Műtárgyvédelem, 2002 (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum)
Kovács Tibor: 200 éves a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum
200 YEARS OF THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM We know that an adequate network of contacts and a sophisticated internal balance between collection, documentation, conservation, scientific evaluation and public education must be created for the optimum activity of a museum. Looking back on the two hundred years of the Hungarian National Museum, it is hardly surprising that this balance only emerged at a rather late date. The explanation lies in the fact that during the first few decades of the museum’s activity the main emphasis was on the creation and expansion of its collections. The volume published on the occasion of the museum’s centennial in 1902 mentions that the call for the creation of specialized departments for the conservation of natural historical and historical relics, including “ chemical, zoological and photo laboratories" was only articulated in the 1880s. Following the emergence of the major museums with specialized collections based on the core collections of the Hungarian National Museum, the conservation of the museum’s find was most often entrusted to talented self-trained laymen (conservators?), who usually performed this task quite well, although in some cases there was need for later conservation work on a particular object. The situation changed after the establishment of the National Agency of Museums and Historical Monuments in the late 1940s since experimentation with various conservation techniques and the training of conservators was the task of this institution. The training of conservators working with archaeological and historical artefacts was begun in the successor institution, the Central Museum Directorate and the Museum Conservation and Methodology Centre, in cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts. This training was very efficient. In 1991 this institution was incorporated into the Hungarian National Museum and its activity can be said to be up to the highest international standards. 7