Moving collections

In response to Marian Kaminitz' query about surveying a collection
that is about to move:  I think it is very important to isolate the
present reasons why the work is being done from possible other
reasons why such a survey might be done at tother times.  The idea
of an object-by-object survey of so many objects may not make sense
at any time if the idea is to be able to produce a list of objects
that would benefit from treatment.

Many surveys produce information that is useless.  I recommend an
article by Hazel Newey et al. in ICOM Tenth: "Assessing the
condition of archaeological iron: an intercomparison."  It is
essential to isolate the purposes for which a survey is made, and in
this case, the bottom line is which objects will need special
handling or treatment before they can be moved safely.  Specific
questions, like is something suitable for exhibition as is, cannot
be answered without detailed discussions with non-conservators, as
they are not conservation judgements alone.  Discussing a
statistical approach to surveying is important, but it only helps if
the questions that are being asked are clear to everyone.  Like many
other things in life, the question "What does condition mean?"  is
very complicated.  Looking at a million objects, or even a hundred,
can be pointless without some clarity on this subject.

I would recommend sticking to whatever is absolutely necessary for
the move and leaving everything else to a very gradual slow process
that will involve institutional plans for exhibition and research, a
long-range written institutional plan, the mission statement for the
new institution, etc.  Now that conservators are admitting that what
to do with an object when we treat it is not a foregone conclusion,
we have to open up the survey process to the same broad range of
possibilities.

B. Appelbaum

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:49
                Distributed: Wednesday, December 3, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-11-49-003
                                  ***