oncern for the preservation of art and antiquities has been recorded as early as during the time of Archimedes in ancient Greece.  1800 years later, by the time of the Renaissance, the preservation of art was already a well developed practice.  Modern technological advances and the scientific method of study has since added to and modified the ancient empirically developed practices to produce the modern profession of art conservation.

It is of crucial importance to conduct conservation and restoration treatments on artworks using the most modern and sophisticated methods and materials as accepted by authorities in the conservation field.  The American Institute for Conservation has outlined a Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for working conservators.  These guidelines provide a basic standard for the treatment of artworks.  A conservators training and facility must be capable of meeting these standards in order to perform competent treatments on irreplaceable works of art.