data available, including its recent history and information on any previous
conservation intervention. Then a diagnosis as to the state of conservation of
the object is required. Is the object sound? Does it suffer from any deteriora-
tion? If so, what are the causes? These questions, as well as the identification
of the constituent materials require the support from various analytical tech-
niques that are detailed below.
The results from these analyses serve various purposes. In the first place, they
have to correlate with the historic information available. For example, was the
pigment identified on a ceramic or on a painting available at the time and place
the object was supposed to have been manufactured? Was the technology used
in its manufacture consistent with the available information regarding the cul-
ture that supposedly manufactured the object? Second, is the object in question
in a sound condition or does it show some deterioration? If so, is that deteriora-
tion active or is it the remnant of a previous decay process that has now ceased?
These are fundamental questions that need to be addressed so as to determine
if a conservation treatment is required or not; and should a treatment be neces-
sary, the most appropriate method and material need to be determined. Finally,
and as a result of this preliminary examination and study, a condition report needs
to be prepared including any recommendations regarding subsequent treat-
ment(s) or the condition(s) under which the object should be stored or displayed.
3 Analytical Methods
The examination of an object starts first of all with a visual examination aided by
the use of loupes and microscopes. Then, if necessary, other analytical techniques
may be employed to study particular aspects of the object. There is no single ana-
lytical method that will provide all the answers needed. Depending on the object
and the problem to be studied, different techniques need to be used. In many
cases, two or more techniques have to be used to confirm the data obtained.
It is also important to remember that analytical techniques have varying
degrees of sensitivity when it comes to detecting the presence of an element
or compound. Thus, not finding a particular element may not necessarily
mean that this element is not present in the sample, rather it may be that the
technique used does not have the required sensitivity to detect it at a low
concentration. The sensitivity of a method depends both on the method and
element or compound to be detected. In many cases, it will also depend on the
“matrix”, i.e.the other compounds with which it is associated within the object.
The most useful techniques for conservation purposes are those that will iden-
tify the presence of a specific element, compound, or class of compounds, thus
providing a qualitative analysis of the sample. In many cases, this analysis could
give an idea of the relative concentrations of the elements or compounds found.
However, as mentioned above, this is only an approximation and unless certain
standards are used, the result can only be considered as semi-quantitative.
14 Chapter 2