Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

cal, solutions include enclosing the object in a
‘Museum Room’ where tighter control of environmental
parameters is possible. Such spaces
may limit the display to containing one piece
from each of several sets. Alternatively, the
viewer can be enclosed. A less obvious difficulty
may be one of public access. The benefits
of allowing the public to see the furniture
in a room setting may be at odds with keeping
the furnishings out of reach. This is particularly
the case with textile hangings and coverings
where the tactile qualities are part of the
appeal. Large sets of furniture, not unusual in
the historic house setting, are less likely to be
acquired by museums as they lose some meaning
outside the context of the type of room for
which they are designed and take up valuable
space. The period room setting is an exception.
Museum conservation solutions designed for
single pieces may be inappropriate or impractical
applied to a set. The treatment of large
sets of upholstered furniture may be
approached differently than an individual item
for reasons of uniqueness, time, cost or space.
The existence of a set means, in a sense, that
the object is not unique. The client may therefore
have options available such as rotation on
exhibition or may decide that the item is not
exceptional and therefore not deserving of
treatment. Where normally one option only
can be chosen from a range of possibilities for
treatment, in the case of sets, there may be
more flexibility. Different members can be
treated differently to allow different points to
be made. For example, one might be left
untreated, one conserved and one restored to
show how it might have appeared originally.
When an object is to be conserved for a private
collection it is important to assess the
degree to which an item will be used. It is a
simple matter to persuade the owner of a work
of fine art that these items confer a degree of
privilege of ownership and responsibility to
posterity. It is less simple to persuade the
owner of a rare piece of furniture upholstery
that they should not sit or lie upon it! When an
upholstered object has a high degree of decorative
merit, embroidered top covers for
example, it is easy to persuade a client that the
object can be put to good decorative effect
without use. It is the utilitarian which is most
at risk; the understructure of such an upholstered
object, for example, which may be
Conservation preliminaries 379
renewed for cleanliness or comfort. In the context
of upholstered furniture, essential reading
on considerations of whether to conserve or
reupholster and on the costing and estimating
of work is provided by Florian et al. (1990),
French (1990), Landi (1985) and Williams
(1990). The ethics and aesthetics of upholstery
conservation are further discussed by Cornforth
(1981, 1988), Lahikainen (1990), Montgomery
(1984), Nylander (1990) and Pilgrim (1983).
How will I assess the success of the action(s)
and how will I get feedback from clients and
peers? It is important to have some measure
of the quality of the work which a client can
expect as well as the time and cost. Working
to a known, accepted and agreed quality
standard may require specific arrangements to
be made such as the provision of sketches,
samples, access to previous work or other
evidence of what the client can reasonably
expect. It is then important to identify the
stages at which feedback will be obtained from
the client, the form that this will take and the
actions that can arise from it. It is also important
that discoveries, whether of an historical or
technical nature should be communicated.
The dictionary definition of quality (as a
noun) is ‘the degree of excellence of a thing’
and (as an adjective) of high grade of excellence’.
A more illuminating definition can be
found in BS4478 ‘Quality Vocabulary’ (equivalent
to ISO 8402). Quality is ‘the totality of features
and characteristics of a product or service
that bears on its ability to satisfy stated or
implied needs’. This definition is followed by
three notes:
(1) In a contractual environment, needs are
specified, whereas in other environments,
implied needs should be identified and
defined.
(2) In many instances, needs can change with
time; this implies periodic revision of specifications.
(3) Needs are usually translated into features
and characteristics with specified criteria.
Needs may include aspects of usability,
safety, availability, reliability, maintainability,
economics and environment.
Three important elements of quality to remember
are fitness for purpose, value for money
and customer satisfaction. Use of the checklist