The proliferation of new metals—such as stainless steels, aluminum alloys, and metallic coatings—in modern and contemporary art and architecture has made the need for professionals who can address their conservation more critical than ever. This volume seeks to bridge the gap between the vast technical literature on metals and the pressing needs of conservators, curators, and other heritage professionals without a metallurgy background. It offers practical information in a simple and direct way, enabling curators, conservators, and artists alike to understand and evaluate the objects under their care.
This invaluable reference reframes information formerly found only in specialized technical and industrial publications for the context of cultural heritage conservation. As the first book to address the properties, testing, and maintenance issues of the hundreds of metals and alloys available since the beginning of the twentieth century, it is destined to become an essential resource for conservators, artists, fabricators, curators, collectors, and anyone working with modern metals.
Virginia Costa is a freelance scientist with over twenty years of experience working with modern metals. She is based in Meudon, France.
“This book will form a standard text for all emerging conservators working through their training programs around the world, for it covers all the elements that have been missing from other books of a similar vein.”
—Ian D. MacLeod, AICCM Bulletin (Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material)
“The only publication I am aware of that fills the void in discussing the range of modern metals commonly encountered in a conservation context. It is a long-awaited, greatly needed, and appreciated contribution to the field. This book is not a “how-to” conservation guide, rather a fundamental encyclopedia of modern metals and their properties. It presents scientific aspects of metals at a level that is readily accessible for conservators.”
—Eleonora Nagy, Journal of the American Institute for Conservation (JAIC)
“As modern materials are found more often within museums and heritage institutions, it becomes important to have resources like Modern Metals in Cultural Heritage, which allows conservators and curators to make sense of these new materials for the purposes of characterisation and conservation.”
—Thomas Wicks, Journal of the Institute of Conservation
“A valuable addition to the bookshelves of metal conservators and curators, and a useful foundation for conservation students, in their first contact with these areas.”
—Isabel Tissot, Conservar Património
“Overall, definitely one to grab if you are likely to work on modernish materials.”
—Jenny Mathiasson, The C Word
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