Behind The Scenes: What’s been happening in the Riesco gallery?
As Croydon experiences an exciting time of unprecedented revitalisation. We have to think what do all these changes mean in safeguarding the museum’s collections? Vibration, whether from footfall in the gallery or nearby construction work, can pose a risk to museum objects. Research on vibrations is ongoing for museums and heritage institutions. In 2012 The Metropolitan Museum of Art completed a case study on ‘Vibration Mitigation and Monitoring’ through an assessment of vibration risks and best safeguarding practice, before a renovation. Using this research we made some changes in our own galleries!
M/1992/469
Why do vibrations matter to museum objects?
Vibrations can cause damage to objects both during short or long term exposure. They can increase stresses on an object, with fragile objects being particularly vulnerable. A shelf may have much larger vibrations then the wall the shelf is attached to due to ‘resonance condition’ that occurs when the exiting frequency is near the natural frequency of the shelf. This means that it is hard to anticipate the responses of the objects on and off mounts/pedestals.
What are we doing?
We are assessing all objects in this gallery, determining those that are most at risk and we are reducing that risk by boxing items, removing mounts/pedestals (as needed), re positioning and ‘cushioning’ objects in the collection. This is while still maintaining as much access to open display for the public as possible! While doing this we condition checked and had a good clean, as you can see in our photograph!
How can you access the objects?
We plan to keep all objects on display, although now they are moved around – you will now likely see your favourite object at a different angle! This is all to ensure that the collection is preserved correctly and securely. We have even gained objects by putting the original Riesco object boxes on display!
Want to know more about what we have done past and present #behindthescenes - check out our our Social Media pages and send us a tweet @museumofcroydon!
Jessica Woolf
Collections Officer