page_title: Documentation of cultural property
section_title: Conservation treatment
hierarchical_section_title: Documentation of cultural property / Types of documentation / Conservation treatment
caption_attribution_description: English: Bronze Hui before and after conservation - restoration
context_page_description: The documentation of cultural property is a critical aspect of collections care. As stewards of cultural property, museums collect and preserve not only objects but the research and documentation connected to those objects, in order to more effectively care for them. Documenting cultural heritage is a collaborative effort. Essentially, registrars, collection managers, conservators, and curators all contribute to the task of recording and preserving information regarding collections. There are two main types of documentation museums are responsible for: records generated in the registration process—accessions, loans, inventories, etc. and information regarding research on objects and their historical significance. Properly maintaining both types of documentation is vital to preserving cultural heritage.
context_section_description: Documenting conservation treatments is a crucial part of managing collections.  There is documentation required pre-treatment, e.g., proposals and examination results; documentation required post-treatment--reports ; and photographs, which visually document the process before, during, and after treatment.  In order to determine the conservation priorities and ideal state of an object, the conservator first consults historical/cultural research and conducts and documents a physical examination of the object.  Physical examinations can be useful in understanding materials composition and causes of deterioration, and when properly documented, can provide a reference for future conservators.  Proposals also document the justifications for the proposed course of action and treatment goals, using both physical and contextual rationale.  Before any treatment begins, the object is thoroughly photographed to document the "before" state.  Once the initial stages of the treatment and cleaning have commenced, more photographs are taken to document the "actual state" of the object, free of compensations and old varnishes.
  During treatment, conservators also document the materials they used, reactions that occurred, information on reversibility, etc.  Much of this information can also be summarized in a  laboratory master report, which records information that may not be included in final reports, such as reasoning for methods, factors that determine choice of treatment and changes in methodology, material safety data sheets, etc.  Final reports can contain this information as well but in less technical detail.  A final report consists of "after" photographs, a summary of the work completed compared to the goals of treatment, and the conservator's contact information in case future conservators working on the object have questions about the previous work completed.  Any documentation of conservation treatments is also stored in the object's permanent file for ease of accessibility and retrievability.
caption: Before and after photographs of a conservation treatment, Bronze Hui sculpture
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