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Regilding, in-gilding, or in-painting?
Proposing a critical decision-making framework for gilded wood conservation by Malgorzata Sawicki Introduction The conservation of gilded wood – from architectural interiors, polychrome sculpture, altarpieces, panel paintings, furniture, to picture frames - presents a nexus of complex material, aesthetic, and ethical challenges. A conservator specialized in this field, determining whether, where, and how to intervene in the life of such an artefact, needs to keep a careful balance between maintaining historical and material integrity and reinstating sufficient aesthetic unity for the object to be understood.