Conservation & restoration workshop

Specialists in woodworking, lutherie, copper processing, and surface treatment work here on the conservation and restoration of instruments. The workshop is open by appointment only to professionals working with musical instruments.

Like most museums, the MIM follows four basic principles of conservation and restoration:

• Respect for integrity - The historic, physical, and aesthetic integrity of the object is always preserved.

• Equal care for all objects - The quality of restoration is not determined by the object’s known value; every item in the collection receives the same careful treatment.

• Reversibility - If the results of potential treatment techniques are not reversible, such techniques are avoided. Treatment must be essentially reversible at all times. New parts are marked with a MIM stamp.

• Detailed documentation - Each treatment is recorded in a written report, with photographs showing the object’s condition, as well as the materials and techniques used. For instruments of high documentary value, the restorer also produces detailed technical drawings.