Return to Menu of Full Text of Recent Publications
The purpose of undertaking this survey was CIMCIM's general interest in
conservation problems and up-to-date knowledge about training courses in
the special field of musical instrument conservation. It was also seen
as a way of focusing on the need for training as well as of raising
questions about the content and academic level of a study course on
musical instrument conservation.
An application for financial support of the survey was made to the
UNESCO Programme of Participation in the Activities of Member States for
the 1988-89 Biennium (Doc.24 C/15.8) - Training of Personnel, and the
sum of US$ 5,500 was granted.
A questionnaire of four pages in English and French was written by
Peter A. Kjeldsberg and Bob Barclay and distributed to 274 conservation
training institutions around the world. A reminder was sent out when
the first deadline to respond expired. Addresses were kindly supplied
by the International Centre for Conservation in Rome (ICCROM).
Two sociologists of Trondheim University, Birgitte Kalseth and Heidi
Engesbakk, helped to process the replies which in many cases went beyond
simple responses to the questions, thus enriching the material to be
evaluated, but rendering it more difficult to systematize in the
original context of the questionnaire. Because it was impossible to
draw a clear picture of the responses by means of statistics, the
results are presented here in the form of continuous text.
Questionnaire on Training in Musical Instrument Conservation
In order to foster the universal adoption of museum standards for the
conservation of musical instruments in public collections, and to assess
the requirements for trained personnel in the discipline, the
Comité International des Musées et Collections
d'Instruments de Musique (CIMCIM) of ICOM is conducting a survey of
conservation training centres. We would be obliged if you could respond
in as much detail as possible to the questionnaire on the following
pages.
Section One
1. Do you have a course unit in your curriculum on musical instrument
conservation? If yes, please answer the following questions:
a) What type of institution is the course held in? (technical college,
university, art school, etc.)
b) Is there a collection attached to the training institution?
c) If the course is held in a museum, what type of museum? (musical
instrument, anthropological, general, etc.)
d) How long has the course been offered?
e) What type of certificate is awarded?
f) What qualifications do students require to participate in the
course?
g) What is the duration of the course?
h) Is a course description available?
i) Who are the instructors for the musical instrument unit?
j) What technical facilities are there for the examination of objects?
k) Please include any other revelant information on the course:
Section Two
If the answer to Question 1 is no, please continue:
2. Do units of your curriculum deal specifically with decorative arts objects?
3. Do units of your curriculum deal specifically with technical and
scientific artifacts?
4. Does your curriculum include material on handling, use, and
restoration of functional artifacts?
5. Would you consider including a section in your curriculum on
musical instrument conservation?
6. If you were to include musical instrument conservation in your curriculum:
a) At what level would the course unit be taught?
b) What length would the course unit be?
c) Would the course unit be taught by your own lecturers, or by guests?
d) What facilities and expertise would you be able to draw upon from
your own institution?
7. Any other observations?
Section Three
1. Have you had requests in the past for training in musical
instrument conservation?
2. In your experience, do you consider training in musical instrument
conservation to be desirable and/or necessary for the region/country you
serve?
3. In your opinion, how many musical instrument conservators are
needed in your region/country?
a) As specialists in musical instruments?
b) As generalists with some training in musical instruments?
4. Any other comments about training for musical instrument
conservators:
Since the return of the completed questionnaires some time has elapsed;
therefore, information in the replies has been updated where necessary.
3.1 INSTITUTIONS OFFERING TRAINING IN THE CONSERVATION OF MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS (Section 1 of the questionnaire)
There were three positive replies:
- Fachhochschule Köln, Fachbereich Restaurierung und Konservierung
von Kunst- und Kulturgut, Cologne, Germany
- Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Institut für Kunsttechnik und
Konservierung, Nuremberg, Germany
- Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Wien, Meisterschule für
Restaurierung und Konservierung, Vienna, Austria
Fachhochschule Köln
This is an institution offering training in the restoration and
conservation of various specialties. After four years of successful
study the academic degree of a Diplom-Restaurator is awarded by the
state. The training is divided in two phases: a ground (basic) study
and a head (main) study. The ground study runs for three semesters,
followed by a practical semester spent in conservation labs of museums,
monument offices or in private workshops; the main study includes four
semesters also comprising the writing of the diploma thesis.
Three years of practical work in a conservation atelier is required in
order to be accepted at Fachhochschule Köln, in addition to
successfully passing an entry test.
One of the present five courses deals with wooden objects, taught among
others by Professor Friedemann Hellwig. Within this structure, learning
the basics of musical instrument conservation is possible.
The main goal of this course is to give the students a sound knowledge
in general conservation theoretical and practical questions and to
provide them with adequate practical experience in conservation
techniques together with a basic introduction into conservation
analytical techniques.
There is no course dedicated wholly to musical instrument conservation.
However, students showing special interest in musical instruments will
be given extra attention and will be encouraged to write their diploma
thesis on a subject from this field.
The conservation courses have been running since 1986; well equipped
conservation and analytical labs are at the students' disposal. There
is no collection attached to the school.
Germanisches Nationalmuseum - Institut für Kunsttechnik und
Konservierung, Nuremberg
This is one of Europe's major museums of cultural history, which also
includes one of the largest collections of Western musical instruments
in Europe. The museum has several conservation workshops, among them
one for musical instruments.
The training takes eight terms (four years). Instructors include the
institute's chief conservator, a chemist and two musical instrument
conservators. Well equipped workshops are available. No specialized
initial qualifications are required; applicants with a certificate in
some related field (also crafts) are invited to participate in an entry
test. In addition, basic musical knowledge is expected. A course
description is available.
There is no certificate awarded after completing the training other
than a written statement and description of the content of the training.
[A note on the situation in Germany: in a recent meeting at the Leipzig
University Museum of Musical Instruments specialists from the fields of
large church organs, museum collections of the smaller instruments,
state monument offices, and conservation training institutes discussed
the current situtation of training in Germany. Special regard was given
to the formal training courses in other fields of conservation presently
offered at Hochschule für bildende Künste (Dresden), Akademie
der Bildenden Künste (Stuttgart), Fachhochschule Köln,
Fachhochschule Hildesheim, and soon also at Fachhochschule für
Technik und Wirtschaft (Berlin) as well as at Fachhochschule Erfurt. It
was noted that the conservation of musical instruments is not included
in any of these courses (except for the fact that some consideration is
given to instruments at Fachhochschule Köln, see above ). A
document was drafted asking the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Restauratoren
(the largest German association of conservators) to support a plea to
training institutions to include musical instruments in their curricula.]
Akademie der Bildenden Künste - Meisterschule für
Konservierung, Vienna
Training for conservation of musical instruments is not part of the
regular curriculum. However, an occasional course was given in 1986/87,
and it is possible for students to focus their diploma within this
field.
[The situation in June of 1993 differs: there is no course for musical
instrument conservation anywhere in Austria. However, conservators and
their associations hope that a third training institution besides the
Akademie der Bildenden Künste and the Hochschule für
Angewandte Kunst will be established taking care of all conservation
fields currently not covered, including musical instruments.
Communication from Alfons Huber, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.]
3.2 INSTITUTIONS NOT OFFERING SPECIAL TRAINING IN THE CONSERVATION
OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (Section 2 in the questionnaire)
This section lists those institutions that would consider introducing
musical instruments into their training scheme and also those who have
no plans for this.
3.2.1 Institutions with Units of Curricula Dealing with Decorative
Arts, and Willing to Consider Including a Section on Musical Instrument
Conservation
These institutions are:
- Victoria & Albert Museum, The National Museum of Art and Design, London, U.K.
- University of Oxford, Department of Ethnology and Prehistory, Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, U.K.
- Opleiding Restauratoren, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Departement de Pintura, Seccion Restauration, Facultad de bellas artes, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto per l'arte e il restauro, Firenze, Italy
- The Getty Conservation Institute, Marina del Rey, California, USA
- Buffalo State College, Art Conservation Department, Buffalo, New York, USA
- New York University, Institute of Fine Arts - Conservation Centre, New York, USA
- Queen's University, Art Conservation Programme, Kingston, Canada
- Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, Canada
- Material Culture Unit, James Cook University of North Queensland, Australia
Evaluation a) Europe
- There are four institutions. All include in their curricula the
handling, use and conservation of functional objects.
- They all agreed that it is neccesary and desirable to establish
training for conservation of musical instruments even if there has been
little demand for such training.
- There are various answers on how long such training should be; three
or four years either on undergraduate level or with a master's degree.
- All institutions indicated their dependence upon external resources
when realizing such training. They found it difficult to estimate how
many general conservators and conservators specifically trained for
musical instruments are needed within their country or region. Many
institutions stated that specialists would be preferred.
b) USA
- There are three institutions in this group of which only one does not
include handling, use and conservation in its curriculum.
- They were not as convinced as the Europeans of the need for special
training, arguing that in any case it is not a popular field and that
the question has not been looked into. However, they were all willing
to include special musical instrument training if the interest was
strong enough. They put such a course on a high level, i.e., Master's
degree or equivalent.
- The length of course units would vary, and the institutions would be
generally dependent upon external expertise for teaching.
c) Canada
- Two institutions replied and both had handling, use and restoration
in their curricula.
- The two confirmed that competence within musical instrument
conservation had been in demand in previous years, but one institution
did not know whether the need was great enough.
- The training would perhaps be either on the level of a Master's
degree or on that of an apprenticeship arrangement.
- For teaching, both external and internal expertise would be used.
One institution expressed the need for five general conservators and
three specialists, and the other felt that ten general conservators
would be required.
d) Australia
- The need for musical instrument conservation is primarily at the
larger museums.
- It was proposed that training should take place on a high (i.e.,
graduate) level.
- It was indicated that there is more need for general conservators
than for conservators trained specifically in the field of musical
instruments. Some twenty conservators would be needed.
3.2.2 Institutions without Units of Curricula Dealing with
Decorative Arts, but Which Had Interest in Including a Section on
Musical Instrument Conservation
Two institutions are included here:
- Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, Paris, France
- Direction des artes et culture, Ministère de la communication,
Bangui, République Centrafricaine
Evaluation
a) France
- Training for conservation of musical instruments has been advertised
and is considered very necessary. Ways of including training on a high
level would be considered; the length of such training should be one
year. Both external and internal teaching facilities and expertise
would be needed. It is difficult to estimate the number of conservators
needed in France.
b) République Centrafricaine
- A strong need for expertise in this area was expressed. At this
institution only one out of six conservators has some elementary
knowledge of musical instruments. Two specifically trained and four
generally trained conservators are considered necessary. The training
should take place on an intermediate to high level.
3.3 INSTITUTIONS WITHOUT PLANS TO INCLUDE TRAINING FOR CONSERVATION
OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN THEIR CURRICULA
General evaluation
The remaining 16 institutions responded that they would not at this
moment consider taking up training in the conservation of musical
instruments in their curricula. This is partly because they already
deal with other types of artifacts, partly because the expressed need is
not strong enough to modify the priorities in their curricula. In spite
of this there is a serious and strong interest among the institutions in
the questions related to training for conservation of musical
instruments. Nearly all specifically answered yes, that it is
desirable and/or neccesary to have the option of this type of training
in the country/region.
The number of conservators needed varies between two to six and ten to
twenty. Whether this should be a specific training or part of a general
conservation training is not quite clear; it cannot be read precisely
from the answers. The level on which training should be done varies
considerably. It was stated that musical instrument conservation is
often learned through an apprenticeship and that an accreditation system
is needed.
Other answers touch upon the dilemmas encountered when conserving
functional artifacts. Respondents stated that training in this field
must involve consideration of ethics.
3.4 MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTION SURVEY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Since the compilation of this survey, the Museums and Galleries
Commission (MGC) of the United Kingdom has supported an independent
survey of musical instrument collections. The work of Kate Arnold
Forster and Hélène La Rue has been published by the MGC
under the title Museums of Music. This is an in-depth survey of
collections with 14 recommendations under the following headings:
Acquisitions and Collecting, Conservation and Care of Collections, Staff
and Training, and Interpretation and Documentation. The recommendations
for conservation and care include the publication of Standards of Care
for Musical Instruments, wider dissemination of information,
establishment of a scheme for providing training, and the creation of an
advisory panel of experts.
Bibliothèque Nationale
British Museum
Canadian Conservation Institute
Cleveland Museum of Art
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Conservatoire National Supérieur de
France
Fachhochschule Köln
Gateshead Technical College
Germanisches Nationalmuseum
Getty Conservation Institute
Harvard University Art Museums
Horniman Museum and Library
Instituto per l'arte e il restauro
James Cook University of North
Kunitachi College of Music
Ministère de la Communication des Arts et de la Culture
Musée National Suisse
Newark Technical College
New York University
Oppleiding Restauratoren
Queen's University
Science Museum,
State University College at Buffalo
Textile Conservation Centre
United States Department of the Interior
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
University of Delaware
University of Oxford
University of Pennsylvania
Victoria & Albert Museum
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wayne State University
P.A. Kjeldsberg (questionnaire and survey)
R.L. Barclay (questionnaire)
C. Karp
Friedemann Hellwig trained as a violin maker and worked, among
others, with J.A. Beare of London. He won his master diploma in 1963.
He gained a Chemical Lab Technician Diploma in 1972. In 1963 he joined
the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg, as restorer/conservator
of musical instruments. He did emergency conservation work in Florence
in 1967 and 1968 after the floods of November 1966. In the summer of
1986 he became Head of the Conservation Department of the Rheinisches
Museumsamt, and in 1987 he took up the post of Professor of Wooden
Object Conservation at the Fachhochschule in Köln. He was Chairman
of CIMCIM from 1977 to 1983. His many publications include studies on
the history and structure of the lute, radiography of instruments,
profiles of wood mouldings, and diverse topics in conservation and
restoration of musical instruments, with studies in ethics and
philosophy.
The fact that four musical instrument conservators, CIMCIM members for
many years, have left the musical instrument world is also worth
studying because it sheds light on the development and the recognition
of this special field of conservation. The author has often discussed
the questions raised below with Klaus Martius, Germanisches
Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg, Germany; Alfons Huber, Kunsthistorisches
Museum, Vienna, Austria; and of course with many CIMCIM colleagues. To
all of them much is owed by way of inspiration, stimulation, and
clarification.
It is true that some of the observations and points here will appear
highly debatable and controversial, especially to curators, but in order
to make the view clearer it has been necessary to simplify and
exaggerate so as to foster fruitful discussion.
Above all, the author's professional career as a musical instrument
conservator and a subsequent position as a conservation educator have
led to a critical review of this occupation. Finally, much of what is
said here about musical instruments equally concerns other fields of
cultural objects.
In almost every case, neither received any training in general
museology or the particular questions of preserving musical instruments.
Being a member of a museum's staff, both curator and conservator started
as dilettantes in the word's best and worst sense. Learning was often
guided by trial and error, leading to the gradual compilation of
professional experience. Thus museum experience was something everybody
gained for himself or herself rather than a treasure of knowledge passed
on and continually augmented.
This rather sad picture may have become a little brighter in recent
years, but it still seems to hold true among the staff of a number of
museums. The difficulties of fund raising, the often-encountered
unwillingness to popularize musicology or organology for the average
museum visitor, and the agonies of dealing with bureaucracy are all
evidence of a lack of museological training and a deficit of
self-identification as a museum worker. Also, the restorer (in this
context he or she cannot rightly be called a conservator) concentrates
on the construction and functioning of musical instruments rather than
their preservation and conservation. By stressing the need for
function, authenticity has often been neglected. As a result, the
number of instruments with replacement components is very high. The
restorer thus contributes to reducing the historical, musical, and
monetary value of musical instrument collections on a large scale.
Strangely enough, this has taken place under the curators' eyes, often
even under their guidance. We may certainly call this type of restorer
a musical instrument specialist, but he or she is by no means a musical
instrument conservator in today's sense.
A few interesting ocurrencess of this early attitude still persisted in
the mid 80s. For example, in one museum, there were plans to make a
17th century virginal playable. There was no clear idea of the
instrument's physical health with respect to an eventual stringing, so a
replica of the instrument was made in order to test the effect of string
tension on the case. The replica instrument stood up to this very well
so the original was then strung with strings of similar material and
diameter. Thus, even though a functioning replica had been made, the
original was still used, under the assumption that it and the replica
were in the same robust physical condition.
The training that both curator and restorer received as musicologist
and craftsman respectively, defined the hierarchic relationship between
the two: i.e., the restorer's subordination to the curator, the
craftsman's subordination to the educated scholar. This subordination
was not only administrative but also concerned measures taken during
restoration treatment. Under fortunate circumstances this offered the
restorer the chance of learning the basics of the history and
construction of early instruments, and sometimes even led to the
compilation of treatment notes.
The conservator also understands that the execution of merely technical
work on the instruments will not give him or her a recognized position
in the museum world, even if the work were of the finest quality guided
by the best possible insight into the objects' conditions and
conservation needs. Nowhere will the conservator's name be known and
hardly anywhere will be found some acknowledgement. To some degree this
feeling has made some musical instrument conservators and long-time
members of CIMCIM leave the exclusive world of instruments and take over
a widened range of responsibility.
In order to become a respectable member of the profession the
conservator must publish. It has always been more rewarding to write or
lecture about a subject than to actually do it. The conservator may
therefore feel flattered if asked to take over responsibility for the
publication of a collection catalogue. The conservator may also take up
research into the historical aspects of early instruments, which will
then be published in journals like those of AMIS or the Galpin Society,
or in Early Music or some other scholarly periodical. Publication
makes the conservator an acknowledged member of the museum staff; a
recognized colleague now looked upon as somebody of equal rank.
This may appear satisfactory, but in many cases the conservator's
writings are devoted to historical research. There is no doubt that he
or she is well capable of doing such research in a learned manner. What
is unfortunate is the fact that the conservator feels obliged to publish
in a field outside his primary occupation (which should be conservation)
in order to find recognition. This statement can be verified easily by
looking through the extensive bibliography on musical instrument
conservation and technology recently published [1]. The attentive
reader will recognize the small number of texts dealing with aspects of
preservation and conservation. The author certainly cannot exculpate
himself from having contributed to this fact and it is regretful that
much time was spent in this way, instead of approaching more directly
the true and pressing problems in the preservation of early instruments.
In view of such background information, the careers of the four eldest
conservators in CIMCIM appear interesting. Two musical instrument
specialists left their specialisation in order to accept wider
responsibilities which only partly included musical instruments (at the
time of writing Scott Odell is Head of the Conservation Department of
the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington D.C.; Friedemann Hellwig has been appointed professor for
wooden artifacts conservation at Fachhochschule Köln). The third
(Cary Karp) has completely left the world of musical instrument
conservation, now serving as a documentation specialist (Head of the
Documentation Centre of the Swedish Musum of Natural History,
Stockholm). The fourth has never worked full time in the conservation
of musical instruments, but is a specialist in ethnographic objects
conservation (Robert Barclay, Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa)
besides being an eminent practising specialist on the technology of
early brass musical instruments. Musical instrument conservation - no
future?
A look into the realm of organology will explain certain deficits a
little better. Organological research, at least that into Western
instruments, is mostly written on the basis of the classification system
by Curt Sachs and Erich von Hornbostel earlier this century [2] Their
system is based almost exclusively on morphological features and has led
to the art of a sort of petal counting. Organology has thus become a
simplified technology. A true and detailed technological examination of
musical instruments in a manner using today's technical means has not
yet appeared anywhere. To illustrate the kind of published examination
report that the organologist might aspire to one has only to examine
The Freer Chinese Bronzes, Vol. II, Technical Studies by
Rutherford J. Gettens [3]. This book offers exactly what the field of
musical instruments needs: a detailed study of technology; an
explanation of its application within the object in question; a
determination of the materials used; a correlation between technology,
materials and the object's origin; and a description of the factors
contributing to its present state of preservation. Have musical
qualities of instruments ever been described in a catalogue? It is true
that "music described is like a meal painted", yet today there are ample
possibilities for quantifying and describing acoustic properties even
for the layman.
A well trained musical instrument conservator should be able to provide
this data and be encouraged to do so. In addition, it will be the
curator's natural task to add the historical, musicological and
sociological aspects. The two together, conservator and curator, should
be able to produce something showing the full width of knowledge that
can be assembled.
One further remark: in many museums there has been and probably still
is an unfortunate tradition of restoring the most interesting and
valuable instruments first. The restorer/conservator thus gains a lot
of experience that is applied only to the treatment of the less valuable
pieces of a collection.
So what has to be done? Certainly, resting content with the situation
as it has been in the past cannot be the answer. One way of dealing
with the problem would be to immediately start a training course on the
appropriate level. But who is going to do this? Would there be a
sufficient number of students? Will the students be capable of
supporting themselves for an adequate period of time? Who are the
instructors? Who is going to pay them? Can all types of musical
instruments (Western, Eastern, Asian, African, Latin American,
ethnographic, traditional, mechanical, electronic, etc.) made of all
kinds of materials (wood, other natural materials, metal, synthetics
etc.) be dealt with in one single course? How long should this course
take? Will the participants really be capable of executing an
examination and eventual treatment under their own responsibility
towards the end of the course? Who is going to award them an academic
degree?
Even briefly considering the contents of such a course makes one realize
that its greater part is common to a number of other fields of
conservation. The following topics can all be found in other
conservation courses: wood science; the properties of metals; metal
corrosion; binding media and colourants or pigments in varnishes and
other kinds of surface decoration; proper handling and storage
conditions; examination and documentation techniques; deteriorating
factors such as light, inadequate moisture levels or biological attack;
consolidation techniques; conservation ethics, etc. These subjects are
taught in training courses for wooden artifacts, furniture, objects of
applied art, archaeological objects, metal objects, etc. In a
specialized course, subjects directly dealing with musical instruments
should by no means be neglected, yet they form a smaller portion of the
overall amount of knowledge and skills necessary for the specialised
conservator. In fact, it is the combination of widely applied
conservation methods and the reaction towards the special requirements
of musical instruments that mark out the profession of the musical
instrument conservator.
This must lead to a rethinking of the training requirements of the
musical instrument conservator as well. A sound training in general
conservation topped by a period of learning from an experienced
specialist in musical instrument conservation would combine to provide
an acceptable, and above all feasible, scheme for the future
conservator. Of course, there must be a few prerequisites at the
trainee conservator's side: some basic knowledge of music and music
theory, skills in playing at least one instrument, and perhaps a few
more. These prerequisites, however, are often fullfilled on a voluntary
basis by many young music lovers long before a formal training in
conservation is ever considered.
The author has come more and more to reject the path which he himself
followed: the path from the learned instrument maker who acquires
restoration and conservation knowledge and skills step-by-step. The
reason for this rejection is easily explained: it is the large number of
instruments that have been reduced in their value in one way or another
through following this path. In many of the world's most valuable
collections some of the very best and rare instruments have been damaged
in this way. For example, think of the many harpsichords and
pianofortes that have replacement soundboards. Or consider following
the advice that can be drawn from CIMCIM publications of Provisional
Recommendations from 1967 [4] and then look at Restauration des
Instruments de Musique published in 1981 [5]. At the dates of their
publication these books may have represented certain advances, yet they
have also contributed to an unfortunate development. It is the missing
appreciation of the complex nature of an instrument as an entity of
historical, musical, aesthetic, technological, physical, sociological,
and other values that is so disturbing to the reader of today. As far
back as 1963 "the respect of the physical, historical and aesthetical
integrity" of a cultural property was postulated [6]. There is no
alternative any longer to the academically educated conservator who
should also be taught to understand this kind of complexity. (Of
course, there is no objection to a young instrument maker's application
for a professional training course in conservation, but it would be this
course to which he or she owed training and eventual reputation as a
professional conservator, not the previous career as a producer of
instruments [7].)
Throughout the world a number of institutions offer courses that may
well provide the kind of training which is discussed above. They can be
found in a list prepared jointly by the International Centre for the
Study of Preservation and the Restoration of Cultural Property in Rome
(ICCROM) and The Getty Conservation Institute in Marina del Rey
(U.S.A. [8]). The number of training courses is still growing,
especially in Germany. The Furniture Conservation Training Program
offered by the Conservation Analytical Laboratory of the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington, D.C., also seems of great interest in this
context.
In such cooperation the curator takes the role of the scholar and
historian, the conservator that of the technologist and scientist. In
the German language there is a common word for the two, describing the
similar approach of their work: Wissenschaftler. The word refers to
Wissenschaft, Latin sciencia. It is the techniques of sciencia
which both apply to their work: a systematic approach, a clear
methodology, a constant striving for verification, and a quantification
of empirical data.
Martin Kirnbauer and Dieter Krickeberg [9] gave an example of such
cooperation in the context of the examination of early wind instruments.
This kind of cooperation should go much further; i.e., beyond dividing
everything into two different fields, but rather towards the call upon
each other to contribute to the common task the best each has to offer.
It is the author's opinion that in this sense many curators will have to
offer more than has become manifest in many of their publications in the
past. And the same is even more true for the conservator. Imagine what
the two could achieve in a joint effort!
This kind of balance is not introduced automatically with the improved
training of the conservator. Many a curator will find difficulties in
dealing with this new type of emancipated colleague, and a productive
cooperation will always have to be based on the individual balance of
two different personalities. It will work well as long as it is based
upon mutual respect and recognition of each other's level of expertise.
2. Hornbostel, E. M. und Curt Sachs, "Systematik der
Musikinstrumente. Ein Versuch." Zeitschrift für Ethnologie,
46/1914. (Translation into English by A. Baines and K. P. Wachsmann.
Galpin Society Journal, 14/1961.)
3. Gettens, R.J., The Freer Chinese Bronzes, Vol. II, Technical
Studies, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, Oriental
Studies, no. 7. Washington 1969.
4. Berner, A., J. H. van der Meer and G. Thibaut, Preservation and
Restoration of Musical Instruments: Provisional Recommendations, ICOM
1967, pp. 8-13. One of the major reproaches to make is the general
call for restoration to playing condition together with the total
neglect of an object's extra-musical qualities.
5. Abondance, F., Restauration des Instruments de Musique, Fribourg
(Office du Livre) 1981. See in particular the illustrations pp. 67,
76.
6. Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, formulated by the then
American Group of the International Institute for Conservation, under
the guidance of Murray Pease. See also other codes of ethics, in
particular those of Canada and Australia ( Code of Ethics and Guidance
for the Practice of Conservation of Cultural Propery in Canada,
International Institute of Conservation - Canadian Group and the
Canadian Association of Professional Conservators; and Code of Ethics
and Guidance for Conservation Practice for Those Involved in the
Conservation of Cultural Material in Australia, Institute for the
Conservation of Cultural Material, Inc.)
7. Some training institutions, including the Fachhochschule Köln
where the author teaches, do not acknowledge formally previous
apprenticeships with, say, a harpsichord maker. However, the manual
skills developed during such an apprenticeship are welcomed.
8. International Index on Training in Conservation of Cultural
Property. Available from ICCROM, Via di San Michele 13, 00153 Rome,
Italy, and from The Getty Conservation Institute, 4503 Glencoe Avenue,
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6537, USA.
9. Kirnbauer, M. and Dieter Krickeberg, "Zusammenarbeit zwischen
Restaurator und Wissenschaftler im Museum - Neue Aspekte, erläutert
an einer Untersuchung von Musikinstrumenten," Zeitschrift für
Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung, 3/1989, no. 1, pp. 221-230.
John Koster is Conservator and Associate Professor of Museum Science at
the University of South Dakota's Shrine to Music Museum. Formerly, as a
professional harpsichord maker, he produced a wide variety of
instruments modeled closely on historical examples. In 1990-1 he held
an Andrew W. Mellon fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York. A frequent lecturer at professional meetings in the U.S.A. and
abroad, Koster has published numerous scholarly articles and reviews.
Among his current research interests are the identification of woods in
historical instruments and the measurement of the modulus of elasticity
of old music wire. His recent book, Keyboard Musical Instruments in
the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is the first comprehensive catalogue
of its kind in English and the first to include extensive scientifically
based material identifications.
The following observations about what musical instrument conservators
actually do, based primarily on the author's experiences as a staff
member at several of the major museum musical instrument collections in
the United States, supplemented by visits to many of the principal
collections in northern Europe, are intended to promote discussion of
this subject on the basis of reality rather than theory [4]. Moreover,
no proposal for the training of musical instrument conservators should
be entertained that is not based upon consideration of what duties they
are expected to perform.
If there is any role at all for the musical instrument conservator, it
will largely be defined within the context of the museum. Economic
conditions will usually force persons working independently, or for a
commercial establishment, to act as restorers - private owners will
insist that their instruments be made playable, as will, for example,
the small historic-house museum that has already secured funds to
restore its ancient square piano for use at Sunday afternoon
"musicales" [5]. As for regional non-commercial conservation
laboratories, it is unlikely that musical instruments will ever
constitute a significant proportion of the objects sent to them for
treatment. Further, the perpetual assurance of optimal conditions for
preservation that is the ultimate goal of conservation is the direct
institutional responsibility of the museum itself, not that of the
outside consultant.
The number of musical instrument conservators employed by museums as
permanent staff members is exceedingly small, both in the United States
and elsewhere [6]. The circumstances under which they work vary
widely. In the USA, for example, one works in a small laboratory that
is part of a department of musical instruments within a large general
art museum which also has several large conservation departments for
various classes of objects; the author works in the laboratory of a
large museum solely devoted to musical instruments that is itself a
department of a medium-size university; a third works within the
furniture conservation laboratory of a living-history museum complex.
Nevertheless, some generalizations as to what these museum professionals
do are possible.
R.M. Organ has identified five major functions of a museum department
for the conservation of antiquities: 1) documentation and examination of
objects "accepted for treatment"; 2) treatment; 3) making of
reproductions; 4) preparation of mounts, etc., for displays; and 5)
overseeing of storage and display conditions [7]. Organ was envisaging
the setup of a large laboratory in which these responsibilities would
presumably be divided among several persons. In the case of musical
instrument collections, however, all such duties are usually the
responsibility of the solitary conservator (if any) on the staff.
Further, both because the museological approach to instruments is often
different from that involving archaeological or art-historical material
and because instrument collections typically have quite small staffs,
each member of which must perform a wide variety of duties [8], the
instrument conservator is expected to perform duties that are rarely the
responsibilities of conservators of other artifacts. The musical
instrument conservator's chief duties, many of which can plausibly be
included somewhere within Organ's five general categories, are, with the
addition of a sixth category (research), as follows.
The conservator is called on to examine objects not only as a part of
the treatment process but also for curatorial and research purposes.
Curators, for example, frequently ask for identification of the
materials from which were made instruments that they are cataloguing or
studying. Examination can be divided into three categories: low-tech,
middle-tech, and high-tech. The last category, including, for example,
such methods as x-ray fluorescence, requires equipment and specialist
operators that would be economically unfeasible for almost any musical
instrument collection to maintain. High-tech services are sometimes
available, at least in theory, at universities or in large museums with
separate conservation-research departments, but the institutional
priorities of these laboratories are usually such that they cannot deal
with any large number of inquiries from the musical instrument
department.
Fortunately, experience shows that the musical instrument conservator
can, by the low- and middle-tech means, often achieve results that are
just as effective and just as valid scientifically as results achieved
through high-tech means. In the low-tech mode, the author, for example,
used a 10x magnifier to observe the green stains left on the bridge of a
mid 18th century piano by the copper of its presumably original brass
strings; a cheap magnet was used to discover that the pipes of an early
19th century Swedish organ were not of tin, as had been thought, but of
tinned sheet iron.
The middle-tech area, involving equipment or supplies in the $100 to
$5000 range, is also within reach of most musical instrument collections
and their conservators. Ultraviolet lamps, for example, can be used to
examine faded inscriptions, retouched varnish, or traces of glue from
missing pieces. With suitable filters, ultraviolet reflectance or
fluorescence as well as images in the infra-red part of the spectrum can
be photographed. Perhaps the most useful middle-tech tool is the light
microscope, with which, for example, one can identify woods, fibers, and
pigments or perform microchemical tests. Needless to say, conservators
should have some familiarity with the existence of high-tech means that
might be available when low- and middle-tech means are inadequate; they
should seek to maintain good relations with laboratories in which highly
sophisticated testing or imaging could, upon occasion, be done.
Typical examples of stabilization treatments of musical instruments
are: the removal of spots of corrosion-causing solder flux carelessly
left on a brass instrument during previous repairs; the neutralization
of an ebonite flute becoming acidic as it decomposes; and the killing of
"woodworm." Obviously, some awareness of the nature of the object is
desirable. The central conservation department of one great American
museum once routinely applied a permanently active insecticide, now
banned, to musical instruments, even to keyboard action parts that were
not themselves infested, and also to a recorder mouthpiece. Needless to
say, a musical instrument specialist might have chosen other means of
eradication that would not have risked the health of later
investigators, whose legitimate reasons to handle the instruments should
have been anticipated.
Typical examples of cosmetic treatment are: polishing brass
instruments; cleaning raw or varnished wooden surfaces; and regluing
loose veneer. Upon occasion the conservator makes new pieces to fill
the unsightly absence of missing original parts such as harpsichord key
fronts, hinges, sections of molding, or even entire stands.
This is not the forum to discuss whether, in theory, it is ever
permissible to make old instruments playable. Most collections do, at
least, have a few instruments (usually keyboards) that have already been
restored to playability, and it might be reasonable for them
occasionally to be used, under carefully controlled conditions, for
public performances or for recordings. While conservators are expected
to maintain instruments for such purposes (for example, by tuning them
and replacing broken strings, or even by upgrading earlier restorations
in the light of current knowledge about historical instruments), they
strive to command the respect among their museum colleagues that will
ensure the heeding of their views concerning inappropriate restoration
or use of instruments.
It hardly need be stated that the conservator is responsible for the
safe and environmentally sound storage, handling, and disposal of
chemicals and materials used in the laboratory. Further, the
conservator will take care not to attempt anything that is beyond his or
her competence and will refer any unusual technical problems to
specialist consultants.
In a still broader sense, conservators participate in the copying of
instruments in their museum's collections by providing technical
information that is requested by instrument makers. When instruments
undergo conservation treatment, observations, measurements, drawings,
and photographs of potential use to instrument makers or scholars should
be gathered as part of the documentation, even though such data might
not be directly related to the treatment itself [13].
Many types of museum artifacts, for example, art-historical objects,
can be studied adequately merely by viewing them. Musical instruments
are different. The curatorial staff and visiting researchers frequently
have compelling reasons to handle these objects or even to disassemble
them in order to measure them or study their construction. It is the
conservator's responsibility, by advising other staff members and by
directly or indirectly supervising visiting researchers, to ensure that
instruments are handled only in ways consistent with their preservation.
The conservator also provides advice about the suitability of lending
instruments for display elsewhere.
Most musical instrument conservators work in this field because they
are devoted to musical instruments. Usually they have one or more
particular interests that have led to proficiency in certain areas of
organology (i.e., musical instrument scholarship). The conservator's
areas of special organological knowledge frequently complement those of
the curatorial staff and are therefore a valuable asset to the
institution.
Conservators (or, previously, restorers) have long made important
contributions to organology, often as a direct result of information
gathered during the treatment of instruments [15]. Organology as a
whole has benefited enormously in generally adopting the technological
approach present in the work of conservators (for example, close
attention to details of construction and measurement). Future
scholarship will depend on the preservation of the historical musical
instruments that are still extant. Conservators must therefore continue
to preach the importance of safeguarding irreplaceable cultural
property. By continuing to do organological research and, even more, by
extending the limits of technical research to the scrutiny of the
tiniest scraps of evidence, conservators can demonstrate the continued
utility of instruments that are not restored to be played - demonstrate,
that is, the practical importance of preservation. Further, by applying
information discovered in musical instruments to its more general
implications in conservation science or in the study of historical
technology, instrument conservators can produce work of significance
outside their own limited field [16].
Because the number of musical instrument collections that are fortunate
or foresighted enough to have conservators on their staffs is small and,
lamentably, can be expected to remain so, it is questionable whether any
formal long-term program solely to train musical instrument conservators
for museum work (rather than instrument restorers for commercial work)
would be economically viable [17]. Thus, other approaches must be
considered, without categorical insistences that the "ideal" conservator
should have one particular type of background or training. The emphasis
should be more on what the individual conservator must know and must be
able to do in order to function productively.
Obviously, the widest possible background of training and experience is
essential. Because conservation, in the preventive sense, is largely
cerebral, a baccalaureate degree of the American liberal arts (B.A.)
type, or its equivalent, is almost essential. This will help to ensure
that the conservator will have at least some familiarity with a variety
of disciplines in the arts, humanities, and sciences. It is imperative
that the conservator have a reading knowledge of English, German, and
French and be able to write clearly in one of these languages. Because,
however, conservation treatment requires great manual dexterity, an
additional background in the crafts, preferably in musical instrument
making, is also highly desirable. While many traditional techniques of
instrument fabrication and repair are inappropriate for use in
conservation [18], some of them do remain appropriate [19]. Familiarity
with traditional techniques is also of immense help in discovering and
evaluating evidence in historic instruments. Moreover, the very fact
that a person has had the patience to perform the many repetitive tasks
involved in making a good musical instrument should suggest that he or
she might well have the patience to perform the tedious operations that
are often required in conservation treatment. Beyond this basic
readiness in the intellectual and manual arts, the conservator, in order
to function in the varied capacities outlined above, should, needless to
say, be competent in the disciplines of artifact conservation and
organology.
It seems possible that various scenarios could lead to the making of
qualified musical instrument conservators. One hopes, for example, that
some graduates of master's level programs in artifact conservation would
wish to become musical instrument specialists. Their training could be
completed by an internship in the conservation laboratory of a large
museum instrument collection [20] Similarly, some instrument makers [21]
might be able to become conservators by an analogous long-term museum
internship.
Whatever their backgrounds, not only those who aspire to be musical
instrument conservators but also those who are already professionals in
this field must look forward to a lifetime of training. This will be
necessary to deal with problems in unfamiliar areas: the person
originally trained, for example, as a metal conservator will eventually,
if he or she is the only staff conservator at a comprehensive musical
instrument collection, have to deal with wooden objects; the person who
has started out as a keyboard specialist will eventually have to deal
with trombones. Further study will also be necessary to keep abreast of
advances in organology and conservation science. Many universities,
conservation centers, and other organizations offer shorter courses,
workshops, and seminars that could assume an important role in the
continuing education of conservators [22]. Perhaps most important,
however, is that conservators should strive ceaselessly to educate
themselves through research and by maintaining both an energetic
curiosity and a healthy skepticism.
2. See, for example, Cary Karp, "Technological Research and the
Conservation of Musical Instruments," and Grant O'Brien, "The
Conservation of Historical Keyboard Instruments: to Play or to
Preserve," in Elena Ferrari Barassi and Marinella Laini (Eds.), Per una
carte europea del restauro: conservazione, restauro e riuso degli
strumenti musicali antichi - Atti del convegno internazionale (Venice,
October 1985) Florence (Leo S. Olschki Editore) 1987, pp. 283-289 and
291-297, respectively.
3. For example, several of the authors of articles abstracted in
Recommendations for the Conservation of Musical Instruments: An
Annotated Bibliography, CIMCIM Publications 1/1993, are instrument
makers. The careers of the three permanent staff musical instrument
conservators at museums in the USA commenced with instrument-making.
4. A parallel view of musical instrument conservation at a major
museum collection is provided by Stewart Pollens of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, in an interview with Matthew James Redsell.
Continuo (Toronto) 13/1989, no. 2 (April), pp. 8-11.
5. Unfortunately, the true sense of the words "conservation" and
"conservator" is being diluted by instrument technicians. The author
recently saw, for example, a letterhead reading "A**** B**** &
Associates, Conservators & Restorers of Steinway grands." It should,
however, be noted that the movement for conservation rather than
restoration has been given much of its impetus from makers, some of whom
have refused to restore to playing condition instruments that have been
entrusted to their care: see, for example, Christopher Challen, "The
Unverdorben lute at Fenton House," Early Music 7/1979, no. 2 (April),
pp. 166-173.
6. In the United States, for example, there are, to my knowledge, only
three (one of them in a part-time position), to which might be added one
or two others who, having been musical instrument conservators, are now
general object conservators.
7. R.M. Organ, Design for Scientific Conservation of Antiquities,
Washington, D.C. (Smithsonian Institution Press) 1968, p. 5.
8. The Shrine to Music Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota, has an
exceptionally large staff of seven. Nevertheless, the Curator, for
example, acts not only as a curator but also as registrar, collections
manager, archivist, reference librarian, and university faculty member.
9. Paintings, for example, are frequently treated primarily to improve
their appearance. Many historical ships float and historical clocks
tick.
10. See Friedemann Hellwig, Atlas der Profile an Tasteninstrumente
vom 16. bis zum frühen 19. Jahrhundert, Frankfurt am Main (Erwin
Bochinsky) 1985. Although, as part of a traditional technique of
repairing violins and similar instruments, plaster casts are made of
their arched bellies and backs (see, for example, Hans Weisshaar and
Margaret Shipman, Violin Restoration: A Manual for Violin Makers, Los
Angeles [the authors] 1988, pp. 14-17), this process is so fraught with
danger that few, if any, conservators would consider using it.
11. This practice is recommended, in certain cases, by O'Brien in "The
Conservation of Historical Keyboard Instruments," p. 295; and by John
R. Watson in "Historical Musical Instruments: A Claim to Use, an
Obligation to Preserve," Journal of the American Musical Instrument
Society 17/1991, pp. 69-81.
12. See, for example, Cary Karp, "An Approach to the Conservation and
Display of Ethno-Organological Material," in Musikmuseet (Stockholm),
Report 1987:1 (reprinted from Contributions to the Study of Traditional
Musical Instruments in Museums, Bratislava, 1987).
13. This point was emphasized by John R. Watson in "Overhearing
History: the Conservator as Technological Historian," a paper presented
to the Wooden Artifacts Group at the annual meeting of the American
Institute of Conservation, Buffalo, New York, June 1992.
14. For example, the official name of the object conservation
department at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is "Research Laboratory."
15. Outstanding examples of this are Friedrich Ernst, "Four Ruckers
Harpsichords in Berlin," Galpin Society Journal 20/1967, pp. 63-75;
and Friedmann Hellwig, "On the Construction of the Lute Belly," Galpin
Society Journal 21/1968, pp. 129-145.
16. For example, Watson, in "Overhearing History," has discovered, in
a Jacob Kirckman harpsichord of 1758, evidence of the early use of
advanced woodworking machinery.
17. If one were to make utopian schemes on paper, such a program would
involve three institutional entities: a fully equipped modern
conservation laboratory, a university, and a comprehensive collection of
musical instruments. The obstacles to arranging cooperation among these
several entities would, quite possibly, not be overcome by the
likelihood of a large number of applicants. One should note that an
admirable curriculum for training musical instrument restorers (as they
were then called) was outlined by Freidemann Hellwig in the Galpin
Society Journal 29/1976, pp. 146-147.
18. See, for example, note 10 above. Another traditional but
conservationally ill-advised technique is the cutting of holes in the
bottom of a keyboard instrument for access to the interior for repairs
and study, as described, for example, by Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini in
"Giovanni Ferrini and his harpsichord 'a penne e a martelletti'," Early
Music 19/1991 no. 3 (August), pp. 398-408. Far less destructive
techniques are described by Friedemann Hellwig in Ein Cembalo des 17.
Jahrhunderts klingt wieder, Informationsschrift zur Ausstellung,
Nürnberg (Germanisches Nationalmuseum) 1976; and by John Barnes in
"Does Restoration Destroy Evidence?," Early Music 8/1980, no. 2
(April), pp. 213-218.
19. Hide glue, for example, has qualities of strength, adhesion, and
reversibility that subsequent experience has shown to be more
appropriate for many purposes in the conservation of musical instruments
than the synthetic adhesives mentioned by Norman Brommelle in the
CIMCIM/ICOM Provisional Recommendations of 1967, pp. 30-33.
20. The Master of Music degree with a concentration in the History of
Musical Instruments offered by the University of South Dakota's
Department of Music in cooperation with The Shrine to Music Museum &
Center for Study of the History of Musical Instruments could serve this
function. So could the fellowships in conservation that are offered by
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; these can be associated with
their Department of Musical Instruments. It is essential that some
phase of the musical instrument conservator's training be realized in
conjunction with a comprehensive collection of instruments. That is, at
some point the conservator-in-training should have day-to-day contact
with the full range of relevant objects.
21. It should be noted that, especially in the English-speaking
countries, many makers of historical-revival types of instruments (for
example harpsichords, baroque woodwinds, and viols) have an advanced
academic background, rather than one solely of apprenticeship in their
craft.
22. For example, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, offers an
annual workshop in wood identification; the McCrone Research Institute,
Chicago, offers a variety of courses in microscopy.
Any questions relating to training in conservation or restoration of
musical instruments may be referred to the Coordinator of the
Conservation Working Group of CIMCIM.
Printed copies of this and other CIMCIM publications are available:
Publications and Order Form
Address for further information
This page updated: 26.2.96
Part 1: A Survey on Training for Musical Instrument Conservators
1. INTRODUCTION
A proposal to survey institutions that take an active role in the
training of musical instrument conservators was made at the CIMCIM
meeting in Berlin in April 1988. It was shaped into a Working Group
with the following participants: Bob Barclay, Ottawa, Canada; Friedemann
Hellwig, Cologne, Germany; Cary Karp, Stockholm, Sweden; and, as
coordinator, Peter Andreas Kjeldsberg, Trondheim, Norway. During the
ICOM General Conference in Québec, September 1992, Friedemann
Hellwig took over the coordination.
2. THE QUESTIONNAIRE
The following is a condensed reprint of the English version of the
questionnaire (spaces to be filled on the form have been deleted).
3. RESPONSES
Of the 274 institutions contacted, 64 (or 23%) responded to the
questionnaire. Of these, 29 gave negative replies to all questions.
The report is therefore prepared on the basis of responses from the 35
institutions which provided positive input.
4. CONCLUSION
Although the survey gives only a limited picture of the situation of
training for musical instrument conservation at the time of its
production, it is apparent there is a decidedly positive attitude
towards the need for such training. We hope this survey will serve as a
basis to work from when discussing the content of training, the initial
qualification required, and the length and level of future courses. It
is hoped that this survey will be a tool for continued discussions
within CIMCIM and between CIMCIM and the ICOM Conservation Committee.
APPENDIX: ADDRESSES OF RESPONDING INSTITUTIONS
Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Wien
Meisterschule für Restaurierung und Konservierung
Schillerplatz 3
1010 Vienna
Austria
Centre de Conservation
Chateau de Sablé
72300 Sablé-sur-Sarthe
France
Department of Conservation
Great Russell Street
London WC1
UK
1030 Innes Road
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C8
Canada
Conservation Department
11150 East Boulevard
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
USA
P.O. Box C
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187
USA
Musique de Paris
14, rue de Madrid
75008 Paris
Department of Archaeology
46, Saddler Street
Durham DH1 3NU
UK
Fachbereich Restaurierung und
Konservierung von Kunst- und Kulturgut
Claudiusstrasse 1
50678 Cologne
Germany
Durham Road
Gateshead Tyne & Wear NE9 5BN
UK
Institut für Kunsttechnik und
Konservierung
Kornmarkt 1
90402 Nuremberg
Germany
4503 Glencoe Avenue
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6537
USA
32 Quincy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
USA
London Road, Forest Hill
London SE2 3PQ
UK
Vie dei Fossi 12
50123 Florence
Italy
Queensland
Material Culture Unit
Townsville 4811
Australia
Gakkigaku Shiryokan (Collection for
Organology)
Tashikawa, Tokyo
Japan
Direction des Arts & Culture
Bangui
République Centrafricaine
Artisanat et habitation
Casse postale 6789
8023 Zürich
Switzerland
Chauntry Park
Newark on Trent
Nottinghamshire NG24 1PB
UK
Institute of Fine Arts
Conservation Center
14 East 78th Street
New York, New York 10021
USA
Gabriel Metsustraat 8
1071 EA Amsterdam
Netherlands
Art Conservation Programme
Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6
Canada
South Kensington,
London SW7 2DD
UK
Art Conservation Department RH 230,
1300 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, New York 14222-1095
USA
Apartment 22,
Hampton Court Palace
East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU
UK
National Park Service,
Harper's Ferry Center
Harper's Ferry, West Virginia 25425
USA
Facultad de Bellas Artes, Seccion
Restauración
Ciudad Universitaria
28040 Madrid
Spain
Art Conservation Program
Newark, Delaware 19716
USA
Department of Ethnology and Pitt Rivers
Museum
South Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3PP
UK
Graduate Program in Historic
Preservation
The Graduate School of Fine Arts
214 Meyerson Hall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
USA
South Kensington
London SW7 2RL
UK
Department of Art History
922 West Franklin Street
Richmond, Virginia 23284-2519
USA
Purdy/Kresge Library Complex
5265 Cass Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48202
USA
AUTHORS AND COMPILERS
F. Hellwig (text)
Fachhochschule Köln
Cologne, Germany
Ringve Museum
Trondheim, Norway
Canadian Conservation Institute
Ottawa, Canada
Swedish Museum of Natural History
Stockholm, Sweden
Part 2: The Conservator of Musical Instruments: A Critical Analysis
of the Position and Tasks in the Museum
Friedemann Hellwig, Fachhochschule Köln, Cologne, Germany
INTRODUCTION
In the following text a number of crucial points having to do with the
relation between curator and conservator will be discussed. This
relation presents the conservator's tasks and actual work in a very
special light, helping one to recognize his or her own position not only
in the microcosm of an institution like a museum but also within the
larger world of conservation in general. Questions of this kind may be
discussed in a particularly rewarding manner within the framework of
CIMCIM, since it is one of the very few international committees of ICOM
where curators and conservators have come together regularly and
continue to do so. In the author's opinion this forum of exchange has
greatly contributed to a better understanding of other colleague's
backgrounds and occupations, but such understanding has occasioned more
detailed criticism of the actions of both parties.
THE ROOTS OF CURATORS AND CONSERVATORS OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Simply stated, both the conservator and the curator of musical
instruments have been influenced in their choice of professional work by
the love of music and an attachment to objects or phenomena of cultural
history. In the case of the curator, he or she has as a rule taken up
the academic discipline of musicology while the conservator
traditionally has studied instrument making and eventually entered the
field of musical instrument conservation.
THE CURRENT SITUATION OF CURATORS AND RESTORERS/CONSERVATORS
Today the situation is becoming more and more varied. In some museums
the conservator's emancipation has been largely completed - an
emancipation from the curator, but more significantly from the
traditional concepts of restoration. This emancipation is often a
result of private studies and continuing education and has led the
musical instrument restorer to a deepened understanding of conservation
needs and the role instruments play as a part of our cultural heritage.
Under these conditions the restorer becomes a conservator.
THE TRAINING OF THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CONSERVATOR
The conservator should not be content unless he or she has received
training that is similar to that of the curator - similar in its
academic level. With a number of conservation training institutions
there should no real problem in realising this demand. However, there
is no training course dealing exclusively with musical instruments.
This fact could be seen as a lack of understanding of the necessity for
training specialists for this field. However, it has more to do with
the limited number of conservators needed ( see the results of the
survey presented in Part 1 of this publication).
THE COOPERATION BETWEEN CURATOR AND CONSERVATOR
Certainly, just apportioning the total amount of work that has to be
done in a musical instrument museum collections between curator and
conservator is not the right answer. Cooperation does not mean drawing
a borderline. The sine qua non is the above-mentioned equal ranking
of the two, based upon their training at equal levels. Their level of
cooperation should therefore be that of equal positions in the work
hierarchy even if payment differs between the two (for which there is no
reason in many cases).
NOTES
1. Karp, C. (Ed.), The Conservation and Technology of Musical
Instruments: Bibliographic Supplement to Art and Archaeology Technical
Abstracts, Volume 28. [AATA, The Getty Conservation Institute, Marina
del Rey] 1992.
Part 3: The Role of the Musical Instrument Conservator
John Koster, Shrine to Music Museum, Vermillion, U.S.A.
INTRODUCTION
In emphasizing that the formerly recommended practice of routinely
restoring historical musical instruments to playing condition whenever
possible [1] is ill advised, most recent discussions of the role of
musical instrument conservators have centered on what they should not
do [2]. In the past, and often in the present, museums have usually
employed instrument makers to function as restorers, either as regular
staff members or as temporarily contracted consultants. Some of these
individuals, transcending their backgrounds as craftspersons, have,
through further study and experience, become highly respected
conservators [3]. Nevertheless, because of the shift in emphasis from
restoration to conservation (that is, essentially, from regarding the
musical instrument as a functioning mechanism to regarding it as a
delicate artifact composed of unstable materials not significantly
different from those in other artifacts) one might question whether
there is now any need for specialists in the conservation of musical
instruments.
DOCUMENTATION AND EXAMINATION
The state of an instrument before treatment must be documented on the
basis of appropriate methods of examination, and the process of
documentation must continue throughout the treatment process. Permanent
written and photographic records should be maintained. Although the
services of professional photographers are available to most collections
for the production of formal "portraits", these are invariably too
difficult to arrange at short notice and too expensive for routine
documentation. The conservator, therefore, should at least have the
ability to use, with a variety of lighting sources, a 35 mm. camera
provided with several interchangeable lenses, including equipment
suitable for close-up ("macro") work.
TREATMENT
Treatment can be divided into three subcategories: 1) stabilization of
deteriorating instruments; 2) cosmetic treatment of instruments that are
to be displayed or photographed; and 3) restoration of instruments to
playing condition. One should note that only the first subcategory is
concerned purely with conservation. Nevertheless, when there are
compelling museological or curatorial reasons to engage in treatments of
the second and third subcategories (both of which have their analogies
with treatments that conservators accord other types of objects [9])
the overall goals of conservation must be observed to the greatest
extent possible.
MAKING REPRODUCTIONS
In this category Organ had in mind such processes as the making of
casts of ancient sculpture for study or for sale. For musical
instruments, one of the few directly comparable processes is making
impressions of moldings [10]. More frequently, however, musical
instrument conservators make reproductions by other means; for example,
fabricating copies of parts of instruments, either, as mentioned above,
for cosmetic purposes or for use in instruments restored to playing
condition. In some collections, restored keyboard instruments are
provided with entire reproduction actions in order to protect the
original parts from wear [11] In other collections, whole
reproduction instruments are made for use, sometimes displayed next to
the mute original [12]. In order to ensure that these reproductions of
parts or wholes accurately reflect their models, they are usually made
by or under the direct supervision of the conservator, who is closely
familiar with the materials and processes that were used in making the
originals.
PREPARATION OF DISPLAY, STORAGE, AND SHIPPING UNITS
Conservators are closely involved in the design and fabrication of
mounts and cases for displayed instruments and of storage and shipping
units. Detailed knowledge of the structure of instruments is necessary
to design display mounts, storage units, and shipping crates that will
securely hold and protect these often delicate objects. To ensure that
materials used in such hardware will not harm instruments, the
conservator must also be able to choose and to test them.
OVERSEEING THE MUSEUM ENVIRONMENT
Conservators constantly monitor the museum environment (for example,
with hygrothermo-graphs, which must be regularly calibrated and
maintained) and make sure that any problems, such as failure of
climate-control equipment, are corrected immediately. Further, they
make recommendations for long-term improvements in environmental
control, lighting, and security. Conservators should not wait for the
curatorial staff to send them artifacts in need of stabilization; they
should themselves always look for potential problems both in specific
instruments and in general areas of the collections. The conservator
should also be aware of the preservation requirements of photographs and
other archival materials that are invariably among the important
holdings of musical instrument collections.
RESEARCH
Most musical instrument conservators, like many of their colleagues at
other conservation laboratories [14] engage extensively in research
and are given considerable latitude to do so as part of their
professional duties. At the very least, they must have the ability to
search the general conservation literature to ensure that stabilization
and cosmetic treatment conform to currently accepted methods.
Similarly, it would be especially ill-founded to restore instruments to
playing condition unless the work were to be done according to the most
current information available in the musical instrument literature (for
example, concerning historical string materials and pitch levels).
CONCLUSIONS
It is clear, from this summary of professional responsibilities, that
the ideal musical instrument conservator should know much about a great
many things. It is also clear that, although this ideal can never be
attained by any human being, musical instrument conservators
nevertheless perform a vital role in museum instrument collections. It
should, moreover, be understood that the musical instrument
conservator's responsibilities could not efficiently be divided among
the curatorial staff and outside consultants such as instrument makers
or artifact conservators.
NOTES
1. See, for example, the CIMCIM-sponsored booklet by A. Berner, J.H.
van der Meer, and G. Thibault, Preservation and Restoration of Musical
Instruments: Provisional Recommendations, ICOM, 1967, p. 8.