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The last 40 years have seen major changes in the sources and concentrations of urban pollution (nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and particles). During this time, research has advanced our understanding of the impact of pollutants on objects in urban museums. As a consequence, pollutant control has become an important aspect of preventive conservation. There is also increased awareness of the need for pollution control strategies that are sustainable at an organizational and global level. This paper, prepared by a chemist, a conservator and two building scientists, reviews strategies for minimizing the impact of urban pollution on museum collections. The results of new research funded by the UK government identify current (1999) internal pollution levels in both naturally ventilated and air-conditioned museums with particle and gaseous filtration, in relation to external concentrations, ventilation strategies, and the characteristics of the internal fabric and finishes of these buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The British Museum, London, houses three of the nine known extant examples of Ancient Egyptian painted linen shrouds depicting texts and vignettes from the 'Book of the Dead'. A vacuum cold-lining technique was developed to support the first of the shrouds to be treated This paper describes how this lining technique was modified to treat the second, more degraded shroud, the shroud of Amenhotep. In this treatment it was also necessary to find a temporary facing which would keep all the fragments of the shroud in position while an oM support backing was removed and the new lining was applied The facing adhesive had to be suitable for use in conjunction with the chosen paint consolidant and water-soluble support adhesive. A successful solution was developed, combining pressure-sensitive adhesive facings and a vacuum cold-lining technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts a new approach to cleaning research, made possible by recent developments in sample derivatization. For the first time, an extensive analytical study has been made of the solvent cleaning of a range of paintings from the early fifteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century. Direct analytical comparisons are made between samples from mechanically and solvent-cleaned test areas of both tempera and oil paintings, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Thornham Parva Retable was made in England c. 1330-40, originally forming a larger altarpiece with the Musée de Cluny Frontal. Technical examination of the Retable provides an insight into the production of a major commission, where so little comparative material survives. This paper provides an overview of the materials and techniques used in the making of the Retable, including the construction of the wooden support, the preparatory layers and design of the figures, the methods of gilding and tin relief decoration and the execution of the paint layers. It also explores questions of workshop organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the economic implications of cleaning in response to the flow of visitors through historic houses. The section reflects on work carried out in properties of the National Trust for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which is the largest accredited museum authority in the U.K., with 175 furnished properties open to visitors for seven months each year, on average five days per week and four to five hours a day. According to the study, although it describes how control of dust influences property management and housekeeping policies in the National Trust, the outcomes are applicable to historic properties in general and to museums and galleries where significant interiors and collections are exposed to dust.

From the earliest British colonization of Australia, draughtsmen and watercolourists were eager to depict their new home. A demand for paintings in the more permanent and prestigious medium of oil was met by many of these first artists, even though most were not trained in this medium. In the first 40 years, artists often depended on personal patrons and friends in Britain for the supply of painting materials. The problems of shortages led to some improvisation and substitution of materials. By the 1830s the number of professionally trained British artists who had emigrated to Australia had increased, and the supply of artists' materials had also become more reliable. This early period, greatly dependent on irregular supplies from England, was followed by rapid commercial development of the colonies and faster shipping which ensured that new materials and techniques from England quickly appeared in the Australian colonies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]