ANALYTICAL APPROACH
PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE IN STONE George Segan Wheeler Objects Conservation Department The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 5th Avenue New York, NY 10028
Alan Schein Science and Technology Communications 1701 North Point San Francisco, CA 94123
Gretchen Shearer Department of Biochemistry University of Iowa Bowen Science Building Iowa City, IA 52242
The use of stone as a medium of expression greatly antedates recorded history. Stone artifacts from every culture document the experiences of artists, toolmakers, hunters, architects, rulers, priests, and philosophers. Each work, from tiny ancient cylinder seals to the great Buddhist temples of Cambodia and the massive granite carving of Mt. Rushmore, is a unique treasure of human heritage worthy of preservation for generations to come. The diversity of materials from which stone objects were created pre-
sents a daunting challenge to the art conservation community. In today's industrial society, acid rain generated by the burning of fossil fuels has complicated the task of preservation by accelerating the deterioration of buildings, monuments, and sculpt u r e s . P a r t i c u l a r l y h a r d hit are works of limestone and marble, composed primarily of the acid-soluble minerals calcite or dolomite. Longterm burial in marine or land environments also can prove highly destructive to stone objects. Over time, large quantities of salts may be deposited within the pore structure of the stone. When these objects are reLeft: impression of a steatite ancient cylinder seal from Mesopotamia (diameter of the seal is 2 cm); top left: a 3-m sandstone figure from the Cambodian Buddhist Temple of Angkor Wat; top right: Mt. Rushmore.
S. H. Su and C. Scott Blackwell Union Carbide Corp. Tarrytown Technical Center Old Saw Mill River Rd. Tarrytown, NY 10591 YALE KNEELAND. OBJECTS CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
0003-2700/92/0364-347A/$02.50/0 © 1992 American Chemical Society
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 64, NO. 5, MARCH 1, 1992 · 347 A
