14 May 2016
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Bantry House are have announced a partnership with a German conservation university.
The Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste (www.abk-Stuttgart.de) is the oldest university in Germany to offer exceptional high and academic training in the field of conservation of artefacts.
The Academy offers four specialised consecutive BA/MA courses
1. Conservation of Paintings and Polychromed Sculpture
2. Conservation of Objets d’Art
3. Conservation of Archival and Librarian Goods
4. Conservation of Wall Paintings and Architectural Surfaces
There is also a MA post graduate program in New Media and Digital Information and a laboratory forarchaeological science.
In March 2016, Professor Volker Schaible, (Director) and Dipl. Rest. Peter Vogel (head of conservation) came to Bantry, to assess the condition of the collection and also of the fabric of the House . It was agreed to send the first group of 3rd and 4th year students, together with a tutor, to Bantry House during a period over this summer. They will begin to work on a painting which is in a serious state of decay. They will also work on other pieces. The work will be carried out in Bantry House, the conservators will live on the premises. This co-operation with ABK Stuttgart is a most wonderful development in the history of Bantry House, very much in keeping with the spirit of Richard White, the second Earl of Bantry, who repeatedly travelled to Europe to make his collection and to bring European cultural goods to West
Cork . Ties were formed then and are being renewed now.
A statement from Bantry House said “We are sure this co-operation will benefit both parties and we very much hope that this is the beginning of a long and successful relationship. For us here at Bantry House, it is a development beyond anything we could have contemplated afew years ago.”
