Procedures and Conservation Standards

8/21/2019 Procedures and Conservation Standards

1/53

Procedures and conservation

-standards or museumcollections

in transit and on exhibition

Nathan Stolow

4-r

E:

aJ

.r

Y

E

PI


2/53

Protection

of the

cultural heritage

Technical handb ooks

for muse ums and monumen ts

3


3/53

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


4/53

Nathan

Stolow

\

Procedures and

conservation standards

for m u s e u m collections

in transit

and on exhibition


5/53

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


6/53

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.)


7/53

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


8/53

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-


10/53

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


11/53

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

13


12/53

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


13/53

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


14/53

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.


15/53

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


16/53

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


17/53

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


18/53

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


19/53

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-


20/53

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

23


21/53

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


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.

24


22/53

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,


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,


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


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.

25


23/53

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.


24/53

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


25/53

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


26/53

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.

29


27/53

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.)


28/53

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


29/53

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

Procedures and Conservation Standards

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