Conservation and restoration of wood inlay artifacts: An example of a reliquary cross

Wood is a material that has been preferred by people for many years. Wooden artifacts are an important part of our culture and provide valuable information about the period and geography they belong to. In order to ensure the continuity of social culture and to pass it on to future generations, correct conservation and restoration processes must be carried out on wooden artifacts. The inadequacy of the number of experts in this field in our country and the limited number of studies lead to insufficient knowledge. This study covers the protection and repair applications of a wooden inlaid artifact in a private collection. The reliquary cross was selected because it is a composite wooden artifact containing organic and inorganic materials. With this example, it was aimed to conduct an in-depth research on the materials and techniques used in the conservation and restoration processes of wooden artifacts. In the study, the conservation and restoration applications of the artifact were carried out, the tools and techniques used in these processes were determined; it was aimed to conserve the artifact without deterioration for many years. The material and technical properties of inlaid wooden artifacts, their areas of use, and the documentation of the existing artifact, their deterioration and conservation - restoration processes were discussed. Support was received from different sciences in deciding on the processes to be applied. In addition to traditional conservation and restoration processes, documentation processes with advanced techniques were also used. In the documentation processes, the conservation status of the artifact was examined using tools such as ultraviolet and optical microscop used in imaging techniques; and in processes based on archaeometric studies, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) examinations were used. The materials and methods used during the conservation and restoration works were selected in line with the goals of conserving the original texture of the artifact and restoring its aesthetic value. Thus, the factors damaging the artifact were minimized and it was ensured that it reached future generations. This study is important in shedding light on the problems encountered in the healthy transfer of wooden artifacts to the future and contributing to the relevant literature.