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EN
Owing to their small number and high value old musical instruments in Poland should be mentioned in our law concerning the protection of cultural property expressis verbis and not simply listed as an „instrumentaria”. A correct understanding of the specific nature of the conservation of musical instruments is facilitated by a presentation of various circumstances which accompanied the making of an instrument that is at present regarded as historical. One of such circumstances is the mutual influ ence of music and instruments. Attention was drawn to the fact that the constructor of the instrument was concerned with its durability; at the same time, he foresaw its repair and restoration which would ensure the instrument’s efficiency. Such repairs constitute, so to speak a natural part of the existence of the instrument and they are carried out with the same techniques which were originally applied in its construction. With time, however, whenever possible, the instruments were adapted to new types of music, usually beyond the range of functions proposed by the builder. Worn intruments were replaced by new ones, and the former were sometimes retained as relics of the past, frequently thanks to their rich embellishments. Nineteenthcentury historicism led to collecting, preservation and display of old instruments in museums, where they were treated on par with other examples of craftsmanship. At the same time, a gradual rediscovery of old music prompted performance on instruments from the epoch. At preservation, the state of the prevention of a given instrument and its characteristic may require different methods of conservation: 1. The state of the instrument is such that the restoration of its sound quality would be a threat to its further material existence, or require far-reaching intervention which, in turn, would deprive it of historical value. Such a state does not permit the restoration of the original sound of the instrument which can be only surmised. 2. The extant part of the historical instrument can be included into the reconstructed whole. 3. After conservation and supplementation, the extant instrument can be used. We are now faced with two possibilities: either the instrument survived in its original, unaltered state or it was rebuilt upon a number of occasions. In the second instance, we can attempt to recapture the original sound either by retaining the subsequent reconstruction or to recreate the sound prior to the reconstructions by the removal of the latter. The important factor in the reconstruction and conservation operations listed above is a familiarity with old crafts and the ability of their application. This ability itself could constitute a intengible cultural property, with its own specific cognitive and aesthetic values. The protection of the original is the most frequently encountered motive for making a copy, whose purpose is the most faithful recreation of the actual state of the original. The range of this undertaking depends, however, on the requirements. It is possible for example to copy only the extermal appearance of the instrument and in this way to produce a model. A copy can be supplemented by the reconstruction of missing parts. Only a single historical layer can be copied in an instrument which had been reconstructed upon many occasions. Finally, the last form of copying the original is the recreation of its selected historical state. As a rule, this is the state of the completed process of building the historical instrument. Restoration intends precisely to repeat the history of the making of the instrument and its usage during the period of its efficiency. The cultivation of old music calls for authentic instruments of the period or their faithful copies. Do the latter deprive the originals of their value? The answer is: no. The original will always remain superior thanks to its multifold merits which are of essential value for historical relics, and which remain inaccessible for copies. Not only is the copy harmless for the original but, on the contrary, it makes better understanding possible. It is owing to a copy that we do not have to limit ourselves to solely visual perception — we can touch the copy and play on it. The best way to understand and experience the original is to make its copy. One of the fundamental values of a historical monument is historical truth; its full cognition and experience is unattainable but we can approach it gradually by means of the reconstruction and recreation of the historical monument.
EN
On the initiative of Historical Monuments Documentation Centre on February 24, 1969 a session of Polish organ-builders has been held at Warsaw with the aim to make them acquainted with the Historical Monuments Protection and Museums Act, 1962 as w e ll as with the duties and responsibilities arising from regulations contained in the said Act. No less important issue on the session’s agenda constituted the problems most commonly encountered within the milieu o f Polish organ-builders in their everyday practice. The session offered an opportunity for a lecture delivered by the Swedish organ expert, Mr. Samuel Nygren, who at the same time made those present at the session familiar with his unusually interesting self-prepared travelling exhibition devoted to problems of scientific documentation and experiences gathered in the field of ancient instruments preservation in his country. From among several desires submitted by those attending the session should, in the first line, be listed the need for selecting from the milieu of organ — builders those specializing and responsible for conservation of ancient instruments, at the same time having adequate professional skill and knowledge enabling them to undertake the task, and also the necessity of special training for personnel of the government conservation authorities in the field of history and building of ancient organs through introducing the subject into curricula of conservation training courses. The Historical Monuments Documentation Centre has in turn been made acquainted with the technical state of the most precious ancient organs in the country and supplied with the first draft conservation documentations for organs at Zamarte and the two sets of made-to-scale drawings covering two organ prospects at Wroclaw. Churches throughout the country have been provided with inquiry forms issued by HMDC and the answers sent are to be worked up later in 1970 to form the basis for systematically prepared list of ancient organs in Poland.
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EN
The organizational structure of the protection of historical monuments in Holland is described, to depict against this background the protection o f organs ranking among historical monuments. Their protection makes the concern of the Ministry of Culture, Leisure and Social Welfare. Responsibility for the whole of the problems involved is borne by the Specialist in the Problems of Historical Organs at the State Office for Historical Monuments, in Zeist. His tasks consist in drawing up the files and documentation of the said organs, in cooperation with specialists and institutions of various kind. The documentation concerning the organs is collected by, and kept at, the State Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments inclusive of architectural documentation. The one pertaining to antique organs is based on the wealth of archival records, simply incomparable with the modest information on the subject, available in Poland. A particularly large number of those records have been collected by the Institute of Musicology, University o f Utrecht. The conservation of antique organs is carried on in Holland by private firms under the supervision of specialists appointed by the conservation authorities. The said firms are mainly engaged in construction of new organs designed on the basis of the wealthy Dutch tradition. What is worth stressing is the close cooperation of those firms with experts on antique organs. It was the Dutch organ-building masters, especially the Flentrop company, that were the co-initiators of the return to the classical organ-building tradition. What is particularly observed in conservation of antique organs is preserving the original parts of the instruments concerned. If this impossible for technical reasons, they are substituted with new parts, the original ones being preserved in the recesses of the organ body. The Dutch have the greatest attainments to their credit in the research on, and restoring of, the sound of the organ. The Polish antique organs are not very well known in West-European countries hence the need for more frequent contact and exchange of information between specialists in this sphere. The author has had the opportunity of studying the problem of the protection of antique organs due to a fellowship granted him by the Dutch Ministry of Education and Science. He is greatly indebted to Doctor M.A. Vente, Director of the Institute of Musicology, University of Utrecht and Mr. O.B. Wiersam, Expert on the Problems of Antique Organs, State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments, Zeist, for the aid in organizing his stay in Holland and all their kind interest and assistance.
EN
The publica tio n entitled „A dm inis tra tio n fo r Protection of Cultural Properties in Japan” (Tokyo 1962) comprises the fu ll text of a Japanese Law on Conservation from 1950 and its comprehensive discussion. Reading it aroused interest of the author of this artic le in the protection of intangible properties. A t present, according to the data possessed by the author, Japan is the only country to legally protect in ta n g ib le cultural properties. In th e ir respective laws on the protection of cu ltu ra l property other countries restrict themselves to the protection of ta n g ib le properties such as h istoric sites, works of architecture and engineering, sculptures, paintings, artifacts etc. A rtic le 2 of the Japanese law specifies what should be counsidered cultural property in the lig h t of the Law (tan g ib le and intangible cultural properties, examples of folk culture and monuments of nature). Basing on the above-mentioned intangible protected cu ltural goods the author formulated a defin itio n of intangible cultural properties in the rendering of this Law. They are: art and skill employed in drama, music and a p p lie d arts and other inta n gible cultural products, manners and customs related to food, c lothing, housing, to occupations, re ligious faiths, festivals inclu d in g those linked with folk c u lture th a t have a great historic and a rtistic value and that are indispensable fo r the understanding of changes in people's modes of life of th a t country. According to the author a ll this resolves itself into a p p lie d a rt and s k ill; „a p p lie d ” means „im p lem e n te d ” . The skill implemented in a material or non-material form is the root of the notion of intangible cultural properties. The author goes on to discuss the organization of the p ro tection of intangible cultural properties in Japan as well as th e ir designation. By des ignating a given kind of important non-material c u ltural property the Japanese determine and recognize the holders of this property. Thus, by protecting inta n gible c u ltural properties, i.e. arts and skills, they protect th e ir h o lders. i.e. the people who mastered a specific a rt or skill in an authentic form and to an outstanding degree and who by implementing this skill create material or non-material works of high value. For the first time non-material cultural properties were recognized in Japan as monuments in 1955. The protection of in ta n gible cultural property in Japan consists first in th e ir documentation. It does not d iffe r much from documentation methods generally used nowadays. Its distinguishing feature is, perhaps, the attention paid to the execution of copies. A p a rt from o btaining a visual document this is also of importance to m aintaining and continuing the a b ility to create a fter a d e fin ite convention, according to the adopted rules and the preservation of genuine technologies. Still, in the first place, protection of in ta n gible cu ltu ra l properties consists in supporting the holders of these properties. They receive fin a n c ia l aid and are offered adeguate co n d itions fo r work and creation. They ore helped with obtaining rare materials of good q u a lity and mainly with the imparting o f protected skills to th e ir successors. Students take also advantage of this fa r-g o in g assistance. The au tho r perceives the roots of the notion of a inta n gible property both in the history and modernity of Japan. An undoubtful effect was exerted by a national Shintoistic tra d itio n (e.g. a temple) in Ize, dismantled and reconstructed every twenty years) as well as a specific understanding o f an o rig in a l object in the culture of the Far East Buddhism stressing out not reality but the a b ility of achieving the truth — the enlightment; the skill th a t may be passed on only in a direct contact between the master and the student, not so much by means o f understanding as by in tu ition, observation, feeling and experience. In particular, Zen Duts emphasis on the sianificance of the "w a y ” of improvina the s k ill; the result is achieved somewhat autonomously in a sudden flash o f the implemented skill. It is fo r th a t reason th a t Zen artists and masters appreciated so much techniaues which excluded any corrections. A long train in g and then an almost immediate effect represent one side of a creative process. Still, it is complemented by the other one consisting in time-consuming execution which is patie nt and accurate, bound by neither time nor work in put, e.g. techniques in lacquer. Still another form of the preservation and transmission of an authentic skill was its provisioning with a code of rules, regulations, rituals and magic, which was characteristic of tantric Buddhism, e.g. forging a sword. The transmission of skills from the father onto the son had its support in a Confucianistic cult of ancestors. Finally, periods of Japan’s isolationisms, and from the end of the 19th century conscious cultivation of own trad itio n , its release from d o g mas after a defeat in 1945, a threat posed to the country's culture by homogenizing factors of tech no lo g ica l and cosmopolitism of mass culture represent rather more modern roots. It seems th a t only at such a high level o f economic and technological development as has been obtained by th a t country in recent decades one can see in a more c le a r way values and endangerings posed to traditions, tra d itio n a l arts and skills important not so much because of material necessities as of spiritual ones and thanks to that the notion of intangible cultural property has found its way to the law on conservation in Japan. Both in the past history of the West and a t present we can find opinions and actions convergent with those that conditioned the formation of the notion of intangible property in Japan. Ancient Greeks thought a rt to be a conscious skill to produce goods and they sought beauty in the perfection of work. In the sense of a skill, art is a constant theme of Western aesthetics. In the Middle Ages the features cutivated skills and guaranteed th e ir high qu ality , while close relations between the master and his student were sanctioned by the custom and law. To a larqe extent Church has preserved ancient knowledge and skills, to mention Latin in the first place. Thanks to this co n tinuity. Renaissance could give birth to the idea of not only behaviour but also of the revival of ancie n t skills. Historism of the 19th century and its idea of monuments' protection and even of certain skills (Ruskin) are wellknown. All those European trends had also th e ir reflection in Poland. Certain traditions and skills, and especially in the fie ld of folk art, receive support in Poland also today. In this field, attention should be paid to the development of o o e n -a ir museums. It started with the protection of in d iv idual wooden structures, later with th e ir eauipment and environment, through the v italising with dummies and all kinds of folk festivals onto the employment o f genuine a rtisans oerformina their crafts with the use o f original or reconstructed tools and of proper material. Traditional techniaues have been introduced into animal husbandry and land cultivation. There is a change from presentation and knowledae of obiects to making it possible not only for the public but fo r co-participants to experience a certain skill and even to master it. This is the skill executed, i.e. " in ta n g ib le " cultural property, although described in o ther words. One couM auote at this point other undertakings aimed at the reproduction on the basis of research work, of obsolete skills, their testinq and experiencing in practice. There arises doubt as to the authencitv o f reproduced arts and s'dHs Without aoino into on analysis, they <~qn be safelv comngrnH with the authencitv of a number of Polish and non-Polish monuments, without which the picture of Europe and Poland would not be acceptable fo r us. It is no* possible to list horo all fields of culure, in which protection of intannible historic cultural properties can be a p p lie d ; thev include; theatre, music, sports, military science, law, sailina, protection o f vanishing crafts, customs. liturgy, historic names, disappearing lanauaqes and dialeats. We mean here, first and foremost, Latin. I dare say that for the Polish culture Latin had and still has a s im ila r value and importance as material monuments such as cathedrals, palaces, paintings, sculpture, Even a passive knowledge of th a t language, a t one time the second n a tio na l language of the educated Polish people, is disappearing. One can observe an interesting phenomenon in Poland; on the one hand, we can see an unprecedently broad interest of the society in ancient culture, on the other hand an active use of Latin and Greek dies out. And thus, we have an increase and development of sciences and a decay of skills. Just like in the case of the protection of material monuments the main thing is to preserve the still existing elements of intangible historic cultural environment of the man and when the need arises to reproduce and reconstruct them. The erosion of non-material environment of man is not smaller than the devastation of material environment. The author does not, on purpose, make any proposals of substantial and organizational solutions with regard to the protection of non-material cultural property. First, the idea itself should mature in our minds.
EN
19th volume of UNESCO’s publication „Manual on Systems of Inventorying Immovable Cultural Property” , written by Meredith H. Sykes, has been discussed. Much attention has been paid to the presentation in it of the Polish system of inventorying immovable cultural property. Generally speaking, except for minor inaccuracies, the Polish system has been presented in conformity with the reality. The date of the onset of the inventorying of immovable cultural property in Poland has been erronously stated as 1975 and not 1959 as it was. In 1975 the already then existing inventorying was merely modified and a new extended form was introduced. It is worth noting that from 1979 address cards have been prepared with an obligatory photograph of the object recorded and cards that had been prepared before that date have been provided with such a photo. At present, the address index is nearly completed and it covers ca 400,000 objects, which is estimated to cover ca 95 per cent of all resources of the preserved historic architecture in Poland. Results of this inventorying are being published in separate district volumes. So far, nearly 30,000 cards with full inventorying information on immovable cultural property have been made. When evaluating the Polish system of inventorying monuments of architecture the author of the Manual makes two major reservations: firstly, that architectonic details are included into the scope of inventorying movable property and secondly, that a card of complete architectural inventorying is not adjusted to computerization. The first reservation has already lost its grounds, just as in 1985, before getting to know M. H. Sykes’ Manual, the Centre for Monuments' Documentation included the architectonic detail into architectural inventorying. The second remark on a maladjustment of a complete form to computerization remains actual. The present article raises the need to undertake v.ork on the computerization of the inventorying of architecture in Poland and the Manual discussed as well as the experience of the countries described in it will be of use in this task. Much attention in the Manual has also been paid to the Canadian system, which after some adaptation might — in the author’s view — be used to analyze the compiled inventorying material in the Historical Monuments Dokumentation Centre in Warsaw and to work out a new method for the next subsequent recording of monuments of architecture in Poland. In the author’s opinion, a new inventorying campaign must be carried out in few years’ time, because part of the information compiled is getting rapidly out of date and the application of a new computerized technique will affect a selection of the information, method of its storing and use.
EN
The remarks presented here refer to the following conclusion of K.E. Larsen’s article. „We must accept that the problem of authenticity is relative and has to be interpreted in accordance with natural, material and cultural conditions in each country". Following K.E. Larsen, the author of these remarks describes in brief the „natural, material and cultural conditions" of Japan's architectural monuments. The configuration of the land and the climate have always caused the country to be rich in wood, while the frequent earthquakes have determined that not stone, but light and flexible wood has been generally used in construction. The natural and material resources have in turn had their influence on the development in Japan of a rich system of joining wood. The adopted techniques made it possible to easily dismantle wooden structures and to change the deteriorated elements. A relative instability of this material in Japan's climate led to the frequent changing of building elements or even to entire reconstruction. However, cultural aspects such as Shintoism, the cult of ancestors and traditions favoured the preservation of form. In other words, the material of the structure could be changed, but its form had to be retained. The authenticity of form was possible thanks to the preservation and transfer from generation to generation of the ability to reproduce form. This tradition of restoration collided in the beginning of the 20th cent, with the Western idea of authenticity and conservation that had come into being on European ground in different natural, material (stone) and cultural conditions. The Western idea of authenticity strongly accentuates the necessity of retaining the continuity of the substance of a monument, because this is what determines whether something can be considered as a document of the past. The value of a document is particularly treasured in the culture of the West. This Western interpretation of authenticity has been adopted as the basis for the principles of the Athens Charter (1931 ) and the Venice Charter (1964), which attempted to determine the rules of conservation on an international scale. Japan complies with these principles, while also trying to protect its own traditions and the historical skills of reconstruction. It is important to preserve the traditional techniques considered to be significat, non-material cultural property subject to legal protection. In Poland, after the last war, on account of unprecedented demages, many structures were rebuilt contrary to the recommendations of the above-mentioned Athens and Venice charters. In these reconstructions, similarly as in Japan, emphasis was put on the recreation of the historical form. As opposed to Japan, however, traditional techniques were not much respected. Recently, Poland has also realized the necessity of retaining the dying out traditional crafts, such as carpentering, smithery and the importance of their appropriate use in conservation. In the manner of Japan, the current amendments of the Polish legal act on the protection of cultural property provides for the protection of non-material cultural property as well, e.g. historical skills, customs, crafts.
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Dział Zabytków Ruchomych ODZ

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EN
This Division is responsible for preparing of documentation and dealing with theoretical problems of conservation of monuments that are preserved outside the museums. Ais the movable monuments or works of art are considered all objects of plastic art except for those of architecture or townplanming. Documentation problems. As the basis of all works carried on by the Division serves the inventory of movable monument's covering more than 2/3 of the total number of objects within the country’s territory. The inventory consists of special index cards prepared for each movable monument bearing a photograph, measurements, a detailed description, and s.o., and, in addition a classification or evaluation of a given piece within one from among four groups . The Division has at its disposal a Central File containing over 100,000 cards. This File by itself constitutes an unusually rich documentary material that is steadily improved and made up to date through verifications carried out in field. None the less, this File is to be considered as only the first stage preceding more detailed documentation of selected groups of monuments of whom three are already under preparation, namely (a) Polish wall paintings, being a subject in stage of working discussions, (b) Polish ancient organs and organ prospects; on the basis of index cards for movable monuments and also of special questionnâmes dealing mainly with the organ mechanisms an isolated file has been established of ancient organs and organ prospects in Poland which after its supplementing with the available bibliographical, illustrative and archival sources will be published by the Centre. This publication will be preceded with a comprehensive work by Dr. Jan Chwałek titled „Organ building, an Introduction to Inventory of Ancient Organs in Poland”. Parallely with works of documentary character the Division deals with organization of conservation work in that field of activities being entirely new one in Poland. Already at present in collaboration with the State Ateliers of Historical Monument Conservation the first Atelier for Conservation of Ancient Organs has been called into being in Cracow. (C) ancient goldsmith’s art in Poland; as a result of works devoted to this subject a bibliographical card index of goldsmiths and that of goldsmith’s marks is being established and the „Terminological Dictionnary of Goldsmith’s Art” prepared (its author being M. Gradowski). The chief among the planned works will, however, consist in publication of a detailed inventory of pieces of ancient goldsmith’s art. There is also under preparation a comprehensive book by M. Gradowski and J. Rochacki „Techniques and Technologies used in the Ancient Goldsmith’s Art”. Conservation problems. It must be pointed out that neither the Centre nor its Movable Monument Division do not carry out the conservation work. It is this Division, however, that is responsible for preparing of a central, country-wide plan for conservation of movable monuments and at the same time for supervision of its execution through the participation of its representatives in Conservators’ Commissions outlining the scope of works to be undertaken or approving the work already executed. Another Division’s task consists in programming and financing the methods and media whose results are conveyed to Publishing Division for publication. Where particularly valuable monuments are Involved, requiring especially complicated conservation treatments or using the new conservation media (as it was the case with the Romanesque flooring plate at Wiślica) the Division organizes the meetings of the most narrowly specialized experts in a subject to take the proper decisions and then to supervise their execution. More general as to their character are the Conservators’ Conferences organized by the Division with their sessions attended by representatives of conservation authorities and guests from abroad. Seven such conferences have been held up to now devoted to conservation of monumental objects made from wood, metal, textiles, leather, wall paintings, stone, paper and parchment, and easel paintings. Organizational measures have been already taken for preparation of a conference on conservator’s documentation. Proceedings of these conferences are published in form of reports and discussions in the Centre’s series „Biblioteka Muzealnictwa i Ochrony Zabytków, seria B” („Library of Museums and Monument Protection, series B ”).
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