PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Discussing principles of conservation
3.3. DEFINITION(S) OF CONSERVATION
The basic principles of conservation have been described in a
number of normative documents and charters compiled by a
number of conservation specialists. 263 Among them are the Venice
Charter (1964) and Burra Charter (1979, revised in 1999), which
offer an overview of various conservation principles. The main
conservation principles will be discussed on the basis of the
mentioned charters. Depending on circumstances, conservation
can be approached, in a narrow sense, as a separate principle
or it can be seen as a sum of various preservation activities. The
latter includes preservation, conservation, (stylistic) restoration
and reconstruction. Conservation in the modern sense is a
combination of these preservation principles. The multidisciplinary
character of conservation is revealed by, for example, such
varied objects as historic interiors. The combination depends
on the aim of a conservation conception, e.g. one might like to
preserve an interior as a museum or use it as a functional living
environment. Although commonly the conservation principles
are combined with each other, they will be dealt with separately
in the following chapter.
Preservation means keeping something as it is, without
changing it in any way: retaining its shape, status, ownership,
use etc. Preservation is appropriate where the existing object
or its condition constitutes evidence of cultural significance, or
where insufficient evidence is available to allow other conservation
processes to be carried out. 264 According to the given definition,
preservation should keep something as it is without altering
its properties. Thus, if a wallpaper has survived in its original
location, an effort should be made to preserve it in situ.
If an interior includes several layers of superimposed wallpapers
from different periods, the most ethical way to treat the
interior is to research and preserve all the layers in situ. Revealing
the underlying state can only be justified in exceptional circumstances,
for example if removed layers are of little interest
and the revealed material is of great historical or aesthetic
263
Muños Viñas, Contemporary Theory of Conservation, 6.
264
The Burra Charter, Chapter 17, 1999.
148