21 May 2022 - Archive treasures: preservation and restoration of removed seals
On Saturday 21 May 2022 at 10.30 a.m. the conference room of Palazzo del Senato will host a conference to illustrate the results of the project to restore and condition the wax seals preserved in the State Archive of Milan, taking an in-depth look at the techniques, materials and methods used to ensure their optimum preservation.
Benedetto Luigi Compagnoni, director of the State Archive of Milan, will open the morning’s proceedings which will involve talks by Federico Gallo, director of Biblioteca Ambrosiana, who will speak about sigillography and its importance for diplomatics, and Flora Santorelli and Fulvio Beschi of the State Archive of Milan, who will illustrate, respectively, the historic and archivistic background of the collection and the State Archive’s seal collecting history. Finally, Luca Becchetti of the Vatican Apostolic Archive, will provide details on the restoration and conditioning of the collection of wax seals, illustrating the techniques, materials and methods employed.
At the end of the conference it will be possible to admire the sixty-four seals subject to restoration, on display for the first time.
Round, mandorla-shaped, oval, in pure beeswax shells, with skippets in metal but also brass or wood.
In red, orange and green wax. Hung with hemp cord, silk thread, strips of parchment or cotton ribbon. Heraldic, hagiographic, monumental with heraldic themes.
The sixty-four seals in the collection subject to restoration date from the 12th to the 18th century.
The seals that were applied to parchment in the Middle Ages, but also in the following centuries, were one of the extrinsic elements that proved the authenticity of documents. Their correct identification can make all the difference in distinguishing an authentic document from a fake.
Following restoration, some seals, particularly after the cleaning of the surfaces, were correctly identified and attributed to their owners.
The conference is free and open to the general public subject to capacity and visitors must wear an FFP2 facemask.
It is also possible to attend the conference online on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of the State Archive of Milan.
Programme
Introductory remarks:
• Benedetto Luigi Compagnoni, director of the State Archive of Milan
Talks:
• Federico Gallo, Sigillography and its importance for diplomatics
Sphragistics or sigillography is the science that analyses and studies seals in all their forms and guises as historic documents. It is associated with palaeography, diplomatics, archivistics, legal history, heraldry and, in general, with the historical sciences. The talk aims to offer a general introduction to the discipline, its foundations and its internal categories.
• Flora Santorelli, The seals of the State Archive of Milan: archiving and conservation considerations
The State Archive of Milan collection of seals, items of historic and archivistic interest: the protagonists (L. Osio, A. Bazzi), the state of conservation of the material, the recent decision to restore them for conservation and accessibility purposes.
• Fulvio Beschi, History of the State Archive of Milan collection of seals
Notes on the creation and the history of the State Archive of Milan collection of seals.
• Luca Becchetti, Approaches, techniques and methods used in the restoration and conditioning of the State Archive of Milan collection of seals
Presentation of the project to restore and condition the collection of wax seals removed from their original documents preserved at the State Archive of Milan and illustration of the techniques, materials and methods used to achieve the goals of the project.
Last updated: 24/05/2024
