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This area of scientific research focuses on characterizing and understanding the materials used in works of art—ranging from metal and stone to textiles, pigments, and binders. Knowledge gained from this research provides the basis for developing measures that can preserve these materials. Work in this area also involves research on preventive conservation, which includes studies of the environments surrounding collections and the sources of threats to these collections—as well as the design of strategies to eliminate or minimize those threats.
A past GCI project that addressed these issues was the development of nitrogen-filled, hermetically sealed display cases to protect organic material from microbiological activity (see Nitrogen Anoxia Research in past scientific research projects). A prototype case was first produced for the Royal Mummies collection in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The case design was later modified and used in the preservation of several important historic documents, including the Constitution of India and the Royal Proclamation Charter of the Hudson Bay Company.
Current GCI projects in this area include:
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