Conservation and restoration of movable cultural property

Conservation in its early history was conducted by skilled craftsman and tradesman who could repair and return the objects back into a useful working or exhibition condition.

This is an intensive three-year program, with facilities including conservation studios, laboratories, examination rooms and workshops available to students and faculty.

"[5] Water damage causes a variety of preservation concerns, including but not limited to: discoloration, cracking, softening, matting, distortion, mold growth, delamination, and swelling.

Museums, libraries, archives and private collections are vulnerable to fire from a number of internal and external sources.

Fires also create soot deposits which can cause discoloration, dull surface textures, and permanently alter objects.

The most important phenomena for museums and archives is chemical: normal room temperatures are much too high for the long-term preservation of unstable human made materials, especially those carrying images, sound, and text.

Damp causes several types of deterioration: mold, rapid corrosion, and extreme forms of mechanical damage.

Damage from physical force ranges from imperceptible hairline fissures and minute losses, to large-scale effects such as crushing objects, collapsing floors, and, in extreme cases, destroying buildings.

Pollutants can be gases, aerosols, liquids or solids of either anthropogenic or natural origin, and they are substances that are known to have adverse effects (negative consequences) on objects.

Deposits of solid particles are considered pollutants, and while they may not necessarily cause damage, they are recognized as altering the aesthetic aspects of the objects.

"[12] Burglars, thieves and vandals can completely remove an object from the control of an institution while either destroying it or damaging it in a wide variety of ways.

Like dissociation, this cause of deterioration is much harder to control due to the institution's ability to address vulnerabilities in their facilities, security measures, or visitors.

Routine collections inspections can detect and reveal the presence of pests within the museum's buildings and storage areas.

Leather is a type of organic object that is prone to deterioration when exposed to "microorganisms, atmospheric gases, strong light, and extremes and fluctuations of humidity".

Thus, depending on the amount of water that is exposed in the air, the wood can expand and contract easily, changing the physical condition of the object.

[21] Types of metals include "gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, nickel, zinc, aluminum, chromium, titanium, and their alloys".

The test was in fact able to conclude that the yellow beads were exposing nitric acid to the silver only allowing corrosion to the metal over time.

[28] In order to preserve objects for the future, museums, libraries, and other collecting institutions utilize preventive conservation practices.

Prof. Ziad al-Saad, Professor of Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management at the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology Yarmouk University, Jordan defines preventive conservation as "the mitigation of deterioration and damage to cultural property through the formulation and implementation of policies and procedures for the following: appropriate environmental conditions; handling and maintenance procedures for storage, exhibition, packing, transport, and use; integrated pest management; emergency preparedness and response; and reformatting/duplication.

Preventive conservation is an ongoing process that continues throughout the life of cultural property, and does not end with interventive treatment.

With comprehensive preventive conservation, the need for individual treatments can, over time, be reduced to more manageable levels, putting personnel and financial resources to more effective use.

Restoration can be as simple as light cleaning to remove disfiguring dirt or grime, such as on the surface of a painting, or it may include near complete rebuilding or replacement, as might be the case with old automobiles or furniture.

While some of these practices are frowned on by many museums, scholars, and other experts, for many people[citation needed] there is little value in an antique that is unusable or not able to be displayed.

Given that a single piece of furniture may include wood, glass, inlay, leather and fabric, antique restoration encompasses several skills.

Lacquers and spray systems replaced the original French polish finish, which is impractical for mass furniture production due to the labor-intensive process of application.

Museums, libraries, archives and private entities have the duty and responsibility to take care of and preserve their collections for the future.

In order carry out this duty, these organizations strive to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and ethical practice when caring for their collections.

In order to direct and guide their actions organizations follow ethical codes of conduct such as the one created by the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).

Some institutions, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), have developed and implemented their own form of ethical protocols, procedures, and guidelines in order to ensure that the V&A takes into account all points of views before any object undergoes conservation intervention or treatment.