Conservation and restoration of musical instruments

The conservation and restoration of musical instruments is an action done by conservator-restorers trained to preserve or protect historical and current musical instruments.

Musical instrument conservation, at least by the date of the earliest reference acquired, originates from 1862 when “a letter was written by Antonio Stradivari, who not only repaired his own instruments but also those of other makers, for Count Cesare Castelbarco about how to conserve his many Stradivari instruments.” Conservation practices of musical instruments follow the same guidelines as the numerous other artifacts in museum collections. During conservation, it is important to document the pre-conservation state and then the progress after those conservation actions have been completed. In order to protect musical instruments for the future, it is best to keep the collection in the most climate-controlled area.

It is important to realize that even though many instruments have to be rebuilt after a certain period of time has passed, it is acceptable to play them if they are supervised by a musical instrument conservator. Musical instrument conservation is unique because the artifacts are played and they produce sound. These instruments were historically made over the centuries to entertain all kinds of people, from royalty to the average person.

There are many similarities between musical instrument conservation and art work protection. Like a conservator working to restore the color saturation of the water lilies in a Claude Monet painting, conservators must keep in mind the instrument maker’s integrity when cleaning or restoring any type of musical instrument (for example, luthiers create guitars and violins for guitarists or violinists), as well as the standardized policies or ethics of art conservation. According to the Code of Ethics, “II. All actions of the conservation professional must be governed by an informed respect for the cultural property, its unique character and significance, and the people or person who created it.” Both art conservation and musical instrument conservation require a lot of attention to detail, patience, and respect for the item or artist(s). The conservator should also be highly trained in the medium in which these items were created. For example, wood preservation or acrylic on canvas.

In general, art works are static and not moving whereas musical instruments are basically an active art tool for producing the sounds notated on sheet music in various keys or tempos. Although some art objects may have more than one use and move periodically from its home institution to another museum on loan (besides providing cultural satisfaction), instruments are subject to: travel or wear and tear consistently due to continual playing. Musical instruments create art by producing sound because the human hand touches their skins, strings, bows, fret board or keys. Musical instruments are generally used on a regular basis, during recitals and concerts by all levels of musicians.

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