procedures and conservation standards
TRANSCRIPT
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Procedures and conservation
-standards or museumcollections
in transit and on exhibition
Nathan Stolow
4-r
E:
aJ
.r
Y
E
PI
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Protection
of the
cultural heritage
Technical handb ooks
for muse ums and monumen ts
3
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Titles in
this
series
The
guarding of cultural property
by William A. ostick
Museum collection storage
b y
E. erner Johnson and Joanne C organ
Procedures an d conseruation standards for museum
colleclions in transit and on exhibition
by
Nathan Stolow
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Nathan
Stolow
\
Procedures and
conservation standards
for m u s e u m collections
in transit
and on exhibition
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Published by the United Nations
Educational, cientific and Cultural Organization
7 place de Fontenoy,75700 Paris
Printed by Irnprirneries Populaires de Gentwe
ISBN
92-3-101913-9
nesco 1981
Printed in Switzerland
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Preface
Travel l i ng exhi bi t i ons of al ki nds are i n-
creasi ng at a great rate.
The
resul ti ng da m-
age may be attr i buted to poor packi ng and
t ransportat i on t echni ques,
whi ch
are of ten
out - dat ed, o cl i mati c vari at i ons and even to
i ncompet ence on t he part of unt rai ned or
parti al l y t rai ned mus eum personnel .
Unesco and
I COM( The
I nternat i onal
Counci l of Museums) , part i cul arl y t hrough
its
speci al i zed i nternat i onal comm t t ees,
have over
the
years sought to r educe
the
hazar ds and ri sks i nvol ved in exchanges
of
cul tural obj ects.
Thi s wor k is a condensed versi on of
the
author ’ s book enti tl ed Conservation Standards
for W o r k s
of Art
in Transit a n d on Exhibition,
whi ch has al ready appeared in Unesco’ s
‘ Mus eums and Monument s ’ Seri es.’
Thi s
shorter text is bei ng made avai l abl e i n the
‘ Techni calHandbooks’
eri es,whi ch
ai ms to
gi ve practi cal and techni cal gui dance on t he
conservat i on and restorati on of cul tural pr o-
perty. I ntended to cont r i bute to
the
i nterna-
ti onal spread and exchange of prof essi onal
knowl edge and exper i ence,
the seri es i s
des-
ti ned in part i cul ar for mus eums and monu-
ment s
servi ces
whose resources are l i mted
and whi ch must f i nd sol uti ons to thei r pr ob-
l ems
of conservat i on that are mor e sui ted
to t he means avai l abl e. I t is hoped that
the
i nf ormati on in
thi s
handbook wll succeed in
provi di ng practi cal gui del i nes in ths sense.
The
aut hor
is
responsi bl e for
the
choi ce and
the presentat i on of
the
facts contai ned in
ths
book and for
the
opi ni ons expressed
therei n, whi ch are not necessari l y those of
Unesco and do not comm t
the
Or gani za-
ti on.
A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t
The aut hor
w shes
to acknowl edge the assi st-
ance of ohn Lavender i n the preparati on of
the dr aw ngs.
1.
Nathan
Stolow,
Conservation Standards for W o r k s
of Art
zn
Trans11
and on
Exhibition,
Paris, 1979.
(Museum s and Monuments,XVII.)English and
French.)
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Contents
I nt roducti on 9
Deter i orat i on of mus eum obj ects 13
Storage of col l ecti ons 17
Storage devi ces and equi pment 17
Fi re
cont rol
18
Locat i on of st ore- r ooms
18
Damage at t r i buted to h uman
Preparat i on for travel and
Fur t her r emarks on handl i ng and
Packi ng of works
of
art and mus eum
Handl i ng and packagi ng techni ques
21
f actors 21
exhi bi t i on 22
movement w thi n the mus eum 26
obj ects
28
Tr anspor t at i on
41
By r oad
41
By ral 42
By
sea 43
By
ar 43
Remar ks on shock and vi brat i on i n
Standards and gui del i nes for exhi bi t i ons
and travel 47
Appendices 5
elect bibliography 55
transport 45
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Introduction
T he emphasi s i n
ths
wor k
is
on promot i ng
st andards of total care and handl i ng of exhi -
bi ti ons at al l evel s of acti vi ty at al pl aces
and at al t i mes.
Thi s
concept may
seem
ob-
vi ous but many readers wll know f r omthei r
o wn experi ence how easi l y damage and de-
teri orati on can c ome about in travel l i ng
exhi bi t i ons when suffi ci ent at tent i on
i s
not
gi ven to even
si mpl e
conservat i on and care
procedures.
I n many i nstances, exhi bi t i on traffic oc-
curs w t hout the advance consul tat i on of ex-
perts who coul d ensure that the obj ects sur-
vi ve
the
ri gours of travel and changes of cl i -
mat e.
Al
too of ten the conservator
is
cal l ed
in onl y when
the
obj ect i s al ready damaged
as a resul t of some unf ort unate m shandl i ng
in transit or abrupt exposur e to a sudden
change i n hum di t y and t emperatur e.
Ob -
vi ousl y, not al wor ks can tr avel safel y, ex-
cept at great expense. A poi nt i s r eached
wher e the cost of t ransport i ng certai n wor ks
may be as great as that i nvol ved in br i ngi ng
groups to see t hem
in situ
at
the
mus eum
proper .
Conservati on sci ence has advanced to a
degree wher e measur es c an be i nsti tuted
and har dwar e desi gned to resist or at l east
at t enuate
the
eff ects of vi brat i on, shock and
cl i mate changespart i cul ar l y those of rel a-
ti ve humdi t y. Such measures enabl e pai nt -
i ngs, scul ptures,phot ogr aphs, ethnogr aphi c
and archaeol ogi cal mater i al s to be trans-
ported w t hout ri sk. A the earl y pl anni ng
stages, staff can be t rai ned in appropr i ate
handl i ng, packi ng and shi ppi ng techni ques.
Loan agr eement s and contracts can be
made to speci fy t he techni cal and conser -
vat i on requi rement s and transi t adm ni s-
trati on for the overal l physi cal safety and
securi ty of
the
col l ecti ons i nvol ved.
The aut hor i n an arti cl e publ i shed i n
Museum
referred to the devel opment of a
ne w t ype of conservator - an ‘ exhi bi t i on
conservat or ’ who woul d be concerned
wth
al t he mat t ers of t echni cal and conservat i on
care associ ated
wth
exhi bi t i on+ rom ex-
amnat i on and envi r onment al moni t ori ng
to advi ce
on
handl i ng and packi ng. Fi nal l y
there
woul d
be
a peri od of observat i on after
the
return of the col l ecti on to establ i sh
whether the vari ous travel s had caused any
del ayed acti on: such as the devel opment of
cracks, f i ssures, or l oss of adhesi on of struc-
tural el ement s.
Of t en there appear s to be a confl i ct be-
t ween the exhi bi t i on organi zer on the one
hand and t he conservat or on
the
other .
The
f ormer
i s
concerned
wth
havi ng the wor k
vi ewed i n a wel l - desi gned setti ng
by
as
many peopl e as possi bl e. I mpedi ment s to
vi ew ng, e. g.gl azi ng, l ow l evel s of l i ghti ng
and si ml ar conservat i on measur es are of ten
i gnored, or pai d lip servi ce to. I t i s a m scon-
cept i on to say that t he conservator w shes to
‘ cocoon’ he obj ect i n such a way that i t can
no l onger be enj oyed- i t
is
safe but i nvi s-
i ble
For tunatel y there i s a mddl e gr ound to
be f ound bet ween the t wo opposi te phi l os-
ophi es.
Thi s
depends on establ i shi ng c om-
1 . ‘Recent developments in exhibition conserva-
tion’, luseurn,Vol.
XXIX,
o.
4,
1977.
9
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Procedures and consemation standards for mu s eu m collections in transit and
on
exhibition
muni cat i on bet ween exhi bi t i on organi zers
and desi gners on one si de, and conservators
and l i ke- m nded curators on
the
other. Such
communi cat i on shoul d devel op at the con-
ceptual stage of t he exhi bi t i on and not
when al t he hardwar e
i s
i nstal l ed and r eady
to go. I t
i s
possibl e, f or exampl e, to desi gn
cases and vi tri nes whi ch are pl easi ng to the
eye and yet have control l ed envi r onment s
w thi n, or for l i ghti ng to be kept to m ni mal
l evel s by avoi di ng adj acent bri ghtl y l i t areas.
I t is al so fai rl y easy to instal l l amps outsi de
cases rather t han w thi n wher e they bec ome
danger ous sources
of
heat-ausi ng pro-
f ound vari at i ons i n rel ati ve hum di t y apar t
f r om l i ght damage to fadeabl e materi al s.
Anot her si mpl e and obvi ous measur e
is
to
l end obj ects to mus eums at t i mes of t he year
when
the
cl i mates are si ml ar. For travel l i ng
exhi bi t i ons seasonal di spari ti es and
s i m -
l ari ti es bet ween centres can be readi l y i den-
tified
and necessary changes in i t i nerary be
made.
T he conservat i on- care measures in
si mpl e
or
compl ex exhi bi ti ons, i n singl e
l oans,
or
those i nvol vi ng many i t ems of
nat i onal t reasure status have certai n c om-
mo n denom nat or s. T h e obvi ous one
i s
to
have the obj ect r eturned to its l ender i n the
s ame physi cal state or extremel y close to
thi s.
Thus , the st ructure f r om the surf ace
downwar ds shoul d r emai n unchanged and
not exhi bi t any weakness that m ght gi ve
ri se to del ayed- act i on damage.
Thi s
i s no
easy task. Obj ect s of wood, texti l e, paper ,
l eather, hor n, and a vari ety of hum di t y- sen-
si ti ve materi al s are k nown to change di men-
si ons readi l y accordi ng to vari at i ons i n rel a-
ti ve humdi t y and t emperature.
The
si tu-
at i on i s mor e seri ous wher e obj ects are c om-
posed of both humdi ty-sensi t i ve and i nert
mater i al s; severe strai n can devel op
wth
subsequent cr acki ng or breaki ng. Lar ge
pai nt i ngs on canvas can be subj ect to vi bra-
ti on effects whi ch cause eventual weakeni ng
0
of
the
adhesi on bet ween the fabri c and the
pai nt - l ayers proper . Heavy scul ptures not
properl y cushi oned have been known to
br eak at poi nts wher e the stresses and
shocks have not been proper l y di ssi pated.
Decor at i ve arts and ethnogr aphi c mater i al s
wr apped di rectl y i n pol yethyl ene
film
have
gr own moul dy or m l dewy as a resul t of con-
densat i on and hi gh- hum di t y envi r onment s
l ocked in as ‘ m cr o- envi r onment s’ r ound
the
obj ect.
I t
i s
somet i mes t hought that anci ent ob-
j ects s omehow survi ve the shocks and
r i gours of movement and t ravel . Thi s i s
just
not
so.
Anci ent wooden obj ects, e. g. f r om the
Tut ank hamen t reasures, r espond qual i tat -
i vel y i n the s ame manner as seventeenth-
century f urni ture,or ni net eent h- cent ur y n-
di an masks, when the rel ati ve hum di t y
under goes cycl i c changes.
T he ori gi nat i ng mus eum, or i nsti tuti on,
i n aski ng for proper care
of
its obj ects on
l oan shoul d r e- exam ne
i ts
o wn handl i ng
and conservati on st andards. Of t en these
l eave muc h to be desi red.
A
revi ew of the
most basic r ecei vi ng: shi ppi ng, torage,hand-
l i ng, and exam nat i on procedures shoul d
be peri odi cal l y carr i ed out . No i nsti tuti on
shoul d be i mmun e f r om sel f -scruti ny and
ai mf or i mpr ovement . T he care
of
cul tural
property starts therefore in t he mus eum
i t -
sel f. H o w the wor ks are handl ed at t he shi p-
pi ng door , moved, st acked, t emporar i l y
stored, exam ned, envi r onment al l y condi -
t i oned and exhi bi ted-al l i nf l uence in an i n-
cr ement al f ashi on thei r fi nal condi t i on. T o
ensure const ancy of condi t i on means exer -
ci sing tender and expert care at al t i mes
and pl aces. The
f i rs t
pl ace to practi ce
ths
is
i n the mus eum pr oper.
T he secti ons that f ol l ow att empt to
compress an ext remel y br oad subj ect i nto a
manageabl e and conci se f or m T he cover age
starts wth the descri pt i on of causes of de-
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Zntrodzictiorr
teri orati on of col l ecti ons and suggest i ons are
made for measures to m ni m ze damage;
fol-
l ow ng this are gui del i nes for the storage
and preparat i on of obj ects for exhi bi t i on;
conci se descri pti ons of handl i ng and pack-
agi ng techni ques, and of t ransportat i on
met hods and thei r eval uat i on. T he last
maj or secti on l ists current gui del i nes and
standards.
A
list
of useful references and
data are appended at the end for f urther
st udy. The i l l ustrati ons are sel ected to de-
monst r ate acceptabl e and safe techni ques
w thi n
the
means of both smal l and l arge-
budget i nsti tuti ons. By extensi on and
modi f i cat i on of t he met hods s hown i t i s
possi bl e to make appl i cat i ons to other fields
as wel l . Thus , the met hod for packi ng a
t hr ee-di mensi onal wooden scul pture coul d
be readi l y appl i ed to an anthropol ogi cal ob-
j ect or an el aborate pi ece of decorat i ve art.
Li kew se,
the
t echni que of handl i ng flat
works, e.g.,pai nt i ngs or drawi ngs, can be
extended to photogr aphi c
i t ems
of var i ous
di mensi ons and f ormat .
The
overal l pur pose of ths
test
is to
i denti fy
the
techni cal and conservati on
probl ems in
the
preparat i on and organi z-
at i on of exhi bi t i ons, and to show t hrough
exampl es how conservati on care can be
mai nt ai ned. n ths way, t
is
hoped that the
reader di rectl y or i ndi rectl y i nvol ved i n
ths
fie d
may be made awar e
of
the need to
mai ntai n col l ecti ons at al phases and
venues. t
i s
onl y
by
i mprovi ng st andards at
al l evel s and by thei r constant i mpl ement a-
ti on and moni t ori ng that t he wor ks of t oday
can survi ve i ntact for the enj oyment of f u-
ture generat i ons.
1 1
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Deteri orat i on of museum obj ects
Mos t mus eum obj ects are compos ed en-
tirely,
or i n par t , of mater i al s whi ch r espond
readi l y to moi st ure i n the at mosphere, that
i s to
the
rel ati ve humdi t y RH) , nd exhi bi t
di mensi onal changes, i .e. expansi on when
the
RH
ncreases,or cont racti on ( shr i nkage)
when
the RH
decreases. n
ths
category are
cel l ul osi c mater i al s: wood, paper , cot t on,
j ute, l i nen, as wel as protei n, ani mal , bi rd,
fi sh,
and i nsect mater i al s:
silk,
wool , par ch-
ment , l eather, f ur , f eathers, horn, bone
(i vory). Mos t pl asti cs, e. g. , yl on, pol yester,
pol yethyl ene are humdi ty- i nsensi t i ve and
absor b very
l i ttle
moi st ure, but of ten exhi bi t
surface stati c whi ch vari es wth the ambi ent
RH.
et al s do not take up moi sture, but
can f ormin
the
presence of car bon di oxi de,
sul phur di oxi de, chl or i ne, etc. , oxi des, sul -
phi des,
and var i ous corrosi on pr oduct s. Th e
f errous metal s, i ron for exampl e. rust at
hi gher l evel s of
RH.
opper and
i ts
al l oys,
br onze and brass, can f or mcarbonates ( nor-
mal greeni sh pati na), or bronze di sease in
the presence of addi t i onal chl or i de ai rborne
cont amnant s. Si l ver i s notori ous for f or m
i ng dar k sul phi de deposi t s. Gol d and
pl ati num are t heoreti cal l y i nert . But there
are exampl es of earl y gol d cont am nat ed
wth base metal s react i ng to at mospher i c
pol l utants.Stone obj ects are porous and can
al l ow moi sture to penet rate. Under i ndoor
mus eu m condi t i ons
ths
presents no danger
as
the
di mensi onal changes are negl i gi bl e.
However , out door exposur e at f rost- l evel
condi t i ons can be very damagi ng, causi ng
ex- fol i at i on and cracki ng at
the
sur f ace.
Cer am cs and baked cl ays are mor e or
l ess
in
the
s ame category
as
st one. Anci ent gl ass
obj ects can r espond superf i ci al l y to
RH
l evel s. On e such phenomenon
is
known as
‘ cri zzl i ng’ ,
he
devel opment of opaci ty at
the sur f ace.
Wher e mus eum obj ects are mul t i - com
ponent , e. g. part woo d, part metal or , as i n
pai nt i ngs, part pi gment (inert), part texti l e,
i t
i s obvi ous that a choi ce of
RH
i s very
d ff i cu t to make for t he enti re structure. I f
the
obj ect in
ths
category
i s
al ready
di men-
sional l y stabi l i zed at a parti cul ar l evel of
RH, t i s best
to mai ntai n
th s
l evel at al
t i mes.
Thi s is of ten not t he case. Pai nt i ngs
are subj ect to stresses and strai ns, panel
pai nt i ngs and f urni ture to war page and
cracks, and et hnographi c obj ects of compl ex
const ructi on to def ormat i on and br eakage.
Mus eum fi les cont ai n muc h i nf ormati on
and document at i on whi ch conf i rm t he
hazards of envi r onment on
the
structures
and stabi l i ty of mul t i - mat er i al obj ects.
The
basi c ai m of
t he
conservator
is
to
mai ntai n t he RH evel as constant as pos-
sibl e for the si mpl e- const ruct i on,moi st ur e-
sensi ti ve col l ecti ons, and arr i ve at compr o-
mse
l evel s for the mul t i - component ones. A
possibl e sol ut i on in t he l atter category
i s
to
appl y moi sture- bar r i er coat i ngs to the hy-
groscopi c port i ons, t hereby render i ng t he
total obj ect l ess suscepti bl e to di mensi onal
changes.
Thi s
t echni que
i s
wel known to
pai nt i ng conservat ors who have l ong exper i -
ment ed
wth
vapour barr i ers o n the backs of
wood- panel pai nt i ngs.
The RH
shoul d
be
kept as constant as
possi bl e,
so
as to avoi d di mensi onal changes
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Procedures and conservation standards
or
museum collections in transit an d
on
exhibition
in t he obj ect. Extensi ve or errati c changes i n
RH can ul t i matel y f at i gue the str ucture,
causi ng cr acks, f l aki ng, spl i tt i ng, etc.
Too
hi gh
l evel s of RH can bri ng i nto pl ay
moul d- gr owt h or cor rosi on, and too l ow
l evel s cause embri t t l ement and danger i n
handl i ng. At l ower l evel s, t oo, there
i s
the
annoyi ng probl em of stati c el ectri ci ty and
dust accumul at i on on surf aces.
Recommended l evel s of
RH
have been
pr oposed i n the past for col l ecti ons on exhi -
bi t i on, i n t ransi t, and in st orage. Li tt l e re-
search however has been carri ed out on
the
detai l ed behavi our
of
materi al s at speci fi c
TABLE.
Rel ati ve humdi ty l evel s
Material Humidity tolerance
HiEh
Low
Anatomcal col l ecti ons,
apart f r omi t ems
embal med
Archaeol ogi cal speci mens:
hygroscopi c
i t ems,
stone and other inert
materi al s
( wooden components
need speci al protecti on)
Ethnographi c bark, cl oth,
basketry, masks
Botani cal speci mens
Cer am cs,
tiles,
stone
Coi ns, vari ous
Cost umes,
texti l es, rugs,
tapestries
Furni ture
G ass
I nsects
I vory,
bone carvings
Lacquer
Leather, parchment
Pai nti ngs,on canvas
Paper
Ori ental screens
Arms, armour , metal s
or wood
14
60
60
40
40
60
60
60
40
50
60
50
60
60
60
60
55
50
55
40
40
20
20
40
40
20
20
30
40
40
40
50
50
50
40
40
50
l evel s of RH. n many Eur opean and Asi an
col l ecti ons
the
‘ i deal ’RH s quot ed as bei ng
ar ound 55 per cent . I n Nor t h Amer i ca
general l y i t is gi ven bet ween
40-60
per cent ,
in recogni t i on of the very seri ous pr obl em
of condensat i on in bui l di ngs in the w nter
per i od.
Wth
regard to mus eum col l ecti on cat -
egori es the nor ms for
RH
are s hown in
Tabl e
1.
I t mght be possi bl e to pl ace obj ects i n
gal l eri es or st or e- r ooms n cl i mate zones set
to di f ferent l evel s.Thi s can be done i n bui l d-
i ngs wth sophi sti cated heati ng, venti l at i ng,
and ai r - condi t i oni ng
syst ems.
However ,
s ome obj ects may requi re very preci se level s
of RH control as t hey ma y crack or break
gi ven appreci abl e changes in ambi ent con-
di t i ons. Speci f i c l evel s can be mai ntai ned by
speci al l y desi gned humdi t y cases i ndepen-
dent of l ocal i zed vari at i ons i n
the
ai r- condi -
t i oni ng
system
Over
the
year
there
can be a
sl ow, but st eady drift of the RH l evel in
the
general areas w t hout greatl y af fecti ng the
bul k
of
the col l ecti on materi al concer ned.
Thi s is parti cul arl y of val ue i n gal l eri es
whi ch suffer f r om condensat i on in the
w nt er- t i me.Thus , n the nor t her n t emper -
ate cl i mate t he RH can be pr ogr ammed
f r o m
40
to
60
per cent over a t wel ve- mont h
peri od (see
Fi g.
l ,
t hereby
m ni m zi ng con-
densati on on
the
i nsi de of exteri or bui l di ng
wal l s. I n
dri er
cl i mates
the
pr ogr amm ng
ma y be f r om
30
to 50 per cent rel ati ve hu-
mdi ty.
Wth regard to t emper ature, ths
is
of se-
condary i mport ance in rel ati on to RH. As
l ong as t he RH s const ant , at say
50
per
cent , the vari ati on in t emperat ur e f r omsay,
15 to 22oC, s of secondary consequence to
the
di mensi ons
of the
obj ect.
F r o m
the
poi nt
of
vi ew
of
chem cal oxi -
di zat i on processes,
e. g.
acti on of oxygen, etc.
on mater i al s, the hi gher the r oomt empera-
ture, t he hi gher the rate of chemcal change
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Deterzorahi of museum objects
r
Rel ati ve hum di t y
30
I I
I
J an Feb Mar
Apr
May J un J l y
Aug
Sep Oct Nov Dec J an
FI G. . A
scheme
for sl ow
vari ati on of rel ati ve humdi ty and temperature duri ng the year
to meet
conservati on requi rements for both the col l ecti ons and the bui l di ng. Thi s appl i es in ths case to
t emperat e
cl i mates characteri zed
by
moderatel y hot summer s and cold wnters. I n other cl i mate
regi ons the curves woul d be sh fted upwar ds or downwar ds.
or deter i orat i on.
Also,
f r om the poi nt of
vi ew of energy conservat i on,
t
is better to
r educe
the
t emper atures to l ower l evel s-
ths
al so
permts
less expensi ve mechani cal
operati ons at
the
requi red
RH
l evel . Agai n
referr i ng to the nort h temper ate zone,
t emperatur es pr ogr ammed f r om20°Ci n the
w nter to 23oC i n the s ummer meet these
r equi r ement s. n a hum d sem- t ropi cal en-
vi r onment the r ange ma y
be
22 to 27OC.
I n cert ai n cases,
t he
obj ects r equi re
cool er condi t i ons, e. g. for f urs, rugs, t ap-
estri es, and cost umes. The r emoval of col d-
condi t i oned obj ects to war m areas shoul d be
very careful l y done
so
as to avoi d condensa-
ti on. Thi s
i s
part i cul arl y i mport ant wth
such obj ects brought f r om st ore- r ooms to
gal l ery areas.
The ci rcul ati on of a r i n gal l eri es and
st ore- r ooms i s very i mpor t ant to prevent
l ocal i zed pockets of vari abl e RH f r o m
f orm ng, to i nhi bi t moul d gr owt h, and to
di ssi pate atmospheri c cont amnants. The
number of a r changes shoul d be suffi ci ent
to make i t safe for personnel , part i cul arl y for
l engthy operat i ons ( cat al ogui ng, st udy, or
conservat i on work). Whe r e paradi chl oro-
benzene
i s
used in hi gh quanti t i es for et hno-
graphi c or anthropol ogi cal col l ecti ons, pecial
at tent i on shoul d be pai d to
its
toxi ci ty
for humans and possi bl e effects on obj ects.
The matt er of l i ght, f r omthe poi nt of
vi ew of
its
effect on mater i al s, shoul d be
treated as seri ousl y i n exhi bi t i on areas as in
storage. Whe r e the col l ecti ons are suscep-
tib e to l i ght damage, e. g. paper , texti l es,
cost umes, wat er - col ours, pri nts, dr awi ngs,
archi val records,
the
l evel s of ambi ent
l i ght
of
any ki nd) shoul d
be
l ow, bet ween 50and
100
l ux
(5-10
f oot - candl es) . Dayl i ght and
f l uorescent l ight shoul d be addi t i onal l y
fi l tered
wth
ul travi ol et absorbi ng fi l ters.
L amps al so have a heat i ng effect, owi ng to
thei r i nf ra-r ed out put . Cases, vi tri nes,
cabi net s, dr awers, etc. , shoul d be wel l re-
moved f r om
l i ght
sources to prevent
bui l d- up of hot l ocal envi r onment s whi ch
affect i nternal RH evel s.
The normal atmospheri c pol l utants of
concern are car bon di oxi de ( above cert ai n
level s), sul phur di oxi de, ai rborne al kal i ne or
aci di c mater i al s, as wel as dust . St one and
mar bl e f l oors, as wel l as concret e, powder
extensi vel y, possi bl y af fecti ng wor ks of art .
I ndustr i al a r not adequatel y washed or
fil-
tered, because of sul fur di oxi de or other
aci di c component s or hydrogen sul phi de,
af f ects col l ecti ons i n
the
presence of at mos-
pher i c moi st ure, not onl y metal s but al so cel -
l ul osi c or organi c mater i al s. Mar i ne ai r, r i ch
i n chl or i des, can provoke bronze di sease.
Ai r borne dust and drt can be r emoved
at source by effi ci ent filters. For gal l eri es and
exhi bi t i on areas,
i t
i s
r ec ommended t hat
dust part i cl es be r emoved do wn to t he l evel
of 1-2 m cr ons. I n storage areas si ml ar
l evel s shoul d
be
mai nt ai ned.
The
ai r- treat-
ment and ci rcul ati on pr obl em for store-
r ooms shoul d
be
consi dered most seri ousl y.
M cr o- organi sms, whi ch gi ve ri se to
moul d gr owt h and m l dew f or mat i on, are
general l y acti ve on surf aces at RH l evel s
15
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WoctduwA and conserrration
slantlards
for museunz collections in transit
and
on exhibition
above 80 per cent and t emper atures above
100‘2. nsects can be control l ed
by
prel i mn-
ary cl eani ng and subsequent envi r onmental
t reat ment wth paradi chl orobenzene, or
other products.
I n
al i nstances t shoul d be
establ i shed by prel i mnary tests that t he
f ungi ci de, nsecti ci de, etc. i s not har m ul to
the sur f ace requi r i ng protect i on.
Ther e are var i ous met hods avai l abl e for
establ i shi ng di f ferent l evel s of R H
wthin
one area, e. g. exhi bi t i on gal l ery or storage
ar ea. t has been known for s ome t i me that
si mpl y encl osi ng a moi sture- sensi t i ve obj ect
i n a gl ass case can have t he effect of smoot h-
i ng out the ambi ent vari ati ons in RH, f not
t emper ature. n recent years t echni ques us-
i ng
chem cal sol ut i ons,pre- condi t i oned si l i ca
gel , and condi t i oned cl ays have been ap-
pl i ed to mai ntai n f i xed l evel s of
RH,
t 30,
30,
50,
or
60
per cent for l ong peri ods of
t i me.
These
met hods have been desi gned for
smal l cases or conf i ned vol umes f or
the
en-
vi r onment al control of part i cul arl y sensi ti ve
wor ks of art . By slight modi f i cat i ons l arger
vol umes can be cont rol l ed,w t hout t he ben-
efit of expensi ve mechani cal and el ectr i cal
hum di t y- cont rol systems.
T he st or e- r oomshoul d i deal l y be con-
trol l ed to the l evel s requi red i n the exhi bi -
ti on gal l eri es for t he maj ori t y of categori es
of
obj ects di spl ayed ( or stored). T h e chem -
cal l y control l ed cases referred to above
wll
actual l y f unct i on best wthin an envi r on-
ment that al ready has s ome degr ee of con-
trol . Thus if t he st or e- r oom
s
kept w thi n
30-60 per cent RH. he hi ghl y sensi ti ve ob-
j ects can be local l y control l ed to nar r ow
l evel s at 50 or
60
per cent ,
as
requi red.
I n mus eums wher e consi derabl e quan-
ti ties of obj ects are stored in cabi nets or
drawers t he condi t i ons ma y al ready exi st for
establ i shi ng sui tabl e mcro- cl i mates. Thus ,
in
a onsul tat i on vsit made
by
t he aut hor to
the Fi el d Mus eu m i n Chi cago in 1972, t
was noted that wher e hygr oscopi c, et hno-
6
graphi c and other obj ects wer e stored com-
pactl y in seal ed metal cabi nets or drawer s,
theRH evel s wer e rel ati vel y stabl e at about
40
per cent in compar i son wth wi de vari -
at i ons of 30-70 per cent w thi n the r oom
Her e the obj ects acted as thei r o wn
‘ hu-
mdi ty
regul ators’ . h e t heory and pract i ce
of case desi gn and humdi ty factors are de-
tai l ed by the aut hor
in
one
of
t he ref erences
in the sel ected bi bl i ography. Ther e i s there-
fore a n ar gument for seal ed cases, cl osed
cabi net s,dr awers , and encl osures for obj ects
wher e ambi ent condi t i ons are very errati c.
I n s ome curatori al col l ecti ons. e. g.pri nts
and dr aw ngs,
t
is feasi bl e to combi ne
di s-
pl ay wth storage. I n a recent consul tat i on
at the Mont r eal Mus e um of Fi neArts, such
a system has been devel oped wher e the
upper part of the di spl ay case has
a
con-
t i nuous ai r connecti on
wth
t he l ower
cabi net whi ch cont ai ns on shel ves pre- condi -
t i oned si l ica gel as wel l as sol ander boxes
stori ng quant i t i es of pri nts, draw ngs, and
other graphi c works.
As
a ul e of t humb,
n
a closel y packed
case, vi tr i ne or dr awer contai ni ng hygr o-
scopi c mater i al , e. g. woo d, paper , texti l es,
for each
1
OC change in t emper at ure, he
i n-
ternal RH wll change by 0. 33 per cent .
Thus if t he r oomcondi t i ons change by
5OC
the
RH
wll
change
in
t he same di recti on)
by 1.66per cent . O n he other hand, f t he
case or contai ner i s very l arge compar ed
wth the obj ect t he i nternal RHr esponds in
an i nverse f ashi on to i mposed t emper at ure
changes. Thus , if t he r oom t emper at ur e
goes up, t he RH oes d o wn and vi ce versa.
I n any pr ogr amme devel oped for
mcro- cl i mat es, t he possi bi l i ty of excessi ve
l evel s of RH must be excl uded to pr event
moul d gr owt h. t i s al so assumed that such
special i zed t r eatment
i s
desi gned for l ong-
t e r m
storage and i n a mus eum wher e the
personnel responsi bl e for st orage syst ems
has sui tabl e techni cal compet ence.
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Storage of collections'
I n many mus eums
there
i s
consi derabl e i n-
ternal movement of col l ect i ons, f r om shi p-
pi ng r oomto storage, o gal l ery and back, n
accordance
wth
var i ous pr ogr ammes in
effect. A n acti ve exhi bi t i on pr ogr amme wth
3- to +week cycl es suggest a lot of i nternal
transport wth associ ated
r isks.
Ther e i s a
t endency to downgr ade the conservati on
and envi r onment al r equi r ement s in storage
in compar i son wth those in exhi bi t i on
areas.
Thi s
i s
unaccept abl e i n t erms of the
concept of total care at al
t i mes
and pl aces.
Wher e the mus eum i s responsi bl e for a bor -
r owed exhi bi t i on i t may
be
necessary to re-
tai n
i t
for peri ods of
t i me
i n storage, and
her e
both physi cal envi r onment and secur-
ity condi t i ons shoul d be of a
hi gh
st andar d,
at l east to the s ame l evel s as i n the
eshi bi -
ti on space.Wher e the rel ati ve hum di t y and
t emper ature factors
di ffer
consi derabl y hu-
mdi t y- responsi ve obj ects may be damaged
t hrough di mensi onal changes and strai ns on
t ranspor t i ng f r omstorage to exhi bi t i on and
vi ce versa. Dur i ng movement there are
handl i ng hazards and the possibi l i ty
of
vi-
brat i on and shock tr ansmtted dur i ng travel
t hrough l ong, tw sti ng corr i dors cl uttered
wth cases, br i c- a- br ac and r emai ns of
f ormer exhi bi t ons.
Tradi t i onal l y, mus eum storage faci l i ties
are i n basement s, n l ow- pr i or i t yareas con-
structed to m ni mal st andards.The envi r on-
ment al factors causi ng deter i orat i on are as
bef ore: vari at i ons in rel ati ve hum di t y and
t emperatur e; l i ght; atmospher i c pol l utants
( dust , chem cal s, car bon di oxi de, sul phur
di oxi de) ; m cro- or gani sms ( f ungi , moul ds)
and bacter i a. Occasi onal l y, very extensi ve
damage ma y occur i n a basement st orage as
a resul t of f l oodi ng ( e. g. t he Roods in
Fl orence, I tal y, and Corni ng, NewYor k, n
recent years) . Da mage
by
l i qui d water i s
cert ai nl y mor e drasti c t han that caused by
water vapour i n the ai r. Si nce most storage
faci l i ti es are made of concrete, t here are
probl ems of ammoni a exudati ons and of
concrete dust ri si ng i n
the
a r and sett l i ng on
obj ects.
Storage devices and equipment
The benef i ci al
effects
of encl osi ng obj ects i n
conf i ned spaces has al ready been di scussed
as at l east a posi ti ve step i n mai ntai ni ng
stabl e RH evel s. The const ruct i on and di s-
posi ti on of r acks, shel ves,dr awers, and other
har dwar e can i nf l uence t he condi t i on or
preservat i on of
the
stored obj ects i n other
ways.
The
conservat i on hazar ds i ncl ude
shock, vi brati on, r ubbi ng, scrapi ng and
damage
by
human err or, and occur i n vari -
ous
ways:
Sliding rucks
jor
paintings. drawings, photo-
gr-@hs. The
racks ma y
ri de ver y
r oughl y
on
the
tracks trasmt t i ng shock to fragi l e
surf aces. T he hangi ng devi ces ma y be
i nsecure on
the
screens, ri ski ng
the
fal of
an obj ect to t he f l oor.
1 . See also
E.
Verner Johnson and Joanne
C organ, A4useuni Collectzoti Storage, Unesco,
Paris. 1979.(Technical Handbooks for
Museums
and Monuments ,
2.)
17
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Procedures and Lun.wiiutiori standards
for
museum collectivns in transit and on exhibition
Sprin,y-loaded pole deuices for stacking. T o o
many pai nt i ngs ma y be st acked agai nst
one pol e causi ng
stresses
w thi n a
stacked secti on.
Shel ves, uarious. Damage may occur to t he
obj ects when they are moved about on
the shel ves. Excessi ve handl i ng i s of ten
requi red for pl acement or for peri odi c
observat i on.
D r a w e r s . Lack of separators and shock ab-
sorbers may cause fragi l e obj ects to
shft
and knock agai nst each other . S ome
drawer desi gns do not have smoot h stops
on pul l i ng out or pushi ng i n.
Com pac tio n storage systems. Such syst ems save
muc h fl oor space, and have pr oved use-
ful in l i brary syst ems. Speci al care must
be t aken to prevent bumpi ng or shock
on movi ng the storage uni ts so that the
content s do not become damaged.
The
const ant openi ng and closi ng of the mo -
b le storage uni ts ma y i nterf ere
wth
i nter-
nal l y i nstal l ed hum di t y cont rol syst ems.
Materials
o
construction. Met al
i s
t he f avour ed
const ruct i on mater i al , usual l y enamel l ed
steel .
O der
i nstal l ati ons may be of
wooden const ruct i on. Pai nt f i ni shes and
ki nds
of
wood must be careful l y sel ected
to avoi d pr oduci ng vapour har m ul to
mus eum obj ects. Wher e obj ects are
pl aced in pl asti c bi ns or suspended f r om
plasti c devi ces, prel i mnary
tests
are re-
qui red to make certai n that no del eteri -
ous
acti on can resul t t hrough contact .
Some pl asti cs, f or exampl e, have har m-
ful pl asti ci zers.
Fire control
I t goes w t hout sayi ng that spri nkl er syst ems
for f i re-f i ghti ng shoul d not be permt ted i n
gal l eri es or st ore- r ooms housi ng mus eum
col l ecti ons. Fi re- f i ghti ng syst ems n o w exi st
that uti l i ze carbon- di oxi de gas, or mor e
8
effecti vel y, hal on (a f l uor o- hydr ocar bon
gas), for quenchi ng fi res the moment that
heat or smoke detectors are act i vated. Car -
bon- di oxi de gas syst ems have a consi derabl e
cool i ng effect upon the r oomand content s,
and can cause moi st ure condensat i on on
surfaces. Al so, personnel i n the ar ea, or
near by, may be suf f ocated owi ng to the
rather l ow tol erance of
the
human body f or
carbon- di oxi de gas. O n the other hand,
hal on i s l ess toxi c and hi gher concent rat i ons
can be br eat hed bef ore causi ng i ntoxi cat i on.
Hal on syst ems of advanced desi gn exi st i n a
number of i nsti tuti ons.The aut hor was re-
sponsi bl e for t he desi gn of one such syst em
in the new y constructed Canadi an Conser -
vat i on I nsti tute for a st ore- r oomcombi ni ng
sl i di ng racks for pai nt i ngs and al so for
t hr ee- di mensi onal obj ects housed in hal on-
protected metal storage cabi nets. Such
sys-
t ems are i ncreasi ngl y in use in mus eums .
Location
of
store-rooms
As al ready ment i oned, t he st orage of col l ec-
tions i s tradi ti onal l y rel egated to the base-
ment , or other l ow- pr i ori ty area i n the
bowel s of
the
museum Unf or t unat el y, these
areas are of ten t he most d ff i cu t to upgr ade
to t he requi red nor ms of
RH,
emper ature,
and a r pur i t y, and are rel ati vel y i naccess-
i ble. Thes e subt err anean l ocat i ons are al so
suscepti bl e to f l oodi ng,
wher e
in one tragi c
event count l ess treasures coul d be destroyed
by water acti on. On e recal l s agai n the cir-
cumst ances of t he f l oodi ng of t he store-
r ooms
of the
Fl orent i ne mus eums , archi ves,
and l i brary in
the
Fl orence f l ood, and the
great damage caused
by
t he f l oodi ng of the
Cor ni ng Mus eu m. I t seems
t i me
to r econ-
si der
the
l ocat i on of
the
st or e- r oomand
pl ace i t at a
hi gher
l evel above gr ound. T he
atti c or t op fl oor shoul d be reconsi dered-
provi ded steps are t aken to upgr ade such
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Storage
of
collections
space and ensure good physi cal communi ca-
ti on wth other f unct i ons (el evators, w de
door s,
hi gh
cei l i ngs, etc.).
St orage faci l i ti es i n the l arger i nsti tuti ons
are of ten decent ral i zed i nto t he vari ous cu-
ratori al areas. Thi s met hod of operat i on cer -
tai nl y l eads to better curatori al cont rol and
permts ease of movement f r omstorage to
cont i guous gal l ery and vice versa. Of t en,
however , such decentral i zed uni ts are t oo
smal l and dangerousl y over cr owded, vyi ng
for space w th costl y and mor e presti gi ous
exhi bi t i ons.
Wher e exhi bi t i on cases are used for
di s-
pl ay
i t
shoul d be possi bl e to i ncl ude st orage
compar t ment s w thi n or al ongsi de t hem
The recent Egypt i an gal l eri es at the Met r o-
pol i tan Mus eum of Art i n NewYor k are a
good exampl e of combi ned exhi bi t i on and
storage t echni ques
wth
envi r onment al
control s.
Returni ng agai n to t he very i mport ant
acti vi ty of mus eums , that
of
l oan or travel -
l i ng exhi bi t i ons, t
i s
of ten d ff i cu t to f i nd
storage space for the t emporari l y di spl aced
per manent col l ecti ons. Excessi ve movement
of
these
obj ects w thi n the mus eum,
i .e.
f r omgal l ery to storage and vi ce versa, wth
at t endant envi r onment al changes, mani pu-
l ati on and handl i ng, presents addi t i onal
dangers. Not onl y
the
t empor ar y l oans, but
al so the di spl aced wor ks, can be damaged.
Ther e does not seemto be an easy sol ut i on
to
ths
probl em as l ong as exhi bi t i on and
mus eum i nterchanges are on t he i ncrease.
19
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Handl i ng and
packagi ng
1
techni ques
D a m a g e attributed
to h u m a n factors
Ther e are essenti al l y t wo categori es of da m-
age here: acci dents caused by i nexperi enced
or i ncompetent personnel ; and l ess
f requent l y, wl ful damage by vandal s. The
f i rs t can be deal t wth
by
consci ent i ous staff
traini ng i n basi c handl i ng pr ocedures.Va n-
dal i smhowever ,
s
d ffi cu t to deal wth ex-
cept
t hr ough vi gi l ant securi ty staff and, n
the
ext r eme,
by
protecti ng
the
most vul ner -
abl e obj ects behi nd glass or i n hi ghl y secure
cases.
Negl i gent handl i ng and care can be
readi l y r emedi ed by t rai ni ng, and t hrough
wel l organi zed and mai ntai ned st orage and
~7or k areas. So me typi cal exampl es of
mal pract i ce are:
1. Handl i ng of obj ects wth di rty hands.
2. Handl i ng heavy or outsi ze obj ects wth-
out addi t i onal assi stance and w t hout sup-
port underneat h,or at cent re of gravi ty.
3.
Movi ng obj ects, decorat i ve side out ,
ar ound bl i nd corners or t hrough con-
gest ed corr i dors, causi ng scrapes and
surface damages .
4.
Over cr owdi ng of storage r ooms, shel ves
and bi ns, maki ng i t d ff i cu t to r each
part i cul ar i t ems.
5. St orage of obj ects near heat vent s, radi -
ators? or l ocat i ons whi ch experi ence
vi ol ent changes of cl i mate.
6.
Unauthor i zed dust i ng and surf ace cl ean-
i ng of wor ks of art and decorat i ve ob-
j ects
uti l i zi ng coarse cl oths or hazar dous
cl eani ng agent s.
7.
angi ng and pl aci ng wor ks
of
art and
obj ects i n the exhi bi t i on area whi l e car -
pent r y, pai nt i ng and sprayi ng acti vi ti es
are i n progress. Thi s happens very
f requent l y i n
the
last stages of
organi zat i on of an exhi bi t i on.
8. ot usi ng adequate hangi ng devi ces as
wel l
as
under - suppor t s or heavy obj ects
on di spl ay;al so put t i ng heavy obj ects on
l i ght-wei ghtpedestal s.
9. l acement of humdi ty- sensi t i ve obj ects
agai nst col d da mp exteri or wal l s, or on
wal l s exper i enci ng
w de
vari ati ons i n
t emperature ( e. g. wal l s conceal i ng
heat i ng pi pes or ducts).
10.
D spl ayi ng obj ects i n seal ed di spl ay cases
usi ng untested toxi c const ruct i on ma -
teri al s,
e. g.
adhesi ves whi ch contai n sul -
phur , aci d- contai ni ng fabri cs and pa-
pers;
al of whi ch wll have a corrosi ve
affect on the artefacts exhi bi ted w thi n.
11.
I mpr oper packi ng techni ques i n whi ch
obj ects are cr ammed together
ti ghtl y
w t hout shock absorbers and separator
panel s; wher e packi ng cases are poor l y
const ructed wth ar gaps, and
l ids
hammer ed i nto posi ti on after packi ng.
Label s st apl ed on
l ids somet i mes
penet rate t hr ough
the
case i nto
the
art
wor ks t hemsel ves.
12.
Storage of packed cases under ext r eme
condi t i ons
of
hum di t y and t emperature,
even out - of - door s, creat i ng shock
condi t i ons at
t i me
of re- packi ng.
T o
avoi d these mor e obvi ous exampl es of
negl ect, al handl i ng and preparat i on pr oce-
dures shoul d be r e- exam ned and recti fi ed
21
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Procedures
arid
cotiservation standards
for
m u s e u m collections in transit a n d
on
e.l-hibition
wher e necessary. Al staff concer ned, seni or
to
j uni or l evel s, shoul d part i ci pate i n ‘ care
recycl i ng’ .
I n travel l i ng and l oan exhi bi t i ons
the
wor ks must be handl ed most careful l y once
they
are unpacked. The shi pper , regi strar,
preparer , curat or , conservat or i ndi vi dual l y
and col l ecti vel y must carry out
thei r
tasks in
the
most fasti di ous and conservat i on- consci -
ous way . I n smal l er i nsti tuti ons handl i ng
borr owed mater i al s, one per son may e m-
body several f unct i ons- t hose of regi strar,
preparer and curator - and
her e
the r espon-
sib l i ty
is
even greater .
I t
does not f ol l ow
that a one- per son operati on l eads to greater
f r equency of mus eum damage. Somet i mes
one wel l - t rai ned prof essi onal can operate
mor e safel y t han a number of persons col l ec-
ti vel y havi ng
l ess sklls
and i l l -def i ned dut i es.
Preparation for travel
and exhi bi ti on
The
condi t i on report
i s
one of t he most
i m
por tant document s
in
t he mus eu m.
I t
re-
cords hi stori cal and acqui si t i on data, de-
scri bes
the
techni cal and composi t i onal na-
ture of the wor k, and
is
t he t i me record of i ts
conservat i on state. Var i ous ki nds of condi -
t i on report have been used to meet di f ferent
mus eum requi r ement s. Thus t he regi strar’ s
and conservat or ’ s condi t i on repor t , wth as-
soci ated phot ogr aphs, X- r ays and l abora-
tory dat a
i s
of necessi ty detai l ed and techni -
cal . However , n travel l i ng and l oan exhi bi -
ti ons
the
condi t i on reports may be ab-
brevi ated and desi gned in such a way t hat
changes or cumul at i ve effects ( damages,
cracki ng, etc.) can be r ecorded, and acti ons
t aken at speci fi c t i mes. Exampl es
of
typi cal
condi t i on reports are gi ven
in
Appendi ces
A
and
B.
The
l endi ng i nsti tuti on shoul d al ways
exam ne
i ts
obj ects pri or to l oan and
on
2
thei r return. nt er medi ate exam nati ons and
checks on condi t i on shoul d al so be made.
t
is
usual l y possi bl e to att ri bute a parti cul ar
damage to an event , e. g. dr oppi ng of a case,
rupt ur i ng of a packi ng crate by an i nex-
pert l y handl ed l i f t t ruck, or water seepage
t hrough out door exposure ( because
the
case
was too l arge to enter t he mus eumdoors for
shel ter wthi n).
Phot ogr aphs are very conveni ent f or de-
tecti ng changes
in
t he surf ace
of
obj ects; e. g.
ne w cracks, war pi ng, abrasi ons, l osses of
pai nt , gi l di ng, ewel s, f eathers, and so forth.
I t is
not al ways obvi ous wher e t he damage
or weakened condi t i on started. Shock, vi -
brat i on and transi t movement s t ransmt
t hr ough packi ng cases ( unl ess very
wel
pro-
tected wth i nternal shock absorbers) and
i t
may be mont hs bef ore
the
structures have
f at i gued to
the
poi nt
wher e
damage fi nal l y
occurs. I n travel l i ng exhi bi t i ons i nvol vi ng
several centres
i t
can be appreci at ed ho w
dfficut
i t
woul d be to pi n- poi nt the ori gi n
of damage.
The wri t i ng of condi t i on reports s a very
i mper f ect art . I n s ome i nstances the r ecord
i s
too bri ef , in others overl y detai l ed. Her e
t here i s
r oomfor trai ni ng of personnel i n
the
detecti on of damage, potent i al fragi l i ty, and
the
di f ferenti ati on of ol d stabl e damages
f r omnewl y f or med ones. Usual l y
the
con-
servator has
ths
ki nd of t rai ni ng and can be
t he fi nal arbi ter i n d ffi cu t si tuati ons. I n
general .
i t
i s
better
to have l onger reports
and mor e condi t i on phot ographs to protect
the
l endi ng or bor r ow ng mus eums i n
the
event of i nsurance cl ai ms or l i ti gati on.
Not al obj ects shoul d travel ,part i cul arl y
if,
after examnat i on and document at i on,
t
is
f ound that
thei r
structure or condi t i on
cannot resi st
the
physi cal hazards of hand-
l i ng, packi ng, and
t he
mode of t ranspor t a-
t i on. Such obj ects are usual l y pl aced on
non- l oan
l i s ts .
I n except i onal si tuat i ons,
wher e
an obj ect must tr avel notw t hst and-
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8/21/2019 Procedures and Conservation Standards
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i ng its condi t i on and agai nst
the
j udgement
of the professi onal staff, the responsi bi l i ty
must
rest
wth
the
authori t i es concer ned.
t
t hen bec omes i mperat i ve that t here be suffi
ci ent preparat i on t i me (, for r estorati on, or
consol i dat i on). and an adequat e budget to
desi gn the most el aborate and f ai l -proof
packi ng cases. Such hi gh- budget transi ts as
that of
Ln
Pieta
by
M chel angel o,
the
I r ish
treasures,
the
Dr esden col l ecti ons, and the
Shakespear e exhi bi t i on are cases i n poi nt .
' The handl i ng, packi ng, case desi gn, en-
vi r onment al control s,curatori al accompani -
ment and rel ated techni cal costs, t ogether
wth
i nsurance represent budget s i n the
hundr eds
of'
t housands, f not ml l i ons, of
dol l ars.
For smal l er exhi hi t i ons and mus eums
w th
muc h mor e
l i mted
budget s,
the
pre-
parati ons are of necessi ty
l ess
el aborate but
must
st i l l
conf orm to m ni mum st andar ds.
The
ri sks to obj ects and wor ks of art i n l ow-
budget exhi bi t i ons are obvi ousl y greater .
Of t en, however ,
t he
sel ecti on cri teri a for
l oan and exhi hi t i on are not wel l establ i shed,
and wor ks not careful l y exam ned for safety
in travel .
Onc e wor ks are
deemed
to be i n sui tabl e
and stabl e condi t i on for exhi bi t i on, t hen
consi derat i on is gi ven to prel i mnary prot ec-
ti on of var i ous f or ms pri or to packi ng. Thus ,
pai nt i ngs are checked to
see
that they are
securel y f astened i nto
thei r
f r ames and t hat
they have protect i ve backs. Pr i nts,dr awi ngs
and photogr aphs gl azed i n f r ames present
great
ri sk
of breakage of gl ass. I t
is
nor mal
practi ce to r emove
the
gl ass and r epl ace i t
wth acryl i c rig d sheet , pl exi gl ass, l uci te or
si ml ar type of gl azi ng. I f
the
quest i on of
l i ght
damage (e. g. adi ng acti on) is a f actor,
t hen an appropr i at e
type
of ul travi ol et
acryl i c sheet
is
speci f i ed. Scul ptures and
t hree- di mensi onal obj ects are usual l y pre-
wr apped i n soft ti ssues i n cocoon- l i ke f ash-
i on. Br onzes and metal l i c obj ects l i kely to
corrode or devel op oxi des are gi ven protec-
ti ve coat i ngs. Of t en i t is necessary to have
doubl e
syst ems
of packi ng for max i mum
safety,
the
first l ayer surr oundi ng
the
obj ect
as
the
conservat i on protecti on barr i er, whi ch
i s pref erabl y appl i ed
by the
conservat or ;
subsequent l ayers of paddi ng, cushi oni ng,
and doubl e packi ng t hen surr ound the pr e-
packed obj ect as addi t i onal barr i ers agai nst
shock, hermal i nsul at i on,and for hum di t y
buf f er i ng. These aspects wll be el aborated
f urther i n the secti ons on packi ng and
t ranspor t .
A
wor d of precaut i on about
the
use of
pol yethyl ene as a prel i mnary packi ng ma -
terial. I t
i s
of ten used as an i mmedi at e wr ap-
pi ng filmar ound a pai nt i ng, scul pture or
\vorl i of decorat i ve art . As l ong as t he t rans-
port proceeds t hrough const ant - t emper a-
ture zones t hen
the
risk
of
condensat i on
w thi n
the
pol yethyl ene encl osure is m n i -
mal. However , n many exhi bi t i on transi ts
changes in t emper ature do occur wth con-
densati on devel opi ng on
the
i nteri or sur-
f aces. Ther e
i s
great ri sk t hen of moul d
growt h, devel opment of corrosi on on metal s
and other defects associ ated
wth
very hi gh
l evel s of l ocal i zed
RH. t
is theref ore pref er-
abl e for
the
i mmedi at e wr appi ng mater i al
ar ound an obj ect to be of a cel l ul osi c or hu-
mdi ty-buf f er i ng mater i al , such as soft paper
ti ssue or paper qui l t i ng. The pol yethyl ene
filmcan t hen
be
appl i ed over ths l ayer. The
ri sks
of condensat i on are thereby consi der-
abl y r educed, as
the
in tial paper l ayers, i f
appl i ed suffi ci entl y thi ckl y, act as t emper a-
ture i nsul at i on
as wel l
as moi st ure buf f ers.
What ever syst ems of preparati on or
pr e- packi ng are used in an exhi bi t i on of
t he
l oan or ci rcul at i ng t ype3 hey shoul d be wel l
descri bed and i ncl uded in the travel l i ng
document at i on for re-uti l i zati on at each
stage of r e- packi ng and unpacki ng. deal l y,
the staff i n ti al ly i nvol ved in appl yi ng these
measures shoul d t ravel
from
cent re to cent re
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Procedures
atid ronserz~alioti tandards o r
inuseurn
collections in transit
and
on exhibition
to ensure that there is cont i nui ty i n t he care
and handl i ng. Unf or t unat el y, t i s t he rare
exhi bi t i on wher e
ths
w se precaut i on i s
t aken.
Over the years, cri teri a for l endi ng have
been establ i shed,based on pr oved conserva-
ti on pri ncipl es, the known ri sks of transport-
at i on, cl i mati c vari at i ons, and t he risks of
i ndi f ferent or hazar dous handl i ng in
di f ferent i nsti tuti ons. S ome mus eums have
very restri cti ve l oan cri teri a or pol i ci es, oth-
ers are very l eni ent. The f ol l ow ng may be
consi dered to be real i sti c cri teri a, establ i shed
by conservators and curators concerned
wth the good mai nt enance of thei r col l ec-
ti ons at al t i mes.
PAINTINGSND SIMILAR LAT WORKS
Conservat i on records shoul d
be
checked.
Wor ks shoul d be exam ned to see that t hey
are properl y fi tted i nto thei r f r ames.
Al
wor ks on canvas support s shoul d be
fi tted wth protecti ve backi ngs (card-
boar d, masoni t e, etc.) at t ached to f r ame
or str etcher.
Especi al l y fragi l e or ornate f r ames shoul d be
repl aced wth travel l i ng f r ames.
Frescoes and si ml ar pai nt i ngs shoul d be
securel y mount ed o n
ri gid
shock- absorb-
i ng suppor t s.
Non-loan
criteria
Pai nt i ngs on wooden support s very suscep-
ti ble to R.H.ari at i ons, unl ess pl aced in
cl i mate- cont rol l ed travel l i ng cases.
Unpr i med canvases,or surf aces whi ch mar k
very easi l y, al so pai nt i ngs of very l arge
f or mat , e. g.3 x
5
metres.
Powder y or f l aki ng pai nt not easi l y treated.
Weak canvas suppor t whi ch, f or techni cal
or aestheti c r easons, cannot
be
l i ned.
Pai nt i ngs on gl ass or si ml ar fragi l e support s.
WORK S O N PAPER. NCLUDING RA RE BOOKS
AN D MANUSCRIPTS
Conservat i on records shoul d be checked.
I ndi vi dual works must
be
mount ed on r ag
or aci d- f reeboar ds by hi nge met hod (or
equi val ent ) wth wi ndow or other mat s
of si mlar mater i al . Books and
manuscr i pt s shoul d
be
wel
bound and
pages securel y at t ached. M cr o- or gan-
i sms shoul d be el i mnated, or at l east
stabi l i zed.
Fl at i ndi vi dual works , wher e gl azi ng i s man-
dat ory, must
be
t aped in cri ss-cross
f ashi on, otherw se acryl i c pl asti c shoul d
pref erabl y be used. For protecti on
agai nst f adi ng, acryl i c pl asti c havi ng
ul travi ol et absorbi ng qual i ti es i s used.
Extr a care must be t aken to el i mnate
shock t ransmssi on.
Non-loan criterza
Powder y dr aw ngs, e.g., pastel s, unf i xed
charcoal . l ean gouache. Occasi onal l y,
pastels have been transported by per-
sonal couri er wth except i onal packi ng.
Bri ttl e paper , or mount whi ch cannot be
r emoved.
Wor ks of except i onal l i ght- sensi ti vi ty.
Books and manuscr i pt s wher e the bi ndi ng i s
defecti ve, the book bl ock weakened, or
there
i s
evi dence of m cr o- organi sm
at tack.
SCULPTURES AND
THREE-DIMENSIONAL BJECTS
Conservat i on records shoul d be checked.
Heavy mount s or bases shoul d be separated
for packi ng and shi pment . Prel i mnary
packi ng or cocoon wr appi ng is requi red.
Metal l i c obj ects (e.g. bronzes) shoul d be
gi ven protecti ve wax or acryl i c coati ng,
f ol l owed al so
by
cocoon wr appi ng.
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Hundluig
and packaging
techniques
NoTi-loan riteria
Very
moi sture- sensi t i vewooden obj ects un-
l ess,
as wth panel pai nt i ngs,
RH
con-
trol l ed travel l i ng cases can
be
devi sed.
Pl aster, wax, gl ass.
Br onzes subj ect to ‘ bronze di sease’ , unl ess
correcti bl e i n
t i me.
Structural l y weak obj ects d ffi cu t to re-
i nf orce. Ma n y cont empor ar y scul ptures
are i n
ths
cat egory.
Stone and ceramc obj ects i nf used wth sal ts
whi ch woul d react under vari abl e hu-
mdi ty condi t i ons.
Thi s
appl i es al so to
archaeol ogi cal f i nds.
TEXTILES
Conservat i on records shoul d
be
checked.
Wor ks shoul d be rol l ed on a t ube for
shi p-
ment if too l arge to shi p f l at, wth aci d-
f ree i nterl eavi ng paper .
Nori-loan
criteria
Weak or deter i orated fi bres.
Ext r eme sensi ti vi ty to l i ght.
HISTORICAL,THNOGRAPHIC,
Conservat i on records shoul d be checked.
Di smant l i ng or other procedures,
if
appl i -
cabl e, must
be
carr i ed out . Wor ki ng
dr aw ngs may be requi red for r e- assem
bl y.
Protecti ve coat i ngs, if appl i cabl e, must be
used.
SCIENTIFIC OBJECT S
N o n - l o a n
criteria
Ext r eme fragi l i ty.
Easi l y mar r ed or di scol oured surfaces.
Deter i orat i ons not readi l y restored for t ech-
Gr eat
wei ght ,
excessi ve di mensi ons, or
ni cal or aestheti c reasons.
overl y compl ex constructi on.
PHOTOGRAPHICOLLECTIONS,
ICROFILMS,
Conservat i on records shoul d be checked.
Degr ee of fragi l i ty and i nf l ammabi l i t y m ni -
mal ,
f
acceptabl e under control l ed l oan
condi t i ons; absence of m cro-organi sms.
Aci d- f ree mount i ng and mat t i ng of flat
works,
wth
appropr i at e acryl i c gl azi ng
of ul travi ol et absorbi ng t ype.
TAPE RECORDINGS
Non-loan
criteria
Wor ks of great fragi l i ty and bri tt l eness.
Wor ks
wth
a hi gh
degree
of i nf l ammabi l i t y,
Ver y f aded and unusual l y l i ght-sensi t i ve
e. g.
ni t rate- base i l m .
materi al s.
Tapes and r ecordi ng mater i al s
suscepti bl e to deteri orat i on or
message or i mage.
hi ghl y
loss of
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
ITE
OBJECTS
Conservat i on records shoul d be checked.
Wat er l ogged obj ects shoul d
be
retai ned in
appropr i at e tr ansportabl e humdi f i ed or
l i qui d envi r onment s.
‘ Dr y’
obj ects shoul d be protected in fi e d
wth
appropr i at e consol i dants to perm t
transport w t hout br eakage ri sk, cr um-
bl i ng, or separat i on of associ ated c om-
ponent s (e. g. , oi l , r ock mater i al s, etc. )
Nori-loan
criteria
Obj ects whi ch because of si ze and fragi l i ty
and notw t hst andi ng conservat i on pr o-
tecti on measur es appl i ed in the f i el d,
cannot be moved w t hout great r isk.
Obj ect s whi ch requi re urgent addi t i onal
t r eat ment after reachi ng
the
mus eum, or
are associ ated
wth
earth and other
signi f i cant accreti ons r equi r i ng f ur ther
exam nat i on.
Wor ks havi ng a great t endency to react to
l i ght or component s in
the
air.
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i?ocrdiires
rind coii~rnrntioii standards
or
tnuseuni collections i?z transit
and
on
eyhzbition
Further remarks
on handling and movement
within the museum
Cl eanl i ness
i s
a cardi nal rul e.
I t is
necessary
to wear l i ght - wei ght cl ean cot t on gl oves
whi l e handl i ng sensi ti ve surfaces whi ch
mar k readi l y or are reacti ve to perspi rat i on
and
the
ol al ways present i n the f i ngers.
Exampl es of such surf aces are hi ghl y
pol i shed, t arni shabl e or oxi di zabl e met al s,
e. g.
si l ver, br onze and parti cul arl y metal s
that have t ransferabl e deter i orat i on c om-
ponent s ( e. g. ertai n br onze pati nas); mo -
der n ‘ col our
fi el d’
or ‘ har d edge’ pai nt i ngs
on unpr i med canvas. or those havi ng amat t
surf ace
hi ghl y
suscept i bl e to mar ki ng and
soi l i ng;easi l y abr aded pl asti c surf aces;st one
and ceramc obj ects of
a
porous nat ure.
t
i s
somet i mes necessary, however ,
to
mak e
a
compr om se bet ween cl eanl i ness i n handl i ng
and securi ty i n hol di ng. The obj ect may
be
heavy and d ff i cu t to hol d or ‘ sl i ppery’ to
handl e
wth
gl oves and theref ore
i t
i s advi s-
abl e to use bar e, but cl ean and dry f i ngers
and hands. I f ths is the case, surf ace per -
TABLE.
Weights
of
materials (approximate values)
Material
Weight
lb/cu.ft gm/cm3
Leather
37
0.6
Soft
wood
30 0.5
Dense
wood 50 0.8
Glass (c om mo n)
160
2. 6
Aluminium 170 3.7
Iron (incl. steels, various)
490
7.8
Zinc
440 7.O
‘Tin
460 7.3
Copper
560 8.9
Lead
700
11.3
Gold
1,200
19.0
Marble, limestone
170 2 8
Cement
180
3 O
Acrylic plastics 75 1. 3
26
spi rat i on and oi l y matt er transferred shoul d
bc wi ped
off
i mmedi atel y.
Tabl e 2 gi ves an i dea of wei ghts of vari -
ous
materi al s for handl i ng purposes.
Ther e are var i ous mobi l e l abour - savi ng
devi ces used for t ransportat i on of obj ects
f r om one area to anot her
wthin
t he
mus eum These are usual l y pl at f orm cart s
on smoot h- rol l i ng wheel s
wth
cus t om- made
di vi ders for securel y hol di ng wor ks of art.
Types
of manual l y- operat ed cart s are shown
in Fi gures
2
and
3.
These are desi gned
wth
shock absorbers and cushi oni ng pads
as
wel l
as anchori ng poi nts for tyi ng
the
wor ks i nto
posi t i on. Very smal l obj ects can be t rans-
port ed in conver t ed grocery cart s or l i brary
book- t rol l eys wth provi si on agai n for soft
paddi ng to avoi d shocks. A cert ai n amount
of i ngenui ty
is
requi red to appl y exi sti ng
types
of
mobi l e f urni ture, such as l i brary
trol l eys, or other i nexpensi ve rol l i ng devi ces.
Very
heavy scul ptures, wei ghi ng several
hundr ed ki l ogr ams requi re speci al handl i ng
equi pment ,
e. g.
overhead chai n hoi sts or
mobi l e hoi sts. Ther e are several such l i ft i ng
devi ces on
the
mar ket rated for di f ferent
ki nds of l oadi ng. However , t is i mpor t ant to
have
the
ri ght
ki nd of grappl i ng devi ce to
l i f t the
obj ect safel y.
Here,
att ent i on has to
be pai d to t he wei ght di str i buti on, str ength
and centre of gravi ty of
the
scul pture and
not to attach the devi ce to
a
weak el ement
causi ng possi bl e breakage. Once l i fted,
the
scul pture shoul d be pl aced on
a
padded
dol l y and t hen t ransported to
wher e
i t
is
re-
qui red.
Ther e
have been i nstances wher e
scul ptures have been decapi tated
by
l i ft i ng
f r oman at t achment devi ce f astened to
the
neck I t
i s
al so i mport ant to appl y paddi ng,
such as soft qui l ted paper , in the areas of
at t achment or enci rcl ement of the grappl i ng
devi ces so
as
to avoi d sur f ace abrasi ons.
The commerci al t ype
of
bat t ery- oper -
ated f ork-l i ft t rucks are real l y
l i mted
to
hoi sti ng and movi ng heavy cases and crates.
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FIG. . Type of mobile cart specifically designed
for transporting paintings and other flat works
within the muse um .
FIG.
.Left, mobile trolley cart for transporting
fragile three-dimensional bjects. Right, flat
cart, or dolly, for moving heavy sculptures,
decorative arts or other bulky items.
27
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cedures a nd conserridion standards
for
musenm collections
in
transit an d
on
exhibition
These have ti nes or proj ecti on pl at f orms
adapt ed for sl i ppi ng under neat h pal l ets or
cases wth bat tens. I n special si tuati ons the
ti nes can be rai sed to a certai n
hei ght,
and
by
at tachi ng chai ns and grappl i ng devi ces,
the
lift truck can be used as a hoi st for l i fti ng
a heavy obj ect or pi ece of decorat i ve art .
Heavi l y- l oaded dol l i es, cart s, and siml ar
mobi l e pl at f orms requi re at l east t wo
per -
sons
or mani pul ati on- one in f ront and
the
other at the back. Part i cul ar care shoul d be
t aken on i ncl i nes to prevent uncont rol l ed
rol l i ng.T he wheel s shoul d be equi pped wth
braki ng devi ces.
T he l arger mus eums have
f rei ght
el eva-
tors for access to the var i ous f l oors.
These
usual l y have a capaci ty of t wo or mor e
t onnes and are desi gned for l ow speed be-
cause of thei r l oadi ng.
A
smal l er number of
mus eums have mechani cal l oadi ng pl at -
f or ms at
the
shi ppi ng dock. Thi s
i s
a most
useful devi ce to rai se (or l ower) cases to f l oor
l evel when l oadi ng or of f - l oadi ng t rucks. t i s
t hen a si mpl e matt er to transfer the cases to
dol l i es or mobi l e carts.
A n i mport ant consi derat i on i n mus eum
i nternal t ransportat i on i s to have avai l abl e a
vari ety of mobi l e devi ces of safe desi gn.
They
shoul d not subj ect wor ks of art and
mus eum obj ects to shock or excessi ve vi bra-
ti on whe n conveyed t hrough
the
bui l di ng.
I t i s preferabl e for shi pment s to be un-
l oaded insi de the bui l di ng pr oper , i .e. t he
vehi cl e enters i nto a shel tered l oadi ng area.
Thus the pr obl emof weather affecti ng cases
and thei r contents is el i mnated. Wher e
there are no i nteri or of f - l oadi ng faci l i tie-
and ths appl i es to many i nst i tut i ons- then
bl anket s, tarpaul i ns, and heavy pl asti c
sheets shoul d
be
avai l abl e for t hrow ng
r ound the cases as
they
are unl oaded
outsi de and moved to
the
shi ppi ng dock.
8
Packi ng of wor ks
of art and mus eum obj ects
I t
i s i nteresti ng to note that tradi ti onal
packi ng and case desi gn sti l l persi sts in
many mus eums . So me of these met hods are
qui te sound, havi ng stood t he test of t i me,
and have had hi gh success rates in t er ms of
protecti on.
Wth
t he advent
of
newer modes
of t ransportat i on and
the
decl i ne in care i n
handl i ng by carri er personnel , t radi ti onal
case desi gn may prove to be i nadequat e.
O n the i ndustri al si de there have been
consi derabl e advances over the past
twenty-f i ve years i n case desi gn, shock ab-
sorbers, and handl i ng techni ques for very
fragi l e obj ects, such as tel evi sion sets, el ec-
troni c equi pment and sensi ti ve i nst r ument s.
Mus eums have been sl ow to adapt newer
t echnol ogy.
Thi s
ma y
be
due in part to
the
general conservat i sm of
the
techni cal per -
sonnel of the shi ppi ng r oom or si mpl y to a
l ack of knowl edge of what i s avai l abl e
outsi de.
Certai nl y the t i me- tested met hods of
packi ng and case const ruct i on shoul d
be
re-
tai ned
if
t hey are st i l l val i d i n protect i ng the
packed obj ects agai nst vi brat i on and shock,
and have a cert ai n degree of t emperat ur e
i nsul ati on and humdi ty- buf f er i ng capaci t y.
The
pr i mary pur pose of packi ng and en-
casement i s to protect t he obj ect. Thi s i s t he
acid test of any syst emwhether ol d or new.
The newer t echnol ogy avai l abl e i n i ndust ry
shoul d neverthel ess
be
studi ed and eval u-
ated for possi bl e mus eum appl i cat i ons. t i s
however up to t he l arger mus eums and
research- t ype i nsti tuti ons to carry out the
necessary test and eval uat i on pr ogr ammes ,
part i cul arl y wher e radi cal l y new approaches
are t aken.
The
quest for newer packi ng materi al s
and f asteni ng devi ces ari ses f r omeconom c
and l abour consi derat i ons. The i ncreased
cost of such basi c const ruct i on mater i al s as
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Handl ing an d packaging techniques
Pol yethyl ene Corr ugated
wr apper cardboard
Pai nt i ng
in f r ame
Paper
wr appei
Pads
Carr yi ng handl e
F R A G I L E
O P E N
C A R E F U L L Y
Pol yet hyl ene
wr apper
wood, pl ywood, i breboards, as
wel l
as that
of ski l led
manpower , poses seri ous budget -
ary pr obl ems
for
mus eums and i nsti tuti ons
as they become mor e and mor e comm t t ed
to exhi bi t i on and exchange pr ogr ammes .
Sol ut i ons may be sought i n var i ous
di recti ons: simpl i f i ed case const ruct i on, mo -
dul ar and r e- cycl ed contai ners, the use of
syntheti c mater i al s, and cl oser pl anni ng of
effort between curatori al , regi str at i on, and
conservati on personnel . The pr oduct s
of
moder n i ndust ry are not
by
and l arge de-
si gned to l ast, or made
to
mus eum archi val
st andar ds.
Thi s
i s the cornerstone of a con-
sumpt i on- or i ent ed soci ety. What i s consi d-
FI G.
.
A
corrugated car dboard-and- paper
package wth pol yethyl ene outer protecti on may
be
used for short -di stancepersonal transport:
(a) met hod of packi ng;
(b)
package exteri or
w th carryi ng handl e.
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Procediires arid corr.reruafiunstaiidmdsjbr museum collections in transil mid u n r.thibitiori
ercd durabl e in i ndust ry. of the order of t wo
to three years,
is
rej ected out - of - hand as
ephemer al
by
mus eum worker s. Anot her
f actor of commer ci al practi ce i s
the
f requent
changes i n manuf act ur i ng speci f i cati ons.
Thus
the
vari ous synthet i c pl asti cs, f oam
rubbers and
the
host of products used in
t he
commer ci al packagi ng i ndustry under go
abr upt revi si ons.
I t
i s
no wonder that cer -
tai n mus eum cr af t smen prefer wood, as
i t i s
a faml i ar mater i al and practi cal l y unchang-
i ng i n
i t s
properti es. Ther e i s al ways
the
pos-
siblity that a part i cul ar synthet i c materi al
may sl ow y rel ease pl asti ci zers or other del -
eteri ous subst ances when wor ks of art are
scal ed up i n
the
case.
I t i s
fai r to say that
certai n types of wood used in case const ruc-
ti on al so pr oduce toxi c vapour s. However
wel l - aged pi ne and good grades of
fir
pl y-
\ \ rood are qui te safe.
I n
the
mor e spectacul ar i nternat i onal ex-
hi bi t i ons of recent years
t here
have been
s ome i mpr ovement s in case desi gn and
packagi ng, together wth a greater f ocus on
conservati on and protecti ve measures. L oan
cont racts and agreement s mor e f requent l y
i ncl ude preci se techni cal cl auses speci f yi ng
packi ng, handl i ng, and envi r onment al con-
di ti ons. Maj or i nternat i onal exhi bi t i ons,e. g.
Expo
'67
( Mont r eal ) and
'70
Osaka) ,
the
Chi nese archaeol ogi cal exhi bi t i on,
the
Ir ish
t reasures, and t he Shakespear e t ravel l i nges-
hi bi t i on al refl ect advances in packi ng and
packagi ng. As ment i oned earl i er, these di s-
pl ays i nvol ved l arge budget s permt t i ng
techni cal i nnovati ons and special conserva-
ti on vi gi l ance unknown to smal l er i nsti tu-
ti ons.
The
cases and packi ng syst ems descr i bed
bel ow are general l y tradi t i onal ones, wth
cert ai n adapt at i ons.
These
do not have
speci al provi si on for bui l t- i n devi ces for hu-
mdi ty
and t emper atur e cont rol . Such con-
trol l ed cases have been descri bed i n a mor e
detai l ed wor k by
the
aut hor. ' Newer ma -
0
teri al s are of course compet i ng
wth the
st andard woods, pl ywood. and hbr eboar ds.
Mor e and mor e f requent l y pol yur ethane,
pol ystyrene and et haf oam( f oampl asti cs in
general ) are f i ndi ng thei r way i nto mus eum
practi ce.
They
have been used f i r s t for
de-
sign and exhi bi t i on di spl ay purposes, and
now
are bei ng used for
the
packi ng of wor ks
of art.
INDIVIDUAL HAND-CAR RIED PACKAGES
I n
ths
met hod an i ndi vi dual - f r amedpai nt -
i ng, dr awi ng, or phot ogr aph
i s
pr e- wr apped
w th ti ssue paper , or kraf t paper , and sur-
r ounded wth addi t i onal sof t - paper paddi ng
mater i al and pl aced di rectl y in a
wood,
pl y-
M ood, or car dboard packi ng case of
sli ghtl y
l arger di mensi ons. Thi s t echni que i s essen-
tia ly for short - di stance and personal i zed
t ransport , as the case
i s
not part i cul arl y
st rong, nor i s
t here
muc h cushi oni ng ma -
terial.
I f
the
fl at obj ect
i s
unf r amed
i t is
necessary to at tach Gam ng stri ps al ong
the
edges,
protrudi ng in such a manner that
the
\I
r appi ng mater i al does not t ouch or abrade
the
decorat i ve surf ace. For weat her prot ec-
ti on, e. g. agai nst rai n or hi gh hum di t y, the
exteri or may be wr apped i n pol yethyl ene
fi lmFi nal l y, heavy cord
i s ti ed
r ound
t he
package toget her
wth
a handl e to faci l i tate
hand- car r yi ng[see Fi g. 5' ).
PYRAMID ACKING OR
F K A M E D
WORKS IN CASES
Ther e are t wo mai n vari ants of th s system
I n one met hod
the
pai nt i ngs, drawi ngs or
other flat wor ks in thei r f r ames are arr anged
in ti ers upon hori zontal ' separat i ng' panel s,
1.
Nat han
Stolow,
onseruafion Standards or Works
g-
4rt in
Transit
and
on Exhibition.
Paris, Unesco,
1979
( Mus eums
and Monument s, SVII.)
(English
and French.)
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Handling and
packagzng
lechnzqurJ
wth the f ree si de spaces t aken up wth vari -
ous stuf f ed ‘ cushi ons’ or shock absorbers.
These may be f abri c or kraf t paper stuf fed
wth soft cr umpl ed ti ssue, or encl osi ng f oam
r ubber pi eces. A second vari ati on of ths sys-
t em
mor e hazar dous,
i s the
ori gi nal ‘ py-
r am d packi ng’ met hod, i n whi ch f r amed
obj ects are stacked f ace downwar ds
wth
the
l argest f r amed i t empl aced at
the
bot t omof
the pyr am d and the smal l er ones progres-
sively to the
top.The
i ndi vi dual f r ames are
i i tted
wth
corner pads and the sl ack si de
FIG. . (a) Tradi ti onal packi ng case of pl ywood
and wood. The vari ous warni ng signs are ked,
e.g. ‘ Useno hooks’, Keep away
f r om
rai n’ ,
‘Keep
verti cal ’ ,and ‘Fragi l e’ ;
b)
d fferent
closures
for
cases: (i) wood screww th washer;
(ii)bol t and threaded capti ve pl ate fi xed to case
wal l ; (iii) a newer type of‘ adj ustabl e closure
devi ce. Rotati ng the w ng- nut owers or ra ses
the metal l i nki ng att achment .
31
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tandards
u r museum
collections
in
transit
and
on exhibition
. .. . .. . .
Pl ywood
Pol ystyrene rigid f oam
Sof t pl asti c f oam
Loose f i l l packi ng materi al .
e g
pol ystyrene. pol yur ethane f oam
FI G. .
acki ng
system
for a decorati veart
obj ect.
(Hol m
openhagen. )
spaces
fi l ledwth
cushi oni ng mater i al as be-
f ore, The first packi ng t echni que i s safer as
there i s l ess
danger of
the
f r amed wor ks
shi f ti ng posi t i on t hrough mov ement
of
cus-
hi oni ng mater i al as a resul t
of
shock or
droppi ng of the packi ng case. I t
is
advi sabl e
to have sturdy t r i pl e- corrugated cardboards
or hor i zontal separators to r educe the possi -
blity
of t he i ndi vi dual pat i nt i ngs, drawi ngs,
or phot os damagi ng one anot her in the
event of ext r eme shock.
TRAYACKING N ASES
Thi s
is
another t ype of gr oup packi ng for
flat wor ks st acked hori zontal l y i n a case.
The wor k of art i s fi tted in a ray f r amewor k
wth
shock absorbers posi t i oned at the
f r ame corners.
Thi s
t ype of packi ng syst em
can accommodat e fi ve or six such tr ays.
I t
has been successful l y empl oyed i n travel l i ng
exhi bi t i ons havi ng extensi ve i ti nerari es.
Si nce
the
trays can
be
made qui te st rong
and extend ful l y to the i nsi de surf aces of t he
packi ng case, there i