Authenticity and Replication: The ‘Real Thing’ in Art and Art Conservation

Abstract

The papers presented in this volume address the concepts and workings of authenticity and replication with a view to understanding better their role in the investigation and conservation of works of art and cultural heritage objects. They provide insight into topics such as the ethics and practicalities of replication, the impact of different interpretations of authenticity on conservation and interpretative approaches, cultural heritage online, and developing the audience’s understanding of history through the methodology of replication. The concept of authenticity is one of the core factors driving decision making in conservation and restoration, as reflected in the professional ethical codes. These judgements are becoming more complex due to rapidly changing conservation methodologies, both technical and virtual, and the increasing amounts of information provided by advances in conservation science. New approaches to interpretation, display and use of collections by the cultural heritage sector compound the situation. The tangible and intangible qualities and conceptual aspects of contemporary and non-western artefacts in particular have made the role of curators, conservators, art historians, and conservation scientists even more challenging and pressing. A culmination of a series of meetings of the Research Network for Textile Conservation, Dress and Textile History and Technical Art History, The Real Thing? conference provided a platform for these issues to be explored. The resulting papers – with a wide range of approaches, some object- and practice-based, some more philosophical – enable the continuation of a discussion that is at the heart of interpretation, display and conservation of artworks and cultural heritage.

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