Visual Traces of a Lost Archive: The Preservation of the Photographic Plates of the Former Photography Section of the National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

A case study within the project Hiring Specialized Assistance for the Iconographic Collection of the National Museum/UFRJ, supported by the 6th Ibermuseums Fund, is presented. The aim was to conserve, digitize and disseminate online 213 photographic plates (silver gelatin photographs on paper-based boards), direct copies and the single material evidence of a collection of around 11,000 glass negatives destroyed in the catastrophic 2018 fire in the museum’s main building. The project integrated damage characterization and mapping, photographic and paper conservation, materials analysis using FTIR and XRF, high-resolution scanning and safe packaging, and the creation of a freely accessible online catalog backed up across multiple media. The combination of conservation intervention, technical investigation and asset management ensured the physical and digital stability of the supports, and created a methodological model replicable in post-disaster contexts. The project reaffirms the role of imaging as a testimony to the institutional and scientific memory of the National Museum and as an essential instrument of symbolic reconstruction after the loss of priceless historical heritage.