PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Preservation of wallpaper as a part of interiors
The following chapter will focus on the basic conservation methods
implemented in wallpaper conservation which make the
preservation of wallpapers as a part of interiors possible. The
text will be divided into sub-chapters, each of which will deal
with a separate stage of the conservation process.
The chapter will not offer a complete overview of all available
materials and possible techniques, but rather describe and
analyse the materials and methods implemented in the projects
carried out either independently or under the supervision of
Markus Krön during the years 2009–2012. More specific conservation
decisions will be discussed in describing separate
case studies.
The preservation of a wallpaper in an interior not only refers
to the maintenance of intact wallpaper in its original location,
but also the preservation of fragments and already removed
objects as a part of a room. Preserving a wallpaper fragment in
situ instead of removing it may be more reasonable since storing
non-standard or oversized segments of wallpaper as archival
documents can be problematic due to an unsuitable environment
within the original building or ownership issues that
might occur when the objects are deposited in another institution,
such as in a museum or an archive.
Two of the main aims of wallpaper preservation are the consolidation
of its physical condition and improving the aesthetic
appearance. Depending on the level of decay and the general
aim of a conservation concept, various preservation principles
can be either used separately or in combination. Restoration
must aim to re-establish the potential unity of a work of art, as
long as this is possible without producing an artistic or historical
forgery and without erasing every trace of the passage of
time left on the work of art. 300 Of the several conservation principles
that have become generally accepted, the main aspects are
that a procedure should not materially alter the character of an
object, and that any method used should be reversible without
300
Brandi, Theory of Restoration, 50.
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