When it is not made clear that there are people who are specially trained to do this work, it is not so good.

As does any headline which includes words like “restoration” or “conservation”, the title of obituary for Zhao Kangmin who was a local cultural official when the now famous terracotta warriors were uncovered in Linton County, China in 1974 caught my eye as I was reading the May 25, 2018 issue of The New York Times. It reads “Zhao Kangmin, 81, Restored Ancient Warriors”. The story refers to Zhao as “an archaeologist who pieced together a national treasure”. I have mixed feelings about this. While every opportunity to inform the public about restoration and conservation is good, when it is not made clear that there are people who are specially trained to do this work– i.e. conservators– it is not so good.