Restoration Workshop Library.

[A. G. Maisey]

My own area of special interest is one where ongoing restoration is an accepted and normal part of collection.

It is the normal, natural process that is applied to preserving the items which those of us involved in this sphere of tosan aji pursue.

Because of this, much of what has already been said in this thread appears to be self evident to me, and I have not contributed before now because I felt that another post in general agreement with the proposals that have been put forward would not be particularly valuable.

However, I note that Rick has suggested a way in which ongoing contributions to a resource to assist conservation/restoration could be structured in order to make it a safe and useable guide for people with varying levels of experience.

I wish to make it a matter of record that I fully endorse Rick's suggestions, and I feel that if anybody has any additional contribution or comment in respect of these suggestions, now might be a very good time to speak up.

Either we want something useable, or we do not.

Either we want a clearly structured way in which to proceed, or we do not.

The moderators and staff of our discussion group cannot function in a vacuum: - they need feedback and comment in order to make not only this idea for a restoration resource functional but indeed , for the ongoing success of our very valuable Forum.

In respect of what approach should be adopted in the restoration/conservation of historic weaponry, I feel that the philosophy of the professional restorator is probably correct:-

do as much as is necessary, and as little as is possible.

[kai]

Hello Alan,

In respect of what approach should be adopted in the restoration/conservation of historic weaponry, I feel that the philosophy of the professional restorator is probably correct:-

do as much as is necessary, and as little as is possible.

The crux is that we have a sliding scale here: a museum curator (of an academic ethnographic collection in Europe, for example) usually has a very different approach regarding what is "necessary" than what a keris enthusiast in central Jawa may deem "necessary" (and I realize that there even are different approaches within modern Jawanese society)...

Commenting or judging on possibly conflicting advice/tips may pose another problem.

I guess a kind of pluralistic approach that compiles (in a structured manner) diverse suggestions/explanations/discussions and, especially, reasonably detailed descriptions of methods may suffice (possibly with added warnings if really deemed necessary) rather than trying to edit an officially sanctioned "how to" manual.

In any case, I'd strongly endorse to link to each original posting so that it is possible to explore the original context.

Regards,
Kai

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

My own area of special interest is one where ongoing restoration is an accepted and normal part of collection.

It is the normal, natural process that is applied to preserving the items which those of us involved in this sphere of tosan aji pursue.

Because of this, much of what has already been said in this thread appears to be self evident to me, and I have not contributed before now because I felt that another post in general agreement with the proposals that have been put forward would not be particularly valuable.

However, I note that Rick has suggested a way in which ongoing contributions to a resource to assist conservation/restoration could be structured in order to make it a safe and useable guide for people with varying levels of experience.

I wish to make it a matter of record that I fully endorse Rick's suggestions, and I feel that if anybody has any additional contribution or comment in respect of these suggestions, now might be a very good time to speak up.

Either we want something useable, or we do not.

Either we want a clearly structured way in which to proceed, or we do not.

The moderators and staff of our discussion group cannot function in a vacuum: - they need feedback and comment in order to make not only this idea for a restoration resource functional but indeed , for the ongoing success of our very valuable Forum.

In respect of what approach should be adopted in the restoration/conservation of historic weaponry, I feel that the philosophy of the professional restorator is probably correct:-

do as much as is necessary, and as little as is possible.

Salaams,

Restoration Workshops Library(or sub Forum). This is an excellent proposal. I hope that whatever shape is adopted and the concensus points toward a sub forum I suggest that by having an open Alphabetical Index that all forum members can participate. It follows that a general introduction would convey the flavour of this sub forum and I respectfully submit that the motto: "do as much as is necessary, and as little as is possible" ( QUOTE attributed to =A. G. Maisey.) be placed under the Tittle.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.