Thirty-Seven Years of Lasers in the Conservation of Art

Abstract

For the past thirty-seven years various laser technologies have demonstrated utility in the practice of art conservation, as well. These include photonic cleaning and divestment, holographic display and nondestructive analysis, surface characterization through laser fluorescence, radiation scattering and absorption, and laser-induced ultrasound. Despite the broad utility of the laser-based diagnostics in art and archaeology, the greatest impact of laser technology has been in divestment and cleaning. Laser ablation has been employed in the conservation of substances such as stone, terra cotta, bronze, iron, lead, wooden articles, manuscripts, parchment, vellum, paper, leather, textiles, and painted surfaces. The range of surface contaminants that have been removed include calcareous deposits, sulphation, oxidation, moss, lichens, soot, soils, deteriorated varnish, and over paints. Laser divestment has been employed successfully with almost every class museum object and on numerous classes of historic and contemporary buildings. Frequently, it has been found that laser divestment is both more cost effective and less hazardous to sensitive and fragile surfaces than traditional abrasive and chemical cleaning methods.