A Study on the Improvement of Glass Protector Function in Artworks

Most of the frame glass protectors used to protect artworks from natural and artificial damage are made of pure glass without any special function. However, currently, art museums need various functions to protect works and increase exhibition viewing, such as preventing glass protectors from scattering, blocking ultraviolet rays, suppressing mold growth on the surface of artworks, and reducing light reflection on glass. Accordingly, this study conducted durability, antibacterial, and visibility evaluations using glass with the most transparent film among commercially available anti-bacterial and low-reflection films. First, the transparency of the film was checked to ensure smooth viewing of the artwork, and it was confirmed that the glass with the low-reflection film attached to the outermost part had the highest light transmittance. In addition, as a result of observing the adhesion of the film to confirm the anti-scattering function, it was observed that the anti-bacterial film had better adhesion than the low-reflection film, and the scattering of glass fragments attached to the anti-bacterial film was relatively small. In addition, glass with an anti-bacterial film showed a higher UV protection rate than glass without an anti-bacterial film. As a result of measuring microbial activity (ATP) at one-week intervals to confirm the effect of inhibiting mold growth, it was found that the microbial activity of glass with only anti-bacterial film attached and glass with anti-bacterial film attached to the outermost layer was the lowest. Finally, each glass specimen was applied to the color chart to compare colors, check surface roughness, and evaluate visibility. Accordingly, it was confirmed that the color difference was the smallest in white and black, and the difference in height of the irregularities on the glass surface with the low-reflection film attached to the outermost part was found to be the smallest. The results of this study are expected to serve as basic data for research that will not only improve the function of glass protectors used in artworks and protect works more effectively, but also improve existing exhibition and viewing environments.