The collections of Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel (MHK) are cared for by eleven conservators/restorers working from nine state-of-the-art workshops. Their respective responsibilities are contingent with their areas of expertise and the materials used in the items. The main task of our experts is preventive conservation, i. e. the preservation and care of cultural heritage. This includes both objects that are predominantly part of the furnishings of historical monuments, including sculptures in historical parks, and objects displayed as part of a museum collection, in a museum environment, and in the context of one of our large range of subject areas.
Conservation work aims to preserve the cultural object in its authenticity as far as possible, to protect it from further deterioration, and to create optimal ambient conditions that will slow down the ageing of the materials and protect the object's lifespan. Signs of age and traces of usage, however, contribute greatly to the »tangibility« of an object's authenticity. Frequently these »signs of the times« also provide interesting information about the ways the object was used and about its former owners, and should for that reason be preserved.
The MHK's restoration workshops are equipped with state-of-the-art appliances and working materials (reflected and transmitted light microscopes, infrared and x-ray equipment) allowing for highly sophisticated art-technological examinations, even at the macro level, of an object's age, origin, and material properties that are relevant for both conservation and restoration work.
MHK offers traineeships in the various specialist areas covered by our workshops that can be used towards a university degree in Restoration (Bachelor/Master) or alternatively can be completed in tandem with working for a degree. MHK works in close cooperation with numerous universities both at home and abroad.
For large-scale restoration projects, MHK sometimes draws on self-employed restorers to support our permanently employed MHK staff where required.
Further information on the allocation of traineeships and the requirements for working as a MHK conservator/restorer can be found on the website of the restorers' professional association (Verband der Restauratoren, VDR) at www.restauratoren.de.
