Chemicals and methods for conservation and restoration : paintings, textiles, fossils, wood, stones, metals, and glass

A unique book showing how conservators and scientists can work together to develop new methods in the restoration of art and artefacts. Before the 1970s, most information concerning the conservation and restoration of paintings, wood, and archaeological artefacts were focused on the history of the artefacts, previous attempts of conservation, and the future use of these artefacts. The technical methods of how the restoration and conservation were made were dealt with only very briefly. Today however, sophisticated methods of scientific analysis such as DNA are common place, and this encourages conservators and scientists to work together to share the development of new methods for analysis and conservation of artefacts. This book focuses on the chemicals used for conservation and restoration of various artefacts in artwork and archaeology, as well as special applications of these materials. Also, the methods for cleaning, conserving and restoring, as well as the methods for the analysis of the state of the respective artefacts, are described and detailed. Topics include oil paintings, paper conservation, textiles and dyes, archaeological wood, fossils, stones, metals and metallic coins, as well as glasses, including church windows. Audience Conservators and restorers in museums as well as chemists and physicists who are interested to use their scientific methods for the analysis and conservation of artefacts.