Conservation Materials
David Garnett talked with us about a few of the materials we may encounter as a conservator.
Generally, this covered:
- Paper
- Textiles
- Leathers
- Adhesives
To my surprise, it also covered a lot of synthetic materials, which I will cover in more detail later. Although at the time it was a shock to hear, now it seems a natural progression to make, as chemically engineered inert materials would be perfect for conservation, causing no damages or chemical changes in the objects being conserved.
We also briefly covered the history of paper manufacture, which I also had little knowledge of until this session.
So today we talked about conservation sitting in the middle of a triangle, where at the corners lie science, the humanities and some technical and craft skills. These are all in balance when conservation is being practised well, so I assume we will be learning an equal amount of each in the weeks to come.
Interestingly, it was pointed out that “heritage science” is not the most accurate term to describe conservation, possibly. It will still be visible in literature, and we won’t be marked down upon using it, but its use is frowned upon.
From the Wikipedia page:
“In adopting the term heritage science,heritage science was seen as “key to the long-term sustainability of heritage: it is about managing change and risk and maximising social, cultural and economic benefit not just today, but in such a way that we can pass on to future generations that which we have inherited.” Domains of research, where heritage science makes a particular input were recognised to be museums, galleries, libraries and archives; the built historic environment and archaeology, by the United Kingdom National Heritage Science Strategy documents.”
So in one sense, I can see it may be frowned upon because, as a term, it encompasses many more things than just conservation.
Free beer.
Party at the National Museum of Scotland.
Yummy. Blue Moon.
Doune 2011.
Doune.
Knoydart.
Luke displays his Scotland bride.
