Wood, Furniture, and Lacquer Working Group Triennial Programme 2023-2026

Themes for investigation

• Study and treatment of wooden decorative surfaces
  • Shed light on the deterioration aspects of the wooden artifacts.
    • Collaborate with conservation scientists to improve multi-scientific analytical investigations for detecting deterioration rates.
    • Evaluate the efficiency of the novel materials and techniques for conserving wooden artifacts.
  • Technical studies on manufacturing techniques of composite wooden artifacts
    • Explore various decorative layers of wooden artifacts, highlighting diverse manufacturing techniques.
    • Foster collaboration with international institutions to enrich research and insights focus on the ancient Egyptian, Asian, and European contexts.
  • Wood science
    • Investigate the relationship between chemical degradation rates and the mechanical structure behavior of wood.
    • Identify wood species using alternative non-destructive techniques with lower side effects, evaluating their efficiency.

  Projects

  • Develop projects in developing countries focusing on renovating storage rooms holding deteriorated wooden objects.
  • Implement conservation interventions on selected objects and provide training courses for conservation staff on guidelines and ideal conservation methods for painted and gilded wooden collections.
  • Engage colleagues with different conservation approaches to enhance understanding and accommodate varied cultural perspectives, especially when treating objects from other cultures in Western collections.
  • Explore the development of a mentorship and peer-to-peer program to facilitate exchanges between peers and involve younger members in Working Group activities, guiding them in research project design and development.

  Proposed activities

    Online activities in 2024

  • Online lecture on wood science, facilitating knowledge exchange and discussions on current issues in wood objects (August, 2024).
  • Joint session in collaboration with the preventive Conservation, and Sculpture, Polychrome, and Architectural Decoration Working Groups on Overcoming Barriers in Preventive Care of Collections in Storage (October, 2024).
  • Online webinar on challenges in conservation of wooden objects on ethical parameters (December, 2024).

    Online activities in 2025

  • Online lecture on evaluating the efficiency of the latest materials and techniques in conservation of wooden artifacts (April, 2025).
  • Online webinar on risk assessment of the wooden collections (July, 2025).

     Online activities in 2026

  • Online lecture on latest discoveries, new challenges and recommendations on conservation of wooden artifacts (February, 2026).
  • Online webinar on challenges faced by young conservators specializing in conservation of wooden artifacts (TBD).

  In-person activities

  • Interim meeting entitled: “Preserving our Past: Innovations in the Conservation of Wooden Artifacts”, in collaboration with ICOM-Japan and the conservation department at the Tokyo University of the Arts. (December 2025) .
  • Wood, Furniture and Lacquer Working Group session at the 21th ICOM-CC Triennial Conference, Oslo, Norway (September 2026).