Condition Reporting is a Registrarial practice in museum and collections that identifies damage in clear and relatively universal language. This damage reporting establishes a baseline to address the current state of a textual artifact. By creating this baseline, conservators and curators create a best care practice to preserve, transport, store and handle the piece.
Some Conditioning Terms:
Inclusion– a foreign piece of material melded to the document
Accretion– a small piece of foreign material on the document surface
Foreign Matter– a larger piece of material not original to the document
Loss– damaged area with missing pieces of the document
Patina– tan/orange discoloration and tint
Foxing– orange/red spotting
Condition Report on Sir George Wentworth’s Will
Condition Report on a 1699 Scottish Sasine
This vellum document has been well preserved. Most damage has been sustained along the edges where there is discoloration and darkening. Some darkening and hyperpigmentation covers text and makes it unreadable. This discoloration is most likely from water damage and mold.
Condition Report, Document 14. W. Flink, 2022.
There are also many patches of vellum loss, dents, micro rips and scratching most likely from handling and fluctuating environmental conditions. Considering the number of creases in the document from folding, it is surprising that more tearing and weakening of the parchment has not occurred. Some staining, general patina and foxing marks (rust orange marks caused by mildew and oxidation) are apparent but do not obscure the text or create rough patches.
