Conservation preventive

Following the considerations of the problems presented by conservation treatments, the ideal would be that these should not be necessary or are only required in a minimum of cases. From this consideration the idea of preventive conservation , that is, prevent the need of a conservation treatment, was bom. 

It is clear, from the brief discussion of but a few of the methods used in conservation that this is a large, interdisciplinary field. While the contribution of curators, art historians and scientists is fundamental, the conservator probably has the most difficult task actually working on the object. This is an enormous responsibility and requires that the conservator acknowledges it as such. The key approach in conservation is respect for the object to be conserved. This requires that the conservator be a good observer, a talented craftsman and endowed with the clear discernment required to determine the exact point to which any procedure should be carried to. 

Ainsworth, Art and Autoradiography Insights Into the Genesis of Paintings by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, and Vermeer, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1982. 

Bowman, Interpreting the Past Radiocarbon Dating, British Museum Publications Ltd, London, 1990. 

Burman, Hallowed antiquity Ethical considerations in the selection of conservation treatments, in N.S. Baer and R. Snethlage, (eds), Saving Our Architectural Heritage The Conservation of Historic Stone Structures, Dahlem Workshop Report ES20, Chichester, Wiley, New York, 1997,269-290. 

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Conservation. In an attempt to save paper, preventive conservation care deserves the highest priority, because it reduces the need for potentially hazardous, comphcated, and expensive treatments later (159—162). Problems which have a stmctural impact on long-term stabiUty of paper should be given a higher priority than problems which are merely cosmetic in nature. For example, infestation by insects, attracted by nutrients in paper, can cause irreparable loss of media and support. 

Physical Safety. Preventive conservation also involves ensuring the physical safety of objects (176). Objects should be guarded against acts of vandaHsm or damage inflicted by touching them. In many museums, greasy spots on sculpture can be seen, a result of repeated contact with bare hands. 

An inordinate amount of damage, however, also results from object handling by staff, not necessarily through carelessness but rather as a result of unawareness of the mechanical weaknesses of the various materials. This is especially tme for ancient objects, where the material properties have been affected by aging processes. Preventive conservation should therefore include a vigorous training and education program for all who handle art objects. 

Unless interrupted by preventive conservation treatment, the sequence of reactions of the bronze disease process recurs again and again, until all the copper in the alloy is converted to copper compounds and objects made from the alloy turn to waste. 

R. Arbizzani, U. Casellato, E. Fiorin, L. Nodarib, U. Russob, P.A. Vigato, Decay Markers for the Preventative Conservation and Maintenance of Paintings, Journal of Cultural Heritage, 5, 167 182(2004). 

For all the above reasons, the concern about environment characterization and monitoring is expanding and a new discipline— preventive conservation has emerged. Its goal is to adapt the environment to materials constituting artefacts, thus minimizing further deterioration. 

The book has been structured into roughly three parts. First (Chap. 1), an overview of analytical methods applied in the study of cultural goods is presented to situate electrochemical methods in their analytical context. The second part contains voltammetric methods devoted to the identification (Chap. 2), speciation (Chap. 3), and quantitation (Chap. 4) of microsample components from works of art and/or cultural and archaeological pieces. The third part of the book presents selected examples of the deterioration of metal artifacts, outlining aspects peculiar to the cultural heritage conservation field (Chap. 5), and describes hisforic and current issues regarding electrochemical techniques used in restoration treatments and preventive conservation (Chap. 6). 

At present, the development of adequate monitoring strategies is one of the focal points. Because of the complex nature of pollutants and influencing parameters the link between pollutant concentrations detected and the risk potential on objects is not yet known and fully understood. Therefore, easily applicable directives as basic principles of preventive conservation are in the foreground (avoid-block-detect-respond-recover/treat) (Tetreault, 2003 Grzywacz,... 

Charter of Vantaa (2000) Recommendations for a European approach in Preventive Conservation. Passed on the Vantaa-meeting. September, 21-22, 2000. 

Oreszczyn, T., Cassar, M. and Fernandez, K. (1994) Comparative study of air-conditioned and non air-conditioned museums. Preprints of the Contributions to the Ottawa Congress, Preventive Conservation-Practice, Theory and Research. The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works IIC, Ottawa, Canada, pp. 144—8. 

PREVENTIVE. Conservation of beneficial insects (chalcid and braconid wasps). 

In general, it must be stressed that glass is considered as a relatively stable material, although various groups of objects do have a special need for preventive conservation. Although a large part of a particular collection might be easy to keep, inappropriate environmental conditions may cause severe... 

Conservation of ceramics, although dealing with relatively stable materials, is a well-developed discipline. Advanced active and preventive conservation strategies are applied to preserve the extensive collections of ceramics in museums all over the world, covering objects from several thousands of years of ceramic production. 

In situ preservation is a form of preventive conservation, but absolute preservation in situ is not achievable. All sites are dynamic and deterioration of archaeological materials will continue, albeit at slow, and often imperceptible rates. However, environmental conditions favourable to the preservation of archaeological sites, and artefacts, can be assured by a three pronged sequence of environmental monitoring, study of the deterioration of analogous modern materials placed on a site, and the state of preservation of artefacts themselves. 

M. Corfield, Preventive conservation for archaeological sites, Archaeological Conservation and its Consequences. Preprints of the Contributions to the Copenhagen Congress, in A. Roy and P. Smith, (eds), 26-30 August 1996, London IIC, 1996, 3237. 

Commentary 20 Preventive Conservation. Available from http //aic.stanford.edu/ pubs/comment20.html [Accessed 2 April 2006]. 

Lavedrine, B., Gandolfo, J-P, Monod, S. and Grevet, S. (2003). A Guide to the Preventive Conservation of Photograph Collections. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 

Derrick, M., Daniel, V. and Parker, A. (1994). Evaluation of storage and display conditions for cellulose nitrate objects. In Preprints of the contributions to the IIC Ottawa Congress Preventive Conservation Practices, Theory and Research Ottawa, 12-16 September 1994 (A. Roy and P. Smith, eds), pp. 207-211, IIC. 

An additional note on lead cames in a modem context is important. Lead is now extmded into cames by precisely measured machinery that can cut down greatly on the amount of lead used, and hence on the weight of the cames. Furthermore, addition of certain metals or metalloids, such as antimony, to the lead stmcture serves to strengthen the lead and give it a life exposed to the weather for perhaps many centuries. Stained glass windows can be further protected by the preventive conservation technique of protective isothermal glazing. 

DTMA has even been used in the evaluation of deacidification treatment, as well as the effects of environmental conditions, and the preventive conservation treatment of painting canvases.From the results of both studies, it was concluded that DTMA is a suitable technique for the evaluation of the effect of treatment. 

Foster G., Odlyha M., and Hackney, S., Evaluation of the Effects of Environmental Conditions and Preventive Conservation Treatment on Painting Canvases, Thermochimica Acta, 294 81-89 (1997)... 

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