Manuscript Heritage Problems and Preservation Strategies

About the Presenter My project

Thoughts on Heritage Preservation Ethiopian Manuscript Heritage

Issues Affecting Manuscript Survival Photographic Archiving of Documents

Challenges to the Photographic Archiving of Documents

Strategies

Contact Info

Sean M. Winslow ሾን፤ዊንስሎ Doctoral Candidate, Centre

for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto

MA Medieval Studies, Book History, and Print Culture, Univ. of Toronto

BA History (European), U. of California

Researcher, Institute for Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University

2008-2009 U. S. Fulbright Scholar

“Ethiopic Manuscript Culture and its European Analogues”(2008-2009 Fulbright Project)

Interview-based attempt to recover craftsmanly knowledge about the historic and current scribal and book arts of Ethiopia

Integrating Ethiopian manuscript practices into world narrative of book history

Thoughts on Heritage Preservation There is more heritage left in Ethiopia than most

people give credit for, but it is hard to access. Lack of cataloguing and archiving makes it

impossible to determine what and how much is leaving the country.

Items still in the country are at risk from poor storage and handling conditions.

“Don't add water to a leaky tub.” Focus on preserving what is in Ethiopia before attempting to return artifacts in foreign collections. To be blunt: many are safer abroad, at least for the moment.

Ethiopian Manuscript Heritage

Issues Affecting Manuscript Survival

Poor Storage Conditions

Lack of Proper Handling

Alienation / Sale

Secrecy

Photographic Archiving of Documents Serves as proof of

ownership of alienated documents for sale on international markets

Allows access to documents without destructive handling or expensive travel

Allows quick assessmnet of contents and conservation status

Challenges to the Photographic Archiving of Documents

Culture of Secrecy Issues of trust and responsibility in local

communities: “Foreigners stole it.” Institutional resistance: Culture/Tourism and

Patriarchy Limited resources Xenophobia: primarily done by those foreign to

country / local communities Insufficient infrastructure to provide adequate local

access to photographed materials

Strategies Heritage conservation requires Ethiopians to work on an

Ethiopian problem

Foreign work is helpful and necessary, but limited in its ability to access local communities and power structures

Convince key officials, starting at the local level, of the need to encourage the documentation and cataloguing of manuscript and other heritage

Work to educate those responsible for heritage in the proper care and treatment of the items which they conserve

Put more heritage in a public light to raise awareness and deter theft and alienation

Support practitioners of traditional crafts materially and with encouragement

Contact Info

Email: sean.winslow@utoronto.ca Cellular: 0910 11 37 75 Website: http://www.larkvi.com Mail:

Centre for Medieval Studies, U of T

125 Queen's Park, 3rd Floor

Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C3

CANADA