Blair gave an illustrated talk on her work as the director of the Ethiopian Heritage Fund www.ethiopianheritagefund.org/. Founded in 2005, the stated aim of the charity is to preserve the cultural heritage of the Christian churches in Ethiopia.

As an introduction to the work of the charity, Blair gave an overview of the early Christian civilisations and cultures mostly located in the northern highlands of the country, followed by a sketch of the political history.

The talk focussed on a number of projects. The conservation two 6^th century Gospels, Garima I and II was the first work undertaken. The talk highlighted the difficulty of working in remote places amongst the monks, taking the right equipment and finding a place to work that would not damage the books.

Another issue for conservation was highlighted by a 15^th century ceremonial fan. Five foot high and constructed of parchment it is covered in paintings of Mary and saints. In 2010 the charity carried out some remedial work. However, as tourism increases, so is the number of times this fan is opened. How long will it last?

The charity is currently working with the World Monuments Fund on a joint project to conserve wall paintings in Yemrehanne Kristos. The paintings are the oldest in Ethiopia (10^th century). Darkened by years of candles and dust the paintings are hard to see. After careful consideration, the charity recommended no dusting or cleaning as there was no way to ensure that the paintings would not be damaged. Conservation does not always mean action.

This icon is from Hayq in northern Ethiopia, home to the Istifanos
monastery. It was consecrated after restoration.

A particularly interesting strand of the talk concerned the difficulties of conservation work on the ground in this region. The monks who guard the treasures can be uncooperative or even hostile, and there are many problems related to bureaucracy, obstacles created by other official bodies, and general misunderstanding of the role and capacity of the Charity, which is funding the care and restoration of the fragile pieces. However, the work continues where possible. There is the hope of creating a small museum, and another bright prospect is £750000 of EU grant money coming to Tigre for conservation of their heritage.

The talk gave us an intriguing glimpse of the valuable work done by the Fund.  (Summary: Janey King)