BLAGO Serbian Treasures

FRESCOES OF MONASTERY MILESEVA NEED YOUR HELP!

For the past few years, the BLAGO Fund team has been very active in trying to preserve and promote Serbian cultural treasures.Apart from the inherent satisfaction of such constructive efforts, there are added rewards to direct field work. In particular, while on location at the Mileseva Monastery last summer, the team was thoroughly impressed by the beauty of the church, its surroundings, and above all, its fresco paintings in their natural setting.

Apart from the monastery brotherhood and the small crew of preservation professionals that accompanied the team, there were few with whom these feelings could be shared.However, the team was dismayed when they learned of the possible fate of these treasures. Their host, Miroslav Stanojlovic, M.A., the conservation expert in charge of protecting the wall art of the Mileseva church, showed them some disturbing details, normally invisible to the casual observer. Due to the efforts of Serbia's small but dedicated cultural heritage preservation community, the state of the church '9s wall paintings has been monitored since the 1950s. Through photographic comparisons and annual reviews of the actual chemicals present, the deterioration in certain frescoes, alarmingly significant in some cases, has become apparent. Serious damage over the recent decades is noticeable on many of the main frescoes, including the world-renowned White Angel that is slowly but surely chipping off. Very soon, many of the frescoes in this church could disappear, perhaps even during our lifetime.

In response to this situation, the local expert team prepared plans for a timely conservation of many endangered Mileseva frescoes, but so far has been unable to secure funds for this effort. Some equipment, material, as well as sophisticated expertise are required to accomplish this task on a professional level. Because the BLAGO Fund team has seen the problems --and some of the solutions -- firsthand, it became apparent that the BLAGO Fund and the Serbian Unity Congress should lead the task of raising urgently-needed funds to realize this conservation project of historical proportions.

In this booklet we present three examples of invaluable frescoes in Mileseva that need immediate attention. Also included are details of an operational reconstruction plan. If, after reviewing the enclosed material, you find this project worthwhile, please follow the attached instructions and sign up for participation in one of the many support levels. In any case, we wish to thank you for reading and considering this proposal.