Fine
quality pieces of all periods are treated with the
appropriate balance of conservation and restoration.
The exact choice of action, methods and materials
depend on the context of the item being worked on,
not all pieces can be treated the same, as their
value or importance may depend on entirely different
aspects.
Many conservator - restorers describe a spectrum:
Pure conservation may aim to understand an object
and halt further degradation, whereas extreme
restoration may involve complete rebuild to 'factory
condition' using extensively replaced parts, as may
sometimes be encountered in some classic car
restorations.There are trade-offs in moving between
the extremes, for example loss of originality and
information in return for form, function and
aesthetics.
The
example of the clock case below shows an entirely
new case for an old movement, built using period
construction methods and given some degree of
patination to simulate age. This could be
described as faking but these same skills are
applied when objects require an undetectable repair
of a broken or missing part. Often if you can detect
a repair it is a poor repair, perhaps due to lack of
appropriate skills, tools, knowledge or materials.
But a repair may equally be constrained by a need to
compromise on cost and to protect other original
aspects of a piece. Minimum intervention is
generally preferred, shifting treatments towards the
conservation end of the spectrum.
Some items have specific histories or rarity, these
may be museum pieces or could well be objects of
value to a family which need to remain in a
recognised form or retain signs of specific personal
use. At the far (conservation) end of the spectrum
the priority is to halt further degradation,
components may be re-assembled, returning an objects
form but not necessarily intending to turn back the
clock of decline.
As
conservation moves towards restoration it may
reintroduce structural integrity with consolidants
and support to enable display and handling, or
re-introduce missing elements or representations of
them, to give understanding of original form. Most
restoration projects fall somewhere between these
extremes.
There
are highly specialised areas of conservation and
restoration to various types of object and material
and it is important for an individual to know the
limits of what their skills, knowledge, tools and
materials can achieve before passing the task on to
a more appropriate professional.
Jamie has experience with a wide range of items
generally relating to furniture and wooden items and
their related objects and materials. Also longcase
clocks and similar scale movements (large bracket
and wall clocks etc.) but is less likely to be able
to assist with smaller clocks. Please use the
contact us button in the navigation bar for an
inquiry, if Jamie cannot help he will try to refer
you to a more appropriate contact.
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