Art - Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian

the public specific pieces related to each temporary exhibition.
The objects are selected in association with the Central Services Department.
Museography
Conservation and restoration
The programme was begun for the rebinding of the books of European illuminated manuscripts
already restored after the floods of 1967. This work was carried out by the restoration technicians,
Helena Nunes and Vasco Antunes and involved three works: The Book of Hours of the Master
of Greys of Delft (Inv. No. LA137), The Book of Hours according to the Customs of Rome
(Inv. No. LA145) and The Book of Hours according to the Customs of Rome (Inv. No. LA217).
The Archefactu company gave appropriate treatment to the Torso of King Pedubast, a fragment
of an Egyptian bronze statue from the 23rd dynasty (818-793 BC) (Inv. No. 52).
The armchair by Georges Jacob, commissioned by Marie Antoinette for her private apartments
at the Palace of Fontainebleau (Inv. No. 38) was cleaned and consolidated. This work was carried
out by Maria Odete Barreto, a restorer of textiles.
Besides the control that was undertaken of the state of conservation of all the pieces received
and loaned out for temporary exhibitions, both abroad and at the Foundation, the supports
for the Collection’s paintings were renovated and mounted, and the silver binding of The Book
of Hours according to the Customs of Rome (Inv. No. LA217) was conserved and restored.
This work was carried out by the Museum’s conservation and restoration technician, Rui Xavier.
Conferences, congresses and meetings
In 2008, the customary cycle of lectures, which normally takes place in the third quarter of the year,
was brought forward to coincide with the holding of the temporary exhibition “The ‘Greek Taste’.
The Birth of Neoclassicism in France, 1750-1775”: 14 April, “The ‘Greek Taste’ or the First Phase
of French Neoclassicism”, by Marie-Laure de Rochebrune (curator of the exhibition and curator
at the Louvre Museum); 21 April, “France and Portugal, 1750-1777: Interconnections and Pluralities”,
by Nuno Gonçalo Monteiro (research coordinator at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University
of Lisbon); 28 April, “The Count of Caylus and his Role in the Appearance of the ‘Greek Taste’”,
by Marc Fumaroli (member of the Académie Française and Professor at the Collège de France).
The lecture cycle was coordinated by the curator Manuela Fidalgo.
A lecture programme was also organised under the scope of the exhibition “The Path of Princes.
Masterpieces from the Aga Khan Museum Collection”, together with two sessions dedicated to the
Aga Khan Award for Architecture: 5 May, “Trade Routes and Innovation in Islamic Arts”, by Jessica
Hallett (researcher, cham, New University of Lisbon); 7 May, “The Double-Headed Eagle: a Symbol of the
Sultan? An Analysis of the Double-Headed Eagle Emblem and an Explanation of its Islamic Significance”,
by Nasser Rabbat (Aga Khan Professor of Art and Architecture, mit, usa); 8 May, Aga Khan Award for
Architecture, with the presence of Farrokh Derakhshani (Director of the Award Programme):
1st session – moderator: Fernando Varanda (architect and town planner) “Innovation and Intervention
in the Public Sphere” – panel: Nasser Rabbat (Aga Khan Professor of Art and Architecture, mit, usa),
Bartolomeu Costa Cabral (architect); “Designing Local Contemporaneity” – panel: Mariana Correia
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum