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The Principles of Conservation
Pages 22-30

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From page 22...
... Only through understanding the mechanisms of decay and deterioration can conservation skills be increased to prolong the life of cultural property for future generations. The conservation of cultural property demands wise management of resources and a good sense of proportion.
From page 23...
... 23 CONSERVATION METHODOLOGY The conservation of cultural property constitutes a single, interprofessional discipline coordinating a range of aesthetic, historic, scientific, and technical methods. It is a rapidly developing field that, by its very nature, is a multidisciplinary activity, with experts respecting each other's contributions and combining to form an effective team.
From page 24...
... In Italy, on the other hand, with its thousands of ancient monuments, a comparable structure would have a relatively low priority in the overall conservation needs of the community. The values assigned to cultural property come under three major headings: ~ Cultural Values: documentary value, historical value, archeological and age value, aesthetic value, architectural value, scientific value, symbolic or spiritual value, townscape value, landscape and ecological value.
From page 25...
... By taking the above criteria into consideration, a judiciously selected intervention was programmed in this case. Because the sculpture had relatively minor artistic and historical value, and would remain indefinitely in storage rather than on view, treatment priorities focused on conservation methods needed only to ensure the sculpture's survival: fixation of polychrome, securing of breaks, removal of surface dirt, disinfection, fumigation, and controlled cIrying.
From page 26...
... Preparatory Procedures Prior to conservation interventions, preparatory operations are required: Inventories At the national level, conservation procedures consist first of making -an inventory of aU cultural property in the country. This is a major a~Tninistrative task for the government.
From page 27...
... · Modified climatic conditions, such as those found in a normal building that forms an environmental spatial system with a partially self-adjusting modified climate. · Conditions where humidity and temperature are controlled artificially to minimize dangerous variations.
From page 28...
... Therefore, prevention includes control of humidity, temperature, and light, as well as measures for preventing fire, arson, theft, and vandalism. In the industrial and urban environment, it includes measures for reducing atmospheric pollution, traffic vibrations, and ground subsidence from many causes, particularly abstraction of water.
From page 29...
... All later additions that can be considered as historical documents, rather than merely previous restorations, must be preserved. When a building includes superimposed work of different periods, revealing the Underlying state can be justified only in exceptional circumstances: when the part removed is widely agreed to be of little interest, when it is certain that the material brought to light will be of great historical or archeological value, and when it is clear that its state of preservation is good enough to justify the action.
From page 30...
... Reproduction Reproduction entails copying an extant artifact, often in order to replace some missing or decayed, generally decorative, parts to maintain its aesthetic harmony. If valuable cultural property is being damaged irretrievably or is threatened by its environment,- it may have to be moved to a more suitable environment.


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