What is Conservation?
Textile conservation is the prevention and treatment of historical textiles that halts the inevitable deterioration and future damage. Our aim as highly skilled conservators is to understand the significance of the object as well as chemical and physical structure and ensure the best ethical treatment is provided that does not compromise the object's historical significance.
The job of a conservator
This is split into two parts:
1. To control environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, light, insect pests, dust, dirt and incorrect storage that can accelerate the breakdown of textile fibres causing them to break or tear.
2. To halt the deterioration through stabilisation and repairs to the textile.
Preservation or Restoration?
To understand the treatments that conservators provide is to understand the difference between preservation and restoration:
Preservation is to protect cultural material and prolong the life of the object, this is done by minimising the chemical and physical damage that occurs to the object. This is done through environmental parameters and by removing unwanted dirt that may be attached to the object that is damaging
Restoration enhances the original appearance of the object. This can mean that the addition of new material may be necessary in order to stabilise and strengthen the object.
A conservators objective is not necessarily to make an object aesthetically pleasing but to ensure that the object will live a longer life. In order for conservators to make the correct decision regarding a treatment, a code of ethics and a code of practice are adhered to, to ensure accountability and standards of the profession. We are a professional member of the Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (AICCM).