Preventive Conservation Research and Practice at the British Museum

Since the early 1970s the conservation scientists at the British Museum have pursued a program of research in what has become known as preventive conservation. This object-centered research almost always was initiated as investigation into the cause of deterioration, to gain an understanding of treatment and environmental requirements for stabilization. The majority of galleries and object storage areas are not equipped with air-handling systems; such systems are not always feasible in a building which is itself of such importance that it has been designated grade one listed by English Heritage. Solutions have thus involved micro-environments tailored to the needs of groups of objects. A continuing theme has been the role in deterioration played by pollutant gases, particularly reduced sulfide gases and organic acids. This paper presents an overview of these investigations in the broader context of preventive conservation practice in the British Museum.