The Big Picture: Protection of Cultural Material (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Cultural material conservation and restoration, as it involves chemical and physical properties of paintings, books, metal objects and so on, can be quite technical, and so successful conservation entails competent scientific and methodological approaches. Beyond such obvious practical aspects, though, there are more abstract prerequisites which permit an environment conducive to effective cultural conservation: an official legal and political regime that ensures security; public attitudes and interest; and a philosophical underpinning (with respect to why and how to conserve).