DIPLOMA IN MUSEOLOGY AND CONSERVATION

(DIMAC)

Course Course Title Credits No. of

Code Sessions
DIMAC – I Introduction to Museology 8 30

DIMAC – II Museum Architecture, Display Techniques, 8 30

DIMAC – III Conservation of Museum Objects and Field 8 30

conservation Techniques
8 30
Professional Competencies in Museology and
DIMAC – IV Numismatics 8 30

40 150
 COURSE – I – DIMAC – INTRODUCTION TO MUSEOLOGY

BLOCK – 1 - Introduction to Museology - Definition and Scope – Origin and Development –

History of Museums in India

BLOCK – 2 –Types of Museums – Role of Museum in Education – Research works

BLOCK – 3 – Museum Management – Implementation

BLOCK – 4 – Select Museums in India – Archival Studies

BLOCK -1

Unit – 1

What is Museology – Museography - Scope of Museum studies - Use of Museums

Unit – 2

History of Museum in the World – History of Museum Movement in India – Grace Morley as the
First Director of the National Museum, New Delhi – Growing Aspects of Museology

BLOCK – 2

Unit – 1

Classification of Museums: Subject wise and Administrative wise – National, Provincial,

Regional, Government, School, College, Universities, Trustee Museum, Commercial Museum

Unit – 2

Educational Museum – Crafts museum, Textile museum, Industrial museum, Rail museum,
Agricultural museum, Anthropological museum, Archaeological museum, Folk art museum,
Children’s museum, Coins museum, Fort museum

Unit – 3

Educational Programmes and activities – lecturers, seminars, workshops, museum camps, special
celebrations – Use of multimedia in museum studies – Museum as a centre of cultural studies

Unit – 4

Research work based on museum collections, publications, catalogue – guide books, brouchers,
pamphlets, posters, picture postcards

BLOCK – 3

Unit - 1

Museum Management – Administration – Security – Public safety – Insurance – Budgeting and

Human Resources
Unit – 2

Identifying the forgeries, copies, replicas, reproductions – Museum Marketing – Co-ordinating

National and International organisations related to museums

Unit – 3

Role of Curator/Director of museums – Technical and Administrative staffs – Governing body –

Committees – Visual storage

BLOCK – 4

Unit – 1

Selected Museums in India – National Museums: National Museum, New Delhi, Chatrapati
Sivaji Museum, Mumbai, Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad, Indian Museum, Kolkata,
Vishveswariya Museum, Bangalore, Government Museum, Chennai

Unit – 2

Definition of Archives – Manuscripts, Documents, Records – its importance – History of

Archives – Record Management

Unit – 3

Preservation of Archival Materials – Treatment against Fungi and insects – Liquid Ammonia
method – Calcium Hydroxide method

Unit – 4

Physical forms of Archives – Clay Tablets, Stone Inscriptions, Metal Plates, Palm Leaves, Seals,
Photographs, Catographic Records, Film, Video Tapes, Sound records, Machine readable records

Unit - 5

Acquisition and Accession of Archives – Arrangement of Archival data – National Archives –

Tamilnadu Archives

REFERENCE BOOKS

1. Nigam, M.L., Fundamentals of Museology

2. Dwivedi, V.P., & Pant, G.N., Museums and Museology
3. Jayaraj, V., Museology: Heritage Management
4. Jayaraj, V., Care of Archival Materials and Manuscripts
5. Banerjee, N.R., Museum and Cultural Heritage of India
6. Baxi and Dwivedi, Modern Museum
7. Singh, A.P., Conservation and Museum Technique
COURSE – II – DIMAC – MUSEUM ARCHITECTURE, DISPLAY TECHNIQUES

BLOCK – 1 – Introduction to Museum Architecture – Requirements of Museum Building -

Curator

BLOCK – 2 – Security Measures – Legal Safe guards

BLOCK - 3 – Techniques and Methods – Principle of Presentation – Evaluation work

BLOCK - 4 - Policies of Collection of Objects – Acquisition methods

BLOCK – 5 - Types of Documentation – Preservation of Objects – Types of Exhibits

BLOCK – 6 - Preservation of Organic Materials and Inorganic Materials – Field conservation

techniques

BLOCK - 1

Unit – 1

Introduction to Museum Architecture – Requirements of a Museum Building

Unit – 2

Requirements and Methods of Curation: Role of a Director/Curator and other Technical and
Administrative staff

Unit – 3

Adaptation and use of old buildings – important principles in display

BLOCK – 2 Unit – 1

Legal Measures – Indian Legislative Measures – The Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1878 – The
Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904

Unit – 2

The Antiquities Budget, Financial Management, Collection Management, Storage, Storage

Furniture, Export Control Act, 1947

Unit – 3

The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 – The Antiquities and
Art Treasure Act, 1972 – Legal Measures in recent years.

BLOCK – 3 Unit – 1

Different Techniques and Methods – Basic components of Display – Exhibits, Space, Showcase,
Lightning, Labels
Unit – 2

Principle of Presentation – Designing – the work of Evaluation – Principles of Display for

permanent exhibition and reserve collection

Unit – 3

Objectives and Communication goals – target audience, concept development, story line, gallery
development, structural installations and colour scheme

BLOCK – 4

Unit – 1

Policies of collection – Methods of Acquisition of Objects in Museum – Gift, Loan, Purchase,

Scientific Expedition, Mutual Exchange, Treasure Trove

Unit - 2

Collection of objects – field exploration, excavation, confiscations etc

BLOCK – 5 Unit – 1

Importance of Documentation - Documentation types – The Day Book, Inventory, Cataloguing

of Objects, Preparation of Registers, Preparing Index cards

Unit – 2

Accession – Digital Documentation – De – Accessioning

Unit – 3

Definition of Preservation – Ethics of Preservation and Restoration – History of Archaeological

conservation

Unit – 4

Curatorial care – Preventive conservation – Chemical Preservation – Conservation Laboratory –

Museum Staff, Necessary Equipments, Instruments, Tools

BLOCK – 6 UNIT – 1

Preservation of Organic Materials: Manuscripts, Palm Leafs, Paper, Leather, Textiles, Wood,
Parchments, Fur, Birch Bark

UNIT – 2

Preservation of Paintings - Mural Paintings: Fresco, Secco and Tempera – Oil Paintings:
Historical Background – Origin in Europe and India – Factors of Oil paintings: Carrier, ground,
pigment, binding medium, resins, gums
UNIT – 3

Preservation of Inorganic Materials: Stones, Semi – Precious stones, Mineral, Mud, Terracotta,
Pottery, Glass, Glaze, Stucco

UNIT – 4

Preservation of Metallic Antiquities: Gold, Silver, Copper, Bronze, Lead, Iron

Unit - 5

Field Conservation Techniques: Reconstruction and Restoration of Monuments – Monitoring the

Cracks – Conservation of Excavated Site – Consolidation and Strengthening of Foundations –
Salvaging and Transplantation of Monuments

REFERENCE BOOKS

1. Howie, F., (Ed), Safety in Mueums and Galleries

2. Lawrence J. Fenny, Museum, Archives and Library Security
3. Sarkar, Museums and Protection of Monuments & Antiquites in India
4. Nigam, Fundamentals of Museology
5. Diwedi, V.P., & Pant, G.N., Museums and Museology
6. Biswass, S.S., Protecting the Cultural Heritage
7. Jeyaraj, V., Museology – Heritage Management
8. Richard, B.L.,(ed), Museum Documentation System
9. John, M.A., Thomson (ed), Manual of Curatorship: A Guide to Museum Practice
10. Agarwal, D.P., Conservation of Cultural Property in India
11. ------, Conservation of Manuscripts and Paintings of South Asia
12. Swarna Kamal, Protection and Conservation of Museum Collections
 COURSE – III – DIMAC – CONSERVATION OF MUSEUM OBJECTS
AND FIELD CONSERVATION TECHNIQUES

BLOCK – 1 – Definition of Preservation – History and Principles of Conservation

BLOCK – 2 – Conservation Laboratory - Preservation of Materials – Preservation of Paintings

BLOCK - 3 – Field Conservation Techniques – Reconstruction of Monuments

BLOCK - 4 - Chemical Preservation of Monuments and Antiquities

BLOCK - 1
Unit – 1
Definition of Preservation of Museum Objects – History of Archaeological
Conservation
Unit – 2
Ethics of Conservation – Restoration and Preservation
Unit – 3
Principles of Conservation of Materials

BLOCK - 2
Unit – 1
Conservation Laboratory – Museum Staff, Necessary Equipments, Instruments, Tools and
Chemicals
Unit – 2
Cause of Decay: Physical, Chemical and Bio Deterioration
Unit – 3
Preservation of Organic Materials: Manuscripts, Palm Leafs, Papers, Leather, Textile, Wood
Unit – 4
Preservation of Inorganic Materials: Stone, Metals (Gold, Silver, Iron, Copper, Bronze, Lead),
Clay, Glass
Unit – 4
Paintings: Causes for Decay – Treatment for Decay process – Consolidation, Restoration, Repair
and General Maintenance
BLOCK – 3
Unit – 1
Field Conservation Techniques: Reconstruction and Restoration of Monuments – Grouting by
Pressure Gravity, Gunniting, Under Pinning, Filleting, Edging, Monitoring of Cracks
Unit – 2
Conservation of Excavated Site – Consolidation and Strengthening of Foundation
Unit -3
Salvaging and Transplantation of Monuments
BLOCK – 4
Unit – 1
Basic Chemistry – Organic and Inorganic Materials – Elements and Compounds of Preservation
– Conservation of Metals: Silver, Gold, Copper, Iron, Lead and Non Metals
Unit – 2
Causes of Decay – Physical, Chemical and Biological deteriorating agencies – Preventive and
Curative methods of control
Unit – 3
Air Pollution – Monitoring and Control – Environmental Parameters – Monitoring and Control

REFERENCE BOOKS

1. Howie, F., (Ed), Safety in Mueums and Galleries

2. Lawrence J. Fenny, Museum, Archives and Library Security
3. Sarkar, Museums and Protection of Monuments & Antiquites in India
4. Nigam, Fundamentals of Museology
5. Diwedi, V.P., & Pant, G.N., Museums and Museology
6. Biswass, S.S., Protecting the Cultural Heritage
7. Jeyaraj, V., Museology – Heritage Management
8. Richard, B.L.,(ed), Museum Documentation System
9. John, M.A., Thomson (ed), Manual of Curatorship: A Guide to Museum Practice
10. Agarwal, D.P., Conservation of Cultural Property in India
11. ------, Conservation of Manuscripts and Paintings of South Asia
12. Swarna Kamal, Protection and Conservation of Museum Collections
COURSE – IV– DIMAC – PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES IN MUSEOLOGY AND
CONSERVATION (PROJECT)

BLOCK – 1 – General Awareness – Recent Developments in Museum and Coins study – Current
Affairs

BLOCK – 2 – Teaching Methods in Museology and Numismatics – Seminar – Project Proposal -

Project Writing

BLOCK – 3 – Research Attitude – Writing of Research Articles – Conferences: IHC, SIHC,

TNHC

BLOCK – 4 – Field Study - Visit Museum, Numismatics societies and

BLOCK – 1

Unit – 1

General Awareness about Museum studies and Coins - Current Affairs in Museology and
Numismatics

Unit – 2

Recent Developments in Museum studies and Numismatics

BLOCK – 2

Unit – 1

Teaching Methods in Museology: Power Point presentations on Architecture of Museums,

Documentation of Organic and In-organic materials, Documentation of objects kept for display,
Practices in Conservation of materials: Manuscripts, paper materials, leather, wood, glass
materials

Unit -2

Conducting Seminar on Museum studies, Museum Architecture, Chemical Preservation of

Antiquities and Monuments, Documentation of Materials, Coins – Proposal writing about the
project – Project Writing

BLOCK – 3

Unit – 1

Mode of conducting research in Museology: Documenting the types of Museums, Visiting

Museums, conducting practical classes on preservation of Monuments and Antiquities
Unit – 2

Article writing in Seminars, Conferences related to History and Archaeology Discipline: Indian
History Congress (IHC), South Indian History Congress (SIHC), Tamilnadu History Congress
(TNHC)

BLOCK – 4

Unit -1

Field Study: Exploration: Visiting Museums, Documenting the History of a Museum,

Architecture, Galleries, Organic and In – Organic materials housed in Museums