This short video offers a glimpse inside the ICCROM Mora Sample Collection, to share with you the findings of a new project launched in early 2018, and see the project team at work.
The Mora Sample Collection is an important archive of historic wall paintings samples and fragments collected from heritage sites from around the world. It is the legacy of two internationally renowned restorers, Paolo and Laura Mora, who collected these materials during technical missions and conservation projects undertaken on behalf of ICCROM between the 1960s and 1980s. The archive today comprises some 1400 wall painting samples from 36 countries.
The sample collection is a valuable resource, which Paolo and Laura Mora used to research the materials and painting techniques used in the creation of mural paintings around the world. It also served as a didactic tool for numerous ICCROM International Mural Painting Conservation Courses to illustrate different traditional technologies. The specialist knowledge arising from these studies combined with a wealth of fieldwork experience formed the foundation of their book, co-authored with Paul Philippot: The Conservation of Wall Paintings, which although first published in 1977 still remains the central reference for the field.
This project, undertaken by ICCROM together with the Hercules Laboratory of the University of Évora, Portugal, seeks to safeguard the collection, documenting and rehousing the often extremely fragile and delicate materials it comprises, and to make it available online for future scholars.
Once the project is completed, a series of follow-up activities will raise awareness of the importance and vulnerability of sample collections of this type, and promote methodologies for managing, preserving and sharing data of such collections. To this end, ICCROM would like to invite interested institutions holding similar collections to join us in this initiative.
Enjoy the video!