Picture wall preservation moot

LAHORE: A three-day international workshop on the preservation of Lahore Fort Picture Wall concluded at Lahore Fort here on Wednesday.

The workshop was organised to assess and discuss the preservation work carried-out on the Picture Wall. A prototype preservation was carried over a 45-feet high and 30-feet wide panel on the western segment of the Picture Wall by Agha Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) involving the experts from Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France and Sri Lanka. The preservation process was started in 2016 and completed in 2017.

During the workshop, a brief introduction of future plans for Lahore Fort including Picture Wall, an overall presentation scheme for the Picture Wall with some details of the scientific aspects of conservation were explained. Experts shared their experiences with the participants. Conceptual and philosophical framework, methodology and procedures adopted for this preservation were discussed.

The Lahore Fort Picture Wall is the world’s largest picture wall that is 1,450-feet long and 50-feet high. It is a famous expanse of decorative glazed tile and wall painting. It reflects the 17th century Mughal era craftsmanship and is one of the reasons for the inscription of the Lahore Fort as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

AKTC and WCLA in collaboration with the government of Punjab held the workshop which brought together national and international experts from various disciplines including conservation, architecture, engineering, material sciences, history, archaeology, planning, anthropology, and heritage enthusiasts.

Walled City of Lahore Authority Director General Kamran Lashari, CEO AKCSP Salman Baig, AKTC Director Historic Cities Programme Cameron Rashti, AKTC Director Partnerships and Development Jurjen Vandertas, AKTC Senior Conservation Officer Christophe Bouleau, LUMS Asst Professor Dr Nadira Shahbaz, AKCSP Manager Conservation and Design Wajahat Ali, France Historic Monuments Lyon Inspector General Didier Repellin, Italy Conservator-Restorer of Architectural Surfaces Werner Schmid, Sri Lanka Painting Conservator Udaya Hewawasam, AKTC Senior Architectural and Planning Consultant Masood Khan, AKCSP Conservation Chemist Zeina Naseer, AKCSP Conservators Emaan Sheikh, Anees-ur-Rahman and Zohra Munir, Yasmin Cheema, Salim-ul-Haq, Sajjad Kausar, Safdar Khan, Sajida Vandal, Post Graduate Institute of Archaeology University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka Director Jagath Weerasinghe, the Museé National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet Director Sophie Makariou, International Council for Monuments and Sites President Fauzia Qureshi, Asma Ibrahim, Kamil Khan Mumtaz, Aneela Naeem, Punjab Archaeology Secretary M. Aamir Jan, AKTC General Manager Luis Monreal, WCLA Conservation and Urban Planning Director Najam-ul-Saqib, Director Engineering Amir Saleem, Director Administration Shahid Nadeem, Director Marketing Asif Zaheer, Senior Architect Azeem Dad, Deputy Director Conservation Mubashar Hassan and Deputy Director Urban Planning Shahid Mehmood participated in the workshop.

Salman Baig appreciated the work carried-out on the wall’s panel. The selected panel reflects all types of surface decorations found on the Picture Wall. Work on the prototype included six international missions to Lahore comprising microbiologists, surface conservators and material scientists.

Kamran Lashari said it was a great opportunity for all the architects and conservationists that they were able to share their views and approaches towards the conservation of the wall.

“I am grateful to AKTC and AKCSP who have helped WCLA with their expertise and technicalities,” he said. The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany contributed special grant for the prototype conservation of the panel. He said, “Soon we will preserve the entire picture wall keeping in view all the suggestions and methodologies explained by the foreign and local experts”.