The Bakhrushin Museum has found a unique 19th-century nativity theater

Performances for children will again be shown on the puppet stage

“Restoration begins with removing surface contaminants using a special vacuum cleaner. Then we remove late nails and various parts, which are sent for restoration,” says a specialist from the Bakhrushin Museum. To recreate a folk puppet theater that miraculously ended up in the collections of a theater museum, you need to disassemble it into parts, strengthen the entire structure and reassemble the nativity scene with the parts already restored. “MK” learned about the features of the restoration of an ancient nativity theater.

The exhibit, which has been under the supervision of specialists from various fields for six months, once came to Moscow from Belarus. Previously it was believed that the ancient nativity theater was bought by Alexei Bakhrushin. However, recent research led researchers to an article by historian-ethnographer Nikolai Vinogradov, published in 1908 in one of the issues of Izvestia of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. It says that the puppet theater “acquired from Shestakov” along with 34 dolls. It is not known exactly how and when the 19th-century nativity theater from the Imperial Academy of Sciences came to the Bakhrushin Museum, but it is clear that this is a unique exhibit. In the future, it will be included in a new exhibition dedicated to the origins of the Russian national theater, but for now the work continues. Restoring such an object is a multi-stage complex process.

After the initial cleaning of dust and surface contaminants, a wood restorer gets to work. It is necessary to carefully carry out partial dismantling in order to strengthen the structure and reassemble it with restored decorative elements. While one specialist is working his magic on the nativity scene itself, textile restorers are working on the dolls. It is necessary to strengthen the threads and make up for the losses on the costumes.

The description of the nativity scene in the mentioned article makes it possible for restorers to recreate it in its original form. The nativity scene consists of a lower part, where the theatrical action itself took place, and an upper part, which is a church roof with a dome. Experts found that the upper part of the nativity scene was either heavily altered or completely lost and made anew.

– The nativity scene has been repaired many times. And since the changes made are already the history of the object, the restorers will try to preserve all the details,” says Olga Golovleva, head of the restoration workshop of the Bakhrushin Museum. “We hope to restore the original appearance of the horizontal planes on which the dolls were attached, because during previous repairs the slots that allowed the dolls to be moved during the performance were blocked. Painting and paper restorers apply restoration primer in places of loss, remove old adhesives, strengthen craquelure and cracks on panels, and make up for losses in layers of paper and foil. The painting will be covered with restoration varnish, since the old one has darkened.

After restoration, the fabulous nativity scene from the century before last will take an important place in the new exhibition, and will also be used in master classes for children.