Handwritten monuments of the XV-XVIII centuries are digitized in Arkhangelsk

2021: Plan to create electronic copies of more than ten thousand exhibits

With the help of the professional scanner ElarSKAN A2-400 in the State Museum Association "Art Culture of the Russian North," electronic copies will be created for more than ten thousand exhibits from different collections. This was announced on August 25, 2021 by Elar.

Museum of Fine Arts (since 1994 State Museum Association "Art Culture of the Russian North") was formed in 1960. The process of forming a museum collection took place in 1960-1980 years. The beginning of this was laid by numerous expeditions. As of August 2021, collections of ancient Russian art, folk art, Russian classical art were created, the museum is the owner of a significant collection of modern Kholmogorsk bone carvings - the entire museum has almost 40 thousand storage units in August 2021.

Since the installation of the ElarScan planetary scanner at the end of June 2021. we are digitizing the Graphics collection, the plans are to digitize the Books collection, and we will begin with handwritten books and documents, as well as the Painting collection (it is planned to create electronic copies of more than 10 thousand museum objects from different collections). Work has begun on the digitization of accounting documentation (as of August 2021, there are more than 40 volumes of revenue books), "said Anna Pavlovna Yezhova, chief custodian.

The domestic planetary scanner ElarScan, equipped with a V-shaped hand-held book cradle with various modes and opening angles, will allow museum employees to carefully scan both flat originals and books with incomplete opening, with a spine of up to 15 cm and weighing up to 15 kg. A safe lighting system allows you to work even with ancient documents.

{{quote 'From the collection of the "Book" of our museum, we can distinguish the earliest manuscript monument - "Prologue," dating from the second half of the 15th century, "said Anna Pavlovna Yezhova. - In addition, two handwritten Old Believer books can be noted, this is the "Pomeranian Answers" of 1923 (a book written in a picturesque charter with a rich design using gold) and a singing book of the late 18th century - "Irmology with a hook octoch" (striking high artistic culture of its design). Both manuscripts are decorated with virtuoso Pomeranian ornaments. }}

In addition, the museum collection has special collections of works by the oldest artists of the North - Alexander Alekseevich Borisov, Stepan Grigoryevich Pisakhov and the Nenets artist Ilya Konstantinovich Vylka (Tyko Vylka), as well as a collection of modern art, including works by artists of Arkhangelsk. The museum notes that only a small part of these collections has been digitized and much work remains to be done.

As for accounting documents, the availability of electronic copies will allow custodians to see data about the museum object without visiting the accounting department, since the funds are located in different buildings, significantly distant from each other and from the accounting department, "said the chief custodian," and once again not to take documents in hand, thereby ensuring their safety (for example, the first revenue books, which have been maintained since 1961 and are especially in demand, cannot be issued for work due to their unsatisfactory physical safety).