The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT

major constructIon anD restoratIon major constructIon anD restoratIon
repairS To accumulaTor BaTTery (raSTrelli gallery)
The accumulator battery to provide current for lamps and
lights outside opening hours and in emergencies was set
up in the early 1980s. Its power was 300 a/h. It consisted of
112 separate open lead cells filled with a solution of sulfuric
acid. During their charging, acid vapours were released
with the formation of hydrogen. The battery maintenance
required particular caution and thoroughness and ranked
among dangerous and hazardous jobs.
In 2010 the operation of replacing the battery cells, installing
lighting fixtures and doors conforming to fire safety
regulations in the battery room was put out to tender. CJSC
ERViS’s bid was accepted and the company installed newgeneration
60З2S 300ВАЕ batteries with over 20 years’
serviceability. Their design features caps that fit the cells
hermetically precluding any leakages of gas or electrolyte.
The batteries are provided with special filter plugs that prevent
acid aerosols in operation. A lighting system that conforms
to the current fire safety standards for rooms of this
type was installed in the battery room; its protection code
corresponds to IP65. An appropriate door was installed in
the battery room, of E160 fire-safety class. The work was
overseen by the staff of the Chief Power Engineer.
From September to December 2010, a team of chasers
from LLC Rest-Art were busy restoring thirty repousse copper
sculptures on the parapet of the northern and eastern
facades of the Winter Palace; the work proceeded under
technical supervision by the Hermitage Restoration and
Repairs Department, the museum’s Department of the History
and Restoration of Architectural Monuments, as well
as by representatives of Rosokhrankultura (Federal Service
for the Protection of Cultural Heritage). The concrete filling
was removed from the hollow insides of the figures,
the details of the iron armatures and copper casings were
cleaned. The rusted lower parts of the armatures were dismantled.
The brick foundations were inspected by experts
and their conservation was performed; openings were
drilled for additional pipes to reinforce the armatures. For
some armatures new elements were made, with both old
and new parts of the armatures coated with an anticorrosive
agent. All lost details were reproduced and the shabby
sheets of copper on hatches were replaced. All deformities
were smoothened and the seams riveted and soldered.
All the surfaces were cleaned of dirt deposits, crumbly layers
of patina and copper oxides. To provide extra protection to
the copper casings and avoid spottiness in the overall colour
scheme, the restorers used a three-coat painting system.
The statuary on the parapets of the Winter Palace was installed
in the spring of 1762. The figures had been hewn of
Pudost limestone by Russian stone sculptors after sketches
by the Italian architect Rastrelli. The frailty of Pudost limestone
and the northern climate caused quick dilapidation
of the statuary, whereas attempts at restoration proved unsuccessful.
When one more stone vase fell down from the
roof of the Winter Palace, a decision was made that the
stone figures be replaced by chased copper sculptures.
During the installation of the repousse copper statues, the
lower parts of the figures were filled, up to their chests,
with crushed limestone and sand, and lime was poured
over the filling. The porous limestone and lime inside the
copper casings absorbed moisture from the condensate,
creating constant humidity round the armatures and causing
accelerated corrosion of their iron. No openings had
been provided in the lower parts of the figures for the outflow
of excessive condensate. The accumulating moisture
led to progressively increasing corrosion in the armatures,
affecting their strength. Consequently, hardly thirty years
had passed when the copper statuary began to dilapidate.
After the causes of the poor condition of the statues
were established, new restoration work was carried out.
The rocks and sand were removed and concrete mortar
was poured in their stead, to a depth of 0.5 to 1 m. In the
1940s, the surfaces of the statues were painted black with
a mixture of linseed oil and soot. In 1976 the Hermitage
started a systematic planned restoration of all the parapet
sculptures of the Winter Palace, one by one, by the State
Hermitage Museum’s own workforce of skilled restorers.
The process of restoration normally began with the cleaning
away of the black paint and the replacement or strengthening
of the rusted parts of the armatures. Then the entire
surfaces of the armatures were coated with an anticorrosive
agent, whereas burst seams, holes and places of rupture
were soldered, with occasional patches. The cleaned
surface of copper was kept for a while outdoors, for a layer
of so-called “noble” patina to form, which, in the opinion
of those days’ specialists, was a good means of protecting
copper from atmospheric effects.
Present-day experts are of the opinion that a coat of patina
on figures made of thin sheets of copper in the hostile atmosphere
of a big industrial city is insufficient protection
and therefore additional protective measures are called for.
For a better wind resistance, the lower parts of the armatures
should be reinforced; the design of the attachments
should be changed and further strengthened. The hollow
insides of the figures should not be filled with anything so
as to stay properly ventilated and be accessible for control
over their state of preservation not only where the armatures
and attachments are concerned, but also the inside
surfaces of copper sheets.
reSToraTion of The repouSSe copper SculpTureS on The winTer palace parapeTS 55Th anniverSary of The deparTmenT of elecTronic eQuipmenT,
alarm and communicaTion SySTemS
The Department of Electronic Equipment, Alarm and
Communication Systems was exactly 55 years old on December
1, 2010. It was formed by order of Mikhail Artamonov,
the then Director of the State Hermitage Museum,
in 1955 in connection with the opening of a new automatic
telephone station and the first burglar alarm system in the
museum. At that time the Department comprised seven
staff members, who operated the telephone exchange and
the museum’s first burglar alarm control panel. The panel
was assembled by the staff, who used for the purpose some
components of the old exchange; about 300 points were
protected – chiefly the door and windows of the ground
floor. At present the original control panel is kept as a historical
exhibit in the office of the Deputy Director for
Maintenance.
As electronics developed, the Hermitage Museum kept
expanding its systems for burglar alarm and communication;
other new systems were introduced, such as fire alarm
systems, fire extinguishing video surveillance, computer
networks and wireless communication. The Department
grew numerically as new sections and new positions were
created.
At present the Department consists of 32 members employed
in its three sections: alarm systems, communication
and video-surveillance. The Department is responsible for
the introduction and operation of means of electronic security,
communication systems, computer hardware, fire
safety, as well as other electronic equipment and systems
required for the normal functioning of the museum.
In the elapsed year 2010 the Department completed all its
projects on repairs to the telephone exchange and the replacement
of the museum’s automatic telephone station;
it carried out an updating of the server room, in the course
of which some sophisticated equipment was installed,
as well as highly productive servers and a data storage facility.
Extensive work was performed to install and put into
operation one of the latest alarm systems that protects
about a thousand paintings in the museum.
The Department mounted a digital HD surveillance system
to safeguard the Alexander Column. Its high-resolution
enables the guards to identify people within the zone
covered and record whatever acts they perform.
Work is under way to equip the Big (Old) and Small Hermitage
buildings with fire safety systems; updating and expanding
the integrated burglar alarm and access control
system is being currently carried out and additional video
surveillance cameras are being installed.
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