Restoring and Preserving Art

[Chris2Balls [:B]]

The real question is, what matters most:
-the tangible, physical object
-or the idea of this object?
Once the object is restored/renovated, is it still the original? Can an unknowing layer of restoration be considered the original, and what happens if the image we know isn't the "accurate" original? Isn't refurbishing the object in a way retrieving its idea?

Also, restoration techniques have evolved dramatically since the 19th century-the current experts restoring art actually have to start by getting rid of the layers of previous restorations because they didn't always follow the original methods used to create the piece, or had changed/added/removed elements from it.
With our present scientific knowledge, experts can get far closer to the original processes used to get a more or less exact impression of what the object initially looked like. Another issue is the significance of a restoration to the object's history, which could say a lot about where it came from, who made it, who possessed it at the time, etc...

This has been what I have heard from somebody who restores art, but unfortunately as Dazz has pointed it out, this isn't necessarily the goal of all restoration.