A licence to conserve: cultural diversity as a practical asset in conservation
Resource type
Book chapter
Creator (person)
Weiss, Carol
Qiu, Jin Xian
Kim-Marandet, Meejung
Kosek, Joanna
Kusunoki, Kyoko
Marabini, Valentina
Sotiras, Matthias
Date published
2022
Abstract
This paper, co-authored by conservators from the Hirayama Studio at the British Museum, discusses whether staff at a Western institution have the right and appropriate qualifications to conserve objects from different cultures. What is appropriate in conserving culturally diverse material? Do we at the British Museum, on the one hand, risk breaking traditions when treating objects from different cultures, or, on the other, is there a risk that respect for a culture leads to fear of treating an artefact at all? Focusing on East Asian paintings, the paper refers to benchmark frameworks to ensure that conservators achieve appropriate standards even though they differ in Asia and the West. When the Hirayama Studio was opened in the 1990s it provided a unique environment for treating paintings in as traditional and authentic a way as possible, including recruiting experts with impeccably honed craft skills. And yet our studio differs greatly from conservation studios in East Asia. We describe how our environment, which embraces diversity in background, tradition and ethos, allows us to approach the treatment of complex material from Japan, China and Korea, and show how collaboration is encouraged and know-how safeguarded.
Book title
Contemporary Issues in Book and Paper Conservation: Proceedings of the Icon Book and Paper Group Third Triennial Conference 2021
Editor
Murray, Pamela
Humenuck, Leah
Bennett, William
Moon-Schott, Lauren
Pagination
69-78
Publisher
Archetype
Place of publication
London