Following the completion of the purchase of the exhibition furniture, a first exhibition preparation activity consisted in the design/arrangement of the exhibition space.
Another activity, which took place in December 2021, consisted in the development of the general concept of the in situ exhibition, by establishing the content of each of the showcases, in order to present the objects upon which it was intervened, through restoration, during the course of the project .
In designing the exhibition, the most relevant issues related to medieval manuscripts, their provenance, history and European route, their relationship with other manuscripts from various European centers were taken into account.
The partner institution from Norway was also involved in the planning activity of the exhibition showcases, especially through the Group Facilitator and Exhibition Design Expert, who, sharing her experience in organizing and curating exhibitions in a classic format, offered some useful arguments for the organization of the showcases holding account of the type and form of the restaurated manuscripts, dating and provenance or the kinship/links existing between the manuscripts. Thus, through the direct consultation of the exhibition design expert, representative of Bjerkaker LearningLab, and through the collaboration between the project Promoter and the Norwegian partner, the exhibition design of the showcases was carried out.
In the first showcase, with a general character, places where fragments of manuscripts can be found are highlighted: in the binding of the body of the book, lost between their pages or even stuck to them or in the form of a cover or spine of the body of the book.
In the second showcase, the places in the binding of the book where some of the restaurated manuscripts were extracted are exemplified.
The third showcase presents the reconstruction of some of the manuscripts which, before being restaurated, were considered as independent fragments/separated from each other and which, through restoration, could be identified (reassembled like pieces of a puzzle) as parts of the same manuscript sheet.
The fourth showcase reconstructs the provenance of the host volumes.
In the fifth showcase, liturgical manuscripts whose origin could not be established with certainty are exhibited.
The sixth showcase contains Transylvanian Antiphons and Graduals, and the seventh reconstitutes, similarly to the previous showcase, Antiphons and Graduals with colorful decorations, the city of Oradea being their place of provenance.
The eighth showcase reveals to the public one of the most spectacular and largest pieces restaurated within the project, the Gradual, that is the book of liturgical songs used in the Catholic Church of St. Michael, one of the symbolic institutions/buildings of the city of Cluj, respectively the church Gothic in the center of the city.
The ninth showcase contains the OFM Psaltire from Cluj and two decorated manuscripts.
Finally, the tenth showcase contains the books that, after the manuscripts were detached from the covers of the body of the books, were rebinded using leather in the Restoration Laboratory of the Alba-Iulia National Union Museum.
