https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2950-706X
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Abstract
The destruction of libraries and archives is not an original tactic in warfare, but the result remains the same: the crippling of enemy morale by sabotaging their cultural achievements. After the Bosnian War (1992–1995), the Sarajevo Oriental Institute’s collection of 200,000+ Ottoman-era manuscripts was reduced to just 105 volumes. In November 2022, conservators at the Gazi Husrev-begova Library began a campaign to conserve the remaining manuscripts. Establishing these objects’ historical and current social, artistic, academic and economic values allows conservators and stakeholders to make ethically based treatment decisions that underpin a collaborative and mutually agreeable reconstruction effort. This article presents the preliminary findings of research into the usefulness of value assessments as a basis for conservation decision-making for war-damaged and war-affected objects. It will focus on the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency’s system for collection valuation in determining the values associated with one of the 105 surviving volumes from the Oriental Institute.
Sažetak
“Valorizacija post-ratnih vrijednosti: Donošenje odluka o konzervaciji bosanskih rukopisa oštećenih u ratu iz Orijentalnog instituta u Sarajevu, Bosna i Hercegovina”
Uništavanje biblioteka i arhiva nije izvorna taktika ratovanja, ali pruža isti rezultat: demoralisanje neprijatelja uništavanjem njihovog kultunog naslijeđa. Nakon rata u Bosni (1992–1995), kolekcija Orijentalnog instituta od preko 200.000 rukopisa iz osmanskog doba je reducirana na samo 105 djela. U novembru 2022. godine, konzervatori Gazi Husrev-begove biblioteke u Sarajevu započeli su inicijativu konzervacije preostalih rukopisa. Utvrđivanje historijskih i današnjih društvenih, umjetničkih, akademskih i ekonomskih vrijednosti ovih predmeta, konzervatorima i institucijama se osigurava donošenje etički pravilnih odluka o konzervatorskim tretmanima koji pružaju suradnju i obostranu saglasnost revitalizacije. U ovom članku se iznose preliminarni zaključci istraživanja važnosti procjene vrijednosti kao temelja za donošenje konzervatorskih odluka za objekte koji su oštećeni ili ugroženi tokom ratnih dešavanja. Fokus će biti na holandskom sistemu Zavoda za zaštitu kulturne baštine i vrednovanja zbirki pri valorizaciji jednog od 105 sačuvanih djela iz Orijentalnog instituta u Sarajevu.
Résumé
« Interprétation des valeurs post-conflit: prise de décision en matière de conservation pour les manuscrits bosniaques endommagés par la guerre de l'Institut oriental de Sarajevo, Bosnie-Herzégovine »
La destruction des bibliothèques et des archives n'est pas une tactique de guerre originale, mais le résultat reste le même: la paralysie du moral de l'ennemi en sabotant ses réalisations culturelles. Après la guerre de Bosnie (1992–1995), la collection de plus de 200 000 manuscrits de l'époque ottomane de l’Institut oriental a été réduite à 105 volumes seulement. En novembre 2022, les restaurateurs de la bibliothèque Gazi Husrev-begova à Sarajevo ont lancé une campagne pour conserver les manuscrits restants. La rédaction des valeurs sociales, artistiques, académiques et économiques historiques et actuelles de ces objets permet aux restaurateurs et aux parties prenantes de faire des choix de traitements éthiquement fondés, qui étayent un effort de reconstruction collaboratif et mutuellement acceptable. Cet article présente les premiers résultats de la recherche sur l'utilité des évaluations de valeurs comme fondement pour la prise de décision en matière de conservation des objets endommagés et atteints par la guerre. Il se concentrera sur le système d'évaluation des collections de l'Agence néerlandaise du patrimoine culturel pour déterminer les valeurs associées à l'un des 105 volumes survivants de l'Institut oriental.
Zusammenfassung
„Die Interpretation von Werten nach einem Konflikt: Entscheidungsfindung bei der Konservierung von kriegsbeschädigten bosnischen Manuskripten aus dem Orientalischen Institut in Sarajevo, Bosnien und Herzegowina“
Die Zerstörung von Bibliotheken und Archiven ist keine neue Taktik in der Kriegsführung, aber das Ergebnis ist dasselbe: die Lähmung der Moral des Feindes durch Sabotage seiner kulturellen Errungenschaften. Nach dem Bosnienkrieg (1992–1995) wurde die Sammlung des Orientalischen Instituts in Sarajewo, die mehr als 200.000 Manuskripte aus der osmanischen Zeit umfasst hatte, auf nur 105 Bände reduziert. Im November 2022 begannen die Restauratoren der Gazi-Husrev-begova-Bibliothek mit einer Kampagne zur Konservierung der verbliebenen Handschriften. Die Ermittlung des historischen und aktuellen sozialen, künstlerischen, akademischen und wirtschaftlichen Wertes dieser Objekte ermöglicht es den Restauratoren und anderen Beteiligten, ethisch begründete Behandlungsentscheidungen zu treffen, die die Grundlage für einen gemeinschaftlichen und einvernehmlichen Wiederaufbau bilden. In diesem Artikel werden die vorläufigen Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung über den Nutzen der Schätzung der Werte als Grundlage für konservatorische Entscheidungen bei kriegsbeschädigten und kriegsbetroffenen Objekten vorgestellt. Er konzentriert sich außerdem auf das System der niederländischen Behörde für das kulturelle Erbe zur Bewertung von Sammlungen, um den Wert eines der 105 erhaltenen Bände des Orientalischen Instituts zu bestimmen.
Resumen
“Interpretando valores tras conflictos bélicos: Toma de decisiones sobre la conservación de manuscritos bosnios del Instituto Oriental de Sarajevo (Bosnia–Herzegovina) dañados durante la guerra”
La destrucción de bibliotecas y archivos no es una estrategia bélica en sí, pero el resultado sigue siendo el mismo: minar la moral del enemigo saboteando sus logros culturales. Tras la guerra de Bosnia (1992–1995), la colección del Instituto Oriental, compuesta por más de 200.000 manuscritos de la época otomana, quedó reducida a sólo 105 volúmenes. En noviembre de 2022, los conservadores de la Biblioteca Gazi Husrev-begova de Sarajevo iniciaron una campaña para conservar los manuscritos restantes. Establecer sus valores históricos y artísticos, académicos y económicos actuales permite, a los conservadores y a las partes interesadas, identificar decisiones de tratamiento éticas que ofrezcen un esfuerzo de reconstrucción colaborativo y mutuamente aceptable. Este artículo presenta los resultados preliminares de una investigación sobre la utilidad de las evaluaciones de valores como base para tomar decisiones sobre la conservación de objetos dañados y afectados por la guerra. Este artículo se centrará en el sistema de valoración de las colecciones de la agencia del patrimonio cultural neerlandésa para así determinar los valores asociados a uno de los 105 volúmenes supervivientes del Instituto Oriental de Sarajevo.
摘要
“冲突后的价值解读：关于波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那的萨拉热窝东方研究院中受战争破坏的波斯尼亚手稿的保护决策”
毁坏图书馆和档案馆的策略并非战争独创，但殊途同归，即通过破坏敌方的文化成就来削弱其士气。波斯尼亚战争（1992–1995年）后，萨拉热窝东方研究院所收藏的20多万份奥斯曼时期的手稿只剩下了105卷。2022年11月，加齐胡斯雷夫贝图书馆的保护人员开始了保护剩余手稿的行动。确定这些文物的历史和当前社会、艺术、学术和经济价值，可以让保护人员和利益相关者做出符合道德规范的修护决定，为通过合作和相互认同的重建工作奠定基础。价值评估作为受战争破坏和影响的文物保护决策依据，本文介绍了其实用性研究的初步结果。文章将重点介绍荷兰文化遗产局在确定东方研究院现存105卷中的其中一卷的相关价值时所采用的藏品评估系统。
Acknowledgements
Madžida Kahteran, head conservator at the Gazi Husrev-begova Library in Sarajevo, BiH, for facilitating the conservation campaign of the Oriental Institute manuscripts, hosting the author, and providing insight into the values of the manuscripts. Dr Dželila Babović, senior research associate at the Oriental Institute, for providing access to the manuscripts and assisting with the completion of the value assessments. Clara Malinka, professional colleague at West Dean College, for support, encouragement and camaraderie. Special thanks to Mitchel Gundrum, professional colleague at West Dean College, and Dr Hélia Marçal, conservator and lecturer at University College London, for help reviewing, editing and making this paper shine.
Notes
1 Peter Cannon-Brookes, ‘World of Museums: The “Delta Plan” for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage in the Netherlands’, Museum Management and Curatorship 12, no. 3 (1993): 303–7.
2 Libraries were categorically excluded from this project but received their own plan titled the Metamorfoze project. Gerrit de Bruin, ‘An Assessment of Deltaplan: The Dutch National Preservation Strategy’, LIBER Quarterly: The Journal of the Association of European Research Libraries 14, no. 3–4 (2004): 356–67.
3 de Bruin, ‘An Assessment of Deltaplan’, 357.
4 In a 2004 report, The Delta Plan was deemed a qualified success in managing cultural heritage: see de Bruin, ‘An Assessment of Deltaplan’, 366.
5 Cultural Heritage Agency of The Netherlands, Assessing Museum Collections: Collection Valuation in Six Steps (Amersfoort: Cultural Heritage Agency, Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science, 2014), 9.
6 Cf. Roslyn Russell and Kylie Winkworth, Significance 2.0: A Guide to Assessing the Significance of Collections, 2nd edn (The Collections Council of Australia Ltd, 2009), 10.
7 Russell and Winkworth, Significance 2.0, 10.
8 Creation of this assessment was initiated by heritage professionals from Museum Catherijneconvent and the National Museum for Christian Art and Culture in the Netherlands. Marc de Beyer and Jacoline Takke, Guidelines on Ways of Dealing with Religious Objects (The Netherlands: Museum Catherijneconvent, 2012), 3.
9 Cultural Heritage Agency, Assessing Museum Collections, 4.
10 Cultural Heritage Agency, Assessing Museum Collections, 5.
11 Cf., Cultural Heritage Agency, Assessing Museum Collections, 5; Barbara Appelbaum, ‘Quadrant III—Non-material Aspects of the Object’, in Conservation Treatment Methodology (Oxford: Elsevier Ltd, 2010), 65–119; Randall Mason, ‘Assessing Values in Conservation Planning: Methodological Issues and Choices’, in Assessing the Values of Cultural Heritage (Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 2002), 5–30.
12 Cf. Mason, ‘Assessing Values in Conservation Planning’, 15.
13 See Dželila Babović, ‘Safeguarding and Promoting of Cultural Heritage: Ottoman Manuscript Collections in Bosnia and Herzegovina’, XVIII Turkish History Congress, Papers Presented to the Congress, Ottoman History and Civilization 3 (2018): 314; Igor Ordev, ‘Erasing the Past: Destruction and Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Former Yugoslavia: Part 1’, Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe 28, no. 4 (2008): 24.
14 András Riedlmayer, ‘Erasing the Past: The Destruction of Libraries and Archives in Bosnia-Herzegovina', Middle East Studies Association Bulletin 29, no. 1 (1995): 7.
15 According to Dželila Babovic in an email message to the author, 27 February 2023.
16 ‘Protection and Restoration of Burnt Manuscripts of the Oriental Institute’ (project proposal, Oriental Institute, University of Sarajevo, 14 November 2022).
17 The term ‘Bosniak’ specifically refers to Bosnian Muslims. Minority Rights Group International, Bosniaks (2015), available at: https://minorityrights.org/minorities/bosniaks/ (accessed 7 August 2023).
18 Dželila Babovic, email message to the author, 27 March 2023.
19 Cultural Heritage Agency, Assessing Museum Collections, 23.
20 The information presented here is the data gathered during step four, assigning value scores with supplementary arguments. Since this research is still in progress, there will not be a discussion of how these data informed specific treatment decisions.
21 The Mostar Bridge is a highly publicised account of conservation efforts immediately following the war. However, due to the lack of assessing values and consulting stakeholders, the significance behind this reconstruction effort has been criticised as performative and unsuccessful. Cf., for example, Sultan Barakat, ‘Necessary Conditions for Integrated Approaches to the Post-Conflict Recovery of Cultural Heritage in the Arab World’, International Journal of Heritage Studies 27, no. 5 (2020): 433–48; Ross Hurwitz, ‘Cultural Heritage in Post-War Peace Building: Analyzing the Framework for Reconciliation and Rebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina’, Culture in Crisis, Preserving Cultural Heritage in Conflict Zones, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies with the Antiquities Coalition (2017): 101–18; Brian Goodey and Werner Desimpelaere, External Evaluation of UNESCO’s Action in the Preservation of Cultural Heritage Damaged by Conflict: Bosnia-Herzegovina 1996–2003 (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2003).
22 The Sarajevo Haggadah has a tumultuous history. This fourteenth-century illuminated Jewish prayer book has lived through centuries of war and persecution. Though physically unaffected by the Bosnian War, it underwent conservation in 2001, shortly after the regional conflicts halted. The Haggadah’s treatment such a short time after the cessation of conflict indicates its high cultural value. Dr Andrea Pataki, the Haggadah’s conservator, claims the manuscript has come to symbolise hope and the perseverance of the Jewish people. Cf., Mirsad Sijarić, Sarajevo Haggadah, available at: https://www.zemaljskimuzej.ba/en/archaeology/middle-ages/sarajevo-haggadah (accessed 7 August 2023).
23 Dr Dželila Babović and Majida Masic, ‘Online Exhibition “Burnt Manuscripts of the Oriental Institute”’, Biserje (17 May 2020), available at: https://www.biserje.ba/online-izlozba-nagorjeli-rukopisi-orijentalnog-instituta/ (accessed 7 August 2023).
24 Cf. the Dutch Foundation for the Conservation of Contemporary Art (SBMK), The Decision-Making Model for the Conservation and Restoration of Modern and Contemporary Art (1999), available at: https://sbmk.nl/source/documents/decision-making-model.pdf (accessed 7 August 2023); Cologne Institute of Conservation Sciences, The Decision-Making Model for Contemporary Art Conservation and Presentation (2019), available at: https://www.sbmk.nl/source/documents/f02cicsgsmfpdmmcacp190513.pdf (accessed 19 August 2023).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Sara Leonowitz
Sara Leonowitz holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Delaware’s undergraduate programme in art conservation, minoring in art history and religious studies. After graduating in 2020, she worked as an independent contract technician in book and paper conservation for the National Park Service and a private practice in Washington, DC. She is currently working towards completion of a master’s degree in the books and library materials conservation specialism at West Dean College in Chichester, England.