Baranov Viktor – Ph.D, restorer of the highest category; The State Research Institute for Restoration, Leading Researcher at the Laboratory of Physicochemical Research.
E-mail: trinity64@mail.ru

The article briefly deals with the emergence of Old Believer icon painting in Russia. Based on the analysis of literary sources, the features of the development of this phenomenon of Russian artistic culture at an early stage (XVIII – first half of the XIX century) are shown. The first part of the article briefly describes the historical situation that influenced the life of the Old Believer communities in the 18th century, which arose in inaccessible areas of the state. The persecution of the Old Believers was reinforced by royal decrees, which, among other things, forbade them to paint icons. Further, the article provides information about the work of icon painters in one of the largest centers of the Old Believers of the 18th century – Vygo-Leksinsky monastery. This the monastery became the largest supplier of icons for the Old Believers throughout Russia. From the 1770s, the Old Believers managed to settle in Moscow, at the Rogozhskaya and Preobrazhenskaya outposts. Since that time, the leading role in the development of the spiritual, economic and cultural life of the Old Believers has passed to the Moscow communities. From sources it is known that in the Old Believer monasteries they were also involved in the restoration of icons. From the second half of the 18th century, provincial centers also developed Old Believers. Particular attention is paid to icon painting in the Epiphany Sloboda Mstera, whose masters specialized in the manufacture of icon stylizations and fakes.

Old Believers, icon painting, imitations, forgeries, restoration, Vygo-Leksinskaya monastery, Mstyora.

Ippolitov Sergey – Doctor in Historical Sciences; The D.S. Likhachev Russian Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage, Chief Researcher; Russian State Academy of Intellectual Property; The State Research Institute for Restoration.
E-mail: nivestnik@yandex.ru

The article discusses the idea of "tokenization" of the national heritage; creation of "digital originals" of cultural heritage objects; wide popularization, exhibition, trade of NFT digital objects created on the basis of works of art, historical sources, and other objects of cultural heritage of the country. It is claimed that the mass tokenization of objects of storage of the Archival Fund of the Russian Federation; film and photo documents; interstate agreements; For the first time in history, other state acts will create a market for "digital originals" of historical sources, whose authenticity will be confirmed by NFTs traded on the national Russian blockchain exchange. The introduction of NFT technologies for the certification of images of the Archival Fund of the Russian Federation; other important and "sensitive" visual materials affecting the history and politics of the state will allow accurate verification of images on the network and prevent attempts to distort or manipulate them. The possibility of creating an open electronic archive of film and photo documents of the Russian Federation, where the national visual heritage will be exhibited, without the risk of its unfair distortion and use, is being studied. The same technology will allow the commercialization of intellectual property and the national heritage of the Russian Federation, at the same time contributing to its popularization both within the country and in the world. The emergence of a completely new market is predicted – the market of "digital originals" of historical documents. The possibility of creating 3D repositories of objects of cultural and natural heritage of the Russian Federation in order to catalog, preserve, restore, and use it is being studied.

Blockchain, NFT, cultural heritage, historical source, intellectual property, restoration, national treasure, crypto art.

Titova Maria – The State Museum of Oriental Art, junior researcher of the department “Heritage of Roerichs”.
E-mail: nvl-dogaru@inbox.ru

The article is devoted to the study of a statue of Green Tara from the collection of the Roerich family, which is represented in the funds of The State Museum of Oriental Art. In the pantheon of Tibetan Buddhism, Green Tara belongs to the category of bodhisattvas, who are addressed as a healer and comforter, able to alleviate the suffering of all living beings. A number of issues are considered on the example of this statuette: artistic traditions that formed the basis of the stylistics of the late metal sculpture of the Himalayas; an idea of the everyday life of craftsmen and their customers; the iconographic logic followed by the Buddhist pantheon. Among the details of the image of the Green Tara, the main attention is paid to the stylized image of the Buddha Amitabha on top of the goddess's high hairstyle. This iconographic element is the defining sign of the bodhisattva of mercy Avalokiteshvara. In Tibetan Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara acts as a disciple and assistant of Amitabha, so a stylized figure of this Buddha can be present in the crown of the bodhisattva of mercy. A number of researchers interpret Green Tara as the female hypostasis of Avalokiteshvara. The search for numerous analogues allowed us to establish that the iconographic detail in the form of a stylized figure of Buddha Amitabha in a crown or on top of a Green Tara hairstyle is rarely found in Tibetan, Chinese, Nepalese and Mongolian figurines depicting this character. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that this detail, combined with stylistic and technical and technological features, suggests that the master who created it not only had a high level of skill, but also outstanding knowledge in the field of iconography of Buddhist deities.

Tibet, Buddhism, Buddhist sculpture, Buddhist iconography, Tibetan Buddhism, Roerichs, metal sculpture, Himalayan art.

Tong Xinyuan – St Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts; Postgraduate student of the Department of Foreign Art, Junior assistant of the Department of Painting Restoration, senior research assistant.
E-mail:tongxinyuan0405@gmail.com

The article is dedicated to conservation, de-restoration and research of the painting by Fr.H. Barisien (1724–1796) “Portrait of Nikolaus Ernst von Korff” from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum. The painting has been comprehensively restored in 1976, consolidated the ground and the painting layer, lining the canvas, cleaned the overpainting, reconstruction and compensation for loss of canvas, ground, and the painting layer. After 50 years of watching the painting again it was found that a large number of large warps of the ground appeared, the retouching areas different from the surrounding tone, and the varnish film became yellowed and degraded. It was decided to perform a de-restoration of the painting. The term de-restoration is the removal of materials from the previous restoration. That is, to separate the backing canvas, clean the canvas, and remove all reconstruction from the painting. In other words, the work of restoration had to be done anew, within the framework of modern principles of gentle restoration, and before that the old operation with the peculiarities of previously were removed as much as possible. Undertaken project using several advanced technological method and some practical solutions known from western conservation experience. In particular, transparent flatbed stretcher, polyester fabric, low pressure vacuum table, transparent materials, preservation of the readability of the inscription on the back of author's canvas, and some other solutions were used.

De-restoration, conservation, method, readability of the inscription, transparent flatbed stretcher, relining, transparent materials, portrait.

Yakhont Oleg – Candidate of Art History, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, honorary restorer of Moscow, artist-restorer of the highest category; The State Research Institute for Restoration, leading researcher of the Outdoor Sculpture Scientific Conservation Department.
E-mail:natalyafomina@yandex.ru

The article examines the history of the formation of the system of protection of monuments of art and culture in Russia in the 1917–1920's. On the example of the Institute of Archaeological (Historical) Technology (IAT–IIT) in Petrograd. The IAT is considered by the author as a predecessor of the State Research Institute for Restoration in terms of the goals, objectives, methods and principles of its activities. The purpose of the article is to introduce into scientific circulation previously unpublished documents testifying to the organization and active activity of this scientific institution during these years. Conducted by the author from the standpoint of modern scientific protection and restoration of historical and cultural monuments, an analytical review of documents testifying to the outstanding role of scientists of humanitarian and natural knowledge, restorers in the formation of complex interdisciplinary approaches to the study and restoration of monuments of the past. The author introduces into scientific circulation the forgotten names of scientists and restorers, their publications, which have not lost their theoretical and practical significance to the present time. The review of the institute's activities was conducted in the cultural and political context of the time, which allowed to reveal the scientific integrity and dedication of outstanding representatives of the culture of that time. The author comes to the conclusion: acquaintance with a number of archival documents opened the pages of the history of the Institute of Archaeological Technology (IAT), which laid the foundation for the formation of museum and restoration activities in the tragic years of our country – as a research work.

The system of protection of monuments of art and culture, scientific restoration, comprehensive research, interdisciplinary approach, Institute of Archaeological Technology.