Preserving an object places additional
layers of requirements on the decisions
regarding materials and methodology.
In preservation, the final appearance is
no longer the prime factor, but rather,
retaining the maximum amount of
building fabric.

Preservation dictates that in order to
retain the maximum amount of building
fabric, repairs must be done with
minimal or no changes to the original
building fabric and in like materials, and
if possible using the same methods as
first created. The Office of the Secretary
of the Interior has devised strict
requirements governing this type of work.

In conservation, the absolute maximum
amount of the original material, in as
unaltered a condition as possible, is
preserved. Any repairs or additions must
not remove, alter or permanently
bond/cross-link to any original material.
All repairs or additions must be
reversible and removable without
affecting the condition of the original
material now, and in the future.

Conserving an object means the object
dictates all choices on how it is treated.
Conservation does not involve artistic
choices or material experimentation
on the object. It is important for both
collectors and renovators / restorers /
preservationists / conservators to have
a basic understanding of these categories. It is also important to
understand that the lines between these
categories change with the type of
object/situation involved.

For example, a project we had previously
worked on involved almost all categories
mentioned. It involved the creation of an
historical museum from a house which
once belonged to a couple who were
legendary in their field of discipline. As
the goal of the project was to restore the
house environment to its prime historical
period, it was necessary to restore
some pieces, preserve some pieces,
and conserve others.

The collector’s responsibility is to choose
professionals who can determine the
category of a piece and prescribe a work
methodology that will maintain that
categorization. The professional’s
responsibility is to allow the piece to
determine its own category and not allow
a client/designer to overrule that choice.
A professional conservator is able to
intervene, for example, when the
undereducated consumer wants to gut
the client’s eighteenth-century American
highboy, with original fittings and finish,
to house the client’s new entertainment
center.

In recent years, only one of all the
disciplines mentioned above has
gained wide recognition. Ironically,
it is “conservation” which has become
the key word amidst such a large
vocabulary of disciplines that are all
equally important to the well being of our
precious possessions, whether personal
or historical in value.

Bart Bjorneberg is a master gilder.