page_title: Conservation and restoration of painting frames
section_title: Causes of deterioration
hierarchical_section_title: Conservation and restoration of painting frames / Causes of deterioration
caption_attribution_description: English: IMA Conservation technician repairing a gilded picture frame. "Courtesy of the Indianapolis Museum of Art."
context_page_description: The conservation and restoration of painting frames is the process through which picture frames are preserved. Frame conservation and restoration includes general cleaning of the frame, as well as in depth processes such as replacing damaged ornamentation, gilding, and toning.
  The purpose of painting frames is two-fold. Frames function to protect and support the artwork as well as to visually enhance the item. Painting frames help us to appreciate and understand its role as it relates to the history of the painting. Original frames are often considered museum objects in their own right. As such, frames are subject to wear and tear in their functional roles as a protective component of the art. Regular activities that require the handling of artwork and their frames, such as exhibition, storage, travel, leave the frame susceptible to damage.
context_section_description: Frequent handling, redecoration, modification, atmospheric pollution, and deterioration are some of the many issues that have given cause for conservators to specialize in the preservation of frames. Although wood is the most common material used in the creation of painting frames, other materials such as gesso, glass, plastic, and metal are also used. Each material is susceptible to deterioration and damage.
caption: A close up of the damage inflicted upon a frame.
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