Conserving objects for posterity, one object at a time

CHENNAI: Amirthanathan L, a dedicated conservator at the DakshinaChitra Heritage Museum for the past decade, has been conserving, preserving, and restoring a diverse array of objects from the museum’s collection. To shed light on the pivotal role played by conservators in safeguarding our cultural heritage, an exhibition, titled Preserving the Past: A Conservation Journey, has been organised at the Kadambari Art Gallery inside the museum. The exhibition showcases a remarkable collection of restored objects, including paintings on canvas, prints on paper, and items crafted from terracotta, wood, metal, glass, and stone — all conserved by Amirthanathan.

Having restored over 300 objects during his tenure, Amirthanathan emphasises the importance of assessing each object’s condition, and other requirements. “When I get an object, I assess the condition, material, age, and aspects like its display condition. Then, I provide each object with the appropriate conservation plan, ensuring its longevity and integrity,” says Amirthanathan.

He advocates for conserving heritage objects, stating, “Objects and artefacts from the past that represent our heritage need to be preserved for posterity. There are three types of conservation – preventive, restoration, and remedial conservation. Preventive conservation is an indirect method of conserving the material without modifying its appearance, for example, educating the staff involved, public awareness, and legal compliance fall under this category. In restoration conservation, direct actions of conservation will be applied to the damaged area of the object, leading to the modification of its appearance. Retouching a painting or reassembling a broken vessel comes under this type of restoration. In remedial conservation, you will conserve fragile objects that can turn into ruins if not taken care of at the right time. Disinfection of manuscripts or textiles, stabilisation of corroded metal are some examples.”