Editorial

100
The International Committee for the Conservation
of Mosaics (ICCM) in collaboration with
the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and the
Institut National du Patrimoine (INP) of Tunisia
have successfully organized the 9th International
Conference on the conservation of mosaics. The
conference was chaired by Cyprus University
Professor of Archaeology, Demetrios Michaelides
who has been the ICCM President since 1999.
The conference took place in Hammamet in
Tunisia, from the 29th November-3rd December
2005, and it was supported by ICCROM,
the Getty Foundation and the University of
Cyprus.
The first ever meeting on mosaics conservation
took place in Rome in 1977. It was organized
by ICCROM at the recommendation of a number
of scholars. Nine specialists were appointed
to examine a series of mosaic-related topics,
ranging from ethics to techniques and from
methods of lifting to methods of in situ conservation.
They prepared a paper that was put
forward for discussion by about 60 participants,
after which it was agreed that the meeting would
mark the beginning of a new chapter in mosaic
conservation, and thus the International Committee
for the Conservation of Mosaics was
founded. It was agreed that the Committee
would be truly international and included not
just conservators, but also archaeologists and
art historians. ICCROM agreed to serve as the
Committee's first Secretariat, and it was decided
that ICOM, ICOMOS and IIC should be
observers. It would also seek co-operation with
various international organizations, in an attempt
to share information and co-ordinate projects.
The International Committee for the Conser-
The 9th International Conference
for the Conservation of Mosaics
Niki Savvides
vation of Mosaics has functioned on an
entirely voluntary basis and without capital for
almost three decades. Its Board continues to
consist of conservators, archaeologists, art historians
and architects, which, it is felt, makes
for a better understanding of the problems that
mosaic conservation faces. In its 29 years of life,
ICCM can look back at nine International Conferences
around Europe and the Mediterranean,
and a number of Round Tables. The Proceedings
of all the conferences have been published,
and there are also 11 Newsletters and a web-site
(http://www.iccm.pro.cy). Most importantly,
there is a steadily increasing number of paying
members who, at present, represent different
countries.
ICCM can also claim to have been instrumental
in bringing mosaic conservation (a previously
neglected field) to the forefront of
conservation matters, as well as in contributing
to the vast improvement of the quality of literature
produced on the subject. Starting with
ancient floor mosaics, the Committee has expanded
both chronologically and geographically, and
at the more recent conferences there have
been papers dealing with medieval, modern,
and even New World floor and wall mosaics.
Also, one of the first recommendations of the
Committee, namely the in situ conservation of
mosaics, has now become more or less the
rule in mosaic conservation. The Committee
has also played an important role in emphasising
on the one hand the essential role of preventive
conservation, and on the other the importance
of maintenance in assuring the wellbeing
of mosaics.
The theme of the most recent conference was