. The murals will be packed and well-padded on special transport trolleys and then later transported on these trolleys in specially air-conditioned trucks.
Not in boxes?
No, we want to move them as little as possible. And when they are on the trolleys, they should also be transported on the trolleys. The trucks have to be prepared for this. However, the trolleys will only be used for larger paintings. Smaller paintings will be packed separately in climate-controlled crates and then taken to the castle. So there are both options.
There will be many more objects on display in the Humboldt Forum than before. What problems does this cause from the conservator’s point of view?
On the one hand, it is of course great that a large number of the objects that have only been available to a limited public in the study collections for 30 years are now being made accessible to the general public. On the other hand, more visitors also means more conservation risks. We must ensure that works of art made of sensitive materials are regularly replaced. There must also be appropriate rest periods. Due to the tripling of the exhibition space, however, many more objects will be affected by conservation changes, which will lead to more and more extensive permanent tasks in the operation of the spaces.
Where do you see opportunities and where do you see problems when so many more objects are exhibited?
As already mentioned: more public, more need for action for conservators. As a large part of the collection will remain at the old location in Dahlem in the long term, object changes often have to be linked to the transportation of objects to and from the palace. This goes hand in hand with all conservation and logistical measures, which must be adapted to the respective object group. Exhibition operations become more complicated due to the distances to and from the depot locations. It is of course exciting for visitors to find regular changes, discover new themes and become part of the museum cosmos.
You will be exhibiting two Buddhistcultcavesfrom Kizilin the Humboldt Forum.Are you working with local scientists onthenewpresentation?
We have been working intensively on researching and restoring the “Cave of the 16 Sword Bearers” from the sixth century AD for 10 years now. In addition, there is already the “Cave of the Ring-bearing Doves” in our permanent exhibition. Both originate from the Northern Silk Road. Thanks to international cooperation, triggered by the KUR project from 2008, close conservation and scientific cooperation has been established with China and Russia. This will greatly benefit the collections in the long term.
What is the situation at the MuseumofAsian Art – how many conservators are permanently employed?
The Museum of Asian Art has four conservator positions for around 30,000 works of art in all material groups. These include the largest collection of archaeological wall paintings in a European museum.
You will beworking with around 50 freelance restorers during the restoration phase. Whatcommissions do you have to award?
Without the cooperation of freelance colleagues, it would be impossible to tackle such a challenge. Almost all material groups are involved. However, the focus is on the restoration of paper, textiles, metal and wall paintings. There are restorations of miniature paintings, archaeological manuscripts, Indo-Asian fabric paintings, Khmer bronzes and, of course, the Buddhist wall paintings from the northern Silk Road. Over the past few months, the focus has been on clearing the Indian exhibition areas and setting up an interim depot. At the moment, the focus is on preparing specifications for the paper conservation.
What will be themost frequent restoration work?
That’s not so easy to define. For example, one object that we have to restore is a 30-meter-long manuscript from 18th century Thai royalty. This work of art, executed in tempera technique on paper, will be one of the most lengthy restoration projects on the way to the Humboldt Forum. In terms of number and surface area, the Buddhist wall paintings are the most complex area. The focus here is on making the objects suitable for transportation and hanging in the new permanent exhibition in the Humboldt Forum.
Whichpieces are in particular need ofrestoration?
We differentiate between conservation and restoration. Around 70 percent of the collection consists of objects painted in color. The painting technique and understanding it is an important core issue. Conservation measures are often necessary here. However, we also have war damage to numerous objects. This group of objects with fire and deformation damage requires continuous restoration preparation. This year, we have also completed a current master’s thesis with the HTW Berlin in the field of metal restoration as a basis for research.
You can read more about the relocation of the Museum of Asian Art to the Humboldt Forum in the article “Relocation of the Silk Road – A Challenge”.