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In 1991, a fifth statute was added to ICCROM’s mandate:
‘to encourage initiatives that create a better understanding of the conservation and restoration of cultural property’.
Following this statute, ICCROM highlights:
Every element of cultural heritage is particular and irreplaceable
Productions of the past are not subject to renewal: they are not part of an inexhaustible resource. Our heritage has the right to be passed on to future generations and, at the same time, it should grow richer through the creations and testimonies of our own time.
Every element of cultural heritage is vulnerable and fragile
Neglect, inappropriate treatments, or simply time affecting a material, may have rendered it fragile, and altered it to the point of making a conservation intervention necessary for its survival.
Every element of cultural heritage has one or several messages
Multiples layers of history and time have created our heritage, thus respect for this evolution is necessary for its conservation. Meanings are waiting to be rediscovered or reinvented.
updated on:
29 March, 2010 |
