In most conservation careers, a love and talent for working with one's hands is a vital ingredient. Specialized manual skills are essential for undertaking conservation treatments. The Focus of Conservation We can study and enjoy art, historic artifacts and documents, structures, and other unique objects of past and present cultures because they continue to survive through care, maintenance, or good fortune. Many conditions, natural and human-influenced, cause aging and deterioration. Light, extremes of humidity and temperature, pests, pollutants, and accidental damage hasten the breakdown of artifact materials.
Action is sometimes necessary to preserve that which is original and unique.
Their focus was the appearance of the restoration work, rather than the soundness or long-term benefit of their procedures. In this century, conservation has developed into a multidisciplinary profession in which modern scientific methods have augmented craft traditions. Today conservation is highly specialized and yet demands a broad knowledge of many subjects, including art history, studio art, science, and materials technology. Scientific analysis and research on artifacts, to identify historic and artistic methods and materials, and on procedures and materials, to evaluate potential use in the care and conservation of artifacts. Documentation procedures to record the condition of an object before, during, and after treatment and to outline treatment methods and materials in detail.