Summer Class 2022: Craft and conservation of Oriental books

The course focuses on the craft of traditional Islamic and Coptic books and bindings, including conservation and preservation techniques. The lessons will be divided into theoretical and practical components, with a stress on the application of skills. The theoretical component will explore the structure of Oriental books, and their history and evolution in order to understand a contextually relevant approach to their conservation.

Course project

During the practical components, the students will create 2 facsimile bindings (Islamic and Coptic style), reproducing historical binding techniques and making use of original materials and traditional tools. The students will also create samples of a variety of oriental endbands. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• Describe and define oriental book components and writing supports
• Identify and explain differences of book binding structures
• Design and create 2 historical types of book bindings
• Identify the challenges in the preservation and conservation of the oriental books
• Acquire appropriate conservation methods and techniques

Who is the course aimed at?

Previous conservation experience is not required to apply, but preference may be given to those with some conservation background. Due to the intensive, interactive nature of the course, we will take no more than 10 students so as to ensure enough individual time with the instructor.

Report

This 3 week class aimed to cover the craft of traditional Islamic and Coptic books and bindings, including conservation and preservation techniques. The lessons were divided into theoretical and practical components, with a stress on the application of skills. The theoretical component explored the structure of Oriental books, and their history and evolution in order to understand a contextually relevant approach to their conservation. During the practical component, the students created 2 facsimile bindings (Islamic and Coptic style), reproducing historical binding techniques and making use of original materials and traditional tools. The students also created samples of a variety of oriental endbands. The course was attended by students from India, Pakistan, Kenya, Ukraine, and Italy, and their diverse cultural and technical backgrounds were an asset to the collaborative working environment. We learnt a lot from each other, and a lot of fun was had alongside their professional insights. They are now part of the Recanati e Restauro family, and support each other’s work by staying in touch over the years. 

The theoretical component will explore the structure of Oriental books, and their history and evolution in order to understand a contextually relevant approach to their conservation. During the practical components, the students will create 2 facsimile bindings (Islamic and Coptic style), reproducing historical binding techniques and making use of original materials and traditional tools. The students will also create samples of a variety of oriental endbands.