Series editors' preface - Wood Tools

396 Conservation of Furniture
Computer tomography is a non-destructive
technique, especially suitable for reading the
growth-ring patterns in softwoods, even when
the wood surface is not exposed. The technique
may prove to be valuable in reading tree
ring patterns of coniferous substrate wood of
painted or veneered furniture.
There are some limitations to dendrochronological
dating in conjunction with furniture.
The method of taking the sample, or preparing
the surface of a board for examination is
destructive. Since furniture mostly is constructed
of smaller elements it will often be difficult,
if not impossible, to find radially cut
elements with a sufficient number of growthrings.
When no sapwood is included in a sample
there can be no certainty about the felling
date of the tree. The interpretation of such
samples should be carried out with the greatest
care and the data should not be confused
with the possible age of the furniture. Wood
from a three hundred year old tree felled in
1999 could be used to make a copy of a piece
of two hundred year old furniture. It would not
be possible to distinguish the lack of authenticity
of such a piece by dendrochronology
alone. Dendrochronology is mostly applied,
and limited, to medieval and earlier furniture
(Fletcher, 1977; Fletcher et al., 1974; Weaver,
1982). Problems of dating and interpreting
results from archaeological timbers have been
discussed by Hillam (1987).
All aspects of examination such as where
samples were taken, how they were analysed
and what results were obtained should be documented.
9.4 Documentation
This section examines the nature and importance
of documentation, some information
needs of conservators in both private practice
and institutions, some aspects of documentation
practice and what is involved in setting up
a documentation system. The section concludes
with a discussion of photography.
9.4.1 What is documentation and why is
it important?
Documentation in its broadest sense is the
information needed to run a business. It
includes facts about people and organizations,
buildings, finance, objects, goods and services,
transactions and other concerns of management
for businesses large and small and not
just information about conservation treatments
and object condition. This information is
needed for all aspects of managing an enterprise
for planning, assessment, co-ordination,
selection, monitoring, controlling, decisionmaking,
directing, research and publication.
Accountability is increasingly important to
the client, to the tax collector, to the taxpayer
(for the use of resources in publicly funded
institutions), to posterity for actions taken that
may change the qualities by which the significance
or intention of a work is judged and for
health and safety purposes. Most successful
businesses set out objectives and performance
plans and record actual performance against
the plan as a guide to future action that might
be taken to improve business performance.
Conservators in business need to know how
they are performing and how they compare to
other conservation practices. They need to be
aware that their clients will almost certainly be
looking at their performance and it is therefore
very much in the conservator’s interest to keep
tabs on their business.
9.4.2 Information needs
It is fundamental to know what objects are in
our care, where they are and what condition
they are in. Relevant information for conservation
documentation for the practical conservator
working at the bench includes the nature,
extent, severity and location of damage, treatment
options and concept, actual action of
treatment, results of material analyses (if any)
and materials used during treatment. The practical
conservator responsible for the treatment
of an object needs to know something of what
the piece is, how it is uniquely identified, the
work that is to be carried out and any specific
client requirements, the amount of time
allowed for the job and the date by which it
has to be ready. Information discussed in the
previous section may be relevant in coming to
a treatment decision. Actions taken to identify
materials or to assess condition should be
recorded together with reasons, methods,
results and conclusions. As work progresses
the identity and location within the overall