The Object of Conservation examines how historic buildings, monuments and artefacts are cared for as valued embodiments of the past. It tells the fascinating story of the working lives of those involved in conservation through an ethnographic account of a national heritage agency. How are conservation objects made? What is the moral purpose of that making and what practical consequences flow from this? Revealing the hidden labour of keeping things as they are, the book highlights the ethical commitments and dilemmas involved in trying to care well. In doing so, it reveals how conservation objects are made literally to matter. Taking debates in the interdisciplinary field of heritage studies forward in important new directions, the book engages with themes of broader interest within the arts, humanities and social sciences, shedding new light on time, authenticity, modernity, materiality, expert knowledge and the politics of care. The Object of Conservation is a thought-provoking and engaging account that offers original insights for students, scholars, heritage professionals and others interested in the work of caring for the past.

'Risk Assessment for Object Conservation' reflects Dr Jonathan Ashley-Smith's personal interests and views in areas including materials science, the ethics of restoration, the costs of conservation and the philosophy of museums. This valuable book explains the mechanisms of deterioration of museum artifacts, quantifying the probability that damage will occur and estimating the rate of progress when it does. The principles outlined and the information provided will form a foundation for cost-benefit analysis of conservation proposals. Dr Ashley-Smith also gives comprehensive explanations of scientific of mathematical material to take into consideration the readers who have no background in these areas, alongside a basic introduction. The structure of the book provides a logical progression through tools, concepts information and examples. This is a must-have purchase for all conservators, curators and administrators of historic artifacts at both student and professional level.

By surveying a variety of projects and approaches to the difficult conservation-digitization balance, and in fostering a dialogue amongst practitioners, this book demonstrates that a dialogue between the fields of book conservation and digital humanities is not only possible, but in fact desirable and fruitful.

Over the past twenty years there has been a significant increase in underwater activities such as scuba diving which, coupled with the adventure andromance always associated with shipwrecks, has led to rapid developments in the discovery and excavation of shipwrecked material. These shipwrecks are invaluable archaeological 'time capsules', which in themajoriety of cases have come to an equilibrium with their environment. As soon as artefacts on the wreck site are moved, this equilibrium is disturbed, and the artefacts may commence to deteriorate, sometimes in a rapid and devastating fashion. In fact excavation without having conservation facilities available is vandalism--the artefacts are much safer being left on the sea bed. Such famous shipwrecks as the Mary Rose (1545), the Wasa (1628) and the Batabia (1629) have not only brought the world's attention to these unique finds, but have also produced tremendous conservation problems. The treatment of a 30 metre waterlogged wooden hull or large cast iron cannon is still causing headaches to conservators.

Jefferson regarded Jesus as a moral guide rather than a divinity. In his unique interpretation of the Bible, he highlights Christ's ethical teachings, discarding the scriptures' supernatural elements, to reflect the deist view of religion.

This book presents methodological approaches that can help explore the ways in which people develop emotional attachments to historic urban places. With a focus on the powerful relations that form between people and places, this book uses people-centred methodologies to examine the ways in which emotional attachments can be accessed, researched, interpreted and documented as part of heritage scholarship and management. It demonstrates how a range of different research methods drawn primarily from disciplines across the arts, humanities and social sciences can be used to better understand the cultural values of heritage places. In so doing, the chapters bring together a series of diverse case studies from both established and early-career scholars in Australia, China, Europe, North America and Central America. These case studies outline methods that have been successfully employed to consider attachments between people and historic places in different contexts. This book advocates a need to shift to a more nuanced understanding of people’s relations to historic places by situating emotional attachments at the core of urban heritage thinking and practice. It offers a practical guide for both academics and industry professionals towards people-centred methodologies for urban heritage conservation.

Conservation Treatment Methodology presents a systematic approach to decision-making for conservation treatments. The methodology is applicable to all cultural property, independent of object type or material, and its use will enable conservators to be more confident in their treatment decisions. Conservation Treatment Methodology is illustrated with numerous examples that emphasize the equal importance of the physical and cultural aspects of objects for decision-making. The book also explains how the history of an object and the meaning that it holds for its owner or custodian contribute to determining its treatment. Conservation Treatment Methodology is an essential text for conservators, historic preservation specialists, and restorers, as well as students. Since it is not a technical manual about how to carry out treatments, the book will also be of value to art historians and museum personnel who work with conservators. "This book is unique in its overarching, multidisciplinary approach. The writing is not only clear, but entertaining and engaging." Dan Kushel, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Art Conservation Department, Buffalo New York) State College Barbara Appelbaum is one of the premier objects conservators in the United States and the author of Guide to Environmental Protection of Collections. Practicing in New York, Appelbaum was trained at New York University and began her career at The Brooklyn Museum. The author treats a wide range of object types. Projects of note have included George Washington’s leather portfolio, a Marcel Duchamp urinal, and a Marilyn Monroe dress.

The act of identifying, protecting, restoring, and reusing buildings, districts, and built landscapes of historic and cultural significance is, at its best, a reflective and consequential process of urban and socio-economic reform. It has the potential to reconcile conflicting memories, meanings, and cultural tensions, bridging and expanding the perceived boundaries of multiple disciplines towards bigger aspirations of city-making and social justice. How and where do such aspirations overlap and differ across nations and societies across the world? In places with different histories, governance structures, regulatory stringency, and populist dispositions, who are the specific players, and what are the actual processes that bring about bigger and deeper change beyond just the conservation of an architectural or urban entity of perceived value? This collection of scholarly articles by theorists, academics, and practitioners explores the global complexity, guises, and potential of heritage conservation. Going from Tokyo to Cairo, Shenzhen to Rome, and Delhi to Moscow, this volume examines a vast range of topics – indigenous habitats, urban cores, vernacular infrastructure, colonial towns, squatters, burial sites, war zones, and modern landmarks. It surfaces numerous inherent issues – water stress, deforestation, social oppression, poverty, religion, immigration, and polity, expanding the definitions of heritage conservation as both a professional discipline and socio-cultural catalyst. This book argues that the intellectual and praxis limits of heritage conservation – as the agency of reading, defining, and intervening with built heritage – can be expansive, aimed at bigger positive change beyond a specific subject or object; plural, enmeshed with multiple fields and specializations; and empathetic, born from the actual socio-political realities of a place.

Following the industrial revolution and post- war exponential increase in human population and consumption, conservation in myriad forms has been one particularly visible way in which the government and its agencies have tried to control, manage or produce nature for reasons other than raw exploitation. Using an interdisciplinary approach and including case studies from across the globe, this edited collection brings together geographers, sociologists, anthropologists and historians in order to examine the degree to which socio- political regimes facilitate and shape the emergence and development of nature states.

Conservators and other museum professionals face a large number of issues involving the mechanical behavior of materials, including questions on craquelure, restoring physically damaged objects, art in transport, or the selection of adhesives. However, science in conservation and museum studies curricula focusses mostly on chemistry. This book fills this important gap in conservation training. It is the first such book written specifically for the conservation community and professionals with little or no background in (mechanical) engineering. It introduces the basics of mechanical properties and behavior of materials and objects with examples and exercises based on conservation practice. More complex issues of mechanical loading and advanced solutions are also introduced.