“I call Heaven to Witness, that I am often filled with the highest Indignation when I see Buildings demolished and going to Ruin by the Carelessness, not to say abominable Avarice of the Owners, Buildings whose Majestie has saved them from the Fury of the most barbarous and outraged Enemies, and which Time himself, that perverse and Obstinate Destroyer, seems to have destined to Eternity.”
Leon Battista Alberti (1404-72)
Stone restoration offers a means to preserve and protect valuable archaeological information and artistic content. It is a demonstration of respect for the intentions of the original architects, builders, and sculptors. It allows us to maintain our connection to not only our history, but also to our ancestry, traditions, and cultural heritage.
Stone restoration is concerned primarily with:
- Countering the effects of time (e.g., cleaning surfaces from soiling and biological growth)
- Protecting from the elements (e.g., treatments to avert water damage and repair cracks)
- Mitigating the effects of natural disasters (e.g., fire, flood, earthquakes)
- Ameliorating the effects of neglect
A note on terminology: within the trade there are distinctions between “restoration,” “preservation,” and “conservation.” These words are often interchanged in common usage and there is no need to get particularly worked up about it. We use “restoration” here because its common meaning is clearest and most often used. However, for those who prefer greater precision, we offer the following:
- “Restoration” tends to deal with altering a building or artifact that is thought to have been inappropriately repaired or altered in the past, with the objective of returning its design or appearance to what it was at a previous time.
- “Preservation” gained prominence at the end of the nineteenth century and reflected an intention to arrest change.
- “Conservation” seeks to offer ways of managing change to best ensure a building’s (or artifact’s) future – and thus may include both restoration and preservation.
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