The restoration of an object for him is a formula of chemistry or physics. With hours to look for a solution, which among many alternatives must be the right one, otherwise the damage will be irreversible. You can say without fear that Frederik Stamati has a life dealing with restoration, so much so that it seems as if the latter would not be understood without a personality like him, who has passed through the hands of thousands of objects of cultural heritage and brought many eyes back to life , which were thought to be lost forever. Coins, swords, flags, amphorae, wooden and textile objects have passed through the Archaeometry laboratory, where Frederik has been working since the 70s. Today the laboratory no longer exists, but he has not stopped working in this rescue sector for a moment. In an interview for “Secrets of craftsmanship”, Frederik Stamati reveals a bit of his work among cultural heritage objects.

When did you start doing restoration?

After completing my studies, I was first appointed in the field of archaeometry, that is, the study of archeology with the help of natural sciences, chemistry, physics, etc. A few days later they called me and told me what could be done about the objects of ethnography, because we would lose the objects, they would be eaten by insects, despite the fact that I had an appointment in archaeology, meanwhile the first scientific laboratory was built . After a year and a half, Myzafer Korkuti, who was in charge of archeology at that time, told me: “Frederik, we will do the analysis, but we will not have objects, they are being destroyed, we have to see what we can do for them”. So I decided to divide into three “pieces”: in the field of archaeometry, restoration of archeology objects and ethnography. These were normal requirements, because in fact we would manage to carry out analyses, but we would not have the facilities, which would fall into disrepair due to the lack of conservation intervention. In the field of archeometry, I chose the path of cooperation with scientific institutes of universities or the Academy of Science, a cooperation that went well. As for the conservation of archaeological objects, it was concentrated in our laboratory, which received a greater development.

When was the laboratory established?

The work for the restoration of archaeological objects in Albania was started by Ugolini, while after the liberation, it was followed by the Soviet archaeological expeditions in 1959, to be continued by Namik Bodinaku who is the first restorer in Albania, but also by other employees later such as Violeta Llavda, Muharrem Turkeshi, Sotir Kosta, etc. At the end of 1970, the establishment of the Scientific Laboratory began, which was first placed in the premises of the Archaeological Museum and then in the spaces of one of the Toptan buildings.

Do you remember the first object you restored?

Among the ethnographic ones was “Potiri i Jakovi”. It was the time when the exhibition “Albanian Art in the Centuries” was being prepared, to be opened in Paris, and the treatment of church objects was requested. While the first archaeological objects were some coins that were discovered in Apollonia.

You have restored various objects, from coins, to swords, to flags, which require different techniques, how did you manage to master all these?

I was a scientific worker and had the opportunity to study, to experiment, to work. I worked every day from 07:00 in the morning until 10:00 in the evening. Every day in the laboratory, working, translating materials, I have not had a single day off, except for New Year’s Day. So it has been a very big commitment and burden for me, to be able to get skilled in all areas. And I must say with great pleasure that in the laboratory we managed to carry out work, at the same level as in European laboratories. We have carried out interventions with a guarantee level of up to 95%, even in those cases where there were problems from salt, such as in Durrës or Finiq. In a second intervention, we reached 99%. Despite the fact that the conditions where the objects are stored are not so favorable due to the lack of air conditioning, they do not present any kind of problem. A scientific work was done, thanks also to the quality of the devices that were comparable to those of other countries.

How many objects can you have restored?

I may have restored about 20,000 objects, including coins.

Is there an object that makes you particularly proud to have restored it?

The most difficult object to restore in all of Albania is the shield discovered in Apollon, which was divided into 8123 pieces. Nothing was understood, no one could tell me how it was, until through studies, consultations, numerous visits I made, I managed to restore it in 20 years, at a cost of 100 million old leks. The greatest pleasure was not only the restoration and display of this shield, but when I visited Thessaloniki a few years ago, in the Museum Laboratory, I told them about the shield and after seeing it they told me that “we thought there were only two in the world, one in the Louvre and one here, but this is the third one in the world”. It was 20 years of solving the problem. I experimented 760 ways how it would be done. Any mistake could be fatal.

Another object that you have restored has made a lot of noise, the sword of Sultan Bayezit…

The sword of Sultan Bayazit II, it was Frederik De Yong who read and identified it. We didn’t know what we had. I restored it, but it didn’t present any major problems. Besides the shield of Apollonia, the greatest responsibility was the Epitaph of Gllavenica, an object that has been highly valued, even during the exhibition in Paris, as one of the three rare objects of this type and of this era.

You have run the Laboratory of Archeometry and Conservation for many years, why was it closed?

The laboratory was set up in a private facility and the masters took it legally. But now is the time for us to build a central restoration laboratory, for all sectors, archaeology, ethnography, analysis, etc.

What does the restoration in Albania “suffer” from?

Restoration should be more related to science. We must be clear that conservation of cultural heritage objects is a chemical and physical science. These are the primaries and they control the fate of the objects. If we take the example of museum lighting, electricians should not deal with them, but specialist engineers, who only deal with this issue. To illuminate a museum is to appreciate it to the fullest. There are different bulbs, which emit different wavelengths. They can change the color of the object and do not capture the original color, they can bleach the colors of textiles. Everything takes place at the levels of physics and chemistry.