en
- de
- en
What's all this about?
Since the Pergamon Museum opened in 1930, only individual parts of the building have been renovated. A comprehensive renovation was a long time coming and was only tackled in the 21st century. In October 2023, the Pergamon Museum finally closed its doors to the public to begin the fundamental renovation of the south wing. The north wing has been under renovation since 2013 and will reopen for visitors in 2027. At that time, the Museum for Islamic Art will also be reopened to the public with a redesigned permanent exhibition covering more than twice as much space.
The preparations until then are enormous: over 90,000 objects have to be relocated from the permanent exhibition and the depots and most of them have to be restored. The largest objects, such as the Aleppo Room and the Mshatta façade, will be transported directly from one wing to the other. In this story, we provide an insight into the relocation of the artefacts and show what the work behind the scenes at the museum looks like.
Stone and Stucco
A look behind the real museum wall: after the lightweight walls have been removed, the attachment of the stone and stucco elements in their steel construction becomes visible. The screws and wooden plugs that secure the elements are individually loosened and carefully removed using a high-lift truck. They are then placed on padded pallets and carefully secured for onward transport.
Jewellery, wood and ivory
The last photo clearly shows how the material on the back of the ivory has changed over time and how it has been repaired. The light-colored strip in the center is putty, while the smaller cracks were probably glued. The old drill marks are also clearly recognizable on this object.
The museum's relocation to the new permanent exhibition offers a rare opportunity to examine the objects in detail and to discover or rediscover such special features. For the restorers, this also includes cleaning the surfaces and checking the objects for loose parts.
A mamluk wooden Niche
The magnificently gilded and originally colorfully painted Mamluk wooden niche from the 14th/15th century was installed in the museum galleries for over ninety years. Despite intensive preliminary planning and research, it is often not possible to look ‘behind’ objects that have been in place for such a long period of time. As a result, the niche harbored a few surprises and the planned removal methods had to be constantly and repeatedly adapted. At 170 kg, the niche far exceeded its estimated weight; the climate-controlled transport box including the niche even weighed 500 kg! The deinstallation and transportation process therefore took a whole morning.
Ceramics
The first photo shows how air pressure cushions are used to lift the ceramic tiles out of their settings. When inflated, they can lift up to 100 kg. Gloves are worn when removing the tiles and extreme care must be taken. Natural material such as tissue paper is used for transporting the ceramic tiles wherever possible to avoid plastic waste. This material should be free of wood and acid. If individual items are transported by hand, they should always be packed in boxes. Special cardboard boxes suitable for archives are also suitable for long-term storage.
A wooden door
It can be assumed, that many of the wooden objects have been treated with biocides, to protect against pests. It is therefore often important to wear a mask when handling these objects - especially when a display case is opened for the first time after many years.
Carpets
The dismantling of the carpet exhibition includes several steps. After the carpet is taken from the wall, it is vacuumed on both the front and back side. Then, the seams that hold the carpet to its underlying tarp are cut open, and the carpet is rolled up for storage. Finally, the tarp is loosened from the frame it is attached to, and the frame too is disassembled into its individual parts.
The Alhambra-Dome
During the dismantling of the Alhambra dome, the dome is first lowered from the ceiling onto a mobile steel frame with a central support. The suspension, careful lowering, and raising are facilitated by supporting ropes and pulleys. The Alhambra dome consists of sixteen trapezoidal segments, which are held together by numerous non-original fastening straps. When the first trapezoid was removed, it provided very interesting insights into the original construction method. The central support inside prevented the trapezoids from collapsing during the process. The individual components are eventually carefully cataloged and documented for their upcoming restoration and reconstruction in the new permanent exhibition.
Discover more stories about the dismantling of the permanent exhibition and relocation in our Museum Backstage series!
Dismantling the Carpet Exhibition
Wonder how the process of dismantling an exhibition in the museum looks like? Get an insight into the techniques and methods used for taking down the carpet exhibition in the Museum for Islamic Art.
