Conservation of Cultural Heritage covers the methods and practices needed for future museum professionals who will be working in various capacities with museum collections and artifacts. It also assists current professionals in understanding the complex decision making processes that faces conservators on a daily basis. Covering a broad range of topics that are key to sound conservation in the museum, this volume is an important tool for students and professional alike in ensuring that best practice is followed in the preservation of important collections.
This volume is the first comprehensive collection of texts on the conservation of art and architecture to be published in the English language. Designed for students of art history as well as conservation, the book consists of forty-six texts, some never before translated into English and many originally published only in obscure or foreign journals. The thirty major art historians and scholars represented raise questions such as when to restore, what to preserve, and how to maintain aesthetic character. Excerpts have been selected from the following books and essays: John Ruskin, The Seven Lamps of Architecture; Bernard Berenson, Aesthetics and History in the Visual Arts; Clive Bell, The Aesthetic Hypothesis; Cesare Brandi, Theory of Restoration; Kenneth Clark, Looking at Pictures; Erwin Panofsky, The History of Art as a Humanistic Discipline; E. H. Gombrich, Art and Illusion; Marie Cl. Berducou, The Conservation of Archaeology; and Paul Philippot, Restoration from the Perspective of the Social Sciences. The fully illustrated book also contains an annotated bibliography and an index.
In Kenya, cultural and natural heritage has a particular value. Its pre-historic heritage not only tells the story of man's origin and evolution but has also contributed to the understanding of the earth's history: fossils and artefacts spanning over 27 million years have been discovered and conserved by the National Museums of Kenya (NMK). Alongside this, the steady rise in the market value of African art has also affected Kenya. Demand for African tribal art has surpassed that for antiquities of Roman, Byzantine, and Egyptian origin, and in African countries currently experiencing conflicts, this activity invariably attracts looters, traffickers and criminal networks. This book brings together essays by heritage experts from different backgrounds, including conservation, heritage management, museum studies, archaeology, environment and social sciences, architecture and landscape, geography, philosophy and economics to explore three key themes: the underlying ethics, practices and legal issues of heritage conservation; the exploration of architectural and urban heritage of Nairobi; and the natural heritage, landscapes and sacred sites in relation to local Kenyan communities and tourism. It thus provides an overview of conservation practices in Kenya from 2000 to 2015 and highlights the role of natural and cultural heritage as a key factor of social-economic development, and as a potential instrument for conflict resolution
Conservation Science is a rather innovative application of instrumental analysis with steadily increasing importance. Although the first attempts for preserving material from the cultural heritage on a scientific basis are found in the 19th century pioneer chemistry years, only the use of sophisticated physicochemical techniques results in effective identification and deterioration studies of monuments and objects, and in reliable intervention procedures. This volume allows to gain solid knowledge and improved skills on the ways separation schemes and diagnostic methodologies are applied in the safeguarding and authentication of tangible works of art; as well as on the modes of implementing novel safeguarding practices built on well-established principles – such as the use of laser in the decontamination of objects. All techniques are covered at a state-of-the-art level; while selected applications permit addressing major groups of materials and artefacts. Conservation Science is nowadays taught at master’s level in all developed countries, and museum laboratories increasingly adopt scientific approaches in their restoration initiatives. The book is intended as a valuable tool for students and professionals active in these frames. In addition, it provides an indispensable manual for participants in the specialized intensive courses, which are systematically offered by the authors under the auspices of the relevant European network.
This book provides detailed insights into the role of microorganisms and microbial products in biodeterioration, conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. Topics to be discussed are microbial colonization and their growth control on both artworks and aerosol of indoor environments such as libraries or museums, as well as human health hazard from exposure to microbial agents. In addition innovative biotechnological protocols and strategies for the removal of undesired layers on artwork surfaces are described in detail. Also the advances and perspectives in this emerging biotechnological field are discussed, supported by the latest original findings.
This proceedings volume contains selected papers presented at the Workshop on the Conservation of the Subterranean Cultural Heritage, held 25-27 March 2014, in Seville, Spain. The workshop was organized by the Spanish Network of Science and Technology for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage (TechnoHeritage). Contributions cover the following fields: archaeology, history, conservation, maintenance and restoration, architectural sciences and engineering.
The word conservation, when used in the context of the preservation of built heritage, implies an intrinsically complex concept that evolved over time, since it has been influenced by the perception of history throughout time. This volume emphasises why an understanding of the cultural evolution of the conservation approach must be considered a prerequisite for architects and engineers if they are to cooperate in full harmony with historic-artistic culture for the preservation of global built heritage. In particular, the volume highlights how, during the second half of the last century, the preservation process also involved engineering – the science of making practical applications of knowledge – which, for a long time, made an uncritical use of techniques and materials and devised interventions on historical heritage that were heavily invasive. The volume also devotes special attention to the problems related to seismic risk, to which Italy, Greece and Portugal are particularly prone. Problems that emerge during the crisis and reconstruction phases are dealt with in detail, as is scheduled maintenance, as this latter approach always constitutes an improvement in the performance of the monument and is the most appropriate tool for the conservation of the built heritage. Finally, the volume collects examples of building restoration with case studies of many outstanding monuments. The work will appeal to professionals and academics in the broader fields of civil engineering (both geotechnical and structural engineering), architecture, art history, the history of architecture, restoration and cultural heritage management. This book will: Provide a critical reading of the history of conservation; Discuss materials and techniques of ancient architecture; Cover seismic vulnerability and preservation of the historic integrity of the monument; Advocate an approach based on programmed maintenance; Feature numerous case histories, including St Mark’s Basilica in Venice and the complex restoration of the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris.
In 2003, Salvador Muñoz Viñas published 'Teoría contemporánea de la Restauración'. Two years later, he wrote 'Contemporary Theory of Conservation', a different, revised version of the first work. In these books, the philosophy of conservation was analyzed, and, building from different authors and sources, an alternative approach was outlined.0Since 2005, the author has continued working on this topic, revising the ideas presented in these books, and developing new ones. Many of these ideas were presented in papers or in lectures. 'On Theoretical and Ethical Principles of Conservation' gathers together fifteen of these contributions.0While the papers and lectures included in this volume were not conceived as part of a whole, a coherent line of thinking can be easily detected: in all of them, the core notions of conservation ethics are discussed and analyzed. In different ways, they all aim at showing that, simply put, the so-called "principles of conservation" are not what they may seem at first sight. Heritage conservation is a well-established activity in many societies -- an activity that does work, and that serves its purposes in an overly successful way; however, the reflections presented in this volume suggest that conservation might benefit from a different, less traditional interpretation of some of its ethical and theoretical tenets.
From 2nd to 5th October 2012 an International Congress on Science and Technology for the conservation of Cultural Heritage was held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, organized by the Universidade of Santiago de Compostela on behalf of TechnoHeritage Network. The congress was attended by some 160 participants from 10 countries, which presented a total of 145 contributions among plenary lectures, oral, and poster communications. The congress was dedicated to eight topics, namely (1) Environmental assessment and monitoring (pollution, climate change, natural events, etc.) of Cultural Heritage; (2) Agents and mechanisms of deterioration of Cultural Heritage (physical, chemical, biological), including deterioration of modern materials used in Contemporary Art and information storage; (3) Development of new instruments, non invasive technologies and innovative solutions for analysis, protection and conservation of Cultural Heritage; (4) New products and materials for conservation and maintenance of Cultural Heritage; (5) Preservation of industrial and rural heritage from the 19th and 20th centuries; (6) Security technologies, Remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems for protection and management of Cultural Heritage; (7) Significance and social value of Cultural Heritage; and (8) Policies for conservation of Cultural Heritage. This volume publishes a total of ninety-three contributions which reflect some of the most recent responses to the challenge of cultural assets conservation.
