Loss and Rescue, Help and Harm

Abstract

The ways that artifacts are treated almost inevitably change them. Looting and vandalism damage, time causes breakage and wear, and even restoration can inadvertently damage something that one sought to preserve. How ought we to treat objects such that their value is respected? Previous chapters have emphasized aesthetic aspects of artifacts but this one expands discussion to consider their ethical standing and our obligations to them. The initial section considers memorials and memorial sites, where integrity of location is especially important. The latter part of the chapter engages the complexities of restoration and repair, bearing in mind the tension between appearance (what can still be seen) and material persistence (aspects of artifacts that sustain the transitivity of touch). The chapter ends with a return to ruminating on touch and the phenomenon of replication by means of digital technologies.