conservation

Conservation is divided into the categories of research & diagnosis and advice & treatment. These four components are connected and, together with aspects from the ‘creation’ - making process and (art) history sections, form part of the scientific domain of conservation.

Research & diagnosis contains information on the study of vulnerabilities and degradation phenomena in glass, how these can be studied and how information can be recorded in a standardised way. Advice & treatment provides information on treatment research and the conservation of glass, including preventive conservation.

To propose a treatment or preventive conservation measure based on a diagnosis, it is important to study information from both the creation and conservation domains. The technical properties of materials, artist’s intentions, production processes, use or object history, degradation processes and state-of-the-art solutions are all matters closely intertwined and are studied and investigated by conservators.

A conservator can make a diagnosis based on all the data gathered from investigations. In a diagnosis, the conservator identifies physical characteristics, damage and signs of deterioration to determine conservation strategies. A treatment proposal is informed by experience gained through previous conservation measures, whether preventive or otherwise, and by research into new treatment methods. In this sense, treatment is also part of the research process, thus completing the cycle of research & diagnosis and advice & treatment.

Besides general knowledge in these areas, much of the information is often object specific. The objects section under the info heading demonstrates how information from the various categories can be applied to several specific objects to identify conservation issues.