Today we are going to visit the tempera painting restoration laboratory and the restoration - depositary center of the Hermitage, in which more than 1.2 million displays are kept.

Here is a quick excursion trough the storage and other restoration workrooms of the Hermitage.

Under the storage functions a class for blind and visually impaired "The Past on Fingertips”. There they can find out more about archeology, "touch” the past with the help of special models. For example in this picture you can see the model of a real ancient Russian settlement. All details are much  textured, and can say a lot to the sensitive fingers of  the blind.

Here is for example a pair from the Ancient Pskov and two curious bloggers.

Under the restoration-depositary center work many workshops - the most impressing is the metal-restoration shop…

In the centre of a small room stand a big table separated by three partitions - it makes three workplaces for restorers.

Workplace of a metal-restorer.

The restoration of an age-old broadsword.

Not only arms are restored, but also metal frameworks of old books.

Restorer at work.

1The framework removed of the book.

Here is a lot of hi-tech equipment. One of the most interesting is a compact device, which defines exact chemical composition of an alloy.

Chemistry on the pay of restorers.

Even a simple door-alarm is designed unusually.

After that follows The Easel Oil Painting Workshop.

While restoring tempera painted works of art, restorers are guided by reproductions of different ages and even make X-Ray pictures of layers.

After that we went to the storage itself. To say that it is enormous is to say nothing. The excursion in the endless halls situated  on different floors took us about 2 hours. It was a real museum marathon!

Medieval frescos of Smolensk and Pskov - they were found in temples, dug out by archeologists.

A fragment of the floor from the Vasily the III Palace in the Alexander Settlement.

Garuda bird, made of unitary block of  redwood. Was presented by the president of Indonesia in 2002.

In the hall of sculptures.

Two-faced Jahnus.

There are both modern works of art in the hall of sculptures…

…and classical ones…

Paintings are kept in special racks, where proper humidity and temperature are maintained.

A rack with icons

The frescos from a cave  Buddhist temple of the ancient Uigurs. The temple was  detected by the Germans in the times of the Second World War. The frescos were cut off by sabers.

The last hall we saw was the Hall of Carriages.