What criteria do conservators use to determine how and when to treat an artifact?
The criteria that conservators commonly use to decide on treatments are as follows: • The treatment must not cause the object any further damage. Whether a treatment will damage an artifact is dependent on the treatment materials used, the skills with which it is carried out and the condition of the piece. It is particularly important to remember that a treatment that may be fine for one artifact may be extremely detrimental to another artifact made of the same material. • The treatment should be as reversible as possible and should cause minimum intervention to the structure and informational content of the artifact. • Treatment should not impede future analysis if possible. • All of the treatment materials should be at least as stable as the artifact itself. Other factors that influence conservation decisions are: • The intended use or disposition of the artifact. • The skill and knowledge of the conservator. • The treatment facilities available. • A conservator usually chooses a met
