The world-famous golden helmet of Cotofenesti, which was recovered after the art theft at the Drents Museum in Assen, is slightly damaged but safely back in the hands of the authorities. Together with two gold Dacian bracelets, the 2,500-year-old heritage left for Romania yesterday under armed police escort.
“It is up to Romania to determine where the helmet will be restored. Whether that is Paris, London or the Netherlands. That is not up to us,” said museum director Robert van Langh after the press meeting in the museum, where the recovered Dacian art treasures were shown to the press.
Restorers of archaeological objects in museums use special techniques to restore old metals, Paulien Kaan explains. She is a restorer herself and an expert in metal heritage.
When she heard that the helmet had been found damaged, she initially cheered: “I assumed that the helmet had been melted down and I said to a Romanian colleague with whom I am going to Romania next week: we are going to celebrate!” And then swear a lot. “It’s a shame that it’s broken. The fact that it was gone really affected me,” she says.
The damage is limited: it is probably dents and scratches, Kaan thinks. She expresses her admiration for the craftsmanship of the helmet, which she herself viewed a week before it disappeared from the Drents Museum. “It’s incredible how it was made in that time. Very impressive.”
The restoration of an object like this mainly involves carefully bending back and removing dents, without losing the historical character. “You should use tools that are softer than the gold, such as wooden sticks, so that it doesn’t get scratched.”
The story behind the damage also plays a role. “Sometimes it’s nice to see dents and folds. That’s part of the story of the object. But if a part is so deformed that details are lost, it is carefully returned to the correct shape,” she explains. Kaan emphasizes that restoration is always a trade-off: how far do you restore, and what traces of the past do you leave visible? “That will also be up to the owner of the helmet to include in the order to the restorer.”
“Hopefully the Cotofenesti helmet is only about reducing the light dents so that the ornaments and details are clearly visible again.” An important tool for recovery is making scans of the helmet. This allows restorers to see exactly where the metal is flexible enough to bend carefully and where extra caution is needed. Scratches, pits and sharp creases are more difficult to repair.
The thin and decorated parts of the helmet are especially vulnerable: here the metal can tear more quickly if too much force is applied. “The risk of additional damage from the restoration is relatively limited, but not absent. The gold has a certain flexibility, but each part must be handled with care and examined and documented in advance,” says Kaan.
Kaan also explains that the restoration of old metal objects is preferably done without heating or permanently gluing the metal. “If you solder or work too hot, you change the metallographic structure of the metal and information about how the helmet was originally made disappears,” she says. For a restoration, restorers therefore prefer to use an adhesive with good aging properties, so that everything can be undone later without damaging the gold.
The work requires a lot of precision and patience, Kaan emphasizes. “With a helmet like this, the whole world is watching. Mistakes are not an option.” The Cotofenesti helmet is approximately 2,500 years old and is known for its refined craftsmanship. That makes it not only a valuable museum piece, but also a piece of history in itself.
Kaan emphasizes that the preservation of that historical value is central to restorations: “The goal is not for the helmet to look ‘new’ again, but for it to continue to tell its story.”
It is not yet known who will ultimately do the restoration. Kaan says laughing: “I don’t expect a phone call. It could very well be that they are done with the Netherlands. If the restaurateur who is ultimately chosen is very busy, I think he will give this assignment priority. At least I would.”
It is not yet known how long it will take before the helmet can finally be completely restored and exhibited in the museum in Bucharest.
