Although the original purpose of Orthodox portable icons is religious, they can be found in many places, including churches, the houses of the faithful and collectors, galleries, museums, and other organisations. Depending on the materials they are made from and the ambient environment in which they are displayed or stored, their condition may vary. Their preservation as religious artefacts and works of art is vital for religious, historic, cultural and aesthetic purposes. As a result, their lifespan can be extended through preventive and interventive conservation.
This study aims to provide basic guidelines for the owners of post-Byzantine portable icons in a domestic environment. The focus will be on preventive conservation measures and practices with a prior variant on human comfort. Furthermore, awareness will be raised about preventive conservation as well as an understanding of the artefacts’ history, manufacture and degradation processes (to a degree), through various examples from the bibliography and the Theotokos, Hodigitria icon (belonged to a private owner and displayed in a domestic setting).
There are many museum recommendations that provide rather strict control measures and include expensive environmental control equipment. These regulations derive from years of evaluation using analytical equipment with some consideration for human comfort but not all of them can be implemented in a domestic environment. These guidelines were identified and evaluated to determine which are suitable for a domestic environment and may be understood and implemented by private owners. It has been clear that some of them are basic (rely on common sense) and may be followed by the owners without requiring significant adjustments in their everyday lives or devotional rituals (change icons position, undertake regular housekeeping, etc.). These recommendations could significantly increase the lifespan of the icons, while owners will be educated enough to comprehend not only how to care for them but also to evaluate (to some extent) their condition so that they can act appropriately.
Keywords: Portable post-Byzantine icons, Preventive conservation, Domestic environment, Guidelines, Agents of deterioration, Environmental control
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