Thanks to the archival research conducted by Nadia Fiussello, bibliographical research, and fruitful exchanges with institutions and scholars, which took place throughout the restoration work, valuable information was gathered on this type of artifacts, which are rare and still little studied. Archival documents made it possible to identify the mail exchange between the White Missionary Fathers and the Holy See. The documentation includes a letter sent from the Rwanda Vicariate of Kabgayi, dated July 1, 1924, to which is attached an exhaustive list of the works assembled by the vicariate for the Vatican Missionary Exhibition sent in several crates divided into two separate shipments, and a valuable plan of the "royal hut" (Hutte de Chef), indicating the location of several dividing panels of the interior rooms. The insika, "patterned dividing panels," appear on the plan to delimit the bedroom and closet space, while the inzūgi, made with only bamboo, are placed at the entrance. The letter also points out the great difficulties encountered during the transportation of the crates, carried out by forty men through high mountain paths to Usumbura, and states that "the return of the items shipped is not required." Among the documents consulted for preliminary research is an email sent by scholar Talia Lieber to Father Mapelli (Nov. 04, 2021). After a visual examination of photographs of the panels in the Vatican collection, she writes: "These woven panels called insika served as dividers inside the royal houses and in those of wealthy Rwandans, decorating their niches. From the sources consulted, it can be read that the fine work of weaving and interweaving of plant fibers was mostly done by noble women who worked respecting conventional shapes and motifs established by ancient traditions. The decorative motifs reproduced on baskets and panels are made from simple geometric shapes: triangles, squares, rhomboids, lozenges, configured along zig-zag and stepped lines or arranged in bands, allowing for a dynamic interplay of positive and negative spaces, horizontal, diagonal, or vertical directions and dark and light elements. The materials most widely used to make these types of weaves are all of natural origin, and before the introduction of anilines (in the 1930s), the colors used were organic dyes. Fibers could be provided by native plant species such as Eleusina, sorghum, bamboo, and papyrus, as well as leaves and stems of raffia palm, Pandanus, Ficus, and the cultivated banana tree. The ductility and strength of the fine fibers made them particularly suitable for weaving and braiding.

Description
The two panels are made using a similar technique; the first level of weaving, with a structural function, consists of a weave of horizontal bands (weft) and wider vertical bands (warp) running the length of the panel. Despite the great similarity in the technique of making the two panels, one can observe a difference in the texture of the decorated layer: the "weave" of panel MV 116368 is vertical. In contrast, the "weave" of panel MV 116367 is horizontal relative to the vertical axis of the panels. This difference could be motivated by the patterning of the decorative motifs, which run horizontally on panel MV 116367 and vertically on panel
MV 116368.

State of conservation

The two panels were in a very poor state of preservation. Structurally, a general state of weakening was visible due to the very nature of the delicate organic material and the mechanical and environmental stress inevitably suffered by the panels' constituent materials. The lateral sticks or bands were partly broken, deformed, and frayed, and the initial support function of the lateral elements and bindings was significantly compromised in some areas.

Restoration
Preliminary diagnostic investigations were carried out to recognize the constituent materials, and the different types of plant fibers, pigments and binders used. A careful examination of the two artifacts made it possible to rule out the presence of biological attacks; therefore, it was decided not to renew the previous anoxic disinfestation operation carried out before the two panels were moved in 2005 to the depository of the Anima Mundi Museum, as part of the preventive conservation program carried out on the ethnological collections. To safely carry out the restoration work on the panels, shaped counter-forms, of various types, were made to support the concave and convex parts of the panels. The load thus distributed on the temporary supports allowed us to work efficiently without causing any stress to the structure. For the same reason, temporary ties were made with white cotton thread. The technique deemed most suitable to remove particulate and coherent deposits from the surface of woven plant fibers consisted of using soft bristle brushes and an adjustable power vacuum equipped with micro-nozzles for the first stage and using small "Smoke Sponge" rubber cutouts made of vulcanized natural rubber. Portions of fibers were out of place; some gaps in the warp bands had promoted the occurrence of this mechanical disorder. Those thin fibers were repositioned between the perimeter strips of the long sides of the panels. First, inadequate bindings made with a nylon thread were removed; they had caused a slight deformation of the bamboo strips, which appeared to be held incorrectly. For the repositioning operations of the fibers of the decorated panel, light humidification was carried out with blotting paper and deionized water, interposing a transparent polyethylene film for punctual and localized humidification of only the fibers to be repositioned. The selection of materials and products used for the consolidation intervention of the two panels was made following one of the main guidelines of the Restoration Laboratory, which is to favor the use of products of natural origin and bio-compatible. The first phase of the selection was followed by an experimental phase with the creation of specimens to determine the most suitable adhesive/binder and replacement material for plant fibers, depending on the type of damage. Adhesives deemed most suitable included Zin shofu wheat starch glue for gentler adhesion and Lapigelatin fish gelatin diluted 10% in deionized water in areas that needed more support. The natural materials most suitable for supplementing missing plant fiber bindings are Japanese paper and raffia fibers, which are flexible and robust. Upon completion, the panels were placed in the showcase Africa 20 of the new exhibition route, together with a hut model. Several small panel reproductions are placed inside the actual hut model to illustrate their location and function within the dwelling.