from BBC News
Clothes of 1924 head for Everest
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An interesting way to understand history by re-creating in faithful detail of what was known. And using that recreation in the way it was meant to function. With the increasing focus on the need to preserve intangible heritage (as opposed to the more established work in tangible heritage), perhaps more recognition may be given to that extremely interesting terrain in between the two - that of making tangible what was previously intangible through recreation or reconstruction in a manner as close to the original as possible.

from The Art Newspaper
Rebuilding the Forbidden City
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One might ask: "How does one determine when (over-zealous) restoration becomes replication or renovation?" If the objective of the project is solely to beautify (or glorify), with scant regard for the historical underpinnings of the artefact (be it large or tiny), then that is probably when the line has been crossed. Cultural differences and copious amount of funding not withstanding.

from The New York Times
Museums Under Fire on Ancient Artifacts
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It is difficult being a museum with a comprehensive and universal collection these days. Damn if you collect, damn if you don't! Or might there be a better way to showcase cultures and heritage which transcends geographical boundaries? Like long-term loans?

from The Conservation Awards
Conservation Awards winners are announced!
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The winners of the UK Conservation Awards have been announced. View the full press release and photographs. Also press releases for the Award for Care of Collections, Student Conservator of the Year Award, and Digital Preservation Award.

from The Art Newspaper
Cimabue'’s Assisi fresco reconstructed
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Almost 9 years of work will near its completion in the pain-staking restoration of a fresco destroyed by an earlier earthquake. If not for the help of digital technology, the reconstruction of the original from the thousands of plaster fragments would have been impossible (see older articles here and here). In this instance, the role of digital technology in the preservation of cultural heritage interestingly resulted in a tangible end, instead of a virtual one.

from The Guardian
Off the shelf and on to the web
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A new initiative, The Open Library, which will digitally scan actual pages of books in the public domain and making these available via the internet. This is digital preservation with a public service face - and a huge one at that. This parallels nicely with the Turning-the-Page project which selectively make available British Library collections through a similar web-based interface.

However, the one big difference between the 2 projects lies in that the Open Library project allows for specific word searches in the books scanned, hence enabling these older books to be more usable to the generation which grew up with internet technology.

from The Conservation Awards
Conservation Awards 2005

Looking ahead to the announcement of the winners of the UK Conservation Awards on 22 November, brief information of the various projects and candidates shortlisted can be viewed on the Awards web-page. There are various categories of the Awards, including the Award for Conservation, Award for Care of Collections, Student Conservator of the Year, Anna Plowden Award for Research and Innovation, and the Digital Preservation Award.