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Case Study of a Ducretet Inductor Coil: Conservation Problem or Visual Wonder? The paper explores the issue of conserving industrial objects in pristine/working condition or maintaining them as they are. The decision process is explored via a case study of the National Science Museum’s decision to preserve a 19 th Century Ducretet inductor coil in a deteriorated state. The conservation of the Ducretet inductor coil is an example of how by considering alternative ways of preserving and presenting industrial objects we can retain more than just the physical object. The physical alterations in the appearance of the inductor coil leave a profound impact on the observer and thus altered the object’s value, returning it to its original state would destroy this unique item. The object’s function, originally one of an instrument representing early scientific technology, has changed with it becoming a unique oddity with a strong visual impact. The function and value of an object can change. This is discussed drawing on examples from other areas of cultural heritage. The approaches to conserving these examples are compared with that of the inductor coil and reflect how ‘experiencing’ the object becomes an important part of its value. This value influences how conservation will be carried out. Introduction: the value of industrial objects When it comes to deciding on how best to treat cultural heritage, it is a challenge for conservators to incorporate differing values. Values like the function, historic significance and the aesthetic quality of cultural heritage are difficult aspects to pin down and define. Due to the very nature of industrial objects these issues become even more complicated. Function is key to understanding most industrial objects. Museums and other institutions display such materials to educate the public about how the objects work and the roles that they played in industry [1]. sharon penton Figure 1. 1st Century B.C. bronze statue of a young man. Found in Egypt and on display at The British Museum. 137
Figure 2. The Ducretet inductor coil from the National Science Museum, London. These machines and instruments were designed to perform a function. To understand that function society has traditionally expected the object to continue to carry out that function to some extent and to appear as it did when it was in use, if not new. Retaining objects in working condition is not always realistic and can result in wear and tear leading to replacement of components [2]. Consequently the question of how extensive restoration affects authenticity must be considered [3]. To overcome these obstacles the conservator determines what is acceptable change and how invasive the conservation treatment should be. While some changes are negative and are considered damage, change can also enhance an object’s value and is desirable [4]. When conserving a painting a conservator might choose to leave in place old discoloured varnishes because audiences expect the piece to have a certain look of age. A patina on classical bronze statues, shown in figure 1, increases its value and so is left in place; originally this statue would have been polished bronze. With industrial objects therefore the problem is to determine if and how much change is acceptable when the objects function becomes affected. Thus the curators and conservators of industrial objects have to make compromises and struggle to achieve a balance that keeps the best for the object in mind while still incorporating the wants and desires of stakeholders. This paper presents an object whose physical appearance was so greatly affected by deterioration 138 that its function changed from an industrial object to visual oddity (figure 2). Recognising the importance of this impact and the ‘experience’ when seeing the object, the conservators involved sought a compromise between preserving the historic integrity of the object while still retaining its aesthetic impact. Through a discussion of the decision-making processes involved for this Ducretet inductor coil this paper aims to present the challenges of balancing the various values placed on industrial objects and explains how their functions can change. A comparison is made with how functionality and value was incorporated into the treatment of other materials from two different areas of cultural heritage and reflects how these challenges are not unique to industrial objects. A Ducretet inductor coil This Ducretet inductor coil is part of the Wellcome Collection, a vast collection of objects and instruments pertaining to medical science [5]. The object was one of a group on permanent loan to the National Science Museum (NSM), London since the 1980s. In 2006 it was called to the attention of the conservation department because of its remarkably altered state. Visual examination clearly reveals that the object has suffered structural damage resulting in the breakage of its base and the seepage of a resinous insulating material which is obscuring much of the object’s front (figure 2 and 3). Condition aside, this inductor coil presented an unusual problem for the conservators and curators at the NSM by blurring the lines between what is a historic object and what is an aesthetic or artistic one. Not only has the function of this object changed Figure 3. The Ducretet inductor coil viewed from the side.
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Preserving the evidence of industri
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Copyright: This publication is issu
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Table of contents Foreword ........
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Contributions KeynotespeaKers
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”The control and disciplination o
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uildings of this age. To sum up: Th
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need tons of cans to fully understa
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one of the first to be industrializ
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manufacture of billiard balls. Hyat
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have very similar characteristics;
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MACHINERIES were introduced, but al
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16) Goodman N., Langages de l’art
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Table 1. Collections containing pla
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Figure 2: A pile of transparent cel
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diisocyanate such as diphenylmethan
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Figure 7: Environmental Stress Crac
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Author Yvonne Shashoua Senior Resea
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Contributions
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Figure 1. H.A. Brendekilde, Odense
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weaving, the imported machine spun
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Figure 2. T. Kloss. Den danske eska
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Annemette B. Scharff, MSc. The Roya
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22. Eckersberg diaries, 29.7.1834:
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The St Just Coast Project 1995 - 20
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Prior to the St Just Coast Project
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shaft. Considering the considerable
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In 2005 the slipway at Cape Cornwal
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Figure 1: The EWO dosimeter holder
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Figure 2: EWO results reporting dia
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Figure 3: Correlation of EWO respon
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The EWO is available on direct orde
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Figure 2. Nature is back at coking
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3a 3b 3c 3d 3e 70 Figure 3a-e Being
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Table 2. Case studies location Hatt
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Flameproofed textiles in museums an
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y strong acidity created as an effe
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textile fibres, especially those of
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Cold storage as an alternative to m
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% of objects 100 90 80 70 60 50 40
Page 86 and 87: % of very brittle objects (3 hand f
Page 88 and 89: lie in the range of 20-25 euros per
Page 90 and 91: Preservation of sponsored films Int
Page 92 and 93: In the case of A & B rolls the diff
Page 94 and 95: Table 2. Advantages and disadvantag
Page 96: Table 3 “The preservation route
Page 99 and 100: The scientific committee considered
Page 101 and 102: DSCF 1304 Preservation of mass-prod
Page 104 and 105: Developing a policy and procedure f
Page 106 and 107: at the (very) occasional public ope
Page 108 and 109: • the object’s current conditio
Page 110 and 111: Polymers in watches manufactured in
Page 112 and 113: as a result of the Watch Valley con
Page 114 and 115: Figure 6. The Astrolon Watch “Ide
Page 116 and 117: of status of the watch is obvious i
Page 118 and 119: [26] Bergeon, S. Ethique et conserv
Page 120 and 121: Gramophones and Records - the first
Page 122 and 123: Record manufacturing process 1925-1
Page 124 and 125: Gramophones The reproducing machine
Page 126 and 127: Pickups (and cutterheads) are very
Page 128 and 129: USS Monitor conservation: preservin
Page 130 and 131: Figure 1: X-radiograph mosaic of US
Page 132 and 133: Figure 4: Detail of ventilation uni
Page 134 and 135: Figure 8: Detail of Monitor’s pac
Page 136: Authors Eric Nordgren, David Krop,
Page 141 and 142: During its time in storage at the N
Page 143 and 144: Figure 8. Wigmore Castle after cons
Page 145 and 146: [14]Henderson, J. And P. Manti (200
Page 147 and 148: The instability of iron when subjec
Page 149 and 150: Fig. 2 Rust stains on the too-thinl
Page 151 and 152: Fig. 4 Some bicycles in use and in
Page 153 and 154: 5. Conservation options: Preserving
Page 156 and 157: Another look at painted finishes on
Page 158 and 159: the currency of the finishes. The w
Page 160 and 161: Figure 3 WW2 airplane with newly-pa
Page 162 and 163: paint chips that are simulated with
Page 164 and 165: Notes: 1. There are a few notable e
Page 166 and 167: Industrially produced paint and the
Page 168 and 169: twentieth century. In the same peri
Page 170 and 171: table 1. cont. Styrenebutadiene or
Page 172 and 173: Figure 3. “A useful play!” is t
Page 174 and 175: Author Nynne Raunsgaard Sethia Den
Page 176 and 177: Protection of iron and steel in ind
Page 178 and 179: provided by the manufacturers indic
Page 180 and 181: Table 2: Suppliers for selected pro
Page 182 and 183: Table 3: Application, appearance an
Page 184 and 185: Figure 5: Impedance versus frequenc
Page 186: 3. Hollner, S., Mirambet, F., Rocca
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The choice of coating system depend
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Figure 4. Dockside crane No.16 Orth
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Recovering the Icon ? The restorati
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Fig 3: Early 20th century photograp
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Fig 8: New mercury-vapor rectifiers
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problematic since the colliery clos
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Despite all our rational attempts a
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Author Dipl.-Ing. Norbert Tempel, L
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The conservation of a Victorian shi
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sold to the Falkland Islanders and
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Figure 9. Fort Brockhurst Bridge -
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Figure 13 Artist’s impression of
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Figure 21 View from bow after the w
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[3] Transactions of the Institute o
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38 in total, included on the Norweg
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published a new version of their fi
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Figure 4. The turbines, one origina
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Author Vigdis Vingelsgaard Conserva
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Figure 2: 6200 locomotive on front
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Figure 4: Methyl bromide extinguish
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2. Biological: Obvious biological h
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Finalizing Comments
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colliery engine house to have stain
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for us to think that the treatment
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certain product may quickly turn in
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Organising committee anDersen, vivi
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