Developing Tools and Methods for Selecting Materials to Display, Store, and Transport Art

The environment in which objects are stored and displayed in collecting institutions around the world impacts both the condition and longevity of works of art. It is imperative that materials in direct contact with an object, whether it be a display case, crate for transport, or temporary wall, be adequately evaluated to ensure they will not damage an artifact. Most museums, libraries, and archives do not have the resources necessary to perform such evaluations, and further, an accurate tool for the assessment of materials used with organic objects does not exist.

The Preventive Conservation Science Laboratory (PCSL) is addressing these widespread collections-care issues by developing a new test for the assessment of construction, storage, and display materials for use with organic objects, as well as assessing volatile organic chemical analysis (VOC) via gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) methods and performing traditional tests[1] in a world-class analytical facility. The PCSL is publishing the resulting on the AIC's Materials Testing Wiki site for the use of cultural institutions' collections care teams nationally and worldwide.

Currently, we are developing a paper-based test to address both the subjectivity of the Oddy test and the potential disparity between the effect of materials on metals and organics.  The Oddy test is an accelerated test that ages lead, copper, and silver with collections-care materials such as foams, adhesives, and boards. This test relies on visual observation of corrosion on the coupons to judge the material. The paper-based test replaces the metals with 100 percent cellulosic paper and relies on quantifiable data from advanced analytical tools to assess the degree of paper degradation caused by the materials being tested.

We are following these tests with GCMS volatiles analysis to begin to understand how much of which chemicals are responsible for the metal and paper degradation. With these advances, collection stewards around the world will begin to have unbiased information about what materials are safe for use with collections.

The project has been made possible through a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), grant number NLG MG-30-16-0083.

Note

[1] Buscarino, I. C., Stephens, C.H., and Breitung, E.M., "Oddy test protocol at the Metropolitan Museum of Art" (2018).