Copenhagen, April 2023 — From April 19 to 21, 2023, the University of Copenhagen hosted the 19th Seminar on the Care and Conservation of Manuscripts. The event brought together colleagues from all over the world – conservators, researchers, and students – united by a shared interest in a field that is as broad as it is complex. The programme included presentations on codicological studies, diagnostic analyses, and innovations in the field of conservation and restoration.
On this occasion, together with the Tibetologist Dr. Michela Clemente, Federica Delia presented a research project to which they have been jointly and passionately devoted for several years.
The presentation illustrated the search for new approaches to the restoration of Tibetan books. In particular, the project focuses on two fragmentary manuscripts from the Tucci Tibetan collection preserved at the IsIAO Library. The collection is housed in the African and Oriental Collections Room of the National Central Library of Rome (BNCR), and its management is entrusted to the International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (ISMEO).
The collaboration of Dr. Filippo Lunardo, a researcher at Sapienza University of Rome and an expert in the history of Tibetan art, is invaluable for the study of the miniatures. Dr. Mauro Missori, a physicist at the National Research Council (CNR) and Sapienza University of Rome, coordinates the diagnostic analyses of the two manuscripts. The project is supervised by Silvia Sotgiu, Head of Conservation at the BNCR.
Federica and Michela undertook the research with the aim of identifying the raw materials used. Subsequently, they selected specific Himalayan fibres and began experimental work on the production of paper to be used in the restoration of Tibetan books. The experimentation is being carried out at the laboratory of the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome. The manual papermaking process involves two specialists in paper technology: Elena Bordacconi and Giacomo Mafrici.
