How to support the conservation of garden sculptures: A case study in Romania

by Roxana Radvan, Laurentiu Angheluta, Alexandru Chelmus, Lucian Ratoiu, Luminita Ghervase and Ioana Maria Cortea - National Institute of Research and Development for Optoelectronics

DOI 10.12910/EAI2016-063

The Centre of Restoration through Optoelectronic Techniques CERTO, from the National Institute of Research and Development for Optoelectronics (Magurele, Romania), puts into practice valuable scientific results of physico-chemical investigations, documentation-digitization, applied archaeometry, and imagistic laboratories

The strongest challenge for research is to validate results by offering solutions to societal problems and implicitly by offering the information needed for optimal intervention. Researchers’ responsibility is all the higher when the field of application involves valuable materials and objects, when there is no question of sampling the materials for analysis, or the analysis cannot be repeated, when the method sensitivity and superior resolution are mandatory. Restoration of cultural heritage objects is such a domain. Be it either for preventive or curative conservation, questioning the mobile or immobile cultural heritage objects in order to characterize or diagnose an incipient and often subtle degradation represents an entire project and implies choosing the non-contact, non- or micro-invasive techniques with maximum priority, revealing data from surface but also from hidden layers. Involving advanced research is needed, especially in the case of highly valuable items, even masterpieces, objects and monuments, which require maximum care and responsibility even for restorers. Exploitation of research means, in practice, can only be based on the results of extensive laboratory research, often over many years and through experience built on a vast casuistry.

The Centre of Restoration through Optoelectronic Techniques CERTO, from the National Institute of Research and Development for Optoelectronics (Magurele, Romania), puts into practice valuable scientific results of physico-chemical investigations, documentation-digitization, applied archaeometry, and imagistic laboratories …