This well referenced book provides an amply illustrated publication on upholstery conservation which discusses and reviews the issues related to the care, interpretation and treatment of upholstered furniture. Through many well illustrated case studies the inter-disciplinary collaboration fundamental to upholstery conservation, and the complex decision-making process involved in the treatment of upholstered furniture, are made evident. The case histories are contributed by leading international practitioners in the field and concern objects and collections in the care of English Heritage, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other internationally renowned institutions. Likewise, the contributors, from both sides of the Atlantic, are world-renowned specialists and leaders in this area of conservation working for the public and private sectors. The case histories, illustrated in colour, black and white and specially prepared line drawings, concern object treatment and documentation, the conservation of information, the function and the artefact. They range from the documentation of eighteenth century removable chair covers and the treatment of a nineteenth century carriage to a twentieth century foam-filled chair belonging to a museum.

Provides illustrated and well-referenced material on the issues related to the care, interpretation, and treatment of upholstered furniture.

This well referenced book provides an amply illustrated publication on upholstery conservation which discusses and reviews the issues related to the care, interpretation and treatment of upholstered furniture. Through many well illustrated case studies the inter-disciplinary collaboration fundamental to upholstery conservation, and the complex decision-making process involved in the treatment of upholstered furniture, are made evident. The case histories are contributed by leading international practitioners in the field and concern objects and collections in the care of English Heritage, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other internationally renowned institutions. Likewise, the contributors, from both sides of the Atlantic, are world-renowned specialists and leaders in this area of conservation working for the public and private sectors. The case histories, illustrated in colour, black and white and specially prepared line drawings, concern object treatment and documentation, the conservation of information, the function and the artefact. They range from the documentation of eighteenth century removable chair covers and the treatment of a nineteenth century carriage to a twentieth century foam-filled chair belonging to a museum.

Tapestry Conservation: Principles and Practice explores current practice and recent research in tapestry conservation, promoting awareness of recent developments among conservators and custodians of tapestries. The book facilitates more informed conservation practice and decision-making, and helps custodians to select the most appropriate method of intervention.

This book is a comprehensive resource covering the principles and practice of the conservation and restoration of furniture, and other decorative art objects made wholly or partly of wood. It integrates theory with practice to show the principles which govern interaction between wooden objects, the environmental and conservation treatments and the factors which need to be taken into account to arrive at acceptable solutions to conservation problems. The practical knowledge and experience of a team of conservators active in the field are bought together with theoretical and reference material from diverse sources and unified within a systematic framework. Specialist conservators from related disciplines cover diverse materials often incorporated into furniture.

X-radiography of textile objects reveals hidden features as well as unexpected components and materials. This non-destructive technique throws light on construction, manufacturing techniques, use, wear, repair, patterns of decay and dating. X-radiography improves artefact documentation and interpretation as well as guiding conservation approaches by enhancing understanding. This book explores techniques for X-raying textiles. It describes approaches to image interpretation and explains how, through digitisation and digital image manipulation, maximum information can be realised. Case studies include archaeological, ecclesiastical and ethnographic textiles, items of dress and accessories, upholstery, quilts, embroideries, dolls and toys. Museum professionals will find this stimulating book an essential guide for developing their own practice or commissioning textile X-radiographs.

Routledge Companion to Museum Ethics is a theoretically informed reconceptualization of museum ethics discourse as a dynamic social practice central to the project of creating change in the museum. Through twenty-seven chapters by an international and interdisciplinary group of academics and practitioners it explores contemporary museum ethics as an opportunity for growth, rather than a burden of compliance. The volume represents diverse strands in museum activity from exhibitions to marketing, as ethics is embedded in all areas of the museum sector. What the contributions share is an understanding of the contingent nature of museum ethics in the twenty-first century—its relations with complex economic, social, political and technological forces and its fluid ever-shifting sensibility. The volume examines contemporary museum ethics through the prism of those disciplines and methods that have shaped it most. It argues for a museum ethics discourse defined by social responsibility, radical transparency and shared guardianship of heritage. And it demonstrates the moral agency of museums: the concept that museum ethics is more than the personal and professional ethics of individuals and concerns the capacity of institutions to generate self-reflective and activist practice.

This book is a comprehensive resource covering the principles and practice of the conservation and restoration of furniture, and other decorative art objects made wholly or partly of wood. It integrates theory with practice to show the principles which govern interaction between wooden objects, the environmental and conservation treatments and the factors which need to be taken into account to arrive at acceptable solutions to conservation problems. The practical knowledge and experience of a team of conservators active in the field are bought together with theoretical and reference material from diverse sources and unified within a systematic framework. Specialist conservators from related disciplines cover diverse materials often incorporated into furniture.

Textile Conservation: Advances in Practice demonstrates the development in the role and practice of the textile conservator and captures the current diversity of textile conservators’ work. The book focuses on four major factors which have influenced development in textile conservation practice since the 1980s: the changing context, an evolution in the way conservators think about objects, the greater involvement of stakeholders, and technical developments. These are all integral to effective conservation decision-making. • Includes case studies from the UK, USA and mainland Europe and Asia • Assesses the conservation of objects in some of the world’s major cultural institutions • Highly illustrated in full colour to show the effect of conservation in practice Textile Conservation is a reference manual for textile conservators, textile conservation students and museum and heritage professionals.

Provides a critical survey of the theories, concepts, intellectual debates, substantive domains and traditions of study characterizing the analysis of things. This handbook charts an interdisciplinary field of studies that makes a fundamental contribution to an understanding of what it means to be human.