Traditional Conservation Practices and Traditional Cultural Practices

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Traditional Conservation Practices
andTraditional Cultural Practices
by Carol L. Howe
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The primary focus of preservation and
conservation is maintaining the integrity of
physical objects (material culture).
3

• Art conservation was built on a belief in the
  preservation of art and other cultural material,
  a mission that has seemed so fundamentally
  worthwhile and desirable that it has not even
  been considered debatable. (Nancy Welsh)

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First paragraph of preamble of the Code of Ethics
of AIC

• The primary goal of conservation professionals,
  individuals with extensive training and special
  expertise, is the preservation of cultural
  property. Cultural property consists of
  individual objects, structures, or aggregate
  collections. It is material which has
  significance that may be artistic, historical,
  scientific, religious, or social, and it is an
  invaluable and irreplaceable legacy that must be
  preserved for future generations.

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As important as

• Temperature
• Light
• Particulate Contamination
• Gaseous Contamination
• Building Related Problems
• are, they lose relevance if they do not preserve
  the intangible essence of the objectall the
  familial, cultural, religious meaning which it
  carries from the society in which it originated.

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• a

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We will be looking briefly at

• First Nations (Canada)
• American Indians (U.S.A.)
• Africa
• Judaism
• Tibet
• Maori (New Zealand)

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First Nations British Columbia

• The more objects such as masks are used, the more
  value they assume. A mask, for example, which is
  in pristine condition and kept in a display case
  is not as treasured as a mask which may be a
  little worse for wear but which is danced.

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• My son has a mask in the museum thats been used
  three times in potlatches and its become
  valuable. It has more value now. Each time its
  used, it becomes more valuable.
• Peggy Svanvik as quoted in Clavir, M.(2002).
  Preserving what is valued Museums, conservation,
  and first nations. Vancouver UBC Press.

Courtesy of Voice Pictures
From Haida Designs Northwest Coast Artist
Stephany Pryce http//www.haidadesigns.com/index.
htm
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American Indians U.S.A.

• Sacred objects are imbued with power at the time
  of their creation.
• They are living things which need specific care
  such as
• Feeding
• Smudging
• Being placed so that they face certain cardinal
  directions, often east
• Being stored in certain positions such as
  upright out of respect, or upside down to
  deactivate inherent power
• Being stored separately from cultural items
  belonging to traditional enemies

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Flynn, G. A., Hull-Walski, D. (2001). Merging
traditional indigenous curation methods with
modern museum standards of care.
12
Africa

• Understanding the context of many
• sacred objects of African origin
• is made even more difficult by
• Africas distance from the U.S and Canada
• The geographic inaccessibility of many of the
  cultural groups
• The sheer number of linguistic/cultural/tribal
  groups
• The absence of transcontinental advocacy groups
  who might actively address material culture
  issues1
• Political instability

1Mellor, S. P. (1992). The exhibition and
conservation of African objects Considering the
nontangible. P4.
13
Still, Mellor (1992) offers some overarching
concepts

• Although objects can be seen as possessing
  extraordinary power this power is often
  conditional, and depends on
• the intention which preceded/resulted in their
  creation
• the performance of certain rituals
• the placement of certain objects in relation
  with other objects
• the identity and status of the individuals who
  subsequently handle the object

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As a matter of fact, many traditional Africans
find it curious that these objects have any
significance to western cultures
(Mellor, p. 13).
15

• In this case, although understanding is crucial
  from an intellectual point of view, it may not be
  crucial in determining how an object is handled
  by conservators and curators.

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Judaism

• Ritual items are divided into two main
  categories

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• These items can be discarded, preserved or
  repaired and there are no restrictions on who can
  do this work. If the object is textual in
  nature, its restoration is considered to be an
  act of merit.
• Items in the first category, however, are either
  buried or set asideusually in an attic or
  storeroom attached to a synagogue called a
  genizah.

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Genizah in Tzvat (Safed, Israel)
Zaluzany (Czech republic )
Ben Ezra synagogue after restoration
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• If texts such as Torah scrolls or the scrolls
  inside mezuzot or tefillin somehow end up in the
  care of a museum, the text must absolutely be
  left alone although a trained scribe may be
  called upon to restore, for example, the
  parchment if it is threatening the integrity of
  the scroll. The text can only be repaired if the
  scroll is going to be used.

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Tibet

• Every Buddhist image or religious object is
  regarded as an extension of the actual body of
  the Buddha, transmitting a living presence and
  worthy of highly respectful handling and
  treatment
• (Reedy, C. (1992). Religious and Ethical Issues
  in the Study and Conservation of Tibetan
  Sculpture , p. 43)

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• We have access to many Tibetan religious objects
  only because they have been transferred or sold
  in an effort to avoid having them be confiscated
  by occupying Chinese forces.

Pakhor Monastery

• Previously they would have been
• sequestered in monasteries where
• only the properly initiated would
• have access to them.

Ghoom Buddhist Monastery
PHOTO CREDIT Travel China Guide.com
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• Tibetan Buddhist objects retain their holiness
  independent of what happens to them.
• The intention and status of those who handle them
  dictate concepts of holiness and profanity.
• If a statue is stolen and sold in the
  marketplace, for example, the desecration adheres
  to the thief
• the person who buys the statue is innocent
• others who then come into contact with it obtain
  virtue by seeing it, remembering it, hearing the
  name of the deity depicted and touching it.
• (Geshe Thupten Gyatso as quoted in Reedy, 1992,
  p.46).

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• Although Tibetan religious objects may be moved
  to more secular western environments, access to
  their actual meaning may be withheld. The
• option is always available,
• however, for the truly
• interested to study and
• become initiated.

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Maori (New Zealand)

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• They are able to bridge many of
• the otherwise uncomfortable
• gaps between cultural traditions and
  preservation.
• They are able to let pakeha conservators know
  about cultural traditions such as restricting
  access by gender and many other more subtle
  guidelines
• On the other hand they are
• able to request of other Maori
• that they not handle some of
• the sacred carvings s in the
• ways that they were accustomed to
• without causing resentment.

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The Natural Lifecycle

• A common thread within these cultures and many
  others is the notion that sacred objects should
  be allowed to complete a natural life cycle.

• http//www.springboardmagazine.com/science/lifecir
  cle.htm

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• This can be particularly true for objects which
  are created for one-time use only
• It can apply to objects which are no longer
  considered to be ritually intact.
• The Maori feel that Once something is dead or
  has no life about it, then it must be returned to
  Papatuanuku. Thats the land. We dont see any
  great loss with that because our affinity to the
  land and sea and the sun is what we are about.
  So, were not actually completely losing it
• (Rangi Te Kanawa, quoted in Clavir, 2002, p.226)

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• The Pacific Northwest tribes feel that way about
  totem poles. When a pole falls over, it falls
  over because its meant to fall over. When it
  starts to rot and deteriorate, thats simply part
  of its life process Dena Klashinsky, quoting
  her uncle and cited by Clavir (2002)

• http//www.britishcolumbia.com/Attractions/attract
  ions/totems.html

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Zuni Ahayudas
Merrill, W. L., Ladd, E. J., Ferguson, T. J.
(1993). The return of the ahayu Da Lessons for
repatriation from zuni pueblo and the smithsonian
institution. Electronic version. Current
Anthropology, 34(5), 526.
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LifecycleRenewal

• Allowing or requiring that religious objects be
  allowed to return to their natural state goes
  hand in hand with an expectation of renewal.

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MuseumsLifecycles Interrupted

• Conservation, by contrast, came into being as a
  movement to preserve one of a kind items
• Creative aesthetic works by
• artists

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• Works or structures believed to be of unique
  historical importance

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• Artifacts unearthed from archaeological digs

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• Artifacts from
• societies which were
• perceived to
• be disappearing

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• Fortunately, indigenous societiesartifacts of
  whose material culture were to be rescued are
  alive and well. Museums, however, are now in
  possession of many objects that were acquired
  during times of great vulnerability for native
  peoples.

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• Although the NMAI Act (1989) and NAGPRA (1991)
  have resulted in many items being returned, many
  objects, for myriad reasons, remain in the care
  of museums

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• Often, there is now the uncomfortable and
  paradoxical situation that the path to regaining
  lost ways and lost knowledge leads back to the
  museums which house the preserved physical
  embodiments of that knowledge

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John Moses, speaking in 1995, before the NMAI
became a reality, expressed the fact that

• In many Native communities, museums continue to
  be seen as repositories of objects and
  information ill-gotten, and as such remain
  painful symbols and reminders of cultural loss
  and deprivation. Thus a museums public display,
  or even possession of, sacred objects, represents
  an historic act of desecration transformed into a
  continuing act of sacrilege.
• (Heikell et al., 1995, p.7)

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• Tribal culture centers and museums such as the
  National Museum of the American Indian have done
  much toward bridging the gap between past and
  present for native cultures.

42
Complexities of Collaboration

• Consultation and collaboration have, fortunately
  become the standard of care and practice in most
  museum communities (at least in the U.S., Canada,
  Australia and New Zealand)

43
Examples of potential difficulties

• Many sub-groups within a larger cultural
  groupingnot all of whom agree.
• Individuals making suggestions may not actually
  possess the cultural authority to make the
  decisions they are making.
• Some subjects simply cannot be talked of with
  cultural outsiders.

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Two key areas in which basic conservation
principles may come into direct conflict with
basic cultural principles

• when objects leave collections for the purpose of
  being usedusually in ceremonies.
• when objects require offerings, ceremonial
  feeding, or exposure to light or air.

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Informed consent

• The western-trained conservator, whether Native
  or Anglo, (pakeha, other, from away etc.)
  will often offer a professional assessment of the
  condition of the object and risks to its physical
  integrity if it is handled.
• Guidelines may be provided to prevent unnecessary
  damage.
• Care will be taken to insure that the individuals
  borrowing the item have the cultural property
  rights to that item.
• The final decision about how to proceed is left
  to the cultural stakeholders.

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• They may weigh those concerns against the value
  of dancing that mask. They may decide that while
  dancing with it may cause some minor wear and
  tear, the mask will be used as it was meant to be
  used. It is alive within the community. Thats
  their decision. (Dena Klashinsky quoted in
  Clavir 2002 , p152)

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When objects require special handling
Traditional care

• Cultural issues-Although objects may require care
  such as feeding, smudging or offerings the
  individuals permitted to carry out this care may
  be defined by strict protocol according to
• cultural group or subgroup (such as a specific
  clan)
• initiation status within that group
• gender within gender may be limited by
  conditions such as menstrual status.
• age

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Standard Museum Concerns

• Because many offerings are made of organic
  materials
• Cedar
• Sage
• Pollen
• Feathers
• Sweet grass
• Tobacco
• There is worry about the possibility of
  introducing pestswhich can risk not only the
  physical integrity of the item in question but
  the whole collection.

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• Many museums and centers have developed policies
  which honor the concerns of both traditional and
  museum perspectives
• Sometimes separate housing is provided for items
  that require ongoing care such as feeding.
• Often a simple solution such as leaving offerings
  in sealed polyethylene bags will be acceptable.
• Separate rooms or areas are set aside for
  ceremonies (The NMAI Cultural Resource Center has
  a dedicated Ceremonial Room)

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More knots

• Pesticide contamination- In an effort to protect
  many cultural items from insects, rodents, and
  molds,--pesticides, herbicides and other poisons
  such as arsenic were widely used by museums over
  the years.

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• By contrast, many traditional methods of care
  have been successful in preserving objects of
  value for generations.
• Smudging is an excellent method of fumigation.
• Ritual inspection at specified times is
  equivalent to scheduled
• inspections of museum
• collections.

• http//www2.ru.ac.za/gallery/album73/Anthro_02

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• Indian people have used tribal methods and
  techniques to preserve their cultural items for
  generations. These caregivers are highly skilled
  and knowledgeable individuals in possession of
  sound information. They have developed excellent
  methods that have been proven by the test of
  time. The purpose of this chapter is not to
  replace any of this knowledge or information.
  Instead, we are offering additional methods that
  American Indian people can use for the cultural
  items in their care.

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• In respecting cultural groups protocols
  regarding who can handle materials (based on
  gender, age, tribe, clan, initiation status or
  even time in menstrual cycle) are museums
  (especially those with federal funding)
• Violating anti-discrimination policies?
• Favoring one religious viewpoint?

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Equal Partnership

• Collaboration is now really the norm including
• legislative changes such as NAGPRA
• extensive consultation (in both directions)
  between cultural stakeholders and museum
  conservators and curators
• increased numbers of native museum professionals

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• Even in 2002 Nancy Odegaard reviewing Miriam
  Clavirs Book What is Valued, notes that the
  book presents differences, conflicts, and
  problems between the viewpoints of museum
  conservators and indigenous people.
  Fortunately, many of the viewpoints
  presented are already historic
• (Odegaard, N. (2002). Preserving what is
  valued Museums, conservation and first
  nations (review). Journal of the American
  Institute for Conservation, P.301)

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• Perhaps nothing exemplifies the arrival of a new
  era of cooperation and collaboration more than
  the opening of the National Museum of the
  American Indian in 2004.

• Photo by Richard Strauss, Smithsonian Institution

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• In all of its activities, the National Museum
  of the American Indian acknowledges the diversity
  of cultures and the continuity of cultural
  knowledge among indigenous peoples of the Western
  Hemisphere and Hawai'i, incorporating Native
  methodologies for the handling, documentation,
  care, and presentation of collections. NMAI
  actively strives to find new approaches to the
  study and representation of the history,
  materials, and cultures of Native peoples. (NMAI
  Website)

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• Still, though great strides have been made
  towards true tolerance, respect and
  collaboration, every day reminds us that this
  spirit of exchange and cooperation is not
  something we can take for granted but must
  actively and continually foster.

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References

• American Institute for Conservation and Artistic
  Works (AIC). (Code last revised in 1994). AIC
  code of ethics and guidelines for practice.
  Retrieved August 19, 2006 from http//aic.stanford
  .edu/about/coredocs/coe/index.html
• Clavir, M.(2002). Preserving what is valued
  Museums, conservation, and first nations.
  Vancouver UBC Press.
• Clavir, M. (1996). Reflections on changes in
  museums and the conservation of collections from
  indigenous peoples. Electronic version. Journal
  of the American Institute for Conservation,
  35(2), 99-107. Retrieved August 13, 2006, from
  JSTOR database.
• Dunman, K. (Fall, 2001). New methods in the care
  of American Indian artifacts.Retrieved August 19,
  2006, from http//www.focusanthro.org/Archive2001-
  02/subject.htm
• Flynn, G. A., Hull-Walski, D. (2001). Merging
  traditional indigenous curation methods with
  modern museum standards of care. Electronic
  version. Museum Anthropology, 25(1), 31-40.
  Retrieved August 19, 2006, from anthrosource
  database.
• Greene, V. (1992). Accessories of holiness"
  Defining Jewish sacred objects. JAIC Online,
  31(1), Retrieved August 20, 2006 from
  http//aic.stanford.edu/jaic/articles/jaic31-01-00
  5_indx.html
• Heald, S., Ash-Milby, K. E. (1998). Woven by
  the grandmothers Twenty-four blankets travel to
  the Navajo nation. Electronic version. Journal
  of the American Institute for Conservation,
  37(3), 334-345. Retrieved August 19, 2006, from
  JSTOR database.
• Heikell, V., Whiting, D., Clavir, M., Odegaard,
  N., Kaminitz, M. A., Moses, J. C. (2004). The
  conservator's approach to sacred art. WAAC
  Newsletter, 17(3). Retrieved August 19, 2006,
  http//palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn17/wn17-3
  /wn17-310.html
• Matero, F. (Spring, 2000). Ethics and policy in
  conservation. Electronic version. The Getty
  Conservation Institute Newsletter, 15.1Retrieved
  August 22, 2006, from http//www.getty.edu/conserv
  ation/publications/newsletters/15_1/feature1_2.htm
  l

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References, contd

• Mellor, S. P. (1992). The exhibition and
  conservation of African objects Considering the
  nontangible. Electronic version. Journal of the
  American Institute for Conservation, 31(2), 3-16.
  Retrieved August 13, 2006, from JSTOR database.
• Merrill, W. L., Ladd, E. J., Ferguson, T. J.
  (1993). The return of the ahayu Da Lessons for
  repatriation from zuni pueblo and the smithsonian
  institution. Electronic version. Current
  Anthropology, 34(5), 523-567.
• National Museum of the American Indian Web Site.
  Retrieved multiple times, 2006 from
  http//www.nmai.si.edu/index.cfm
• Norcini, M., Vivian, G. (1991). A technical
  museum services program for tribal museums in
  Arizona. Electronic version. Museum
  Anthropology, 15(3), 22-26. Retrieved August 19,
  2006, from Anthrosource database.
• Odegaard, N. (2002). Preserving what is valued
  Museums, conservation and first nations (review).
  Journal of the American Institute for
  Conservation, 41(3), 300-302. Retrieved August
  13, 2006, from JSTOR database.
• Odegaard, N. (1995). Artists' intent Material
  culture studies and conservation. Electronic
  version. Journal of the American Institute for
  Conservation, 34(3), 187-193. Retrieved August
  13, 2006, from JSTOR database.
• Ogden, S. (Ed.). (2004). Caring for American
  Indian Objects A Practical and Cultural Guide.
  St. Paul, MN Minnesota Historical Society Press.
  
• Reedy, C. (1992). Religious and Ethical Issues in
  the Study and Conservation of Tibetan Scupture.
  Electronic version. Journal of the American
  Institute for Conservation, 31(1), 41-50.
  Retrieved August 19, 2006, from JSTOR database.
• Welsh, E. C., Sease, C., Rhodes, B., Brown, S.
  C., Clavir, M. (1992). Multicultural
  participation in conservation decision-making.
  WAAC Newsletter, 14(1). Retrieved August 13,
  2006, from http//palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/
  wn14/wn14-1/wn14-105.html