Teorias da conservação e desafios relacionados aos acervos científicos

Material cultural heritage has a limited time of existence. One of the goals of conservation, designed to prolong the physical integrity of this heritage, involves devising prevention and intervention strategies. These strategies should be firmly rooted in theory. In this article, the theoretical principles of conservation are analyzed in broad terms, as are the prevailing approaches adopted at different times, from the 19th century to the present day (Ruskin, Violet-le-Duc, Boito, Brandi, Muñoz Viñaz, and others). The article also focuses on the specific challenges of conserving scientific collections, which are caused by the virtual absence of qualified professionals in the area, the growing number of objects acquired for collections and the very nature of the collections themselves. Three main aspects were discussed: constituent materials of the scientific objects, the function of the instruments and the collection of pieces of scientific heritage today