Founded in 1985, the department is Greece's only educational institution in tertiary education offering a degree in the conservation of antiquities and works of art. Approximately 90 students enrol annually completing a four-year programme. Besides their multi-disciplinary education - which includes courses in history of art, conservation theory, documentation methods, chemistry, biology and physics - these students must possess precision and patience, two skills rarely associated with today's fast-paced world.
Churches, museums, galleries, public offices and individual collectors turn to the services of the departments students and faculty so that priceless artworks are restored to their original splendour. "A conservator's job involves great responsibility because he/she intervenes, cures genuine works that are irreplaceable, often unique and of great artistic, religious, historical, scientific, social and economic importance," Dr George Panagiaris explains.
Greek monuments that have undergone the TEI's special treatment include the prehistoric trunks of Lesvos' unique petrified forest, statues at Athens First Cemetary, religious paintings and icons from Aghios Nikolaos Ragavas, Aghia Erene, the Monastery of Aghia Ekaterina Sina, archaeological finds and works that belong to the National Gallery.
A connoisseurs manual
But putting those much-needed touches on works and monuments, that have lost their glimmer with time or have been abused, isnt the only thing these hard-working masters-to-be are up to. In collaboration with the University of Manchester, Berlins Fachhochschule fur Technik und Wirtschaft, The Netherlands Instituut Collectie Nederland, and Finlands EVTEK Institute of Art and Design, the Department of Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art is currently preparing a dictionary of conservation and restoration terms in five languages.
The dictionary will be available in printed and CD-ROM form, enabling schools in Europe to conform to a single standard terminology. The CD-ROM will serve as a user-friendly tool providing extra audio-visual information.
"The significance of the endeavour lies in the fact that it's a Greek initiative and coordinated by Greeks," says metals specialist Dr Vassiliki Argyropoulos, the project's manager. "Restoration is a very specialised field and its important to have a common point of reference. Furthermore, a glossary of this type is not available in Greek," she explains.
Funded by the European Commission (Connect99/A2/83), the multi-lingual dictionary will comprise 5,000 terms from all fields of conservation/restoration and will be translated into English, German, Dutch, French, Italian and Greek. Funds, however, have also been raised by the Greek and Estonian governments to provide for translations into Hungarian and Estonian, Dr Argyropoulos explains.
The project, to be released by PK Net Informatics Ltd , is expected to be presented at the ICOM Working Group Meeting on Training and Education this coming September. "We've been commended by colleagues abroad and have had great success in international research projects," the projects coordinator Dr Panagiaris adds.
The TEI upgrading
Asked about the current controversy concerning the issue of upgrading technical institutes to a university level (a bill will be presented in parliament early next month), Dr Argyropoulos feels it's" wonderful" and doesn't understand why such dispute. "Our curriculum is up there. It can fully measure up to the challenges. I've visited most of the restoration schools in Europe and Canada and I have to say that we have the high calibre students and we definitely have state-of-the-art equipment. Unfortunately, it all stops there. Students cant expand, they arent given the chance to research. So I think the upgrading a wonderful idea, especially in view of the fact that the TEI is the only institution in the country offering education and know-how in such a highly specialised field.
