The sculpture can be defined as one of the oldest forms of art practiced by man, for sure. One of the support that has always been used for this sort of artistic expression is the stone: with it, the artists have created manufactures of small and large sizes and with various way, from household utensils, deities representations or human figures, architectural decorations, whole monuments ( just think to the pyramids, or the Greek temples).
Being a material of prestige for its durability, its importance static, its beauty for its colours for and for the possibilities of working on surface, the stone has been always sought, used as an expression of wealth and authority of his purchaser, or stolen and re-used during periods of decay and lack of material. Often, the artists themselves maintained manufactures by masters of the past, adding their signature and distorting the original meaning. Furthermore, the practice of restoration understood as conservation and recovery of the original meaning is a relatively recent practice.

The artefacts carved using this noble material may run into issues of conservation also very different, depending on the nature (type of stone), surface processing, location (indoor or outdoor).
The main steps of the operation are: the pre-consolidation and the securing of parts in danger of collapse, the cleaning, including disinfestations and disinfection, removal of various kinds of deposits and substances over putted, conversion of chromatic alterations, surface consolidation of micro-cracks and detachments, or that with chemicals to give back compactness to the material, aesthetic presentation and final protection with water-proof products.