A critical epistemology of object conservation within the UK heritage sector

Abstract

The thesis aims to establish a new understanding of how the sources of knowledge and forms of knowing by which conservators approach heritage objects affects their conservation practice and recording. Using Actor-Network Theory within a multi-sited ethnographic approach, the project studied the treatment and the representation of objects by those practicing object conservation and within conservation documentation. Taking inspiration from work that has examined approaches to heritage management and conservation, the project observed if and how these approaches unfolded within conservation practice. It sought to identify evidence of how objects are experienced and recorded before, during, and after the conservation process. In conclusion, the thesis exemplifies how conservators, through their sensorial experiences of objects, create a variety of knowledge and forms of knowing. Uncertain ethical codes and standards of practice disallow for the potential of values- or peoples-based theory to manifest completely in practice and a materials-based approach is still enacted and most visible within conservation records. The thesis ends with a call towards the potential of autoethnographic conservation records, where patterns of individual practice can aid in diversifying the museum.