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AUTHORTITLE

INSTITUTION

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DOCUMENT RESUME'

SE 618 827

Adams, Philip R.; And OthersThe Organization of Museums: Practical Advice.Museums and Monuments, IX.United Nations Educational, Scientific, and CulturalOrganization, Paris (France).60234p.; Some photographs related to text willinotreproduce clearlyUNPUB, Inc., P.O. Box 443, New York, New York 10016($8.50)

MF-$0.76 HC Not Available from EDRS..PLUS POSTAGE,-1*Administration; Architecture; Ants Centers;Conservation Education; *Educational Facilities;Environmental Education; Fadilities; *Guides;*Museums; *Organization; Sciatic@ Education; L'c-cialStudies; Staff UtilizationUNESCO

ABSTRACTThis manual deals 'with the organization of museums.

The manual includes 10 chapters written by different people involvedin museum work in various parts of the world. Chapter I, The Museumand Its Functions, deals with such topics as definition; collecting,identifying, and recording. Chapter II considers the adiinistrationof museums. Chapter III, The Staff, considers the curatorial staff,office staff, guards, and others. Chapter IV deals with museums andresearch. The visitor is discussed in Chapter V. A discussion of therole of education (who, when, where,Vy and how) in museums iscontained in Chapter VI. Chapter VII looks at the museum laboratory.Inorganic and organic material storage conditions, accessibility, andstorage records are discussed in Chapter VIII. Chapter IX looks atthe exhibit, planning, setting, lighting, and other exhibit-relatedtopics. Chapter X is a discussion of museum architecture. Mostchapters, nclude a bibliography, appendix and/or summary. A foreword,conclusion, and illustrations"are also included. (Author/TK)

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Unesco has also published the following titlesof interest to the readers ofthis book:

I. Sites & Monuments: problems of today.. too pages, 115 illustrations,plans, indcx, 2nd,cd., 1953 (bilingual). .

II. The Care of Paintings. 164 pages. 87 illustrations, eiagrams,indcx,2nd ed.1952 (bilingual).

III. Cuzco: reconstruction of the town and restoration of its monuments. 58pages,64' illustrations and maps, 1952 (also in French and Spanish).

IV. Saint Sophia of Ochrzda: preservation and restoration of the building and itsfrescoes. 28 pages, 37 illustrations and maps, 1953 (also in French).

V. Manual of Travelling Exhibitions. 112 pagcs, 18 diagrams, 7o illus-trations, 1953 (also in French).

VI. Lebanon: suggestions for the plan of Tripoli and for the surroundings of theBaalbek Acropolis. 48 pages, I map, 7 diagrams, 44 illustrations,1954 (also in French),

VII. Syria: problems of preservation and presentation of sites and monuments.52 pages, 61 illustrations, 3 m.. ?s, 1954 (also in French and Arabic)

VIIL Protection of Cultural'Properg in the Event of Armed Conflict (revised andenlarged from thc Fregch kit). 346 pages, 124 figures, 137 illus-trations, 1958 also in French).

IX. The Organization of Alureunu: practical advice. 188 pages, 12 figures,77 illustrations, 196o (also in French).

X. Temporary and Travelling Exhibitions. 123 pages, 24 figures, 49 illus-trations. 1963. (also in Frcnch).

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THEORGANIZATION

OF MUSEUMSpractical advice

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The conclusions set out ancrthel opinionsexpressed in this book arc those of the 1authors and do not necessarily -effect theviews of Unesco.

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Published by the United NationsEducational, Scientific and Cultural Organization s .Place de Fontenoy, Paris-71st impression January ts6o2nd impression February 113967Printed by Offset Aiibin,s older.,

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CO-NTENTS

Foreword, by Luther H. Evans

The Authors

CHAPTER I. The museum and its functions, by Douglas A. Allan.Definition ......... . .

Collecting .IdentifyirgRecording

C PreservationExhibitionEducationThe public

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13131318'9202024z6

CHAPTER II: Adminitration of museums, by Pierre Schommer z8General organization z8Personnel 3oCollections c.,

31Equipment and supplies, premises, security .. 44The public . . . . . . . . . 47Financial questions ....... 49Bibliography f 51

CHAPTER HI. The staff, by Douglas A. Allan. . 5 2The curatorial staff . . . 5 2

Qualifications Si,Administrative dutiesAcademic background ind training facilities.

...It 5455

Post-academic experience 6oThe office. staff 61The technical staff 61The guards *6zWatchmen. 63Cleaning services 63Other specialized staff. 64Educational service i i 64

ummary and suggestions for staff tables 65

CHAPTER IV. Museums And research, by Haoshi Daifuku . 68Introduction 68

mim7"7Museums in the humanities 68.Science museums ..... .... 69Publications . . 7oStaff . 7oFacilities fora researchThe future i . .Bibliography

CHAPTER V. The museum and the visitor, by Hiroshi Daifuku.IntroductionReaction of visitors to exhibitions . ..Attempts to attract a wider public. . . . ..Compbsition.of visitors to a Mexican and a Dutchmuseum .Facilities to encourage visitors . . .. .. . .The public in non-industrialized countries .Summary and conclusionsBibliOgraphy ,

CHAPTER VI. Education in museums, Ey Molly Harrison3. Introdh ion

Who w _undertake educational prcvammes ?Where c it Ile done ? ..... .When should educational prograMmcs be given )How should they be given ?Why should educational programmes be considered ?

CHAPTER VII. The museum laboratory, by Paul CoremansIntroductiotrScientific examinationDeterioration of old materials

Climate 'Light . . .

4 Specific 'liability to dete4orationConservation and restoration /Concrete examples of examination and treatmentBibliographyAppendixes

CHATTER VIII. Collections: thei, care and storage, by Hiroshi Daifuku.IntroductionInorganic material,Organic material

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Storage conditions 122Accessibility .. 1 z3Storage records

I 124Summary. 124Bibliography . 125

CHAPTER IX. The exhibition, by P. R. Adams .. 126Introduction i z6Planning the exhibition . .. 126The setting for the exhibition 128 .Temporary exhibitions, 129Labels 129

Examples of exhibitions ..... .Lighting . . ,Case design ... ... (, .. .Mounting objects. . . ... 130

139139f.141',The travelling exhibition . ..... 143 (.."1Bibliography144

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CHAPTER X. Museum architecture, b,r Bruno Molajoli. 146General observations . . . . 146Plansfer small Riuscums . v . 149Planning. . 158

Construction and equipment . . 164Museums housed in old buildings . . 17o

Museum services ..... . . . . 1175Hall for temporary exhibitions and lectures; bar.

175Storerooms and reserves . 176Library, photographic collections, prints and phonograph records. . 177Offices, laboratories and workshops. . 178Technical and security installations . 18o

Bibliography . .. 184

Conclusion, by Georges-Henri Riviere ig7

Illustrations . .. .. ...

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189

Twenty-four years have passed since thepublication of Museographie, a two-volumework compiled by the International Mu-.scums Office. It not only summarized thecurrent status of "museums, but it provedto be the basis for stimulating furtherprogress in the development of museumsthroughout the world. The demand for this

- outstanding work was- so great that it soonwent out of print and it is still today oneof the fundamental reference works usedin museographical research.

A great deal has happened, however, sinceMuseograpbie was published: social and poli-tical chances have occurred, a rapid advanceis being made in technology, communicationfacilities have improved, air travel hasreached a high stage of development, weare on the threshold of developing newsources of energy and the first attempts atthe exploration of outer space have begun.

VMule the basic principles of museumwork have not changed, applications andtechniques cannot but be affected' by con-temporary needs and mode?t technology.Perhaps because of the current ferments,there is evident everywhere an increasinginterest in the past history of mankind aswell as in the phenomena of the present.Museuins are hound to respond to theseinterests. They harbour within their wallsancient fossils, the crude stone tools ofearly man, works of art which express someof man's highest aspirations in his searchler the meaning of existence, and modelswttich depict and explain his latest achieve-ments, such as the operation of atomicpower plants. And throughout the worldmuseums have reported a constant increase'in attendance.'

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The international quarterly Museum, pub-lished by Unesco, which reviews museumactivity throughout the world, bears witnessin its articles to the changes which havebeen taking place. The educational role ofmuseums has become Much more impor-tant than it was in the past. Exhibitionsare being revised so as to be aestheticallyphasing and more informative; and tempo-rary exhibitions dealing with a single themehave become more common. There hasbeen a considerable development, too, ofspecialized educational services in museumsin many countries.

Unesco has encouraged this tendencyihrough sponsoring a series of internationalnd regional seminars on the educationalole of museums. The first was held in

larooklyn, New York, in 1952. Many ofthe participants were from Europe. Theystildieti the educational programmes ofmuseums in the United States, new trendsin museum exhibitions, etc. The resultswere published in a report by the Directorand in Museum.' A similar seminar was heldin Athens, Greece, during 1954. Participantscame from Europe and the Middle East,and also from the Far East and the NewWorld. The presence 'of participants fromless developed countries gave a differentemphasis to the seminar: museum educa-tional programmes were considered in termsof the special needs of such countries. Thetheoretical bases of educational programmesin countries where they are already well

Unesco ST/R/18, 1958, 'Preliminary Report or/Museum Statistics'.

z. Unesco/CUAi54, 1954; Museum, Vol, VI,No. 4, 1953. 9

developed were evaluated, and alternat., resolutions were considered. As in the pre-vious case, the results of the seminar werepublished in a report by the Director andin Museum).

The expansion of museum programmeS toattract visitors by means of tempOrary exhi1biuons, frequently made possible .through'loans, is one of the phenomena of the.present.-A further development is the tra-velling exhibition which permits people tosee material most of which would otherwisebe inaccessible. To encourage travellingexhibitions and furnish information de-signed to minimize the risks of transport,the Manual for Travelling Exhibitions "(Vol-ume V in this series) was published byUnesco in 195b in English and Friinch;and was an instant success.

The trend towards wider use of museumsin all parts of- the world is reflected in therequests received under the ParticipationProgramme, through which Unesco aidsthe development of museums, in MemberStates by sending experts and equipment,and providing fellowships to enable ne-uonals to receive further training abroad.Experts have been sent to advise on aspectsof museum development to AfghanistanCeylchi, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Pakis-tan Peru, Singapore and the Sudan. Fellow -shipsships have been given tg nationali ofAfghan-istan, Argentina, Belgium, Buniia, Cuba,Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, India, IndonesiaJapan and Poland, to study museums abroadand to receivesfurther professional trainingto enable them to assume the responsibilitiesresulting from expansion of ..he programmesof their musuems.

One of the most important instrumentsof Unesco's, programme has been the co-operative effort of 1COM, the InternationalCouncil, of Museums, an organization ofthe museographical profession with nationalcommittees in 48 countries. Mi. GeorgesHenri Riviere, the Director of this organiz-ation, since its establishment, has beenparticularly instrumental iii working toforward the aims jdf Unesco. He has co-operated closelpfn many of its projects,including the publicatir.i of this manual,of which. he he ped to plan the basic outlinefurnished to the contributing ,authors, andto edit the text. On behalf of Unescb,I wish to acknowledge our indebtedness tohim and our appreciation of his efforts.

This text is in no way designed to replaceMArrographie. It is, as its title indicates,designed to give practical advice to smallermuseums with limited budgets, or tomuseums which are just beginning toenlarge ,the scope of their activities. I amsure that the book can be useful for thispurpose. Perhaps it may also be valued bymembers._ of the profession working inmuseums which are already well estab-

lished; and if so, this will be a testimonyto the value of the texts contributed.

1`LUTHER H. EVANS

Director-GeneralUnesco, Paris, 1958

t. UnescuiCUA, 64, 1953, M,ueum, Vol. VIII,No. 4, 1955.

ADAMS, Philip R.

A.B., M.A., Litt.D. (MiamL University).Lecturer, History of the Arts, TulaneUniversity, 1931-34. Director of the Galleryof Fine :Arts, 'Columbus, Ohio, 1954-45.Director of .ttie Cincinnati Art Museum

'since 1945: 'Director of the College ArtAssociation, Executive Secietary of the ArtCommittee, Office of the Co-ordinator ofInter-American Affairs (Rockefeller- Com-

,. mince), 941. Trustee of the AmericanFederation of Arts. Author of articles andmonographs in various Publicationt, amongthem Kenyon Review, Harper's Bazaar, andMuseum.

ALLAN, Douglas A'.

D.Sc., Ph.D. (Edinburgh). Lectu*rer inGeology at the Universities of Edinburghand Durhani. Director of Liverpool CityMuseum, 1929 -44. Director, Royal ScottishMuseum, since 1945. President, BritishMuseums Association, 1942-46. Chairman,British National Committee of ICOM, 1943.Director, Unesco Seminar. Museums andEducation, Brooklyn, N.Y., 195z.

COREMANS, Paul .

D.Sc., university graduate in science, 'thehistory of art, archaeology. Director of theInstitut Royal du Patrimoine Artistiqueand the Archives Centrales Iconographiquesd'Art National, Brussels. Professor at theUniversity of Ghent. Author of severalarticles and monographs' on, the scientificprotectiontlf cultural property.

t

TH.E AUTHORS

DAIFIJRU,' Hiroshi

Ph.D. (Harvard University). Instructor,Department of Anthropology, Universityof Wisconsin, 1949-5z. Curator of anth-ropological exhibitions, State HistoricalSociety Museum, Madison, Wisconsin,95z-54. Programme Specialist, MuseumsDivision, Unesco, since 1954, Publicationsin anthropology and museography.

.

HARRISON, Molly

Curator, Geffrye Museum, London. Authorof articles and books on museums andeducation, including ltfuseunt Adventurethe Slog of the Geffrye Museum; was one ofthe contributing authors to Milieu= andYoung People, published by ICOM in x 95z.Editor of `Museums in Education', Edu.ration Abstracts, Vol. 8, No. z, Unesco,I95q.

MoLAJou, Bruno

B.A. Inspector, Administration of Antiqui-ties and Fine Arts (Italy), 1933. RegionalDirector, Department of Antiquities andFine Arts, Trieste, 1936-39. Director ofthe Art. Galleries of Campania, Naples,since 1939. Member of the Council forAntiquities and Fine Arts, of the Ministryof Education.

SCHOMMER, Pierre

Graduate' of the Ecole du Louvre. Attache,National ServiCe for the Protection of

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II

Historic Monuments and Works of Art(1917-19). Assistant-Secretary of the Comemission des Vestiges de Guerre; Secretary,Historic Monuments Commission (1919 -z6); Attache, Direction des, Musics Na-

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tionaux, 19z7. Conservateur des MusicsNationaux, Assistant to the Director ofthe Musics de France (1945). ChiefCurator, Music de la. Malmaison, since1956.

13

cHApTElt I1\.

Tat-MUSEUM AND ITS FUNCTIONS

DEFINITION

A museum in its simplest form cons4ts ofa building to ,house collections of Objectsfor inspection, study and enjoyment. Theobjects may have been brought from theends of ke earthcoral from the GreatBarrier Reef of Australia, a brick from theGreat Wall of Citina, an ostrich egg fromAfrica or a piece of magnetic iron ore fromGreenland; they may be things of todayor things of the distant pasta model ofa jet-propelled aeroplane or a fossil fernfrom the Coal Measures; they may .be ofnatural origin or may be man_ madeacluster of quartz crystals or a woven matfrom India.

A museum thus gathers for conven-ience under the one roof material whichoriginally was widely distributed throughboth time and space. Secondly, it providesthe identification and annotation of theobjects as a first step towards understandingthem. It makes the onlooker's thoughtstravel far from things commonly knownand from his, immediate surroundings.Thirdly, a museum displays its collectionsunder conditions conducive to enjoymentand study so that the visitor will be happyto enter the institution, to scrutinize theexhibits, to ponder over them and to returnto see more. It is only when his curiosityand' wonder have been aroused that thspectator is encouraged to stop.and consi erthe specimens before himto think deeplyabout them and to embark upon a courseof study. No other institution collects anddisplays examples of our three-dimensionalworld as an aid to general understanding,museums are unique.

by Douglas A. ALLAN

COLLECTING

One of the major tasks a museum canperform is to bring before our eyes thatmost entrancing story of allthe story ofman the world over, showing how he builtup his knowledge of the world he lives in,and how he developed his family life, hisarts and crafts, his cultures and his civili-zations. Such studies show how late in hishistory he developed museums, althoughmaking collections has been a characteristicof man from the very earliest times. Fromthe very start, food, clothing and vimwere essential to him, and he leatnefd toaccumulate and store them for his futureneeds. Then later came the period when hecollected objects as personal wealth and asa demonstration of prestige. With the riseof complicated civilizations, the opportu-nities to gather valuable objects, such asarms and armour, silks and tapestries, goldand jewels increased. Pikincely gifts decor-ated palaces and temples, and changedhands with alliances and marriages or withthe fortunes of war. Treasures fell to aris-tocratic lineage or to the strong arm. Lateron such wordly possessions marked therising class. of prosperous merchants andtraders, for the rich and the rare'have alwaysbeen they entertained families and

nds and rssed rivals and subor-dinates. At a la r stage still, collectionswere fashionable as reflection of individualgood taste, culture r wide interests. Oncea man had house, ealth and family, hetended to collect ooks, pictures, objetsd'art and natural riosities.

Such accumulati ns demanded both spaceand maintenance And in some cases became

1'I3

a burden to their ex ners. In others a spiritof genersity pre% aired and there was adesire to make them available to a widerpublic:For both these reasons gifts of wholecollections v. ereimade to benefit the public,and the institutions .xhich housed them-ix ere named art galleries or museums. Inclassical times the term museum denoted ingeneral the seat of the muses and, in parti-cular, the university building erected at

, Alexandria by Ptolemy Suter. Museums and- art galleries sprang up in the European

capitals from the mid-eighteenth centuryonwards, often under royal patronage, andnations v led v. ith each other in setting upimpressive institutions to house their treas-ures, mainly in the fields of art and archae-ology ..The large urban centres were not slowto follow the developments in the nationalcapitals, whose claims to prestige theyrivalled by erecting and filling museumsand art galleries of their own, often relyingon the benevolence of local merchants orindustrialists to provide .the initial funds,while the civic authorities usually under-took to staff and maintain the institutions.

The arts and crafts were not, however,the only fields to yield material worthcollecting and preserving, for naturalcuriosities stimulated an interest in thenatural sciences and the exploration of theworld provided an ever increasing volumeof specimens. Beginning with a singlecabinet, the collector would aspire to awhole room holding a mixture of minerals,rocks, fossils, butterflies, birds and flintartifacts. Enthusiasts banded themselvesinto learned societies and contributed theircollections to the museum of their societyor presented, them to the _town's museumto form new sections dealing with naturalhistory, archaeology or ethnography. Mostof these early 'society' museums werecentres of education, providing courses oflectures, and many of the members wereactively engaged in systematic research,which they wrote up and published intheir proceedings or transactions, andaround which they often gathered veryuseful specialized libraries.

Universities built up famous referencelibraries dealfng with the wide variety of

is taught, but they did not stop at14 that. 1th the rapidly expanding studies of

the sciences not only were experimentallabutvtories required but also materials toins estigate. It was essential to have extensivesets of teaching specimens, which had tobe housed between lectures and made avail-able for study in the students' own time,hence the rise of departmental museums.To them came additions from researchprbjects conducted inside the universityand also others from the overseas explo-rations which were such a feature of theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Therewere also gifts from the ends of the earthsmade by travellers and administrators, oftenalumni of the older universities who wereanxious to give rarities, treasures andcuriosities to the academies which hadreared them. These in diverse ways addedto the wealth of the collections inheritedby the museum experts of today.

The nineteenth century was a time ofeducational expansion in all fields and atall levels in regions affected by the IndustrialRevolution. Mechanics' institutes and tech-nical schools sprang up to provide trainingfor those whose days were absorbcil inworkshop and factory. Models were madeto demonstrate in lectures the principlesof the physical and applied sciences. Yetothers were constructed by students as theyacquired skill in precision work on woodand metals, thus providing for the growingmuseum collections anothh type of speci-men greatly prized by those who came after.The universities, tot., preserved apparatusand tools used in historic researches andconstructed appliances employed in demon-strations. Thus in .a somewhat systematicway began much of the accumulation ofmaterial fac the physical science and techno-logical macums of today. Some fortunateinstitutions were able to acquire specialcollections, such as the scale dockyardmodels of ships constructed for the variousadmiralties, or the wonderful groups ofmechanical models showing the state ofengineering in Sweden in the seventeenthand eighteenth centuries, which were com-menced by Christopher Polhem in xG9G forthe Royal Model Chamber and which arenow such an important feature of theTekniska Museet, Stockholm.

the making of collections proceededapace, embracing all types of objects and

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avidly pursued by all kinds of people, for-while the accumulation of choice porcelain,glass or ivories might demand a -well-filled purse, it was possible to acquire otherobjects such as the various types of light-making appliances, or even a range ofspinning wheels, very cheaply. Sometimesthe collector's urge was satisfied by themaking of as complete a series as possible;sometimes he went further and conductedresearch into the history and development

4 of the objects he collected; sometimes herounded off his collecting and his studiesby publishing a monograph, often acceptedas an authoritative textbook on the subject.The collections, either accepted as gifts orpurchased, generally found theiOray intosome appropriate museum.

Yet another type of person was busilyengaged in bringing museums into beingthe lovers of furnitture, fittings and domesticappliances of a certain period, associatedwith a particular house, or connected withthe life, times and labours of a irarticularindividual or family. These sought to savegroups of objects, the furnishings of entirehouseholds, frequently in the originalhouses themselves. In the case of historicpersonages:national heroes; musicians,playwrights, artists, soldiers, explorers andscientists--documents, writings, decor-ations, clothing have been assiduouslycollected so as to present as co plete apicture a?possible of the life and mes ofthe person concerned, thus constitu ng thetype of museum designated a Period Houseor a Birthplace Museum.

A museum was thus, in the initial stages,a response to the need to house collectionsbrought into being by the enthusiasm ofcollectors. There are as many kinds ofmuseum as there are kinds of object toaccumulate and to save for the enjoymentof other people now and in the years tocome. Museums are not, however, as somepeople consider, static institutions. Humaninsututions like organisms tend to developin response to changing needs, or to die.a natural death from neglect. Museumsbegan by collecting and that remains theirfirst function. A museum may collect any-thing but it cannot collect everything. Someof the older museums die offer a welconfeito all comers but with sometimes disastrous

results. If some kind of order is to bemaintained and some reason for a museum'sexistence established, there must be a well-defined objectivea master plan. To stocktheir show-cases and, store cupboardsmuseums may draw upon the wholefieittof nature and upon the long history ofman and all his works, but the buildingsin which such collections are to be housedare finite structures capable of only limitedextension. Similarly, museum staffs arelimited in number by Considerations offinance and accommodation. If a, museumis to do its .work efficiently is staff mustlave expert knowledge. From this itfollows that the larger the staff the widerthe range of subjects which can be adequatelydealt with, and the smaller the staff thenarrower must be the field of their expe-rience and specialization. At rock bottom,it is finance that determines the size of amuseum, its collections and its staffthatdecides what a museum can be expectedto do really well. There must be for everymuseum, then, a planned programme whichwill determine the pattern of the collectionsand the activities arisingNQ,m them. Thismaster plan should be decided after verycareful consideration either at the foundingof a museum or at some stage in its careerwhen a reorganization has been decidedupon. It should take due account of thesite and locality, the needs of the localpeople and local ed ration, the collectionsavailable and the fu s that can be countedupon for expert s and exhibition,acti-vides. Thereafter all energies should t.beconcentrated upon ensuring the completefulfilment of the project in every respect.No materialhowever valuable intrinsi-cally or however attractive individuallyshould be purchased or accepted unless itfits unmistakably into the accepted pro-gramme of the museum. It is by the perfectperformance of that programme that themuseum will be judged. Yet this is cot to

the institution is tot t rust. Periodicallybe regarded as a ittcket into which

the plan should come up for review, to seehow far short of perfection it has fallen,and to see to what extent it is meeting theneeds of the locality. If the need is thereand the funds can be found, a new wingmay be added, a new specialist recruited

and material to illustrate a new branch ofscience or art introduced. In particular, thesituation should be reviewed after each newcurator or director is appointed and hashad time to make himself familiar withboth his collections and his public.

' On what ideas have the plans for museumsbeen based? A great ,many museums havebeen the practical expression of a desire tobring together objects of beautyx--objectswhich will inspire the beholder, enrich hislife and encourage him to surround himselfand others with fine things, perhaps to go_in to study their history and the historyf the people who conceived and made

them, and even to attempt to exercise hisown skill and inspiration in producingsomething of beauty himself. Such museumscontain collections of paintings And sculp-,ture, tapestries, furniture and clothing, glass,and porcelain, ivories and objects in preciousmetals. They display some of the highest

.., achievements of the mind and hands ofman. Y0 others may house collectionsrepresenting the wealth of wild nature fromevery corner of the earth, illustrating thesciences of geology, botahy and zoology.Some may take as their aim a limited regionand show its natural history and its storyof human settlement ip great detail, demon-strating how our forefathers won a livingfrom the soil, fed and clothed themselves,banded themselves together for rotection

sand co-operative endeavour, lea ng stageby stage to man's problems and triumphsof today. One muscum may have beenfounded by an ent usiastic student of

}insects and may be evoted entirely toentomology, while a ther may interestitself solely in colle ng. arms, anothermusical instruments. he situation of amuseum may influence its planning.. A townwhich was an important centre in the timesof the Roman civilization may, as a resultof its history and the importance .of localexcavations, have a museum devoted largelyto showing the life of the Loman period;another museum may exploit. the material

_ from a Bronze Age or an Iron Age sitenearby. A seaport or a shipbuilding centre,with ships to be seen every day and storiesof past seafaring exploits in ready circu-lation would naturally develop a Shipping

16 Museum, enriched with models and pictures

of ships, past and present, with souvenirsof famous craft and salvage from wrecks.Simila,tly a seaport with especially strongtrading links with certain lands overseaswould be likely to have in its museumextensive collections from those lands,particularly if the products, the people andthe ways of life there differ notably fromthose at home.

In an area dependent upon mining,enthusiasts collect specimens of curiousrocks, ores, crystals or fossils and examplesof old tools, and make models of pits and 1pit machinery. Much of this may be, lostwith the passage of time but the best piecesare frequently saved and gathered togetherin a collection which may well become thenucleus of a local museum. The same istrue of an area earning, its livelihood byspinning and weaving. An important factorcommon to all these early museums is thattheir originators loved collecting, and it isto their enthusiasm that we owe the wonder-ful range of objects handed down to ustoday. People still display thA joy in collect-ing and may accumulate contemporary

_objects with no less enthilsiasm. In ourown times, collections illustrating aspectsof suchs subjects as health and hygiene,herbs and drugs, photography, radio com-munications and electronicsto name onlya feware being built up. Once private and.individual collections are fused together ina building, thus forming a museum, it isthe function of that museum to go oncollecting material which is appropriate toit. This primary function to collect is apublic duty, for it is a way of saving thingswhich might otherwise disappear for ever.The task is relatively easy when the objectsare- of intrinsic value or artistic in naturewith an immediate appeal to many collectors,but when they are ugly, bulky or of littleor no market value the chances of anyonefeeling impelled to collect them becomecorrespondingly small. Where there is nomuseum, one must rely oil the individualcollector; where there is a;. museum whichcan institute and encourage collections ofa particular nature, the priAate collector cansullsbe a most important ally.

A museum is not merely a passivcceptor.of proffered material, although many of theolder museums throughout the world have

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passed through such a stage. limited fundsfor purchases, which handicap so" manyinstitutions, force them often to adopt therole of recipients from wealthy and public-spirited benefactors, but a museum whichrelies upon gifts from collectors, whonaturally follow their own bents, mustnecessarily present a rather patchwork\ appearancestrong in one section, weakIn another, with quite arbitrarily drawnboundary lines. It is the duty of anymuseum to present as complete and asgood a picture as possible of its chinsubject, and this involves accepting appro-priate specimens and adding to them so asto fill gaps, to improve the comparativeserie4, to add to the background or tocomplete the historic setting. Museumsmust always be on the look-out for goodmaterial. They may persuade owners topresent appropriate pieces, or benefactorsto buy objects of particular search, or theyMay enter the market themselves. It is alsothescluty of a museum director to discoverwhere collections and particular pieces are.Since a collector may hand down histreasures to a next of kin without transmit-ting his love for them, it is wise to recordthe institution's interest in individual objectsor roups pr even whole collections. Onemig t say especially whole collections, formany years of experience and labour mayhave gone to the making of a collection.It is thtis greatly to be desired that such acollection should be secured en bloc, beforeit is broken' up at an auction sale, the rare

-- pieces diStributed far and wide and thecommoner ones put to everyday uses oreven jettisoned.

A second and equally important consider-ation is that museums should steadfastlyrefuse gifts or bequests with inappropriateconditions attached to them which, ifcarried out, would not be to the advantageof the collections or the institution as awhole. Museums cannot remain static;their collections must extend in size andan effort -should always be made to reachhigher standards as time goes on. For this

., reason, a gift which implies a static condi-tion must be regarded as being against thebest interesifbf the museum. A collectionoffered on condition that it is kept togetherand shown as the so-and so gift or collection

can only be accepted with justification ifit is -a complete unit ,of impeccably highstandard. Even then, it is possible thatanother fine collection of the sa.ae typemay come along, the two collections thenobviously calling for fusion, and' for theelimination of duplicate material. Again,while collections may at one time be shownon a 'typological basis, they may at othertimes demand a geographical distributica,with a resultant rearrangement of individualitems. Tlie curator should not have hishands tied in such cases by restrictive termsrequiring, for example, that a gift shouldbe permanently on exhibition, thatjs shouldbe always on view in a particular place, orthat it should always be associated withparticular other pieces. Sometimes the baitmay be extremely difficult to refuse, as onelarge museum in England found when itwas offered a collection of largely third-rate furniture together with a sum of manythousands of pounds! Most reasonableprospective donors, seeing their possessionsalongside other collections of high standard.will readily agree to allow the curator fullfreedom to show them as he sees fit,knowing that he is only too anxious to makethe best possible use of them for his, ownand his public's sake. All gifts can 4beadequately acknowledged on individballabels if desired.

In the field of natural history there arefour major methods of building up collec-tions. Sometimes thecollectioq are historicones accumulated by the early zoologistsand explorers. They may be rich in originalmaterial and itype specimens, upon whichthe first official scientific description wasbased, and whose characteristics will deter-mine the identification of all subsequentlydiscovered material of that kind. Secondly,

.whole collections may be made by organizedscientifieexpeditions and, after the materialhas been most carefully examined, writtentip and published, it may be presented toap.propriate museums. Thirdly, museumswith sufficient staff and funds may send outtheir. own expeditions into the field in orderto obtain material with which to build uptheir display or study collections. Lastly,there is the possibility of purchasing mu-seum material from firms which specializein collecting and preparing it for exhibition.

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This is probably the only way in whicha small museum can obtain up -.to -datespecimens to illustrate the typical forms oflife of distant-regions.. The collecting of ethnographic al materialpresents certain problems of its own. Theolder collections consist of authentic speci-mens accumulated by early explorers, t raders,soldiers and missionaries, but often inade-quately annbtatedpartly because the needfor full notes was not appreciated, partlybecause data on geographic setting andtribal use were difficult to obtain. Thedistances packages had to be carried by veryprimitive means of transport also militatedagainst thcsmaYing of exhaustive collections,and limitation of bulk often resulted in thespectacular, the lighter, and, the smallerObjects being taken irrespective of theirscientific value or rarity. often is lifein China shown by coll coons includingporcelain, jade, ivories and lacquer, butexcluding such essential objects as agri-cultural implements? It has thus fallen tolater collectors to try to fill the gaps inorder to obtain an accurate representationof native life and customs. The passage oftime is, hogever, accompanied by changeand development, 'and native habits alterwith the offerings of other more industrial-ized civilizations, metal and enamel ware,.for_ example, taking the place. of objectsof stone, shell or wood. It is thus oftenvery difficult and sometimes quite impos-sible to make good the deficiencies of thepast. Even the information regarding whatwas done and with what implements tendsto disappear with the passage of time,especially as written records of past areoften non-existent.

The physical sciences and engineeringcame very late in the day into the field ofmuseum collecting-4)r the most partonly within the last"Inkntired and fiftyyears, during which titnel4he material inuse was rarely considered to be suitable formuseum display. The raw natural materialscan still be got, of course, but the earlyscientific instruments and the pioneerengines and their accessories have all toooften gone to the breakers' yard, the scrapheap or the melting-down furnace. Manyof the early instruments and applianceswere somewhat makeshift affairs, unlikely

to seemyorthy of saving for posterity,and in any case most of them simply woreout with use. Even instruments used bysavants and engines `built by now world-famed inventors no doubt seemed of littlevalue at the time they were discarded. Itwas the results in the one case and theproducts in the other which mattered. Tomake sure that future museums and futuremuseum curators do not suffer the samedisabilities, it is essential that every museumshould continue to collect actively.

IDENTIFYING

The second function which a museum hastq perform is to identify accurately eachof the specimens it actpnres. Herein liesthe test of the staff, for a fundamentalcharacteristic of our museums must betheir complete honesty and reliability. Onceconfidence is shaken it is exceedingly diffi-cult to reinstate it. If the staff are in doubtabout any specimen, it should be sent tosome other institution which has the neces-sary specialist knowledge at its disposal.Each specimen as it is received should havenoted on a tie-on label and in a numberedcard , indexthe same number being ifpossible painted on the specimen itselfits provenance and when and how it wasac9uired.1 This is merely a beginning,fixing 'the specimen in its chronologicalplace in the collection. Then begins thelaborious it enthralling job of findingout all there is to'be known ,concerning it.It is, in fact, impossible to know too muchabout any specimen; the more one knowsabout it, the more valuable it becomes.

If it is a piece of furniture, g1:4,ss or silver,the appearance of the material, its style anddecoration will suggest its period andprovenance. Then follows a search throughthe standard works of reference compa-rison of the object with drawings `andphotographs, or, better still, with otherexamples. AgairNt may,be, an autographedpiece or bear a .trademark, a hallmark ora pewterer's 'touch'. All this informationmust be added to the record, and with itshould also be attached, wherever such have

t i. See Chapter II, pages 37-42.

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survived, accounts for the making of theObject or its sale or purchase throughoutits history. This is particularly valuable intracing the story of old household furnish-ings and is alviays to be sought as providinga pedigree of the Niece.

Again a careful investigation of a crystal,a butterfly or a bird will be called for toreveal diagnostic features to enableidentity to be established accurately. Unikethe types of specimen just referred to, noneof these is Ijkely to be unique: it willresemble others of the same genus andspecies,, so that the checking-up can beaccomplished with the aid of a standardtextbook and some fairly simple apparatus.Also it is possible to match the object bysearch through a reference series keptspecially for comparison. In the case of azoological specimen, it is of great impor-tance to know, if possible, the place, timeand circumstances of its ,being caught orfound, while details of any peculiaritiesmay well come in useful, later on. Aboveall, the dimensions of the object must bescrupulously noted. -

Identification of the specimens coininginto a museum calls in the first place foran expert staff and in the se nd for a goodlibrary of reference books, if the require-ments of serious students e to be met.From this it follows that a museum musthave a good reference library with all thestandard works, dealing with the subjectsin the collections; such volumes arc asvaluable, as the specimens themselves, andmust be kept continually up to date. In the

'larger museums such works of referenceareoften compiled by the leading membersof the staffs, 'who always find it pays tokeep closely in touch with the experts inother museums and uniVersities, so thatthe common fund of knowledge is alwaysbeing added to and is ever readily available.It is, howeger, true that a large proportionof the visitors to a museum do not desirevery detailed information about either thespecimens'in the collections or such curio-sities or finds of their own as they may beprompted to bring to the .-curator. Tosatisfy their needs, there .are in manylanguages simple textbooks designed toprovide rapid identification of coins, pot-tery, rocks, minerals, fossils, butterflies,

birds and plants and so forth. With a setof such 'Name this' handbooks and alittle practice, the curator of a small, one-man museum can deal with a large pro-portion of the inquiries brought to him,cah inspire confidence in his visitors andencourage them to continue to visit theinstitution and perhaps ter.leeep a sharperlook -out for interesting specimens in thefuture; A museum curator is most likelyto have objects submitted froin his ownlocality, so that local knowledge is-alwaysat a premium, but he will also have to dealWith treasures brought back by travellersfrom overseas or family heirlooms handeddown from earlier generations. Whileaccurate diagnosis of unusual objectsnaturally adds to the reputation of thecurator and his museum, it must neverbe forgotten that it is no disgrace to admitignorance of some unusual thing. It is indealing with inquiries of this kind that thenetwork of museums can be of great valuefrom the single curator museum to thelarger regional museum with a bigger staffof experts, and then to the immense nationalmuseum with a yet larger staff, researchlaboratories and reference collections andlibraries. As circumstances demand, requestsfor information and identification can bepassed down the line until an expert isfo).-id to deal adequately with them.

RECORDING

From identification we go on to records.Not all the details concerning object col-lection can be put on a tie-on label, norare they needed for the show-case label.They can be kept in large, bound registers,which may show ,the whole collectionchronologically, or in a series of volumesserving as subj&t registett, the contentsagain being arranged therein chronologi-cally. Greater latitude and conveniencecan be achieved by introducing a cardindex, in which each specimen is allocateda card, on which is written all the inform-ation about it.1

The recording of knowledge aboutobject from our three-dimensional world

1. See Chapter II, page 39.

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nearly always demands more than a descrip-tion in words; no natter how technicallyefficient our specialized language may be,and recourse nAr usefully be had to care-fully drawn sketches of the specimen or tophotographs, which calr\be placed on theback of the index cards or placed inenvelopes attached to the cards. The processof accumulating and reco'ding informationis thus no easy matter but it is one of themost important and interesting tasks whichfall to a museum curator. Naturally, suchinformation should be recorded in as dur-able away as possible. This means that thepaper, inks and paints used for tickets,identification tabs, labels and index cardsmust be able to stand up to the conditionsof temperature and humidity prevailing inthe area. To be sure of this, use shouldbe made of 'comparable' experience else-where and of systematic testing, especiallywith every new batch of material. Precau-tions must also be taken against insect pestsattacking bqoks, book bindings and cabi-nets. FinallyAc master records should bepermanently stored in a strong room, proofagainst fire and, theft, and any registersremoved for work or consultation duringthe day should be returned to their propersafe place each evening.

PRESERVATION

Consideration of the preservation of tlierecords leads naturally to that of the pre-servation of the specimens. This is so vasta subject that only an outline of the mu-seum curator's responsibilities can beattempted here. Preservation may mean theprotection of the object against naturalprocesses of destruction by physical orchemical decay or attack by organisms suchas mildew or insect pests. These vary verygreatly according to the nature and compo-sition of the specimen and local climaticconditions. Some objects such as stoneaxeheads are almost indestructible whereverthey arcbut even they are liable toshattering and flaking if they contain salt.Well-fired pottery and porcelain is subjectto breakage but to little else. Woodenobjects may harbour boring beetles, antsand other destructive insects and certain

.3fungi; they may also deteriorate or breakif subjected to dampness or dryness beyonda certain optimum of humidity. Leatherreacts in a somewhat similar ways Ivorytends to develop cracks. Metals, with theexception of gold, are subject to the normalprocesses of chemical reaction with whakrerother substances they happen to be in .contaet, processes which tend to be a&el-

aerated by the presence of humidity and arise in temperature, and which lead to theformation of oxides, hydroxides, carbo-nates, sulphides, sulphates and othei che-mical salts. Such processes cause discolor-

-ition,.flalcing and blistering, and eventuallydestroy the_ shape and the fabric of thespecimen. Again specimens frequentlyconsist of a variety of -materials, so that amost complicated series of troubles mayafflict them with changes of temperatureand humidity. A picture may consist ofwood, or wood and canvas, with a fillipthen a variety of paint colours and finallya varnish to seal the surface; a woodenchair may haye metal fittings and a fabric

back and seat; a group of figures may becarved from wood, but have 'a gesso sur-face and moulding, surmounted by severallayers, of paintand all of these materials.are subject to, their own particular ailments.Even the effect of strong daylight must betonside5sd, as sunlight causes fading ofcoloui in pictures,°tapestries, fur, feathersand costumes.

EXHIBITION

It is the aim of the museum curator topresent his specimens to the public in acondition as closely approx.:mating to theiroriginal appearance as is possible. Thisinvolves varying degrees of restoration, onthe one hand, and the introduction of suchconditions as will prevent deteriottion, onthe other. This is an aspect of museumwork little appreciated by those outsidethe museum profession, who are _rabic toregard the curator as endlessly engaged inaccepting prepared specimens, lab lingthem, and laying them out son shelves orin cases. .The tasks of preservation andpreparation call for a high degree of skilland experience to solys... the many. 'and

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intricate problems that arise frbin 'fayto dayproblems that may well involvepriceless and unique material.

Natural history specimens offer yetanother series of problems in preservationand prepaiation. Rocks and minerals arein most cases proof against ordinary deter-ioration, although some absorb water fromthe Air and change their composition andcrystal formation. Others containing sul-phides are liable to decompose and giverise to acids which hasten yet furtherchemical changes. Fossils, which are theremains of organisms replaced...by silica,calcium carbonate, or other 'compoundsembedded in rock matrices which may havethe same composition, may be weatheredout of the surrounding "rock by naturalprocesses and be ready for exhibition.Others, however, may have to be cleanedout of the rock bytthe careful use of chemi-cals siichas adds ".!.. by mechanical methodssuch as the use t dental drills. The pre-

, "nervation of plan may be effected by dryingthe plants between sheets of blotting paperfirst making sure that the important partswill be well separated and displayed whenthe resulting dried and pressed plant isuncoveredand then mounting them onsheets of paper. Such dried specimens ofplants constitute a herbarium. Yet anothermethod consists of sealing the plant in avessel containing a preservative fluid; someof thesc fluids have been found to aid themaintenance of certain of the colours offlowers almost indefinitely.

Zoological material is almost endless inits variety and its preservation presents awide range of problems. The museum

: curator may collect his own specimens inthe field or receive the dead bodies directfrom a field naturalist. Then, in most cases,he has three types of specimen availablefor his inustumshe soft internal partswhich show 'how the processes of theorganism work, the hard parts or skeletonsupporting the organism, and the externalcovering (scales, fur, feathers, etc.) whichwhen appropriately treated can be set upto give a lifelike representation of the object.The soft parts are generally of interest onlyto students, and can, after removal and,careful cleaning, be preserved in fluids suchas alcohol or a formalin soluti7n. Provided

^4,

the parts are completely submerged in thefluid and evaporation is kept to a minimumby tightly sealing the top of the container,normal processes of decay can be retardedfor many years. If the skeleton is desired asa museum specimen, the bones are allcarefully removed from the body and arethen rigorously cleaned of any traces ofsoft parts which would become offensivein decay. Prolonged boiling may Le neces-sary to remove all the flesh and chemicaldegreasing agents employed to extract Anyfatty matter distributed throughout thebones. The separate bones of the skeletonare then wired together in the proper orderto display their mechahical &mons andset up as an exhibit.

The skinning of mammals, birds, reptilesand fish is a skilled craft in its own rightand calls for special training. The skin hasto be removed with great skill, as it isliable to tear, and every part of it is essentialin the, building up of a lifelike exhibit. Thefur or feathers or scales must be verycarefully cleaned, since .any fat adhering tothe inner surface would be a source ofdewy and stains. Again, the thin skin driesreadily and may crack, so that considerableexperience is necessary to know how farto go in the various stages of treatment.Tanning of skins is often resorted to andcan preserve them for many years. Forstudy purposes such cleaned and dried skinsare perfectly adequate; they take up muchless storage room than mounted specimensand they are reasonably flexible to handle.For display, however, it is necessary toshow the public' an animal or a fish inreadily recognizable forth, 2.1 this calls forthe resources of the skilled craft of taxi-dermy. Many years ago, the cleaned skinsof mammals or birds were packed with finesawdust, with pieces of wire to retain theshape, but modern methods demand themaking of a model of the animal's body ina lifelike pose in wood, wire, plaster andpapier mach, upon which the skin iscarefully mounted. Fish skins, when stuffed,sometimes assumed most unnatural shapes,so that new methods of presentation hadto be devisedmuch better results ;arenow obtained by making a plaster mouldof the dead fish and from it one or moreplaster casts wilich can then be painted

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up most realistically. Such casts are both- accurate and lifelike, and last almost inde-finitely. New materials are constantly beingemployed in making casts and includevarieties of rubber latex and a wide rangeof modern plastics.

In the early days of museum display itwas enough to reconstruct a natural historyspecimen in an accurate pose and mountit upon a small rectangular stand, usuallyof polished wood, but as time passed twonew aims were adopted in taxidermy. Thefirst was to devise an artistic setting forthe bird or mammal so that the wholeexhibit would be a source of interest andpleasure. The second was to incorporateas much detail as possible regarding thelife and habits of the animal. Birds couldbe mounted perched upon twigs, sittingupon their nests, searc4ing for food amongsea and or river pebbles; ,mammals couldbe realistically set among rocks or appro-priate

indried,specimens

dyed in lifelike colourings. Groups withcarnivores and their prey, parents withtheir y un , birds with their e s, insectson t r food supply, etc., all providedexce ent material for educational exhibits,encuu aging the most careful scrutiny ofeach group. To achieve such results, thetaxidermists in their workrooms had to bemuch more than skilled craftsmen at theirtasksthey had to be very good naturalistswith a sound and detailed knowledge ofthe life cycles and habits of the, livingequivalents of the dead bodies they weregiven to mount for museum purposes.The more detail is incorporated in an exhibitthe more lessons can be extracted from itby the onlooker, but it is equally true thatmore knowledge must be possessed bythe artist who sets the group up and themore pitfalls there are for the unwary.Plumage and pelt vary with the seasonsas do the colours and forms of the botanicalmaterial employed as a background. Aninexperienced museum craftsman may easilymount a bird in spring plumage on vege-tation in obvious autumn colouring. Thismost important art of museum display orpresentation is the fourth major functionof a museum, and the one in which thepublic is most interested, Taxidermists arenot restricted to working with relatively

small examples of birds and mammals, i.e.groups of which can be accommodated ina typical museum exhibit of, say, 4 feetby 3 feet ; they have learned how to mountthe largest mammals and to make mostrealistic backgrouhds of cliff's and treetrunks, using their skill to build up immensedioramas representing stretches of appro-priate countryside so that the onlookerfeels he is indeed enjoying a real vista/showing carnivores or ungulates in searchof food, or bringing up` their' young.Latterly there has been something, of a

.turhing away from these large, expensiveand rather static exhibits, which hadbecome so detailed as to leatre little ornothing to the imagination.., The mostmodern groups attempt to Axcite morewonder and curiosity, encouraging 'theonlooker to note pertinent features forhimself and to deduce habits from them.Much can be done by the treatment ofposea bird leaning against the wind,with its claws clutched firmly to a branch,others huddled together for shelter withtheir feathers, disturbed by an imaginarywind and so on. Instead of being includedin displays wi h large backgrounds, takingup valuable pace, groups of small birdscan be mounted on twigs or perched onsmall `realistic brackets of stones or gravelset against a pleasantly coloured neutralbackground, chosen to show up the coloursof the plumage to advantage.

Display is"a most important considerationfor the museum curator. He may haveexcellent material but it he does not makegood use of it in good displays, _much ofhis work will be ignored by the public.He must so arrange his specimens that eachindividual one can be enjoyed on its ownwithout the intrusion of another. Displaysmust alb be orderly, as the specimens areshown id order to encourage people tothink about them, tecompare and con-trast each with its neighbours, and to'buildup a corpus of ideas about a whole group..An exhibit must first catch the cye of thepasser-by, arrest his attention and encou-rage closer sustained examination. Thiscalls for some knowledge of human natureand psychology on the part of the designerand for considerable skill in setting outthe various specimens. Here the nature of

)fits

the material and the aim of the displaymust play, a large part in determining theexhibition technique to be employed. Anexhibition gallery a? a whole must have apleasing appearance with an artistic colourscheme and suitable furniture and fittings.In the older museums the architecture ofthe puilding was regarded as a majorexhibit and the furniture and exhibits Weresubordinated to its claims. Nowadays it isrealized that in a museum the specimensmust occupy the first place anchhe provisionof galleries and cases, with such serVices asheating, lighting and ventilation, must notbe allowed to interfere with the Ifullestenjoyment of the exhibits. Lighting, whethern4iral or artificial, must be adequatewithout being so strong as to producefading of the exhibits or a tiring glare forthe spectators. The choice of colour forwalls, cases and backgrounds plays a verylarge part in the production of attractiveand compelling exhibitions. Due consider-ation must be given to what is appropriatefor the specimen, for the case, and for theroom' as a whole.

Under ideal museum conditions, museumfurniture and fittings would be unnecessaryor inconspicuous, the specimens attractivelylaid out for the public to study and theservices suitably concealed. But mostmuseums have to combat impure air anddust necessitating periodic cleaning whichdoes damage to the specimens, and we haveto go a long way yet before visitors learnnot to handle fragile material or to helpthemselves to attractive and easily trans-portable items. Hence the need for protec-tive glass cases or glazed screens, whichthemselves call for the expenditure of timeand money in cleaning. 'Large, heavy anddurable specimens can often be shown toadvantage free-standing. Bulky pieces offurniture and machinery look odd if theyare exhibited under glass cases, althoughthick plate glass sheets or rails must ofcourse be used, to protect visitors frommoving engines. In the case of mountednatural history specimens the aim is tohave a background as near to that of thenatural habitat as possible, or, failing that,to produce a pleasant neutral backgroundwhich will serve to throw into relief andaccentuate the shape, colour and pattern

of the specimens. For geological \materialalmost any kind of background of a pleasantcolour will suffice, so long as it leaves thespecimens predominant in their claim torpublic interest.

Art objects, if sufficiently large or impor-tant, are frequently shown individually,each with its own appropriate background,but even there it'is most unwise to havetoo many different display methods in oneroom, the resulting patchwork of shapesand.colours being far from appealing to thevisitor on the threshold. Only experience,expefiments with diverse methods andstudy tours of other museums will build up,an adequate body of knowledge of displaymethods to enable museunistaffs to accom-modate and exhibit new and better speci-mens. Sometimes specimens can be enjoyedmost if they are shown individually; inother cases a whole range of similar orcomparable specimens may be required forstudy; in yet others it may be found desir-able to show objects together in groupse.g. carpets, furniture, table-ware, tapestriesand pictureswhich. represent social orhistorical ensembles. A successful arrange-ment of such group's calls for considerableknowledge of the practices followed atdifferent times and fo'r much artistry in theactual grouping of the objects. Just ashabitat groups can be constructed with theaid of mounted birds or mammals, rocks,grass, bushes and trees, adorned with otherlife types to be expected in the vicinity, soit is possible with impressive effects toreconstruct old rooms with their domesticequipment, thus giving a realistic repro-duction of the conditions under whichpeople of other times or other lands livedand worked. Similarly it is both intriguingand educative to gather together tools andwork benches, raw materials and finishedproducts illustrative of how craftsmencarried on their work in the days of indi-vidually hand-made objects and contrastthese with examples of modern mass-production machinery. To the museumman there arc practically no limits to what

'he can accomplish within the four walls ofa room given equipment, imagination andartistry.

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EDUCATION.

AlUseuras have, however, moved forwardfrom being content to collect, to identify,to preserve and to present in an attractiveform. They have accepted public respon-sibilities tu`seach the truth as far as theyknow It and to leach new ideas to theirvisitors, whether they come singly or ingroups, casually or of set purpose. It hasbeconle the accepted function of museumexhibits to encourage the development ofideas. The museum curator has to arousefirst a feeling of wonder and then an intensecuriosity about his exhibits and this curiosityonce aroused has to be satisfied with thebest possible answers. Curiosity may belimited to the one specimen before thebeholder but, more often than nut, itembraces the adjacent specimens as well,ancl they too must be so arranged andlabelled as to answer the questions theycan be expected to provoke. In the worldof wild nature equipment, functions andhabits may be ,compared and contrastedand linked with climate, food and habitatfur example. In man-made implements thereis an opportunity to study man's ingenuityin meeting his needs with tools, weapons,clothing and containers,. aid the fascinatinghistory of his continuing struggle toimprove them both in quantity and quality.The study can be carried further to embracethat other aspect of manthe artisticexpression of his thoughts and ideals.

With the aid of ranges of specimenssuitably grouped and annotated, it ispossible to teach museum visitors therudiments of many of the sciences and thearts, and it is the aim of the museum manto use his wide resources to this end. In theolder museum institutions of the world agreat renaissance took place around thefirst quarter of the twentieth century, whenthe possibilities and the responsibilities ofmuseums as educational factors ,becamemore widely realized. Learning had beenfor so lung based mainly on books; nowIt was seen how much more could beaccomplished by using three-dimensiodalthingsthe zings with which people werenormally suounded. Museums were notmerely a haven in which to preserve objectsin danger of being lost by the passage of

a

time or the advance of humatg progress;they could be dynamic institute ns in whichhuman beings could learn about the immenseresources of their world and its very longhistory. .

While museums were largely repositories,the standing of an institution tended natu-rally to be based upon the wealth of itscolleen ms and the intrinsic value orindividual rarity of its specimens, but whenit was realized that a 'museum had to dosomething with its cullectiiins a new standardof values came into being. This was avital point in the whole museums move-ment, for it gave almost endless opportu-nities to museums of all kinds to competein rendering public service. While wealthin money, material, buildings and staff stilltend to countand to count heavilyit isactivity that earns a museum its place inpublic esteem. Here again it can be seenhow essential it is for each institution toselect its aim wisely an to use its resourcesto the best possible elf t. Museums corn-,bine education with rec cation, and boththese words connote a v ry wide range offields. To what major end are museumactivities really direr d? To the broadereducation _of the er so that he or shemay leacka f 1 e and be a better memberof the mmunity. From the recreationalpoint of view the museum fulfils 2 similarpurpose by enlarging the emotional res-ponse of the individual to his environment,and easing him of some of the worries andrestraints of such environmental handicapsas the harsh struggle of earning a livingor the grim surroundings of a factorycommunity. Eyes concentrated on day-to-day tasks are lifted to wider horizons asmore and more interesting fields of explo-ration are opened up; a new range of emo-tions can be experienced as the '.-akts andhandicrafts of other people and othelracesare displayed and, thout,:i perhaps butlittle understood at first, gradually becomemore familiar and more deeply appreciated.The goal of any museum is service to0thepublic and that service must be conceivedof as the building up of a better, morethoughtful, and happier public. It is truethat in most places the public is composed_of a very varied assemblage of people ofall ages, of a wide range of educational

backgrounds and of almost unlimitedinterests, and the wise museum curatoreaters for as many types as possible in hispermanent displays. He does his best toreach those with more specialized interestsand at the same time to bring about aproadening of general interests by stagingkemporaiy exhibitions. Whatever he does,his goal is always the enlightenment of hispublic.

The national museums with palatialbuildings, immense collections and large,highly trained staffs can obviously attemptto educate in a far wider range of subjectsthan can the small ones of three or fourrooms administered by one or two officers.,Even the large institutions are faced withthe choice of whether to deal with a fewsubjatrin-great detail, or to deal with alarger number of subjects in more simplefashion. A smaller museum has perhaps,themore bewilderingly wide field to choosefrom, but if it selects its subjects carefully,chooses i(s material skilfully, arranges itartistically and annotates it with interestand inspiration, it can achieve strikingsuccess and wide renown. The museumsone remembers best .4m a tour are notalways the largest and he wealthiest, norare the staffs of the latter always the happiestand most legitimately satisfied with theirlabours.

In the selection of its main objectivesand in the presentation of its individualdisplays, a museum must keep in mind thevital need to link whatever it aims to teachwith something already familia to itsvisitors. One must always proceed em theknown to the unknown, sometimes stepby step and sometimes by imaginative andexhilarating leaps as circumstances offer.Mental processes are usually fairly slow butthey arc sometimes characterized by dazz-ling bursts of comprehension. Again itmust be remembered that museum usersmust be attracted, persuaded and -Friiiin-raged to_look at-things, to ponder overthen and to come back and carry thesearch a step further. Museum visitors arein most cases there of theii own free willand can leave whenever they have absorbedall they can, or as soon as they are bored.Even with well drilled groups of studentsor classes of school children, who may not

leave\before they are permitted, there aredefinite saturation points beyond which itis impossible to absorb further knowledgeor register more emotion.

Most small local museums take as theiraim the presentation of an epitome of theirlocalitythe rocks and scenery, the wildlife, the story of man and his activities, .and the ,rise of the little town in whichthey are situated. Nor is this any minormotive, for to show the people of today,be they children or adults, the story oftheir setting, how their forbears earnedtheir living and how the way of life of thepresent is derived from the knowledge andefforts or the past leads to an appreciationof the reasons for things, of the processesof planning, development and persevepncein the face of diculties, and to a senseof responsibility for the future.

li is the responsibility of the larger orregional museums, which probably Vvemore funds to draw upon, to reflect alarger area with Tore diverse naturalresources, history and human activities.Some, of course, may decide in additionto collect especially extensively in one ormore fields, such as zoology, geology orarchaeology, and so to build up 'compar-ative series, encouraging a more thoroughstudy by including examples from widelydispersed areas. So the collections, therefords and the studies grow, and collectorielsewhere impressed with the good workbeing done, may in their turn present furthermaterial or even whole collections.

The national museums in the oldercapitals have the largest buildings withimmense collections, adequate for conti-nuous research of the highest class, theymust also cater in all fields for a publicwhich ranges from serious students tocasual visitors, youth groups and young_children. In additioa_to,looking-aftei their

_ow n- dientaiding neighbouring uni-versities and colleges with their work,these major museums can also play a veryimportant part in the general museumsservice by assisting regional and localmuseums with advice, with duplicatespecimens, and with circulating loan exhi-bitions. The larger regional museums withtheir resources of staff and collections canin their turn help smaller local institutions.

tiU

5

26

On the other hand, it is possible for eventhe smallest local museum to be of im-portant service to its larger brethren byrecording finds in all fields, by supplyingspecialist material and by giving informationit is particularly well sited or staffed tosecure.

THE PUBLIC

In any country it is thus possible to buildup a network of museums aim' museumservices, collecting, identifying, preservingand presenting material for the edificationof the wide publica network in whichthe smallest unit has just as real a part toplay as the large and vfalthy ones. Allsections of the public can be reached bysuch a network anckeach museum can dosomething in the way that experience hasshown to be the most appropriate. Age isnot so much a barrier to understandingexhibits as language; however, once areasonably good vocabulary has beenworked out it is possible to explain mostdisplays in such simple terms as can bereadily understood by all. Museum visitorscan be divided into those who already havean introduction to the subject and those.who have not. It is the essential functionof every museum curator to help thebeginners over this initial hurdle, toencourage them to 'broaden their interestsand to find real and lasting enjoyment inso doing.

Many museums are finding it an advan-tage to arrange their exhibits in three'intelligence' groups. First there are simpleand colourful displays to appeal to children,taking perhaps the age of rz as the upperlimit. These are staged to meet the needsof a child's worlda world of wonder anddiscoverybeginning in terms of thechild's home and surroundings and leadingon to wider horiz9ns, to associations ofideas and to some conception of causation.For the second and by far the largest groupof visitors an adolescent or adult mentalequipment is postulated, but with nospecialized knowledge. For them an almostlimitless array of exhibits can be arranged,liiikeci with a sufficient amount of factualinformation adequate for them to appreciate

the reasons for displaying the specimen orspecimens. As many of these may beunfamiliar, it is important to attract atten-tion by the use of arresting exhibits, artisticcolouring and arrangement, and perhapss coal lighting. The descriptivdebrtter onthe accompanying labels shoul interest-in nd both spccimens and labels shouldbe arranged to lead on logically from one toanother. A group of specimens or a caseshould build up a general idea to be carried.forward to the next. If this is done suffi-ciently compellingly, the spectator May beintrigued to walk up and down a line ofexhibits, checking up his impressions andexperiencing the exhilaration of enteringa new field of *knowledge.

The third group of visitors comprisesthe specialists and ,experts who alreadyhave considerable practical and theoreticalknowledge of a particular subject. Theirprime concern is to see specimens both ingreat detail and in as large numbers aspossible. Eagerly.. searching for fresh ma-

.terial for their sgadies, such users of mu-seums need no *tistic display or interest-ingly phrased labels to attract or holdthem, they require as much material to beplaced at their disposal as possible, and asmuch information as possible concerningits nature and origins. Fcr them the museumprovides its study collections, comparativeseries. and research material, laid out inorderly rows or stored in cabinets and cup-boards. They are experts who will seek to.compare knowledge and ideas with otherexperts. They are in many cases, the authorsof monographs on the exhibits and theirknowledge and experience will help themuseum officers to appreciate better theraw material of their collections. It is onthe work of stit.h experts that the identi-fication of specimens and the texts of labelsare often based. It is only in the very largemuseums that such immense collections canbe garnered, maintained and worked over,for they call for adequate spi.ce, equipmentand staff with time to conduct researchupon the material in their care.

For all three groups a fully eguippedmuseum will provide literatur&A thatSome record of the impressions gained andinformation learned may be taken homeafter the visit. There will be picture pust-

it?

,.._,.

cards, pictures, and picture books for thechildren; well written and well illustratedguide books with pigns and diagrams forthe general visitors rand detailed catalogues,handbooks and monographs with appro-priate bibliographies for the experts. Thesecan be consulted and re-read at leisure;they will encourage further visits and studies

and wills one hopes, lead to a happydiscovery if the joy of using the resourcesof a public library and belonging to someclub or society. Thus the museum thatbrings collections from all over the worldto its visitors, ends by sending these samevisitors out into a wider world than mostof them dreamt of before.

c,)ILL)

27

CHAPTE'R

ADMINISTRATION OF MUSEUMSby Pierre SCHOMMER

The Constitution of the InternatidnalCouncil of Museums (ICOM) defines theterm 'museum' as follows: any permanentestablishment set up for the purpose ofpreserving, studying, enhancing by variousmeans and, in particular, of exhibiting tothe public for its delectation and instruc-tion . . . artistic,"historical, scientific andtechnological collections'.

By assimilating with museums (a) bota-nical and zoological gardens and otherestablishment ql where living specimens arepresented, and (b) public libraries andpublic archival institutions maintainingpermanent exhibition rooms, the ICOMConstitution specifies the widest intr-pretation which 9 h be giv

Whatever it nature, the esliblishmentswhich are now included this definitionall began in much the ame wayascollections of churc reli and ornaments,the accumulated treasures of royal or privatecollectors, etc. With the passage of timethey have developed along different linesand practical necessities have dictatedvarious rules and principles specially appli-cable to this or that particular case. Fromthis accumulation of particular cases,qulesof sufficient generality and of sufficientlyproven worth have emerged to form thebasis of a set of practical recommendations,always, of course, open to addition andimprovement.

GENERA ORGANIZATION

The definition which we have just citedemphasizes the role which all museums

z8 play in the life of the community. This

role is irceasing in importance. Thus, inview of th responsibilities involved, theestablishme and operation of museumsshould no I nger be dependent on merecaprice or arbitrary considerations.

THE ESTABLISHMENT AND ABOLITIONOF MUSEUMS

The first duty of a museum founder is toAScertain whether his initiative meets ageneral need and whether the institution'sfuture can be regarded as assured. He shouldtherefore seek as wide a rangc of expertadvice as possible.

Once,.ffie plan has been accepted inprinciple, the founder's second task is tobring it into line with the relevant lawsand administrative regulations of the coun-try. Proper observance of these laws andregulations will be a guarantee of thepermanence of the new museum as aworking concern and of the validity of thestatutes designed to ensure its regularoperation within the artistic, historical orscientific setting assigned to it. Its moralstatus will thereby be strengthened; and

more firmly the museum's structure islished, the easier it wil be to maintain

at status.In certain countries, such as Syria,' all

museums are owned by the Statewhichimplies tliat they cannot be established. byprivate initiative. In other countries, such as

i. See Article II, i and a of the Constitution,adopted by the General Assembly of ICOMon 9 July 1956. i

a. See 'Icom Conference on museum problems inthe Near East', ICOM News1Nouveles do l'ICOM,Vol. to, No. t, February 1957.

France, the State intervenes to a greater orlesser extent, depending on the particularcircumstances in the establishment of publicor private museums.' In still other coun-tries, such as the United States of Americathere is complete freedom to establishmuseums, provided that the legislationgove-iing associations is respected; impor-tant ..seal advantages are granted to theseinstitutions i it is Yoved that they servethe general in crest .3].2

In any case, the importance both of thecultural objects that a museum can collectand of the role it can play in the communityis such that the State, howiver liberal itmay be, cannot afford to relinquish allcontrol over the conditions governing theestablishment of such in titutions. A minis-tryor at least a na nal co-ordinatingbodyshould b m owered to watchover matters. co ecte,. with the establish-ment of irillseum -J

Just as there are inciples to be observedwhen a museum is fo ded, so no museumshould not be closed p. manently withoutconformity to certain fix.. rules, for thecollections thus released re originallyassembled in the public int est, oftenthanks to gifts fro ersons or co or: ionsnot connected with he museum, d :heirvalue remains such a to justify their beingkept at the disposal o,,the public at atge;this value will be all the greater i 'thecollections are accompanied by documen-tation recording their scientific and technicalcharacteristics. In such cases, new ways ofusing these collections, while still preservingtheir o ginal role, should be sought.

If the museums concerned are dependenton municipal and other pubhc organizations,the latter should ensure that a decision istaken, preferably on the basis of pre-established laws or regulations, whichwould permit the judicious incorporationof their collections in other public collec-tions to which they are most akin.

In the case of private museums thisproblem may be more difficult to solve if,as often happens, their statutes contain no.special provision for this eventuality. Thus,Whenever a new museum is established, itis most important for its Statutes to includea winding-up clause that is both flexibleand sufficiently precise to prescribe what

shot.lci be done with its collections shouldclosure of the museum become necessary.Moreover, public organizations shouldextend their generosity only to the privatemuseums which have included such a clausein their statutes. In general, therefore, itis advisable for museums not to be esta-blished or abolished without previous noti-fication of the competent public authoritiesto that effect.

The establishment of abolition of anational- State museum' is a governmen41act which mast be sanctioned by law.

The establi merit or abolition ofmuseum depe ding on a local publicorganization s ould be subject to theconsent of thel national authority respon-sible for museums, whenever such authorityexists.' This would enable the authorityto ensure the judicious transfer_ of thecollections of museums that are abohshed.If no such national authority exists, thelocal public ,authorities concerned shouldfulfil the same function.

In the case of private museums, theirestablishment or abolition should not benotified merely to the authorities responsiblefor associations in general, but should alsobe brought, directly or indirectly, to thenotice of the most competent public author-ity in the cultural field: Thus, in countrieswhere a dissolution clause is used, itsadoption could be recommended and, inthe event of the museum being abolished,the clause would become operative.

STATUTES

The statutes (legal constitution) of museumsvary .from one country to another andrItioften, according to circumstances, with

4

1. In France, in the case of art and histOry muscu snot directly dependent on the State', the 'establish-ment of a museum must be registered with theDirection des Musses de France at least onemonth before the date fixed for its opening, inthe manner prescribed by an order issued onthe proposal of the Minister of Education. If theregistration is not effected within that time-limit,the Minister cif Education may order the closureoldie museum'. (See the bibliography on page 51,Les Alder, Chapter 51 Mu, Section t, Article 7on page 3.)

a. The figures between brackets refer to the biblio-graphy on page 5 1.

I

29

the same country. The various systems are' those under which:

Alf museumsor at least archaeologicaland historical museumsbelong to theState and _are administered by a singledepartment. This is usually the case inthe Near East.k

z. Virtually no in)iseum belongs to theState (or Federation); some belong toother public organizations, but themajority to foundations or societiesexpressly established for the purposeand. placed under the t authority of aBoard of Trustees. In such countries'

state does not concern itself withmu eums which do not belong to it,although other public organizationsfrequently giant subventions to museumsparticularly in order to enable them to)make more effective contribution toedtication. A typical example is providedby the United States of America (althoughits practice has been varied through theestablishment by the National Parks Ser-vice during the past 5o years, of a zon-siderable number of 'site museums) [3].

3. ,Certain museums belong to the State.In' the case.of those belo ing to other

ublic bodies, foundations or privateieties: (a) either the State anticipates,

scientific y, technically an financially,in the administration of the most out-standing of these institutions, which itcontrols by mcdits of inspectors (Frenai

.. system) [4];"(b) or the State shows itsinterest in them by providing them,regularly or occasionally, at their request,with scientific and technical advice, sub-ventions etc. (the Netherlands).

It seems that, in count4es where there arefew museums, systems A and C are to be'preferred as being more conducive to thedevelopment of such institutions. Thiscontention is supported by the motionsadopted at the importantt meeting convenedby ICOM at Damascul, in 1956, with aview to studying museum problems in theNear East."

PERSONNEL

Since Mr. Douglas Allan deals in detail30 with the whole question of the staff in

ChaptChapter III, we need make only a few brieferhere from the purely administrative

standpoint. The question of supervision isnot touched on in the present section asthis is also dealt with in Chapter III, inconnexi with museum guards, and becausewe shall vert to the matter when consider -ing Ihe estion of safety.'

In exc ange for services rendered, mu-seums assume certain obligations vis-à-vistheir staff members. Those obligations arereflected in appropriate measures adoptedin the different domains. These measurescan take the following form with regardto health and hygiene:

In the absence of special services (whichcan be provided only by large museums),liaison with the local health and hygieneservices; the establishment of a medicalservice, which can be placed in the chargeof the member of the staff most qualifor that purpose; the installation of showersthe provision of overalls for staff membersin charge of the maintena?ice of the premises ;

to.

1. See ICOM News1Nouvilles de I'ICOM, op. cit.2. Particularly Chapter 36 Mu, 'Les mu de

province'.3. ICOM News1Nouvelles de I'ICOM, op. cite-'The

following is part of the first of the 't 3 motionsadopted, entitled 'General Organizations':

'The ICOM meeting on museum problemsin the Near, East . .

'Recommends to the interested authorities inthe Near Eastern countries: (i) That whenmuseums are attached td the General Directorateof Antiquities, they maintain this siturtion, on thecondition that the said General Dictorate takesthe title of General Directorate af Aptiquiticsand Museums and places together all the museumsunder a special branch of its service; (z)/Thatwhen the division of direction is already estab-lished and cannot be.changed, (a) there be created'between the different interior administrations acommission charged to co-ordinate the pro-grammes and activities of all the country'smuseums, or at least to advise on the questions,(b) when museums depend upon local authorities,there be given to the national administrationconcerned with their speciality the right toinspect these museums; (3) That if they wishto organize services for the co-ordination andinspection of museums, they should contact,with the aid of ICOM, the interested authoritiesof countries where services of this type atealready in existence.'

4. See 'Security', page 45.

special e ui ent for the he th and pro-tection o ose working in the laboratories

'and wor shop. 'In the social field, measures can be as

follows: if the standard of the museumpermits it, the establishment of a canteenproviding nourishing meals- At a modestprice, or k least of a dining hall suppliedwith facilities `or cooking and washing-up. r.in an agreeable atmosphere, possibly withthe installation of radio and television sets.

From a ;yore strictly professional stand-point, there are various measures b aringon promotion and salary problem . Alsoto be included here arq disciplinary Measureswhich, in the case pf a graded staff, shouldbegin with a warning, followed by areprimand and lastly, but in serious andexception cases only, by heavier penaltiessuch as trisfer to a lower step in the gradetoWhich' the staff member belongs, transferto a lower grade, or dismissal without apension. M these questions invpive difficultmoral problems for the administration; andthey are not the only problems which ariseon the less-known side ()Idle life of suchorganizations as musafims, where there isno single scientific or administrative actthat does not call for administrative studyand does not provide fresh experience eachday.

Museum curttors can-belong, accordingto local situations, either to unions with aneconomic, denominational or political na-ture, or to professional associations. Thelatter often play a positive role of verygreat importance from the standpoint ofprofessional advancement, and it is alwaysuseful to establish thekin countries wherethey do not yet exist.

COLLECTIONS

The collections are the essential part of amuseum. They are administered in accor-dance with special rules. (a) bearing onvaricus operations (acquisitions, alienation,deposits, incoming and outgoing operations,registration, internal and external move-ments of the objects, Ananagement of thepremises); (b) varying according to the

type and level of the museum and thecountry concerned.

Vese collections are constituted by whatis called, in the, broad sense of the term,acquisitions. In an even wider sense; t eymay be regardetys including long-tedeposits.'

r

ACQUISITIONS

Categories

A museum's acquisitions can be effected:(a) subject to payment (purchases), i.e.made under a contract of sale or exchangewith any person of a corporate bodyentitled to possess and dispose of his orits prolaerty; (b) fret of charge, i.e. as aresult of acts of gerierosity: direct immediategifts from persons or corporate bodies;bequests firm persons; deferred gifts orbequests from persons wtio reserve thefight of enjoyment for then1 elves or theirbeneficiaries during a stated p' k4 usually,the lifetime of the person in qu

Responsibility

In the proper discharge of his administrativefunctions, a museum curator, howevercompetent, should not himself actuallydecide on an acquisition. H5iicrole is toselect objects whose authenti and inhe-rent value sesm to him such as to makethem useful additions to the collectionsunder his scientific control, i.e. objectscovered by the museum's programme.21It is his duty to use all the available meansof study and comparison, and to employall the resources of the museum's labora-tories. He must also discuss the price askedand, if it is unreasonable, secure the neces-sary reduction. In short, his powers arelimited to the making of proposals.

The effect to be given to such proposalsdepends exclusively on the State, in thecase of all national museums or similarestablishments, whatever their title. In the

i. For collections in general see Daifuku andBowers ( '), Part i, Chapter III, pages 27 to 3o.

2. See Chapter I, pages i6-i8. 31

case of other public institutions, the 'decisionis a matter for thfse institutions themselves, -unless there exists a national authorityresponsible for, such Auseums,1 in v; hickevent it alone can decide. For privatemuseums, the decision is one for theiradminis rators or trustees, in so far as the-positio of these establishments is notaffected y national legislation or by privateagreements. '

At whatever level the decision is taken',the competent administration' or organiz-ation should seek the advice of expertsqualified to assess the cultural value ofthe curator's, proposals and, in any case;should consider them with the greatestcare. It should also estimate the financialand legal implications of the acquisitionproposed.

De nuninlls non c Melon It is rea-sonable to allow the durator responsibilityfor the acquisition of objects of minorvalue, within the limits of a small annualor occasional budget.

Conditional gifts and bequests

Two problems arise with regard to giftsor bequests in respect of which it is specified:(a) that the objects donated or bequeathedmust be exhibited; (b) that the series ofobjects donated or bequeathed must beexhibited as an indissoluble whole.

The obligation to exhibit permanentlyruns counter to modern muse in principles,as regards both presentationsince displaysmust be changed and reserves are no longerconsidered as store-rooms but are arrangedto facilitate study and referenceand pre-servation, in the case of objects whichmay deteriorate if exposed to the light forlong periods.

Compulsory, 'group display' of objectsdonated or bequeathed is usually an obstacleto the logical arrangement of exhibits. Forthis reason, more and more museums nowendeavour to ensure that gifts and bequestsarc not subject to such conditionsand incertain countries offers are even systema-tically refused if such conditions applythough the disadvantages of this policymust be weighed in the case of outstanding

32 masterpieces.*

Insurance

The question arises whether or not to insureacquisitions. It is not the usual practice todo so in museums' depending on publicbodies, or at least belonging to the State.*Priv e museums do not always insure,b &Id be well advised to do sat

Alienation

Special precautions with regard to thealienation of mu§eum objects are essential.

In general, steps should be ,taken toprevent a temporary financial difficulty, anunjustified concession to prevailing fashion,or failure to appreciate the value of collec-tions "from leading a museum, or theauthorities responsible for it, to sell objectswhose absence might later be bitterlyregretted. Another kind of alienation whicha museum must avoid or be spared fromhaving to envisage is the untimely donationof an object, which may also be subse-quently regretted:

In certain countries, where the principle,of public property is jealously guarded bylaw, objects belonging to public bodiescan be alienated 'only after the statutoryprocedure for relinquishment of ownershiphas been duly completed'.' This imposes spe-cial obligations on the museums concerned.

Museums not subject to such obligations

t. In France, acquisitions (subject to payment orfree of charge) effected by museums under thecontrol of the Direction des Musics de Francemust be ratified by 'the Minister of Education,on the proposal of that administration. (See thebibliography on page 5', Lei Myth:, Chapter5' Mu, Section r, Article 9, page 5.)

z. In the Netherlands, 40 years after the legator'sdeath and at the request of the person whomust fulfil the testamentary conditions, theSupreme Court may in the public interest modifyor annul, so far as possible in accordance withthe legator's intentions, any particular conditionconcerning the place or manner of display of theobjects and the facilities of access offered to thepublic. (Law of r May 1925, Staatsblad No. '74.)

3. According to a French legal adage, 'the Stateis its own insurer'.

4. This is the position in France. (See the biblio-graphy on page 5', DI Mail; Chapter 56 Mu,page 11.)

I.) 9t) ti

sh'ould include- in their statutes a usestrictly regulating thealienation of objects.Public bodies should'not grant subventionsto, or deposit objects with, private mustswhich have not adopted such a clause.

Certain kinds of alienation, however,are not voluntary: they are due to proventheft, lengthy disappearance of objects forudknown reasons, destruction by fire, orsome other accident. The procedures .to befollowed' in these 1.1SCS vary according, tothe country and 4.1'pe of institution con-cerned: we simply mention here .the needfor a full and explicit report to be made indue, form and checked by the museum'shi h st authority.

re is one class of museum property,of course, which cannot, by its very nature,be-governed by rules concerning alienationthat is living specimens such as thesekept and,exhibited in bota 'cal and zoolo-gical gardens.

However strict the control voluntaryalienation may be, there is one se viashould be governed by less rigid principlesvoluntary, exchanges between museumsbelonging to the same country or-to 'differ-ent countries, provided that such exchangestake place under a rational plan, making thefullest use of surplus collections, bear;ng inmind the needs of research and educationand contributing where possible to inter-national understanding. If the statutes ofthe museums concerned prohibit alienationfor such purposes, exchanges may beeffected in the form of long-term deposits.

LONG-TERM DEPOSITS

Many museums pften accept objects onlong-term deposit, for fixed or indefiniteperiods. Such a practice may be useful inso far as it results in filling gaps in collectionsor facilitating research. Curators shouldhowever act with care in this respect,especikBy in order to avoid such depositsbeing sing& for blatant advertising orcommercial purposes. Incoming operationsshould be governed by the same rules asthose applying t9 acquisitions,"' providedthat: (a) they give rise to an exchange ,ofletters confirming the nature, physical con-dition and insurance value of the objeCts

deposited and the. duration of the depositthis presupposes that one of the parties

is obliged to insure the objects concerned); ,

(b) the origtnal packing is preserved andits arrangement noted as fir as possible,with a view to its being used in, exactlyt.'4the same way hen the objects are returnedto the depositor. .-

The dispatch of object fof depositshould be go erred by the 'same rules asthose applying to loans for temporary

2exhibitions.'

Owing to e,heir different de ree of per-manence, deposits should be entered ina register other than that used for acqui-sitions.'

ADMINISTRATION

Having established these principles, wemust now examine the question of 10oshotild administer the collections in amuseum (i.e. from the administrativestandpoint, scientific administration beingsomething quite distinct).

The question does not arise.in the caseof a small museum, whether or not it hasthe services Of one or more administrativeofficials; it is the curator himself who isdirectly responsible for administration.

In museums with specialized scientificdepartmen,a, the solutions adopted vary.They range from cases where the admini-stration of collections is entrusted to eachof the scientific departments concerned, tothose where a special administrative organ,the Registration Department, is entrustedwith the task.

The existence of a Registration Depart-ment offers to scientific departments advan-tages comparable in importance to th6seafforded in other ways by a laboratory orworkshop for the upkeep of collections,'an educational service' or a display service.By relieving the specialists of some routine

i. See 'Acquisitions', page 31.2. See 'Outgoing operations', page 35.3. See 'Inventory of deposits', page 41.4. The bisic work on is subject is Carl E. Guthe's,

So You Wan! a Good Museum, see the bibliography ton page 5 i, we shall quote extensively from it.

s. See Chapter VII.6. See Chapter VI.

C3`1

t

33

.

work, it enables them to devote more timeto the extension anti study of their respec-,

motive departments' collections, and to pub-lication of the relevant catalogues. At thesame time it makes for /mice efficiente,xechtion of purely administrative tasks.k It thouldc-Nhowever, be noted that

because of the..pecial nature of ,the speci-mens assembled by natural science mbseums,the 'work of registration in such museums/-even in the United States of America,where registration departments'4 are mostwidely adoptedis usulillyentrusted Itothe scientinc departments; this solution,however does not preclude, the existenceof a central servicvo record the informationprovided by those departments in one mainindex..

IPREMISES

What premises Are suitable for the adminis-Itrative offices the museum's collections?According to the type, structure and levelof the museumthey may be premiseswhich arc not assigned fo: any otherparticular purpose, or preferably, theyshould be specially designed. The mostusual case is to have_ special locations forunpacking, inventory or cataloguing andtemporary storage [41

INCOMING AND OUTGOINGOPERATIONS

The formalities and the operations them-selves differ according as they concernincoming or outgoing objects (with theexception of packing and transport proper,which are dealt with further on) [z].

Incoming operations [z]

Apart from administrative and technicalmaterial, objects arriving at a museumusually fall within one of the followingcategories. objects submitted to the museumfrom outside for the purpose of scientificresearch, technical examination, analysis ortreatment; objects loaned to the museum

34 for its temporary exhibitions, or deposited

r

with it for "a fixed or indefinite .peripd forinclusion in its collscuons; objecw'offereclor acquired (gifts, bequests, purchases,exchanges).,

Objects arriving at a museum ,Shouldbe accepted only subject to .the necessaryprecautions. /Except in cases of absolutenecessity, objects1Fhose arrival the directorhad not noufiecl ih advance to the Regis-'-tration Department or specialized depart-ment concerned should not be unpacked /without his consent or that pf one of hisqualified .assistants.

If a receipt is requested by the persondelivering an object, before the presenceor condition of the object in the packagehas been verified, the receipt should begiven on a conditional basis only.

The unpacking should be entrusted toqualified staff of proved reliability; thisoperation calls for the greatest care andinvolves k.serious responsibilities. Whennecessary, the docaments announcing thearrival of the objectsletters, invoices,telegrams, etc.should be consulted priorto the unpacking; all material identifyingeach package=labels, numbers, directions, .invoices, etc., whether inside or outsidethe packingshould be kept in its originalplace or, if that is not possible, in a workingfile.

When objects are found to be broken,(a) care must be taken not to mingle thefragments of different objects (if necessarythe fragments should be grouped togetherhi containers identifying mem) and not toplace the fragments friar one another (to .avoid the risk of further damage); (b) thechief of service (or in his absence, anotherperson) should bg asked to note the damage,discovered after unpacking, and a reportshould be drawn up,for signature by bothparties concerned.

When objects are broke0, during theunpacking, the person responsible mustnotify the fact to his superior; an accidentis not necessarily a fault, but it is a faultto conceal it.

Before the packing material is put aside,the objects unpacked should be checkedwith the documents announcing theirdispatch in order to ensure that they have

I. fur the storage of collections see Chapter VIII.

35

all arrived. Whatever the result of thischOking, every part of the paElting matet4a1should be thoroughly examined, so as tomake, sae that tio objects or fragmentsof objects have been overlooked.

If ahy objects are found to be Iiiissihg,the matte'` "should be-reported to the chiefof service or, in histabsence, to some otherperson, and a written report should bedrawn .tip for signature by tboth partiesconcerned.

The packing used for objects which havebeen submitted, loaned or deposited mustbe preserved, so far as it is possible anduseful to do so, with a view to its'\ beingused again when the objects are returnedtP the sender. Those parts of the packing

identify each package and are oflasting value should be kept in the object-files and the collection-files.'. As soon as the contents have been verifieda final receipt should be sent to the consignor,togethc:yvith a letter indicating, if necessary,what objects are damaged or missing.

The objects acquired should be enteredin the inventory of acquisitions or accessionbook.' The objects depositedand, byassimilation, those submitted for studyshould be entered in the inventory ofdeposits.'

It is not advisable to enter, in the inventory,of deposits, objects which ire simplyloaned to the museum for its temporaryexhibitions; it is hetter to enter them inspecial inventories corresponding to eachsuch exhibition, as the objects loaned fora temporary exhibition should constitute acomplete group, net only at the preparatorystage and during thef exhibition, but alsoin the records. In that case, the inventoriesused should be similar to the inventoriesof deposits.

Insurance may or may not be considerednecessary for acquired objects, but objectssubmitted, loaned, offered or depositedshould always be insured.'

Outgoing operations [z]

Apart from -administrative and technicalmaterial, objects leaving a museum usuallyfall within one of the following categories:Objects sent out for sciEntific research or

for examination or analysis; objects loanedby the museum for outside temporaryexhibitions or depo -b it, for a fixedor indefinite period, wit museunis orother establishments; and ob) cts alignaledby way of sale, donation or exchang.

.Sometimes it is the curator who decideson. such operations, but usually it is theboard of directors or the higher administra-tion. The conditions governing alienationprope'r .have already been defined.' Withregard to loans and deposits, if the decisionis not one for the curator, the interests ofthe museum and the professional standingof the curator require that he should beconsulted and that his opinion be considered.

In any case, certain formalities shouildbe observed before an outgoing operationis authorized; it is essential,, in particular,(a) to make certain that the ,lean, removal,deposit or .alienation of the object is notprohibited; (b) to ensure that its condition,in the curator's opinion, is not such asto prevent its transport; (c) to ensure, incases when the outgoing object is to beloaned, submitted or deposited, that itsphysical condition is not such as to preventits transport; (d) to obtain the consignee'spreliminary agreement on the followingpoints: the reasons for the outgoingoperation, the dates of dispatch and return,the technical and financial arrangements forthe packing and the outwatd and returntransport, the amount of the insurance andthe ,place where the policy is to be takenout, and, in the case of very valuableobjects, the provision of an escort (by thesending museum) both when the objectsare dispatched and when they are returned.

As soon as the outgoing operation hasbeen authorized and the conditions havebeen accepted, the curator or the Rcgistra-tion Departm-ent (if there is one), on beingnotified by a memorandum or a specialdetailed form, should see to the packing,insurance and dispatch of the .objectconcerned.

r. See 'Supplementary documentation', page 4z.z. See 'Inventory of acquisitions', page 39..3. See 'Inventory of deposits', page 4t.4. See 'Insurance', page 3z.S. See 'Alienation', page ;z.

ef.J.

33

e sending museum is responsible forthe packing and, when necessary, shouldinform the consignee, in adyance, of anyparticularly fragile cfbjects.

The consignee should be asked for aformal receipt stating his name and addiess,the reasons why the object has beenrequested (when necessary, the title of the'exhibition), the registration number, adescription of the object, the amount ofthe insurance, the origin of the object,whether it has been transferred perma-nently or to orarily, and all other, detailsspecified by t e sending museum.

When an o ect is returned, the consigneeshould inform he len. g museum of thedate of the retu . the time when he isarranging it.

On the return of objects, the unpackingmust be effected with the same precautionsas were taken when they were dispatchedto the consignee. If any damage is noted,a report similar to that already mentionedmust be drawn up and sent to the personreturning the objects; if necessary, proceed-ings' can then be instituted for compen-sation, by the insurance company concerned,in respect of the damage done.

A formal receipt is sent to the personreturning the objects, referring, where desir-able, to the receipt he originally signedwhen receiving them.

Packing and transport

Packing and transport methods must becarefully studied. The nature, size, weightand value of the objects must be consideredin relation to the technical and financial

conditions, and duration of the transport.Tfle museum must ash the carrier companiesand, if necessary, the consulates for inform-ation concerning these conditions, so as tobeable to make a rational choice and avoidsituations in which certain operations, notconforming to the rules applied by transportcompanies or to the rules m force in the coun-tries concerned, would exonerate the carrierfrom all responsibility in the event of anaccident or customs difficulties.

Packing. A detailed statement of the ptin-36 ciples and methods of packing, which are

constant131 being impioved upon would goconsiderably beyond our present terms ofreference. We shall therefore simply repro-duce the recommendations contained inMilfe1011 Rtgistration Methods [z] (page 8z),from which we have already largely drawnupon for the purposes of the present chapter:'t. Pack in splid wooden boxes reinforced

over-all (with riding battens, never inopen crates. Inside- measurements ofboxes must be at least zi inches larger.than the largest objects packed in them.(Fireboard drums or other containersmeeting the requirements of bothmuseuo and came{ may sometimes beused, 'depending on the- value andfragility of the material being. shippedand the method of transportation.)

'1. Line boxes with wa roof paperstapled or glued to he box, nevertacked; or pack in id pieces insealed waterproof package .

'3. Protect contents of, boxP from shockwith resilient material, such as excelsiorwood shavings, to provide a cushionagainst vibration.

'4. Wrap small, fragile oillects such asceramics in tissue and t en in cottonto protect the surface; then float themin excelsior in inner cardboard orwooden containers, which in turn arefloated in excelsior in a large outerpacking box.

'3. If possible, do not pack heavy and lightobjects in the same container. if theymust be packed together, use crossslats to divide the box into compart-ments.

'6. Screw box covers in place, never nailthem. .

'7. Stencil or letter outside of box withcaution marks such as fragile, this endup, etc.Strap or band all boxes being shippedto foreign countries'

Transport. The decision as to whether rapidor ordinary transport is to be used willdepend on particular circumstances andpossibilities. The latter, although less costly,exposes the objects to travel risks duringa longer period.t. Rail transport. Particular attention siukuld

be paid to the category of merchandise

0f )

in which the objects are classified. Specialtrucks can RN obtained for large-scaletransport.

z. Inland parcel post. This is a convenientmeans of transport for small consign-ments, but should not be employed forobjects of great value.

3. Road transport. For short distances, andsubject to the exercise of great care thisform of transport permits (a) the packingof small and fragire objects in basketsor cardboard boxes, (b) the use of frames,instead of packing-cases, for large objects.

4. Air transport. The company's respons-ibility is limited, unless additional chargesare paid.

S. Sea transport. At present, passenger shipsarc preferable. The rates calculated onthe 'maximum value' basis are high;in most cases however, rates are assessedon the object's size and tveihht. In thelatter case, the company's financialresponsibility is limited, unless additionalcharges are paid.

INVENTORY

Acquisitions and lung-term depusits to beincorporated in collections permanently orfor fairly long temporary periods, .must beinventoried.1

Importance

The inventory is the instrument whichsafeguards the patrimony of a museum andthe objects deposited with it. It providesthe administrator with an exact picture ofthe objects acquired, deposited or alienated.It is an effective means of combating dis-order and repletion of resources. In theevent of claims on grounds of fraudulent orcriminal misappropriation, or in cases ofdispute at law, it provides the proof requiredfor legal proceedings. It supplies compar-ative information, making it possible todetermine whether new objects should ormust be acquired. Pending the establish-ment of a scientific catalogue, it is an indis-

nsable aid to research. As the late EdouardMichel aptly remarked, it is the 'basic'book. t

The inventory is essential for reasons ofcommon sense, but the law should equallymake provision for it. The need for it,which has always been fully recognized bylarge museums, must be constantly empha-_sized; and its establishment in local mu-seums must be enjoined and secured bythe responsible authorities. Museum inspectors can ask for it to be produced, and checkits contents and accuracy [3, 4, 5].

Any delay in the inventory of objects maylead to disorder, as well as to confusionin identifying objects. The inventory shouldtherefore be kept strictly up to date withacquisitions. This dation is parti-cularly important for small useums.3

The inventory must not rye conatedwith the catalogue. In principle, the foixperis administrative and the latter scientific incharacter.

Although the method used is rigorous,the inventory is of real scientific value forthe following reasons. (a) it facilitates, incases of einergency, the scientific inter-pretation of objects not yet catalogued;(b) when the catalogue is being prepared,the inventory provides data which it wouldnot otherwise always be possible to recon-stitute, (c) it ensures that the identificationreference, particularly with regard to thenumbers on the labels of the objects

z. It is not nece-nary to inventory objects whichare submitted merely for study purposes (see'Incoming operations', page 34); in such casesa formal receipt suffices; but it is advisable toinsure such objects, unless there are agreementsto the contrary. The registration of loans isdiscussed elsewhere.

2. Edouard Michel, Mudet et Conterratetert, Brussels,Institut de Sociologic Solvay, 1948.

3. 'In a small museum the individual in charge islikely to be personally interested in each objectadded to the collections. He tends to postponethe chore of making a written record about it,because he is sure he will remember ail thedetails. But, as the collections increase, hismemory about certain items may become vagueand incomplete, or may be lost entirely. If, forany reason, his association with the collectionceases, his information about them goes withhim. It is extremely disheartening to attempt tobuild an adequate museum around a collectionof interesting objects for which there are onlyfragmentary records: (See the bibliography onpage lz, Carl E. Guthe, So You rant a GoodMuslim, page 4.)

1.."0

37

38

exhibited, is the same in all succeedingcatalogues.

As we have just indicated, the objects tdbe inventoried may belong to the museumor be deposited with it on loan. Some ofthe methodi recommended below areapplicable to both cases, whereas othersare applicable, according to circumstances,only to acquisitions or to deposits. Theymit all be adapted to the particularconditions of the various countries andtheir respective museums.

Types

There are three types of inventory. boundledgers (resistres a jiiiillets fixes), loose-leafledgers (res:sires .i fetalleti mobiles), and filecards. (fiches).

The conditions particular to the country,as well as to the character and 1 vel of themuseum, must be taken into acco t whena choice is made among these differenttypes:The potentialities of each of themin regard to reproduction must also beconsidered, for the following reasons. First,a museum inventory is an instrument ofinestimable value and its reconstitution isvery difficult, even impossible, in the eventof its loss; the existence of two copies indifferent places is therefore indispensable.Secondly, where there is a RegistrationDepartment, the museum's scientific depart-ments must possess copies of those partsof the inventory which a0 of interest tothem. Thirdly, where the museum belongsto a public body, the latter sometimeswishes to possess .its own copy of theinventory.

Bound ledger. The leaves must be of purerag paper and chemically neutral; thebinding must be solid, and the paginationcontinuous and indelible. The objects mustbe entered legibly, and the ink used mustbe such as not to fade with the passingof time. There should be no spaces betweenthe different entries in the register. Thelatter's date of opening must be indicatedon the first page, together with the numberof pages (which must be written in words).It should be forbidden to scratch out, rubout, or chemically obliterate anything

u

written he register. The only erasuresor addipOns authorized should be thosewhich the curator deems necessary., all suchalterations should be in ink of a dljerentcolour and should be initialled by thecurator. A rough draft of all entries shouldbe made beforef they are written in theregister so as to minimize the necessityfor corrections.

The chief disadvantage of a bound registeris that the entries -must be written by hand,this requires time and, owing to inevitabledifferences in handwritings, involves a lackof uniformity. Two other drawbacks attri-buted to it can be remedied, at least to someextent, as follows: (a) the temptation toMake correctionsby making rough drafts /before the actual work of ecitzy., (b) the&fficulty of making subsequent additionsB1 excluding all indications not of a per-manent nature, bearing on e.g. the conditionof the objects, the insurance value, etc.

In countries where museums dependmore directly on public bodies, this typeof register provides the best safeguards andis therefore that usually adopted.

Reproduction is best done by microfilm,.i.e. the microfilming/of each filled-in pageor group of filled-iff pages. if need be, theindispensable second copy could be consti-tuted by the 'drafts' mentioned Above.

Loose leaf ledger. The risk of leaves beinglost is offset by the existence of a secondcopy. On the other Ir.nd,lthere is a riskof some leaves being fraudulently substi-tuted for others, even when there is aspare copy, With this kind of register,entries can be typed; this ensures uni-formity and' makes it possible to type, atthe same time, copies for the spare inventoryand for circulation to the scientific depart-ments, etc.

File cards. As in the case of the loose-leafinventory there is a risk of entries beinglost or substituted, but their loss is offsetin the same way. There is less risk if thecards are perforated, affixed to rods andkept in locked drawers. The necessity ofusing Bristol-board cards prevents severalcards from being typed simultaneously, asin the case of sheets for the unbound reg-ister, but there arc various methods of

'reproduction that cap. ,be used, the leastcostly and most practical of which are hecto-graphing and stencilling 14 Thus the main

e advantage of this system is to facilitate thepreparation, not only of the spare copy,but also of the indexes for the needs ofthe Registration DepArtment and specializeddepartments.' This type of register permitsof additions, as well as of _ ue and accuratesubstitutions. It, is being increasingly, usedin United States museums.

Inventory of acquisitions

The essential feature \of the inventory 'ofacquisitions is that the objects entered init cannot be struck out unless they arerecognized as having lost or alienated.

. Numbering. Before an object is inventoried

stshould be assigned a number. The most

atisfactory method, called tripartite, vir-tually the same as that recommended byGuthe [3], is as follows:

The first unit is constituted by the lasttwoor, if necessary, the last threedigitsof. the year in which the Abject enteredthe museum.

The second unit i5 the number of thecollection of objects for the current yearthe series of this number. is renewed everyyear.

The third unit is constituted by the numberof the object in the collection.

A fourth element may be used when theobject consists of several component parts.

Thus, for instance the number 46.26.12.2would be applied to a component part ofa candlestick, twelfth object of the twenty-sixth collection entered during the year1946.

If the object acquired is in only onepiece, it should nevertheless be assigned inaccordance with established practice, acollection number and an object number.This method would avoid the confusingof objects inventoried on an actual datewith those inventoried on a conventionaldate.*

Heading. The question of headings raisesseveral problems:1. A programme problem. The headings

must take into account the extremevariety of the objects which a museumcan assemble; this problem arise, inspecialized museums, and even mote inmixed museums, whose programmesmay cover such widely differing fieldsas the arts, ethnography, the natural'sciences, etc.

z. A problem relating to number. If thenumber of headings is too smalli clackof precision may result. If it is tod great

cthe inventory involves too much work,is less handy and is liable to overlapwith the catalogue. .

3: A problem of permanence. If theheadings,cover too many ulns leelements e.g. the condition Of t eobjects or their insurance value, which,are subject to variationthe registerMay have to be over-corrected, and thecards redrafted too often.

The series of headings recomin,nded belowtakes account of these various factors.It does not apply, howeyer, to the 'living'specimens lit dertain establishments, suchas botanical and zoological gardens. Thelatter are of too special a nature to be dealtwith here.

1. Number of the object.2. Mode of acquisiuon: purchase, gift,

bequest, exchange.3. Purchase valu of the object.4. Surname, first name and address of the

seller, donor, testator or exchangelagent.3. Date of acquisition. When necessary,

mention should also be made of thenature of the authority effecting thepurchase or accepting the gift orbequest.

6. Description (summary), possible title.

r. Sec 'Indexes', page 42.2. See 'Retrospective inventory, page 4o.;. This seiies of headings is based mainly on two

works already mentioned: L'Inventairt Infilto-graphigui des objets culture!: and Museum Registra-tion Methods (see the bibliography on page 3 I).Relatively more detailed than that recommendedby the latter work, k takes account of the fact;already emphasized, that an inventory so con-ceived can to some extent meet the requirementsof scientific preservation and consultation,pending the establishment of the catalogueapos;tion which is found in numerous museumsof modest or average level. 39

ti

7. Measurements. Height, lengtW, width,diameter and (if necessary) weight. Thedimensions of a painting will be thoseof the empty canvas stretcher. Thenumber of pages or leaves of books,etc. should be mentioned.

8. Author, cultural group, species. Doubt-ful attributions should be indicated byquestion marks.

9. Origin. In the case of cultural objects,it would be useful to distinguish, bymeans of columns or secondary head-ings, between the place of productionand the place of utilization (e.g. a pieceof pottery produced at Faenza, andreceived from a hbspital dispensary inLyons), the place of excavation (in thecase of

ti

excavated objects) and theorigin of the collection; or, in the case ofnatural objects, between the geograph-ical place of origin and the actual originof the collection.

to. Period. If possible, the exact date shouldbe noted, otherwise the period. Rashguesses should be avoided. It is betterto mention the century rather than- thewrong year. If necessary, questionmarks should be used.

i. Collection-file and object-file. An abbre-viation based on the language of thecountry concerned (e. English CFand OF) would indicate existence,at the museum, of one or more copiesof a collection-file or of an object-filerelating to the objcct registered in theinventories.'

2. Remarks. Former inventory numbers,etc.

Retrospective inventory

When a curator decides to adopt a methodof registration more satisfactory than thatpreviously used in his museum, he mustbegin with the recently arrived objects notyet registered. The system of numberingrecommended makes this possible, owingto the annual renewal of its first unit.

The compilation of a retrospective inven-tory, which is a lengthy task, should becarried out - gradually, as time permits.

----The first duty. would be to complete or40 reconstitute, .for each object, the necessary

data of administrative interest (date of entr ,,name of the donor or seller, originalcollection).

Thus a working card index would beestablished using information from olderinventories, labels on the objects, hand-written or printed catalogues, and reportsof the museum co ncil, the press, localreviews, etc. If the cards are classified sofar as possible acco cling to the numberingsystem described above it will be lessnecessary to examine the original objects.

References to any scientific informatiqnbrought to light .during this work shouldbe indicated on the index cards, as an aidto the preparation of future cat b.

At the conclusion of this preparatorystage, four situations are possible:I. The dates when objects entered the

museum will have been ascertained. Inthis case, the objects should be registeredin the chronological order of theirentry, as in the case of an inventory ofrecently arrived objects.

a. The dates when objects entered themuseum will not have been ascertained.In this case, a single collection shouldbe constituted by the, classification ofthe objects in logical order instead ofthe chronological order previously adop-ted. The classification might be bycategories (chosen at the discretion ofthe classifier), and should be carried outas rigorously as possible.

The inventory number should bebipartite: the first unit formed by thelast two digits of a 'conventional' year,i.e. the earliest year during which thepresence of the object at the museumis certain. The second unit would be aserial' number of one to four figures.

The objects with a bipartite numberestablished on the basis of a conventionaldate would be thus easily distinguishablefrom those with a tripartite numberbased on an actual date.

3. The dates at which only some of theobjects entered the museum will havebeen ascertained. In this event, methods(a) or (b) would be used, according tocases. The objects with a bipartitenumber would be grouped in one

i. See 'Collection-file and object file% page 4Z

(conventional) year, i.e. the earliest yearduring which their presence at themuseum is certain.

4. A final possibility: the dates of entry ofcertain objects are ascertained after theestablishment of the retrospective regis-ter. If, after the inventory has beenestablished, information is obtained ton-cernint, the origin and date of entry ofcertain objects, these objects can be with-drawn from the series with conventionaldates and renumbered in accordancewith the tripartite system mentionedabove.

Marking

The marking of the numbers on the objectsis indispensable to completion of theinventory; information contained in theinventory might be useless if each objectweKe.not marked with the index and numberunder which it was classified and described.In certain cases and in order to save time,it would be useful to effect this operationby series of objects, particularly when useis made of varnishes which n73,13....e allowedto dry [3, 5].

It is useful to effect a provisional 'make-shift' marking so that the objects will notcease to be identifiable during or betweenthe various operations.

Efforts should be made to ensure thatthe final marking is neither too visible(unaesthetic) nor insufficiently visible(inconvenient), and thit it is not placedwhere it is unduly exposed to wear orobliteration (risky). Uniform practice con-cerning the parts of the objects on whichthe markings are made should be adopted.

The models to be recommended forthe figures are those used in mechanicaldrawing.

The following techniques can be recom-mended for the marking of the numbers:Stone, wooden, metal, leather ceramic or

glass objects with a non-porous surface.the number should be marked with ultra-fine gouache or Indian ink according tothe colour of the surface; as soon as thenumber has dried, it should be coveredwith a layer of colourless spirit varnish.l

Objects of the same materials but with a

porous surface: the same operations, butpreceded by the application of a layerof colourless spirit varnish, so as to offer1 suitable surface and avoid scratchingthe object.

Textiles: the number should be markedwith black Indian ink on a rectangularpiece of parchment.

Fine basket-work, very small objects: thenumber should be stamped on a smallrectangular brass tag.

Drawings and prints, etc.: the numbershould.be marked with black Indian inkon the back of the object. If the paperis insufficiently sized, thejiumber shouldbe marked with a wax crayon, care beingtaken not to crumple the paper. theobject is of to 1 mount, the numbershould also be marked on the back ofthe mount; likewise with regard to theframe. In the case of prints, a very ;mallcopper stamp, inked from a specialmk-pad, should be used.

Objects deposited should be marked inthe same way, but prints and drawingsshould be numbered only with 2 soft leadpencil.

Inventory of deposits

The main feature of the inventory of depositsis that the objects noted in it when theyenter the museum should also be noted init when they leave the museum.

Apart from objects which are inalienableor not easily alienable and constitute thepermanent collections, museums may alsoreceive objects deposited for a fixed orindefinite period, by public bodies or even,under certain conditions, by private indi-viduals. Such. deposits must be entered, notin the invettory registers or card-indexes

r. For stone, wooden, metal, leather, ceramic orglass objects, the Direteur des (Nets d'art atthe Louvre Museum recommends the use of amixture of three parts of powdered vermillionto one part of turpentine and one part of super-fine varnish. Since the mixture dries rapidly itshould be stirred thoroughly and frequently.Mask the number with an ordinary pen or witha fine but firm brush. (See the bibliography onpage 5r, L'Imyniaire mutiogragique int objill:knurl's, paragraph 52.312.)

4 j4. I0:

41

reserved for acquisitions, but in specialregisters or card-indexes for deposits only.

The. methods for determining the inven-tory numbers of deposits are the same asthose ubed for acquisitions, but it is essentialthat the deposit numbers be preceded by asymbol, so as to prevent confusion betweenacquisition numbers and deposit numbers.'

The register and the cards have the sameheadingssubjects to the differences men-tioned below, the most important of thesebeing a special column or space for thedate on which the deposit comes to anend. The following are the headingssuggested:1. Deposit number.2. External method of acquisition (i.e.

how the object was acquired by thedepositor).

3. Name and address of the depositor.4. Date of the deposit.S. Date of the withdrawal of the deposit.6. Description.7. Measurements, etc.8. Author, cultural group, species.9. Origin.

1o. Period.Collection-file or object-fik.

7.2. Remarks.The same mar ng methods will be used,but care mus be taken to see that thedeposit numb rs can be effaced.

Supplementag cumentation

Collection-files and, object- files. Much of theinformation entered in the registers or onthe inventory cards is taken from writtendocuments correspondence, invoices, billsand other private or official documentswhich are proof of acquisitionin thepossession of the directorate or its Registra-tion Department (if the latter exists). Thesedocuments must be so filed as to facilitatetheir consultation for administrative orresearch purposes.

One of the most effective methods is togroup them in collection-files, whose foldersof standard size (e.g. 24 x 32 cm)bearin large type the registration number of thecollection and are classified i'n numericalorder. If the collection-files become toobulky they should be subdivided into

object-files, also arranged in numericalorder.

Such files may also contain lists of bib-liographical, archival, photographic andiconographic references, and reportsconcerning damage, examinations andtreatment undergone by objects, etc.

These files, whose contents can be con-stantly increased, are always of administrativevalue, and are also of undeniable scientificvalue pending, and even after, th5 establish-ment of the scientific catalogue.'

Indexes. It is often necessary to locate theinventory entry or position of an objectwhose number cannot be found. In suchcases, the object must be identified withthe help of various data (name of the donoror seller, nature and function of the object,technique and material of fabrication, itsgeographic origin, author, ethnic group,species, period, etc.). This necessity forindexes is felt on the administrative as wellas on the scientific level, and that is whythey are discussed here.

If the inventory is on cards,' it willsuffice to reproduce a3 many cards as arerequired for the various subject headingsin the index, taking account, when necessaryof the needs of both the RegistrationDepartment and the scientific departments.

In the case of the other two methods ofinventory, the index cards should be spe-cially made, preferably in the smallestinternational size (7.5 x 12.5 cm), and thenreproduced like the others3 by hectographor stencil.

In the indexes themselves, the cardsshould be distributed according to thesubject headings, using the alphabeticallycoded category system, the de imal systemof classification or classification accordingto the inventory number (which wouldassist the departments in finding theinventory ent;y of objects interesting them).

The rapid Eonsultation of the cards is being increasingly facilitated by such methods

1. For example the initial letter D (for.deposit).2. See 'File cards', page 38.3. In the case of the inventory in the form of a

loose-leaf ledger, it is also possible to use typedduplicates, if they are of average size and corres-pond to international standards.

9/ t.)

as mechanical and electronic sorting, butthese methods (especially the lastnamed)require a typing technique and more costlyequipment, and are therefore possible onlyin very large museums.

LOCATION ANP MOVEMENTOF OBJECTS

Every object at the museum must be givena regular location in the museum itself,either in the exhibition rooms or in thereserves. The object may be withdrawnfrom that location for a varying period] oftime: (a) within the museum, for purposesof study, examination, treatment, photo-graphy, exhibition, etc.; (b) for an outsidedestination, on loan, deposit, etc.

The curator, the Registration D9Part-ment and the specialized departments,according to cases, must have some meansof ascertaining the regular or temporarylocation of the objects of concern to the:n,and to keep check of their movementsfrom one, place to another. 4.

The means of checking vary to a certaine.tent, depending on whether bound orlouse-leaf inventories or registration cardsare used.

Irben bound or loose-leafinventories are used

Only where there is an extreme shortageof labour should the regular location of anobject be noted, in an effaceable manner,on the inventory page itself. The temporarylocations of objects, and the dates andpurposes of their movements, should bementioned only in a register of movementsin which .columns should be reserved forthe inventory number, a very brief descrip-don of the 'object, the date on which ileft its regular location, its temporarylocation, the date of its return to its regularlocation and the responsible person'sinitials in the margin beside each of thesedates.

An even aiore satisfactory solution is toestablish a supplementary card-index of theobjects, the cards being similar to thoseused in the inventory indexes.] The regular

or temporary positions of the objects canbe indicated in this end-index in two ways.(i) the cards, classified in numerical order,can,each have a tag, whose colour or symbolreVeals, in accordance with establishedpractice, the location of the objects; (ii) thecards can be classified according/to thevarious locations. The first system requiresless effort; the second, with its/groups ofpositions, has the advantage/ of givingvaluable information in more than onerespect. The register of movements is nonethe less necessary in order to indicate

fnporary locations and the dates andpurposes of movements.

!Men inventory cards are used

Several means of ascertaining positions andmovements are used.

One is to ,provide the inventory cardswith tags. Another is to reproduce theinventory cards and classify them by groupsof positions. In either case it is necessaryto keep a register of movements.1

A third sy stem is possible: that of leavinga special space on the inventory cards forthe recording of movements. This systemwould certainly have the advantage ofobviating the need for a register of move-ments, but it would present two seriousdisadvantages: (a) it would necessitate, inthe long run, the preparation of continuationcards, which would overburden the card-index, (b) it would deprive the museum ofan important scientific and administrativeadvantage not yet mentioned, viz. thepreservation, in a register of movements,of traces of former movements. .

Genelis1,remioe

Whatever system is,adopted:1. The responsibility for keeping inventory

entries and keeping records of,locationsup to date would fall to the curator,the Registration Department or, withinthe limits of their competence, the

T. See 'Indexes', page 42.2. See When bound or loose-leaf inventories are

used', above.

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specialized departments, depending onthe organization of the museum.

z. A useful practice is to replace any objectthat is reriloved from its usual positionby what librarians call a 'clurritny', i.e. acard giving the number and a very briefdescription of the object, and the dateand purpose of the removal; this is alsoa gesture of courtesy towards the publicif the object removed is an exhibit.

3. It is also useful to have a system oftopographical symbols to indicate thepremises and parts of premises in whichthe objects have a regular locationi.e.,in the present case, to the exhibitionroom.

EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES,PREMISES, SECURITY

EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

In addition to the objects of the collectionsand the documentauon of scientific interestprinted matter, manuscripts, tracings,photographic plates, microfilms, films, pho-nograph, tape recordings, etc.which itis called upon to assemble and to offer forconsultation purposes or, if necessary, toproduce in order to complete its collections,a museum must have at its ,disposal aconsiderable amount of equipment andsupplies, the acquisition and administrationof which should also be governed by rules.

Two main categories must be distin-guished. (a) Permanent equipment, whichshould be recorded in inventories inaccordance with methods roughly similarto those used for the ,objects. furniture forexhibitions (show-cases, panels, etc.), fur-niture for the stores and workshops,scienufic equipment, for the laboratories,audio-visual equipment, furniture and light-ing for the various services, etc.' (b) Whatis known as expendable supplies (stationery,cleaning and maintenance requirements,lumber, fuel, etc.), the supply and use ofwhich are controlled by a system of couponsand registers.

It is not possible here to go into a44 detailed description of all the formalities

and rules, which vary considerably fromone country to another. We shall confineourselves to making the following recom-mendations:1. According to the level of the museum,

the administration of equipment andsupplies should be entrusted to a separateofficial or specialized service.

z. Each museum service or employeeshould be responsible for the equipmentin its or his charge, but sh ld besupervised by the official or ecializedservice responsible.

3. The stocks should be cone ntrated inspecial stores, subdivided, i possible,according to categories of material andaccessible to the official or specializedservice responsible, subject to observanceof safety rules.

4. The museum services or employeesshould receive expendable supplies insmall quantities only.*

PREMISES

The ideal situation is that in which themuseum premises belong to the society orpublic body on which the ins ndepends. This reduces maintenancculties and facilitates the museum's s-formation and expansion. In the crcountries, however, museums are enhoused in buildings owned by ate,and in such cases the institutions' ene-ficiary' position is equivalent to at oflessees.

One thing should be avoided as far aspossible: the cohabitation, in the samebuilding, of a museum and other institutionsor services. The main disadvantages of

.such a situation are: (a) disagreement asto the definition and application of safetyrules, owing to the fact that the situationis not the same for each occupying body,e.g. with regard to the means of preventingand fighting fires, the degree of strictness

r. The methods for identifying and marking furni-ture could be the same as those used for objects,provided that symbols avoiding all possibleconfusion are used. Separate inventories foracquisitions and deposits are also recommended.Alienations, though governed by less rigorousrules, should be controlled.

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in guarding the premises, etc.; (b) difficultiesof access for the staff and the public, ifthe museum has no direct street entrance;(c) the frequent impossibility of expandingthe museum; since, all too often, a morepowerful neighbour is able to 'swallow up'the museum premises.

Cohabitation, however, has less disad-vantages where related organizations, suchas libraries and archives, are concerned.

A museum housed in an historic buildingis invested with a certain prestige, beautyand attraction fOr tourists, but is subjectedto regulations enforced by the authorityin charge of public monuments.

It is advisable for the museum officialor specialized service responsible for equip-ment and supplies to be responsible alsofor routine relations with the architect ofthe buildings. Guthe [3], pates 17 andgives useful advice concerning the carewhich, for technical and financial reasons,should be exercised in the choice of thebuilding.

SECURITY

The rules governing security vary, accord-ing as they relate to the prevention oftheft and fire or to exceptional measuressuch as those imposed by armed conflict.

Theft .1In premises with modern fittings, protectionagainst theft is afforded by a number ofdevices, some more effective than others.Such devices should be chosen only aftervery careful investigation and extensiveconsultation with the official bodies Mostcompetent in the matter, and also withestablishments, such as banks, which aremore especially obliged to employ them.Special instructions concerning their useshould be issued to the staff, after beingofficially endorsed. It would be a mistake,however, to.rely exclusively on such devices,human supervision is also needed, and forthis reason museum guards must beemployed In the large museumsfinancialand other considerations permittingordi-nary supervision should be made doublysure by the addition of a special team of

guards, wearing plain clothes and exercisingdiscreet control over all parts of the premisesaccessible to the public. This human super-vision, which must never be such as toconstitute an affront to visitors, can befacilitated by a number of preventivemeasures, judiciously concerted, adminis-tratively codified and prominently displayed,imposing on the public certain obligationssuch as that of leaving in the cloak-roomall packages bags, portfolios or otherportable receptacles in which stolen objects,might be concealed).

Fire

Protection against fire involves respons-ibilities on the part of the proprietor, notonly with regard to the museum'streasures, which are sometimes irreplaceable,but also with regard to the members ofthe public wishing the museum. It calls notonly for material and technical but also,for administrative measures, -which shouldbe particularly strict if the museum is housedin an ancient building where risks are greater.

All security measures adopted mustconform to the regulations governingpublic safety. These regulations bear, insubstance, on the maximum number ofpersons to be admitted to particular pre-mises, the position and indication of theexits, the prohibition on the use of certainmaterials or fabrics for the decoration, ofthe premises and on the stocking of certainvolatile products (in restoration workshops)or inflammable ,films (in lecture-rooms),the methods of using electrical equipment,etc. A further requirement is that centralmuseum administrations shouldissucexplan-atory recommendations concerning theregulations to the museums subordinate tothem.' Lastly, some standing arrangements

See, in Chapter III, particularly pages 6: and 63,Mr. Douglas Allan's remarks concerning safety.

2. The directives concerning prevention of fire,sent to provincial museums by the Directiondes Musics de France, recommend that, witha view to simplifying matters, the museumshruld confine itself to: (a) general instructionsconcerning the prevention and extinction of fireand the evacuation of persons not mobilizedfor fire-fighting; (b) special instructions for eachindividual or category of individuals normally

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should be made with the local fire-fightingand police services, particularly as regardsthe direction of operations in the event offire.

This will entail the establishment, by'thesery ices, of a plan of action

in which account is taken of the lay-out ofthe premises and of the permanent emer-gency installations (pipes, pressure hoses,tanks, fire-hydrants, fixed ladders, accessesand staircases). The plan must also statethe extent of the aid required, the space tobe allotted for this purpose, and whate,reinforcements may be necessary. The;museum itself would be required to drawup two sets of instructionsthe firstprohibiting certain types of carelessness,recommending 'certain precautions (prohi-bition of smoking, and compulsory super-vision of work of a dangerous nature) andproviding for rounds of inspection, checksto be 'made in the event of the soundingof the fire-alarm, etc. The other set ofinstructions would constitute the 'fireinstructions' proper. It should be brief andclear, and displayed in all parts of thepremises. Periodical inspections and drillshould take glace to ensure that everymember of the staff, particularly residentstaff, is familiar with the instructions,understands them and is able to apply themwithout panic. The instructions shouldrelate mainly to the emergency calls to bemadc in the event of tire, the parts ofpremises to which staff members shouldproceed in order to guide and assist thefiremen, and the duties of the museum staffitself with regard to the protection and,if necessary, evacuation of the collections.These details, among the various problemsof practical administration, are of particularimportance. A 'fire register' should be kepiin order to enable the inspectors of safetymeasures to ascertain at any moment whe-ther really effective preventive steps havebecn taken, whether there is regular andcirective supervision and whether staffmembers are given the necessary practicaltraining.

Armed conflict

The safety o useums during a period46 of armed conflict should Lc organized at

the national level. The government shouldbe responsible for this. It presuppOses theadoption of preventive measures andcomplex, concerted organization, issuingfrom government departments to the jointadministrations of national museums andfrom the latter to the secondary museums,which it,is particularly useful, ill thisrespect, to place under the authority orcontrol of those administrations. In othercases (e.g. those of private museums), thematter is organized within the. frameworkof chril security. If the measures are notto be improvised, however, they requirethe permanent co-operation of qualifiedtechnicians and the State authorities.1

Role of the supervising staff

The foregoing adequately indicates theprime role of museum supervisors; theymust be regarded as members of an internal

participating in fire fighting and certain otheremergency measures, .including instructionsconcerning the protection or evacuation ofobjects. The directives emphasize the need tokeep the instructions up to date, particularlywith regard. to the telephone numbers foremergency calls.

i. See, in this respect, H. Lay.ichery and A. Noble-court. technique: de proration der bier: eulturelren ea: de eonflit armi (Unesco series Muller etmonument:, No. VIII, i934), and more particu-larly the English edition, published in 1938,A. Noblecourt: Protection of Cultural Property inthr Emit e Amid Conlin: (343 pages, a6o illus-trations), this is in fact a new work, takingaccount of present conditions which prevaillegally (owing to the entry into force of theInternational Convention adopted at The Haguein I934) and also technically (owing to thedevelopment of modern armaments and thenew means of protection). The first part of thiswork deals with the Hague Convention; thesecond contains a systematic enumeration of thevarious risks to which cultural property isexposed in the event of armed conflict. Thethird part contains general remarks on protectiontechniques, and a withesis for those directlyresponsible for cultural property; the fourthdeals with the organization of protection at thedifferent levi is (international, governmental,national, local)while the fifth part containstechnical information for the architects andengineers responsible for constructing andequipping museum buildings and shelters.

ea "1`ii

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police service of whom intelligence, author-ity, courtesy, constant care and a knowledgeof simple but essential details are required.Indeed, the smooth running of a museumdepends to some extent on this group ofemployees who are modest helpers of thedirectors and curators. The museum admin-istration must never forget that it oftenplaces its honour in their hands and. thatit transfers to them day and night many ofits responsibilities. These employees shouldtherefore be recruited with great care andshould be remunerated in a manner appro-priate to the qualities required of them andthe duties imposed on them.

THE PUBLIC

The oblem of public relations in museumwork a complex one. We shall deal hereonly ith those aspects of more immediateim ncc to the administrative services.

PUBLICITY

It is now generally accepted that a museummay use publicity devices in order toincrease the number of its visitors.A curator,however, should not forget that his taskis not so much to sell an article as to usethe museum's choice resources in order todisseminate knowledge about it and enablethe public at large to appreciate it.

Where possible, one staff member shouldbe appointed to maintain relatit, is with thepress, to prepare and disseminate officialstatements and photographs, keep files ofpress cuttings and (always an importantmattaltr) said thanks to the authors ofarticles. He should also establish and keepup to date a card-index of journalists.Similar work should be donein the increas-ingly important fields of radio, film andtelevision.

The dazzling progress of television as acommunication medium does not, however,diminish the value of posters and otherpublicity 'devices. The co-operation oftourist and commercial organizations canbe particularly useful in this field.

Muieums can also, with advantage,publish prospectuses and pamphlets, theeffectiveness of which is always heightenedby elegance and good presentation.

Although little used as yetdoubtlessowing to the fact that museum buildingsare architecturally hardly suited to itthesystem of show-cases facing the street, likethose in front of large stores, can produceexcellent results.

Lastly, brilliant inaugural ceremonies andreceptions help to make a museum and

permanent and temporary activities betterlatown to the ,public.1

CONDITIONS GOVERNING ADMISSION

Once the desired result has been obtainedand there is a steady flow of visitors, anotherproblem arisesthat of the conditionsgoverning their admission. This calls fora -number of practical administrative deci-sions whose scope will be considerable,since the object in view is to provide thegeneral public with the means of acquiringboth general and specialized knowledge,ranging from the fields of history andaesthetics to those of science and technology.What conditions, then, should govern theadmission of visitors to the variouscollections?

Museums, being destined for the gener..1public, should in principle be accessible tt,everyone free of charge as was the casein France, until relatively recently, formuseums founded by the National Conven-tion= and as is still the case (to mentiononly these examples) for most of themuseums in the United States and GreatBritain.

The practice of charging an admissionfee has, unfortunately, become inevitablewherever museums do not receive sufficientaid from the bodies on which they depend.It may also be necessary for psychological

T. A special number of the review Aftatton, Vol. IV,No. 4, 1951, Publicio and Public Mallon:, dealswith this subject in great detail; it is profuselyillustraced.

" 2. Established between 1791 and 1794: MuseeCentral des Arts; Muse d' istoire Naturellc,Music des Arts et Metiers Musee des Monu-ments Francais.

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reasonsthe public being inclined to takemore seriously a visit involving some smallmaterial sacrifice.

The proceeds from such fees may beassigned to various quarters such as:(a) the private organization to which themuseum belongs, the funds being reservedexclusively for the museum itself; (b) thepublic authority which controls the mu-scum, in which case they are paid eitherinto a special account opened for the.museum or into the authorhis generalfunds, (c) a group of museums under publicauthority which establish an independentfund and divide the accrued amount accord-ing to the needs of each (e.g. Frenchnational museums).

Even where admission fees are charged,however, free visits should be allowedperiodically on certain days and on specialoccasions (e.g. exhibitions). Facilitiesincluding in certain cases free admissionshould also be granted to various categoriesof individuals or groups: members of themuseum profession,' scientific research-workers, students, pupils, non-commercialorganizations for popular education, extraand post school educational foundations.All these facilities call for vigilance andunderstanding on the part of the museumor the higher admirustrato, e authorities.

CONTROL AND COMPORT

The presence of the public raises otherproblems. Firstly, without prejudice to thevisitors' freedom to instruct themselves asthey please, it is essential to define veryprecisely the controls to be observed. itis advisable that both ordinary and specialvisiting days and visiting ht urs should begoverned by standard regulations in eachcountry. These regulations involve a con-tract with the public, which both partiesmust loyally ubser. c. It is for the museumto determine what restrictions need to beimposed on visitors' right of access to thecollections. Certain museums which arehoused in very small premises or in premisesof historical importance cannot, withoutrisk of disorder or damage to the exhibits,authorize visits except under the guidanceof responsible staff members. The need for

49

these restrictions is usually obvious, butthey call for a spirit of understanding, whichmust be established, justifiedand maintainedon both sides.

Visitors are entitled tot, more than thiscontrolled freedom granted' them by mu-seums. They wish to feel at ease duringtheir visit, and to instruct themselveswithout fatigue. With this end in view,museums should be provided with appoint.ments for the visitors' comfort and, in thecase of institutions of a certain level, withan information and reception service.'

Lastly, there arises, at least in countrieswhose language is little known, the problemof interpreting, if not the individual labelson the objects (possibly an unreasonabledemand); at least the explanatory panels

impor-tance.

other informative material of mpor-tance. in these cases a minimum of'guidance' in some better-known languageis extremely helpful.

SALES-COUNTERS

Visitorsto museums should have theopportunity to purchase, at reasonableprices, satisfactory documentation in theform of photographs, post-cards, casts,prints and popular works. The sales-counteris usually situated at the entrance to themuseum. It may be operated independentlyin museums of a certain level, or entrustedto those responsible for controlling admis-sion to the museum, the latter solutionhas the disadvantage of rendering thiscontrol less effective when visitors enterin great numbers.

The sales-counter may be a branch of afinancially independent commercial service,or it may be run by an association of'Friends of the Museums', the profits may

i. ICOM is inducing a grow mg number of museumsin different countries, to grant its members freeadmission on presentation of their currentmembership cards.

z. Large museums such as the Louvre, now offer,during the tourist season, the services of several'museum hostesses', whose duty it is to informand guide visitors. Further, most large museumshave established public relations services; in the'United States of AMMO, these services arcplaying an increasingly important part.

be paid to the museum concerned or tothe body of museums as a whole. In othercases, the sales- unter is managed either bythe organization sponsible for the museumor by the museum parent department

PHOTOGRAPHY AND COPYINGIN THE GALLERIES

With certain exceptions, .the museums ofmany countries now recognize the right ofvisitors to photograph exhibits with smallcameras. In certain cases, however, thisright has to be restricted, and it is essentialthat this poinrbe then made clearly under-stood. Professional photography, e.g. film-ing and the use of the television camera,'must obviously be governed by specialrules, which should be periodically reviewed.I seems normal that museums should levy

,ges for the use of such photographice ipment. The work of artists in the roomsand galleries of museums, despite the disad-vantages involved, should be encouraged.But a distinction must be made between thework of professional copyists, who sell theirproducts, and that of students. It is normalthat the latter should be exempted from allcharges. It would nevertheless be idle toimagine that all these practices could everbe regulated fn detail; they always giyerise, in one form or another, to minoradministrative problems which have to besolved as they occur.

ASSOCIATIONS OF FRIENDSOF THE MUSEUM

Although this question lies somewhat, out-side the limits of the present chapter, wecannot, in considering the public, omit tomention the services rendered by a typeof association, still in process of develop-ment, known as 'Friends of the Museum'.These services consist, first, of the donationof objects and even of equipment andfittings which the museum cannot alwaysobtain from the society or department onwhich it depends. There are other equallyvaluable services: support vis-a-ws thepublic, and innumerable forms of moralaid, all of which may have administrativeimplications.

FIN\ANCIAL QUESTIONS

FinanciaI\ management is undoubtedly theleast spectacular, but not the least important,part of adrilinistrative work.

SOURCES OF NCOME

We must first consider the potential sourcesof museum income. Carl E. Guthe 131, onpages 19 to 24 of his remarkable littlebook, enumerates the as follows:i. Proceeds from end moment funds, the

stability of which is d pendent on soundinvestment policy.

z. Membership fees of the museum; agraduated scale of me?nbership feesmakes it possible to attract ot only thegeneral public and certain c tegories ofpeople of limited means who are parti-cularly interested in social ank culturalquestions, but also, the more wealthymembers of society who can makeconsiderable contributions.'

3. Appropriations from tax funds (city,county, State) in exchange for the cul-tural and social services rendered bymuseums, or the latter's assimilation orattachment to educational institutions.

4. Grants offered by organizations interestedin social, cultural and scientific progress.

1. The problems connected withith filming and tele-vision f t outside the scope of this paragraph.They 1, ve financial implications in so far ascharges e to be levied (see section on 'Financial,questions . They involve the question of protec-tion of the exhibits, in so far as co-operation hasto be established between the museum, the film-producing bodies and the television organizationsin order to avoid damage to the exhibits as aresult of clumsy handling or over-cAposure tolight (see, in this respect ICOM News1Nouvillitdi !'ICOM, Vol. XI, No. 5-6, October - December195 8, the recommendations of the ICOrt meetingon 'Museums, film and television', Brussels,195 8).

2. Guthe, on page 20, distinguishes betweenstudent members, active members, family memTbership, contributing members, sustaining mem-bers, commercial members, life members, patronsand benefactors.

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S. Fund- raising activities, e.g. annual enter-tainments, subscription dinners, costumeballs, these activities must be in keepingwith the dignity of museums.

6. Private gifts.7. Admissions, sales and rentals, proceeds

from admission fees,' sales-counter pro-fits,: charges on photographing, filmingand television activities,: etc.

The method of administering these resourcesand even the possibility of their existencedepend on the museum's statutes. Guthe'slist is based mainly on the essentiallyAmerican type of small community museum,which is financially independent. Formuseums depending on a public depart,-ment, income of this nattire is also possibl?,provided that the museums really enjoyfinancial independence, more or less limitedto certain fields,: or that the departmenttransfers to them in the form of increasedsubventions, the sums which it receives.

Whatever the type of contribution envi-saged, public generosity will not fail tobe stimulated if certain legal provisions,such as those existing in the United Statesof America, exempt gifts to museums fromincome tax and estate duties.

BUDGET

EveryL9rfseum must have a balancedbudget, income and expenditure must becarefully estimated, and the necessary fundsmust be provided for acquisitions. and theessential operating costs. The preparationand discussion of this budget constitutethe director's most important annual task.

For practicalinformation as to preparingthe budget of small community museumwe must again consult Guthe [3], pages 24to ze.

He first defines the budget as 'an estim-ating device used to determine as accuratelyas possible the amount of the anticipatedoperating income for the corning fiscalyear, and the approximate portions of itwhich should be allocated to each of theseveral categories of expenses'. He iemarksthat it is for the Board of Trustees, (a) todetermine the latitude .allowed the directorin transferring funds from one to another

So of these categories and in making adjust-

ments to the budget; (b) to develop, inadvance, ways and means of increasing theincome to equal the costs, if the latter arelikely to be greater than the anticipatedincome.

He emphasizes that staff salaries consti-tute the most important item of expenditureand, in the light of the surveys whichhe himself carried out, he estimates themas representing from Go to 7o per cent pftotal expenditure. The director's salaryforms an important part of this; and heconsiders that is should be equivalent tothat of the city librarian, the principal ofa public school or the administrative headof a similar community service agency. Healso equates the salary of a staff assistantto that of public school teacher, and thesalaries of office and maintenance. staff tothose paid to persons holding equivalentpositions in business firms.

According to the same author, theremaining one-third of the operating incomeis distributed among the following cate-gories of operating costs in the budget:'administrative expense (office supplies,telephone and telegraph charges, postage,travel and membership costs); buildings,ground and equipment maintenance (insu-rance, supplies, repair* collection care(insurance and supplies); exhibits (cons-truction supplies and insurance, rental feesand transportation charges on borrowedexhibitions); activities (lectures, movies,concerts, social events, membership pro-grammes, catering costs); and finall-y. afinancial cushion (miscellaneous, contin-gency or undistributed)'.

t. See 'Conditions governing admission', page 47.2. See 'Sales - counters', page 48.5. Sx 'Photography anti copying in the galleries',

Page 49.4. In this respect, mention may be made of the

French national museums, whose 'Reunion'constitutes a public establishment with legalstatus and financial independence; leaving otherexpenditure for the efficient operation of museumsto the general budget. The 'Reuilion' of Frenchnational museums collects the resources assignedby law.for the extension of the collections andreceives gifts and bequests (works of art, sumsof money, real and personal property), whetherearmarked for special purposes or ndt.

51

T this ordiriary expenditure may beadd d such extraordinary expenditures as arereq ired for the extension of the premises,the odernization of equipment, etc., whichmust be covered by special resources, suchas subventions, donations, loans, etc.

Here, also, the methods of preparingthe budget, and responsibilities for it, vary

according to the status of the museum.Income and expenditure' are strictly ba-lanced in the case of museums supportedby organizations, whereas in museumsunder the authority of public departmenCsit is usually only the independently admin-istered parts of the budget that need tobe balanced.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. DAIFUKU, H.; BOWERS, J. Mateum techniques andfundamental education. Paris, Unesco, 1956, $4 PP.(Educational Italef and document:, No. 17.)

Z. DUDLEY, Dorothy H.; BEZpLD, Irma, ei al.Museum resirtraan method:. Washington, D.C.,American Association of Museums, 1958.v1+226 pp.

3. Gtrritn, Carl E. So.you want a sood muteson. A guideto the management of small museums. 1957,IV 1- 37 pp. (American Association of Muteimerpublications, new series, No. 17.)

4. Dr Mu:ice. Chapter $1 Mu, 'Les musses natio-naux', Chapter 53 Mu, 'Vecole du Louvre./

Chapter 36 Mu, 'Les musics de province'.Fascicules de documentation administrative,publiis par le Bulletin officiel du Ministersde !'education N;tionale. Paris, Imprimerienational; 1953, 122 pp. (Centre nationalde Documentation Pidagogique, BrochureNo. 23 T.D.)

3. L'Inreniaire mudographigue der objet: culture&Recommendations a l'usage des conservateursde musics control& et chssis. edition corrigeeet augmentie. Paris, Musk des arts et traditionspopulaires, 12 November 19$7, 21 pp. +tables.

)55

CHAPT.ER III

THE STAFFby DOUGLAS A. ALLAN

THE CURATORIAL STAFF

At rock bottom, the spiritual power andthe active performance of every museumdepend upon the curator. The late SirHenry Miers, who probably knew moreabout museums than any man, said in hisReport on the Public Museums of the BritishIsles (other than the naanal museums)published in 1918 and still kfount of sageadvice: 'It will be readil) unIlerstood thatof all the factors which can make or marthe success of a museum, the personalityof the curator is the most vital. Under agood curator a museum cannot be whollya bad one, whatever its defects; under abad curator a museum cannot be entirelya good one, whatever its advantages.Everything depends on the right ch,,iceof the curator, and the support given tohim. Such a curator usually has the powerto make his museum reflect his own idealsor theories, and the bist are those in whichhe is fully trusted by his committee andsympathetically supported by them.' Afternearly thirty years' service as director oftwo large museums and innumerable closecontacts with many smaller ones, the authorof the present chapter can only echo SirHenry's sentiments most fen ently. This iswhy there is so strong an element of voca-tion in running any museum, be it largeor be it small. Some people will judge amuseum by its size and,equipment,. by therange of its collections, d b the numberand extent of its activitie b t in all thesethings quality counts as h as size andquantity and it is the to tor who fixesthe standard of quality. Moreover, museums

2 'and museum staffs changs with the passage

of time and a museum may blossom outin different ways, reflecting the particularinterests of the contemporary world orthose of the staff at one time or another,but the one thing which can always bepasscd on is the standard. It is the respons-ibility of each succeeding curator to main-

. tain and where possible to improve thestandard of his institution; and it is a veryserious thing, which can be judged in thefull light of public criticism, for anyone tolet the standard of a museum decline. Thecurator is the fountain head of power forgood or ill in any museum. His staff ofall ranks are his agentsagents he hasselected and trained, agents whose workhe directs and supervisesso that they area part of himself and play a correspond-ingly important parkin the running of theinstitution and the maintenance of itsstandards. It is thus of paramount impor-tance f..at staff of the right type should b.esecured and encouraged, whether theyoperate a large museum and are numerousand highly specialized or whether theycontrol a relatively small one and are fewin number with many and varied respon-sibilities.

A survey of existing museums gives agood general indication of the types ofactivity involved in the efficient running ofa museum. At the highest level is the directoror curator, who is responsible for thesmooth working of the whole machineunder his chargedetermining the generalpolicy, securing material, staging exhibi-tions and organizing recreational and edu-cational activities. He usually exercises hisauthority under a board of trustees, com-mittee of-management, council or even the

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actual owner of the museum hiMself. Underthe director is the office staff dealing withday-to-day correspondence, records, regis-ters, book - keeping and accounts. Thenthere is the museum professional staff whichmay range from one assistant to a largeteam with a deputy director, keepers ofdepartments and assistant keepers, respons-ible for the actual collections and the usesto which they are put. As these collections,all through their existence, need attentionto preserve them from decay, a museummust have some technic id assistants com-petent to handle such problems, and onthem also often falls the responsibility ofcarrying out the actual work of stagingexhibitions. To help the technical assistants,the larger museums employ artisans, suchas joiners, cabinet-makers and painters. Thecollections, visited day by day by thegeneral public, have to be protected againstdamage by handling or against attemptedtheft, and for this purpose guards or patrolsor attendants are employed. Finally, sincea museum must at all times present ascrupulously neat and tidy appearance,staff of cleaners, is required. In\a.....largemuseum with extensive collections andadequate funds there 'rill be groups ofpersons of each type to constitute the fullstaff, but in a small museum some personsmay have to 'double' the rolesthe keeperdoing his own preservative and displaywork and the attendant both keeping thefurniture and rooms clean and undertakingwatching duties as well.

In a small to medium-sized museum thecollections may usually be divided into twomain groupsthose illustrative of naturalhistory such as geology, botany and zoologyand those reflecting the work of man suchas archaeology, ethnography and art. Asthese groups represent rather different typesof bent in human interest and these bentslead their owners to follow certain well-defined courses at school, college or theuniversity, it is common, in WesternEurope and North America, to find museumcurators specializing either on the naturalscience side or on the human developmentside. If, by chance, a curator has to lookafter both sides of his museum he tendsto concentrate upon the subjects in whichhe is especially interested and trained and

allows the others to take second place.Such a divergence springs from a basicdifference in interest and tends to beaccentuated by the different types of trainingcourses offered by colleges and Universities.While good, all-round interests and know-ledge are invaluable in a museum curator,it cannot be too strongly emphasized thatvery highly specialized knowledge indetailed fields is essential if an institutionis to hold its place in the world of learning.The professional staff in their daily serviceto the public are presenting informationand are actively engaged in educationthis they can only do adequately if theirown educational traicirig has been asthorough as possible.

Qualifications

Whatefrer the size of the museum in hischarge, the director, the curator or thekeeper should be regarded as at least theequivalent of a secondary school specialistteacher. He should thus approach hischosen profession with not less than theeducational qualifications of a graduatefrom a teacher-training college, and if heis in addition a graduate of a university,so much the better. So much of his workwill be directly educational that the curatorof any museum /All find it a valuable assetif he has some expeiience of teaching atschool, college or university level. He willknow better how to approach his public,and he will be able to discuss commonproblems in a common language with theteachers who bring classes to his museum.

A curator should have a very real likingfor the objects in his care; he must enjoylooking after them and feel a continuousurge to learn mote about them, for onlyso is be likely to have that spark of inspira-tl&d2 necessary. to display and explain themin a way that will ,transmit his enthusiasmto his public. Ther e is thus a remarkablystrong personal dernand made upon thecurator. He must have a sense of order,for he has to arrange his collections jndathe data concerning them i9.-a---systeway. He must alsc have a strong sense opublic responsibility, for he has alwaysremember his duty to provide as wide a

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series of exhibitions as possible for theentertainment and education of his public,as fine examples as can be secured tointerest them, and as accurate annotationsand explanations as modern research canprovide for their enlightenment.

It is, I think, true to say that the bestcurators, whether workg single-handedor with a staff of keepers under them, areexperts in their own right in some particularsubject of their owti choice, and in it enjoya standing and a reputation quitT'IrAttfrom that associated with their particularinstitutions. This is a subject in which theyare competent to do their own mostdetailed identifications and on which theycan contribute their own monographs toscientific or artistic publications. If theyalso have wide and detailed knowledgeand experience of other subjects that is ofundoubted advantage, but in most casesother experts are called in to deal withmaterial from other fields. The gift ofenjoying passing on knowledge and enthu-siasm is an invaluable one in organizing amuseuma taste for teaching and for callingforth a response in others is almost anessential prerequisite.

In the early days of museums a neat,orderly and logical arrangement of the col-lections on exhibition, with correspondinglyneat and clear labels were all that wasasked of a curator, but nowadays greatstress is laid upon the undoubtedly immenseappeal of artistic display. For this *reason,the museum officer must be ready to ex-periment with and io build up a knowledgeof museum furniture design, lighting,colour schemes, the compilation of interest-ing and succinct labels and the use ofauxiliary aids such as diagrams, photographsand.models. Above all, he must have goodtaster, for nothing is so ruinous to gooddisplay as an element of vulgarity in thelayout and treatment. Some oithe qualitiesdemanded of a curator are innate, sd"mecan be acquired, but all are improved withconstant practice and the constant determi-nation to obtain better results.

Administrative duties

A successful museum director or curator54 must have some experience of office man-

agement, for behind his exhibition rooms .

or galleries there will be the office whichis the brain and nerve centre of his insti-tution and which must run smoothly inorder to leave the maximum time andenergy for the major museum projects ofpresentation and education. The office willhave to handle day-to-day correspondenceand the filing which follows it. There willalso be accounts and finances to deal withranging from paying wage f, purchasingspecimens and equipment, 4nd meetingrepairs charges to keeping account of_pettycash outlays. There will be internal andexternal loans to k-ep track of and problemsof insurance policies to be dealt with. Theoffice will probably also be responsible forkeeping the registers and the card-indexesup to date. To retain command of suchwide range of activities, the curator shouluhave some practical experience of theprocesses involved. If his staff grows, onhim will fall the duty of re-allocating jobs,of assessing fairly the responsibility ofdifferent appointments, and of seeing thatthe paying authority gets value for itsmoney.

A museum curator also should have asound knowledge of matters concerninghis building and its upkeep. Any museumor art gallery is subject to deteriorationas time goes on and unless it is sufficientlylarge to have a clerk-of-works, or is attachedto an authority which employs one, thecurator should be quick to notice defectsand have them repaired as early as possible.Leaking roofs or pipes, for example, if notattended to immediately, may damage thefabric and decorations of a building, andeven extend their ravages to furniture andcollections. At least an elementary know-ledge of roof structure, roof lights, anddrainage systems should be acquired assoon as possible, together with an acquain-tance with water and gas circuits and theplan of the electricity installation, so thatwater, gas and electricity can be cut offin any emergency and faults tracked down.

While a museum curator is consideredby many to be essentially concerned withthe maintenance and display of his collec-tions, he. is nevertheless a public servantwhose dutiei.bring him into daily contactwith the public, either individually or in

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groups. He must, therefore, devote himselfto a study of this public in order to servethem better. This is something that cannotbe learned from textbooks- it has to beacquired by actugl practice. He has to dealwith his board of trustees, his council orhis committee, and to comport himself asa trained official qualified to carry out hisjob and to give, in an acceptable manner,advice on how he thinks it best to run themuseum, always allowing for the fact thatthe trustees or committee are in the lastresort responsible for the efficient perform-ance of the institution. An appreciationof each other's point of view and a certainaninunt of give and take are necessary forgeneral good will and for that cordialpooling of uuilt.--_ibutiom which will ensurethe best results. Again the curator has tohandle a very mixed stafffrom colleagueswho are experts in the world of art orscience, office staff, to preparers, cleanersand warders- and will have to learn byexperience by what means to secure thebest results, for his museum will reflectvery dearly how far he has been successfulin welding his mixed staff into a goodworking team filled with zeal for. theirmuseum and its services.

Lastly, the museum curator should havea sound knowledge of showmanship. His

ijob is to run an institution which exists toshow things to the public and he must beable to advertise his wares and his activitieswidely in order to bring the public withinhis doors. He must be conversant with thearts of advertising by means of the press,radio and television, by means of lecturesand talks to the general public, to businessorganizations, to college and universitylasses and to schools of all kinds. He mustever be on the outlook to 'sell' the idea ofhis museum so that it can be well utilizedand widely appreciated, and so that he canobtain financial support for extensions tobuildings or collections or for new projects.He must also be able on occasion to per-suade the owners of individual pieces orof whole collections that his institution isa suitable home for their treasures. It willthus be seen that the calls made upon amuseum curator are almost endless, 'Ind'the more he can answer them satisfactorilythe more favourably is the museum

in his charge likely to be regarded andsupported.

Academic backgroundand training facilities

For his essential training in one or moreof the natural sciences, in art, archaeologyor ethnography, the potential museumcurator will go to a university or an artcollege and after a course of three, four orfive years will graduate with a degree ora diploma. Actual practice in the plasticand decorative arts can be learned in artcolleges in many parts of the world, andart history and art criticism are subjects fora degree in arts in many universities. TheLouvre in Paris and several of the largermuseums and at galleries in the UnitedStates of America offer courses in artappreciation. Practical training in the repairand treatment of art objects is available atthe Courtauld Institute in London andsome colleges in North America, but-onthe whole it is true to say that such trainingis usually only to be obtained in the labo-ratories and workrooms of the largesti..useums of the major countries, with along history of museum organization andof experimentation with methods of pro-tection, preservation and display. In mostcountries, the would-be curator has to geta junior post, either paid or unpaid, andobtain tuition as part of the payment forhis services. This is a somewhat unsyste-matic method of training but there is muchto be said in its favour. The work is doneunder museum conditions and on actualmuseum specimens, so that from the startthe emphasi7 is Lid on the care necessaryin dealing with unique objects. Again, thetrainee is working directly under an expertor group of experts in the particular craftand is thus receiving individual tuition.There is no mass production about suchmethods and there is every opportunity fora mistake to be remedied without delay.In addition, such service grins the traineeaccess to exhibition galleries, store-roomsand laboratories, the three main divisionsof the professional side of a museum.

So far it is mainly in the British Islesthat systematic general training for museum SS

service has been worked out and put intopractice as distinct from training obtainedas described above ur from short collegecourses. This general training is organizedby the Museums Association and has beendeveloping with great success ever since

odd War II. Its culmination is theaward of the Diploma of °the MuseumsAssociation as a professional qualification,the possession of which Is evidence ofknowledge and experience in the principlesof museum service and administration andmuseum technique. It is awarded to museumworkers dho.h3ve the necessary preliminaryeducation, who have attended three demon-stration courses organized by the association,who have completed three years' full-timeservice in a museumor two years in thecase of university graduatesand passedthe prescribed examinations. The regu-lations are designed to ensure that thediploma will be a reliable indication ofprofessional competence and yet be withinthe reach of any intelligent and industriousperson in the service of a museum, who hasreached the specified standard of generaleducation. Although the possession of auniversity ,degree or a diploma is not anessential qualification for the award of theassociation's diploma, great importance isattached to university training and diplomastudents who are nun-graduates are stronglyadvised to study for a degree if possible.Many posts in the museum world are openonly to graduates and the preference forgraduates is likely to increase. The MuseumsAssociation dues not undertake to traincandidates in the subjects covered bymuseum collectionsthe diploma studentsmust acquire that know ledge for themselvesto enable them to pass the prescribede. na ons. It is expected that the studentswill n professional and technical know-ledge in the course of their day-to-daywork in their own museums, but demons-tration courses aine orga.-.ized Lo supplementsuch experience and to direct their attentionto advances made.

Applicants for registration as studentsfor the Museums Association diploma musthave reached the age of 19 and mustproduce evidence that they have passed amatriculation examination or other examin-

T6 anon which would be accepted for admis-

siun to a full degree course in a universityin the United Kingdom. They also musthave been in full-time, fully-paid employ-ment in a professional capacity in a museumfor at least six months. Voluntary workersmay be accepd but may not sit for anyexamination 'Until in full-time and fully-paid employment in a museum. Diplomastudents are required to follow a curriculumof training and study extending over notless than three years, and to pass the twoparts of the prescribed examinations. Thiscurriculum comprises three sections A,Administrative; B, Technique; and C,Specialized Work. The AdministrativeCourse on general museum administrationmust be attended by all candidates. TheTechnical Course may be in art, or archae-ology, or natural history, from which thestudent selects whichever subject is mostappropriate to his needs. He may subse-quently elect to attend one or more addi-tional courses in order to extend hisknowledge. The Specialized Course isdevised especially for non-graduate students,and is designed to-ensure that their studiesadequately cover the field of their chosensubject. The three types of course are eachof one week's duration and are in chargeof recognized experts with wide experiencein museum work.

The examination for the diploma is heldin two parts, students sitting Part I fol-lowing the completion of their work inSections A and B, provided it is not lessthan two years after the date of their com-mencement, and Part II after passing Partand on the completion of their work inSection C. Part I of the examination consistsof papers on ldministrative, general andspecial subjects together with an essay;Part II consists of papers on administrative,general and,,special subjccts and 'an essay,and also includes a second essay to beprepared in advance, an oral examinationand a practical test designed to determinethe knowledge of the candidate in hisselected subject.

These special subjects include: fine arts,paintings, drawings, sculpture and prints;decorative arts; archaeology; folk artincluding local history general naturalhistory, botany, geology). zoology; thephysical sciences and technology, and any

er academic subject which the Educa-tio Committee of the Museums Associa-tion may approve. In Section A, the,adrnin-bistrative group, a syllabus for courses fortraining and study and for examinationcomprises the principles and practice ofthe control and administration of museums;building, planning, equipment and upkeep;registration and cataloguing; principles andpractice of display in public galleries;relation of museums to education andresearch; publications; publicity; historyand bibliography of museums and museumwork. In Section B, the technical group, thesubjects include the collection, preparationand preservation of specimens and objects;the recognition and treatment of conditionsand influences leading to the deteriorationor destruction of museum matei:a1; exhib-ition technique; storage; modelling invarious media. It will thus be seen that theMuseums Association of Great Britain hasaddressed itself seriously to the problemof providing professional training forbeginners in the museums professiontraining which cannot be provided incolleges or universities because so muchof it must be conducted in and with thefull resources of a well :quipped museum.The subjects of museum display., can be,and indeed are provided for in high-leveleducational institutions, but the professionalside of the training is essentially to be dealtwith in museums with the aid of expe-rienced museum practitioners.

In the year 1955-56; 19 applicants wereaccepted as students for the diploma. Thenumbrr of registered students on 31 March1956, was 114 which included two Ful-bright scholars from the United States ofAmerica and 13 students from Common-wealth countries. Six demonstration courseswere arranged for diploma studentsanadministration course at Birmingham, atechnical course in archaeology and naturalhistory at Rcadiug, a technical course inArt at the Victoria and Albert Museum andthe National Gallery, a specialized coursein archaeology at Oxford, a specializedcourse in art at Leeds and York, and aspecialized course in natural history atCardiffthus showing the wide range ofopportunities for study and the widevariety of major institutions co-operating.

In the United States, a lead in providingprofessional art museum training has beentaken by the authorities of the MetropolitanMuseum of Art, New York. For the lastfour years they have had three graduatestudents on what are termed stude t fellow-ships, thereby receiving financi ort.These people had to have cofdctorily two years of graduate stuhistory of fine arts or its equivale andwere selected on a basis of past performanceand interview from candidates from all partsof the United States. For the first monththey were given assignments so as to learnsomething of the other museums of NewYork and were also set to study -the struc-tural and administrative organization of thegreat Metropolitan Museum itself. There-after they spent two months in the depart-ments of cataloguing, restoration, adminis-tration, publicity, education and display.For the succeeding six months they werepermitted to study the subject of theirchoice, working intensively but informallyin one department. No examinations wereset, but each candidate submitted a reportat the end of the year. Provided this andtheir work in general had been satisfactorythe trainees were then given an additionalgrant to permit them to travel and studyabroad. Now a new system of training,in close co-operation with the Institute ofFine Arts (the graduate school of the NewYork University), has been introduced.Under this arrangement, graduate studentsregistered at New York University andseeking museum training will take sevenone-term courses in the history of fine artsand one one-term course covering thehistory `and philosophy of art museums atthe institute. In the second year, a selectedclass of not more than eight will take acourse given jointly by the personnel ofthe Metropolitan Museum and of theinstitute, to be held in the museum. Therewill be 15 three-hourly meetings at therate of one a week, conducted on a seminarbasis, and with the emphasis on connois-seurship associated with problems in work-ing with actual specimens. The subjectscovered include prints and book illustra-tions, drawings, paintings, classical archae-ology and art, mediaeval archaeology andart, and Renaissance archaeology and art.

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The students will also attend two or threeadditional one-term courses in the history ofart at the institute, and will devote a termto the preparation of a mister's thesis. In thethird year, the students who survive thecourse will devote themselves full time toan apprenticeship in the museum where theywill learn the practical side' of museumadaunistration, preservation and Rresenta-non. They will receive from New YurkUniversity, upon the successful completionof their studies and the acceptance of theirmaster's thesis, an M.A. in the historyof art and from the Metropolitan Museuma certificate in museology awarded underthe aegis of the New York State Board ofRegeQts.

The United States National Parks Divi-sion maintains a series of laboratories andstudios at its headquarters., in Washington,D.C., in which all kinds of exhibits, fromsimple objects to complex dioramas, aretreated and staged. Courses of training inthis work have been provided, in the firstplace for recruits and junior members ofthe service, who receive full pay, travellingand subsistence allowances while in training.Oi'tside students seeking training havebeen accommodated on occasion, butnaturally have to find their own expenses.The museums which the National ParksDivision maintains deal with natural historyand topography (tradside museums) andethnography and history (historic sitemuseums

Sever universities in the United Statesand so forth.

have from time to time tackled the problemof providing adequate training for pros-pective museum administrators and curators.For a time, courses of a general naturewere offered at the University of Rochesterbut were subsequently discontinued. Theywere to be resumed in 1957. One coursehas been_jointly organized as a team projectby the Chicago Natural History Museumand the University of Chicago. In theChicago Natural History Museum, theDepartment of Anthropology Tuts .on awell-designed and broadly, based course inmuseology for students taking anthropologyas a major subject in the University ofChicago. This course, which is held asnumbers demand, requires 15 hours a weekfor a period of nine months and covers

most of the aspects. of museum workloans, gifts ancj. purchases, accessionmethods, cleaning and repairing speci-mens, designing and staging exhibitions;planning museum buildings; organizingmuseum activities and the allocation ofjobs among the various staff grades. Fromtime to time, the museum accepts studentsfrtm foreign countries who wish to learnmuseum methods. No fellowships areoffered nor is any charge made fortuition. Instruction is entirely informal andthe students learn mostly by doing thingsfor themselves. In recent years there havebeen students from British Guiana, Egypt,Iran, Iraq and Israel, and their periods oftraining have ranged from a few weeksto a whole year. Further, this museumco-operates with Antiuch College, at YellowSprings, Ohio, accepting from four to sixstudents for quarterly periods of work inthe museum. Such students keep museumhours and are in actual practice museumemployees, receiving a small salary andbeing given the opportunity to work insome chosen sphere of the natural sciences.This is most valuable in affording_ anopportunity to find an aptitude for avocation. The extensive educational divisionin this museum recruits trainees by personalselection and e-ch new recruit is given ahighly intensified course of training for aspecific job in the carefully planned andbalanced set-up. The actual training is inthe hands of senior members of the divi-sion's staff. A new course has been startedat the University of Oklahoma, associatedwith the course in anthropology; originallya one-semester course, it has now beenextended to two semesters. The principalobject of the course is to teach the inter-pretation, classification, registration 'andpresentation of specimens in different fields,and to encourage aii understanding of theproblems of modern museums, includingeducation, social activities, public relationsand general administration. The museumof the university, with its six sectionsanthropology, botany, zoology, history,geology and classical archaeologypro-vides a training ground for the study ofclassification, accessioning and cataloguing.Field trips are organized during the week-ends to enable students to see a variety

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of different types of museums, to meet theirdirectors and to attend lectures and havediscussions with their staffs on the spot.Thereafter opportunities are provided forindividual students to carry out appropriateprojects such as staging, writing up andpublicizing an exhibit in the local museumor public library. General administrativetraining provided includes a study of theworking out of a museum budget for dif-ferent types of institutions, of the planningof museum galleries axi of the organizationof study groups and lecture tours. At theclose of the course an examination is setto test the students' knowledge and per-.formance.

There is a general dearth of trainingcourses designed to produce good all-round small museum curators in Americai.e., adaptable non-specialists wtio cancope with a variety of subjects and whohave a basic knowledge of good museumpractice. Oberlin College, Yale University;and the universities of Buffalo, SouthDakota and Oklahoma are leading the wayin this general field, .while the Universityof Florida is planning a course on similarlines. Art museum basic training can behad at the following seven centres (partlyin the university and partly in the adjacentgallery): New Haven, Conn.; Wilmington,Del.; Boston, Mass.; Cambridge, Mass.;Brooklyn, N.Y.; New York; and Oberlin,Ohio. The duration of the courses variesfrom six weeks to three years. Historymuseums basic training can be had at thefollowing five centres: Washington, D.C.;Cambridge, Mass.; Dearborn, Mich.; Coop-erstown, N.Y.; and Madison, Wis. Thecourses last from one week to sixteen weeks.Science may be studied at four centres.Iowa City, Iowa; Ann Arbor, Mich.;Buffalo, N.Y.; and Vermilion, S. Dak.The courses vary in length from one weekto four years. The general training coursesare located at Washington, D.C., Newarli,N.J., Norman, Okla., and range from ot*month to nine\months.

At the Ecole du Louvre, Paris, arctrained both the future curators of artmuseums in France and also the guidelecturers who take visitors round thecollections. Started in 188z, this schoolhas grown in numbers and influence, and

today provides seventeen organized coursescatering for between two and three thou-sand students. A few years before World

ar II, a 'Section supdrieure' was consti-tuted, with special courses in museography,to provide training for art museum curators.The courses include archaeologypre-historic European, Egyptian, Oriental andGraeco-Romanprehistoric and historicceramics, the arts of the Near East, theMiddle East and the Far East, the historyof sculpturepaintings, design and engrav-ing, applied and decorative arts, furnitureand furnishings, inscriptions and numis-matics: all studied in the several depart-ments of the Louvre. There is also a coursein the general history of art based uponthe collections in various museums, andlasting for three years, the first year beingdevoted to the art of the ancient world,the second to that of the Middle Ages andthe Renaissance, and the third to that ofmodern times. Finally, there is a specialcourse on museology, consisting of a studyof the history and the general principlesgoverning the organization and lay-out ofmuseums and of special collections at homeand abroad. This is followed by practicalwork on the management and functionsof museums, and the course is concludedby technical studies and practices in spe-cialist fields. In all these studies residentand visiting museum directors play animportant part. The students attending theEcole du Louvre are either ApprovedStudents or Independent Students. Approv-ed Students, of whom about twelve areaccepted each year, must, during theircourse or at the end of their third year,take a special course of about three months'duration in a- department of the Louvrechosen by them. The best of the IndependentStudents can likewise undergo similarspecialist trainiag. Museum guide lecturers,attached to the educational services, areselected from either type of student, butthey must take a course prescribed forthem and pass a competitive examinationat the conclusion, thus gaining the rightto style themselves 'Charges de Confirenccsdes Muscles'. Independent Students, whohave done good, work, are eligible forappointment as curators in the smallerprovincial museums.

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There is nu organized course fur artmuseum curators or for natural historymuseum curators in Germany as yet.Individual }dung students of art history,following graduation, can embark upona voluntary art course at one or other ofthe large museams, more or less on thelines of attaches or internes in Americanmuseums. In Munich they prosecute theirstudies for a period of two years, and inthree different departments. Karlsruhe hasa similar arrangement, which can sometimesbe reduced to one year. Before the late war,Berlin was the principal centre for museumstudies, which then lasted three years andcould be carried out in any three differentdepartments. Only now are such facilitiesbeing afforded again.

In South Africa where there is an activegroup of museums of various types, linkedby an important Musettrns Association, theneed for adequate training services forrecruits to the museums profession is fullyrealized as is also the absolute necessity forA generally accepted standard to be expectedof museum assistants. To this end, discus-sions are taking place with the object ofproviding training services and centres atsuch museums as those in Durban, EastLondon and Pietermaritzburg. It is hopedto obtain financial support for the schemefrom interested people, and to organizetraining courses of not less than twomonths' duration.

Post-academic experience

From the above remarks it will be seenhow much museums rely upun universitiesto provide their staffs with the basic acade-nuc training necessary for the performanceof their scientific duties and, on the otherhand, how much of the professional trainingmust be secured in museums and kindredgistitutions. Indeed it is true to say thatit is impossible to train a museum officeradequately outside 4 museum. Nor doesthat training cease during the active life-time of a curator, for he must always seekfurther experiem e and experiments bothinside and outside the walls of his owninstitution. He must visit museums and art

Go galleries in other ,towns and travel abroad

for the express purpose of studying museumtechniques elsewhere. Again, he mayreceive new ideas from travelling exhibi-tions, which cr.me with their specimensalready set out for display. In particular,he should seize any opportunity to inspectnew museums and to assess the value ofthe new ideas incorporated in themintheir exhibition galleries, store rooms,laboratories and work rooms, class roomsand ancillary public rooms, and in theirmetjtods of heating, lighting and ventilajdon, The rising generation of museumcurators is well served by the Unescoquarterly publication Museum, which issuesaccounts of ncvel exhibitions, new museumbuildings and current activities, all hand-ssomely illustrated by excellent photographs.

Museum curators cannot be too stronglyencouraged to travel abroad on study toursand to inspect museums in other countriesso as to see what is being attempted andaccomplished elsewhere, and to meet othermuseum curators and discuss problems withthem. Such tours provide invaluable oppor-tunities to air one's own difficulties in asympathetic atmosphere, to see othersolutions to similar difficulties, and torevive one's sense cf vital public service.The intending traveller should' first seekthe approval and support of his ownemploying board, committee or govern-ment, to whom he must look for thespecial long leave to carry out his scheme.Secondly he ought to seek financial aidfor his project, which may well be a fairlyexpensive one. Sources of financial aid fallinto two main groupsinternational bodiesand national ones. International bodieswhich may be approached for travel grants,scholarships or fellowships are Unescoand one or two of the big foundations inthe United States of America. The Unescohandbook Study Abroad contains par-ticulars of fellowships and scholarshipstenable in various parts of the world. Itcan be consulted at most ministries ofeducation throughout the world orpurchased at Unesco House, Place deFontenoy, Paris-76, France. The nationalbodies to be approached are the ministriesof education, culture and finance in thecandidate's own country, the secretariesof which will be able to give details of

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the persons to whom application shouldbe made. Certain universities hold travelfunds to aid specific cultural projects;consultation of their yearbooks or appli-cations to their secretaries ma) provide thecandidate with the opportunity he seeks.The British Council in London, publishes asmall handbook entitled Scholarships Abroadoffered to Britisb Students b. Foreign Govern-ments; a similar publication should besought in the country of the intendingtraveller.

Where the museum has only one pro-fessional curator, he must concentrate ingreat detail upon the subject he has madehis,special study, be it the natural sciencesor-an aspect off` human history, and makehis exhibition series in that field pre-eminently attractive, interesting and reliable.He must also however devote some consi-derable time, perhaps with the aid oftemporary or honorary assistants, to makingthe other departments of his museumredound to his credit as well. Temporaryexpert assistance in other fields may beobtained from University or college lecturersor retired members of staffs, or fromlaymen who have made a hobby of tudiesin the fields desired. When circumstancesand finances permit, a second or assistantcurator should be appointed, care beingtaken to see that his main field is comple-mentary to that of the senior, so thattogether they will be able to deal authori-tatively witl- the variety of material likelyto be afforded to them for showing andwith the search for information concerningit. If the curator is an archaeologist, thenhis assistant should be a natural scientist,and vice versa. Further increases in staffwill naturally widen the range of subjectsthat can be dealt with in detail.

THE OFFICE STAFF

The curator of a small museum ma), have\to be his own secretary, attend to his owncorrespondence, and keep his own recordsand registers, but he should do his bestto get some trained clerical assistance assoon as possible. An active museum willhave a growing volume of correspondence,and more and more work to be done in

registering accessions and collecunginform-ation' about its specimens. There willalways be work for an office staffkeepingaccounts, working out.zhe pay sheets, etc.Help and advice regarding the organizationof a museum office may be sought fromother bodies with experience in keepingarchives and records, such as libraries,banks and insurance companies. Maximumuse shculd be made of labour-saving andspace-saving office furniture and equipment.

THE TECHNICAL STAFF

Also behind the scenes but of vital impor-tance for the efficient running of anymuseum are the work rooms and theirstaffs. These fall into two main groups--;those dealing with museum specimens andthose dealing with museum fabric andfurniture. As was mentioned earlier, mu-seum specimens, call for continuous atten-tion from the time they arrive or are madeuntil they are finally disposed of. Forcleaning and repair work the museum musthave an assistant who is thoroughly in-terested in the objects, whether they arenatural history specimens or human artifacts.Here again the work falls into two groupsand it will ultimately be necessary to haveone assistant to clean and mount birds andbutterflies and another to learn the varioustechniques of treating wood to protect itagainst parasites, cleaning paint surfacesburied under the grime of ages, reconstruct-ing broken vases etc., and repairing oldcostumes and tapestries. While woodcarving, metal work, modelling and paint-ing may be learned at school or artcollege, many of the skills necessary in amuseum work room can only be learnedby pradtical experience on the job. It maybe possible to find a likely young recruit,already keen on this type of work, and tosend him for a few months' training to alarge museum with the staff and equipmentto teach him the rudiments of his craft,in which, by steady application, he will intime become expert. He should have aninquiring mind and be ready to experiment,using expendable material until he becomesskilful and reliable. Good work can beaided by good working conditions. The

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room devoted to museum specimen repairsmust be well ht and well ventilated. Itshould be tined with seve.21 good woAingbenches and large sinks, and have a plen-hful.supply of hot and cold water and someform of heating equipment. Adequatecupboards and storage racks for chemicalreagents and paints should also be pro-vided.

As regards artisans or skilled workmen,the first essential fur a museum is undoubt-edly a good handyman, preferably a joineror a cabinet maker. Such a craftsman caneffect repairs to old furniture, frame andglaze pictures, build display cases andconstruct brackets, shelves and screensupon which to arrange objects. He can bemost useful in dealing with locks and keysand doors and windows, he can erectplatforms for lectures or opening ceremon-ies, make packing crates, help withunpacking and packing, and fix advertisingand notice boards. The second workmanto appoint, in these days when colourcounts so much, should be a painter. He,like the joiner, can clean and touch upspecimens of old furniture, can paintdisplay cases, do small internal decorationjobs and, if he has had some training insign wri ng, he can paint direction signsabove ca es and doorways and even designnotices or the outside of the building.Moreover, a good cabinet maker and agood painter working together can be ofinestimable use in a museum in designingand fabricating models for exhibition. Forexample they could illustrate the history ofdomestic architecture by making a seriesof scale models of types of houses downthe ages, with sectional models to showthe structures of roofs, doors and windows.As it may be necessary to make do insmaller museums with one or two assistantswho combine several skills, the MuseumsAssociation of Great Brian has introduceda Technical Certificate as a warrant ofproficiency confering adequate standing onthose workers who pass the requisiteexamination. .

If a third workman is employed, theappointment will depend upon the characterand volume of work for which he isrequired. It might be advisable in somecases to employ a second joiner or cabinet

maker, another museum, however, mayfind it advantageous to have a printer onits staff. A museum owes much of the goodimpression it makes on the visitor to wellphrased and neatly printed labels. The firstlabels used may often be handwritten ortypewritten. The former are laborious toproduce and the latter suffer from beingrather small in type for convenient reading,and both have a tendency to fade. Whilethe modern electric typewriter producesexcellent labels, it is a very expensivemachine to buy. No label is as neat andlasting as a printed label, and the widerange of type sizes available makes itpossible to have bold headlines wherenecessary or small, succinct texts to accom-pany smaller and more delicate objects.Once installed, a hand printing set lastsfor many years and can be used to producelabels, notices, programmes of meetingsand lectures and so on. As the staff grows,other skilled workers may be employed,such as a metal worker, a French polisheror an electrician, the demands for whoseservices naturally vary considerably fromone museum to another. An art gallery, onthe other hand, would require a competentpicture framer and a print mounter.

THE GUARDS

With regard to the maintenance of orderin a museum or an art gallery and the secur-ity of its collections, two considerationsarise. The first is that there must be adequatepatrolling and supervision throughout thegalleries during the hours when the publicis admitted to the building. The numberof guards or attendants required dependson the size and type of the institutionalarge building naturally requires moresupervision than a small one, one withseveral floors calls for more staff than oneon a single level, and one with many smallrooms more than one with a few largehalls with uninterrupted vistas. The moreblind areas there aresuch as those pro-duced by screens, high cases and an inter-mingling of high and low or large and smallobject- the more supervision is necessary.To be efficient, supervision must becontinuousand allowance must be made

4.")

for periods of absence such as meal timesand holidays. This, however, is offset bythe fact that the duties of supervisory staffcan often be combined with assisting 'incase moving and in loading or unloading,packing or unpacking. Guards and attend-ants must all be chosen with the greatestcare and must be thoroughly reliable inevery way. Many museum attendants areex-non-commissioned officers of the armedforces or retired policemen, accustomed todiscipline, neat personal appearance andto the genWiequirenients of guard duties.They should be men of good manners,trained to deal firmly yet politely with thepublic and able to answer the generalquestions put' to them. Since the visitor'simpression of a museum or an art gallerydepends to a large extent upon them, greatcare should be exercised in selecting menfor such posts. While they may never becalled upon to act as firemen, these menshould be trained in the use of fire-fightingapparatuschemical fire extinguishers,hoses, etc.and they should know thelay -out' of the water, gas and eleancityservices and the positions of the variouscontrol valves and switches.

WATCH MEN

In a large institution or one housing veryvaluable specimens, it is necessary to ensureefficient warding of the building and itscollections during the hours when thepublic are not admitted. This involveswarders or watchmen being on duty, inrotation, twenty-four hours a day. If themuseum is open for eight hours a day,there will be over sixteen hours to becovered by the watchmen; this can bedone by having at least two men, each ofwhom is on duty for a watching shift ofeight hours. To ensure efficient patrollingof the building, time clocks can be fittedat strategic points, so that the watchmanmust pass through the various galleries somany times each shift, the visits to theclocking points being recorded on paperdials which can be inspected subsequentlyby the curator or another officer. Additionalsecurity can be achieved by arranging fortelephone calls to be made from time to

time between the museum and the localpolice headquarters.

CLEANING SERVICES

After security, the next important con-sideration in the administration of anymuseum is cleanliness. Nothing is morelikely to appeal to the visitor when he firstarrives than a museum presenting a brightand shining appearancewell dusted andpolished woodwork and furniture, shiningglass cases, well swept and tended floorsand steps, and well polished door handles,hand-rails and other metal fittings. In asmall museum the cleaning may be perform-ed by the warder star before the publicenter the building and is soften continuedduring the forenoon. If this is the case,the heavy work such as sweeping, washingand polishing floors and stairs should becompleted before the public are admitted;the lighter work, such as polishing thefurniture, polishing the glazed cases ordusting heavy and large, free-standingspecimens and cleaning windows, shouldbe left till later, when supervision has tobe maintained. In a large museum, it willbe necessary to employ special cleaningstaff, either male or female. Here again, theheavy cleaning work should always becompleted before the public enters thebuilding, only the light cleaning and polish-ing being done while visitors are movingabout the halls and inspecting the exhibi-tions. The bigger the building, the largermust be the cleaning staff and the greaterthe amount of cleaning materials required;once the staff reaches a certain size someoneis neaded in a supervisory capacity to takecharge of bulk stores of cleaning materialsand ration their distribution according tothe amount of work to be done, and toallocate and check the various tasks. Thequantity of cleaning materials required willvary according to the number of visitorsand tne state of the weather. The cost ofcleaning a museum or an art gallery is aconsiderable item in the annual expendi-ture. In at least two ways economies canbe effected. The first is at the planningstage of the'building, when care should beexercised to eliminate unnecessary decorative

e.163 .

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devices, ledges a here the dust accumulatesor places difficult of access for cleaningpurposes. I lotizontal bars in railings urstair balustrading, fur example, demandmuch time and care in cleaning, sincefeather dusters merely flick the dust fromone place to another. Radiators are alsotraps for dirt. The second way of savingtime and labour is to employ, whereverpossible, modern mechanical devices, gene-rally electrically operated, such as vacuumcleaners and flour polishers. While polished

uod, cork and rubber floors present amust attractive appearance, care must betaken to employ nun slip polishes, to avoidthe danger of accidents tu the public.

OTHER SPECIALIZED STAFF

The foregoing remarks apply to anymuseum with a staff of between five andfifty in number. The bigger the institutionthe larger the staff, the greater the field ofspecialization and the more numerous theservices that can be offered to the public.It is curious to note that it is in bothsmallest and the largest museums that thecurator has the least time to devote to hison particular branch of study. In a smallinstitution he has to be a Jack-of-all-trades,ready to turr. his hand to almost any kindof work, In a very large one his work isvery largely that of a general manager andadministrator. But at all levels his majorconcern Is service to the public, which findsthe money to run the museum ur gallery.Greater funds du however make it possibleto employ a larger number of persons todu specialized lobs. A museum may, furexample, be able to appoint a registrar tudeal with accessions, loans, and the never-ending task of bringing identifications uptu date and adding fresh notes on the history,provenance and peculiarities of the spec,mens. A museum may also in time instituteits on central library in addition to theindividual reference libraries of the keepers

A to serve all its staff, and the supervision,Hof this library naturally calls for the appoint-ment of a full time librarian. Again, thekeeping of detailed records of specimensmay demand the employment of a photo-grapher and the construction of a dark

room and photographic laboratory. Thisexpert can be employed, not only inpreparing photographs to go with accessioncards and card-index records, but alsolantern slides for public lectures and printsfor general sale to the public.

EDUCATIONAL SERVICE

One of the functions of museums is toprovide direct educational sere ices to thepublic. In a small museum, lectures, talksand guided lecture tours are mainly carriedout by the curator himself or the assistantcurator. School classes visiting the museummay be taken round the collections andgiven special lessons either by the curatorand his assistant or by the individual classteacher after some preliminary briefing bythe museum staff. Again, duplicate speci-mens may be made up in small carryingcases with printed or typewritten notes forloan to schools for classroom use. As theeducational services of the museum grow,special provision will have to be made tomeet the demands for both staff and material.

In some centres, school teachers areseconded by the local education authorityto serve as guide lecturers and specialistteachers for classes visiung museums andart galleries, in others spc,..al additions aremade to the staff of the museum for thispurpose. The latter are usually young uni-versity graduates with a special bent forthis kind of work and often with someactual experience in class teaching. At firstthey will have much to learn about themuseum collections and how to use exhibitsand specimens in lessons, and they will alsohave to acquire experience in the techniquesof holding the attention of a group ofchildren in the public galleries of a museum.But the task is undoubtedly a must reward-ing one, and one which will both open thedoor of a new world to the children andinculcate the valuable habit or resortingto museums and art galleries in later years.Guidt lecturers have also to learn how tohandle adult parties, to stimulate theirinterest and to satisfy ,their curiosity, inthe hope of encouraging at least some oftheir hearers to take a new interest innatural history, archaeology or some art

or craft. While the main emphasis in thiswork is naturally laid upon the inspectionof the museum's three dimensional exhibits,use should also be made of lectures and ofsuch auxiliary aids as lantern slides, filmsand demonstrations. In addition, a goodguide lecturer can give Vommendauonsregarding books to consult and approprictesocieties to join, so as to encourage acontinuation and an extension of theinterest aroused. Not only does this legi-timate extension of museum activitiesdemand extra staff, ir also requires specialequipment in the form of folding stools,drawing boards, storage cupboards andcloakroom accommodation.

The second aspect of museum aid toeducation, the provision of loan services,requires suitable specimens, informationsheets, containers, adequate storage accom-modation, transport and staff The staffrequired fall into three categoriesfirst,those employed in making models, mount-ing.birds, framing pictures and textiles andsetting specimens on suitable backboards,secondly, those who are responsible for theorganizing and clerical duties, such ascircularizing schools regarding the loanexhibits available, booking and allocatingthe requests, despatching the loans andrecovering them at the end of the agreedperiod; and thirdly, those directly concernedwith inward and outward transportation.

The first group belong to the normalmuseum grade of technical assistants orpreparers, their duties being the prepar-ation of the same type of exhibit, the onlydifference being that all the exhibits mustbe small enough to be readily transportableand strong enough to stand transport andhandling in the class room. These workersmust also devote a considerable amount oftime o the renovation of exhibits showingsigns of wear and tear as a result of continuedhandling The second group will probablybe recruited straight from art or othercolleges and must combine a real interestin three-dimensional objects with an interestin the'use of such objects to educate children.They must have some knowledge of theelements of teaching and of the contentsof standard school curricMa. Especiallythey should have the imagination to under-stand the world of the child and the enthu-

siasm to broaden his horizons. The thirdgroup will handle the transport betweenthe museum depot and the schools, packingand unpacking the cases and deliveringthem by motor van. Such school loanservices usually begin in a very small waywith a staff of two or three, but as thedemand increases so also must the numberof individuals employed increase. Wherethis service is part of a normal museum,care should be taken to see that the demandsit makes are not to the detriment of themaintenance and utilization of the standardmuseum exhibits.

SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONSFOR STAFF TABLES

After this description in some detail of thetypes of employees to be found on thestaffs of museums and art galleries and theduties they have to perform, it will be ofadvantage to consider the administrativeset-up of three museums of different sizes.For the first, a local museum of, say, fourlarge rooms or galleries, six small roomsserving as offices and work rooms and fourstore rooms, the staff required would bea curator and an assistant curator, a typist-clerk, a technical assistant, two guards andtwo cleaners. In such i n organization thecurator and the assistant curator wouldbe responsible for the collecting, the iden-tification and thearrangement ofthe museummaterial, while the technical assistant wouldclean, repair and mount specimens, andprobably undertake the interior decorationof the cases as well. The two cleaners wouldbe responsible for the general cleaning ofthe building, while the two warders wouldclean furniture and glass cases beforeopening hours and patrol the building oncethe public was admitted. As the numberof visitors in the forenoons of weekdaysfrom Mondays to Fridays is likely tobe small, cleaning operations could becarried out by the guards up to the lunchbreak.

In a larger, regional museum of, say,twenty halls or galleries, containing exhibitsclassified in four major departments, asenior staff of a director and four keepers

.would be required, each of the keepers 65

having a separate department under hiscontrol. The (Jake in that case, consideringthe volume of correspondence, inquiriesand registration to be dealt with, wouldneed at least two clerical assistants. Toclean, mount, work through material andlook after the extensive reserve and studycollections in each department, each keeperwould require one technical assistant. Thepatrolling of the building would call fora minimum of twelve guards one of whomcould act as the senior, to see that theinstructions of the director were carriedout in an orderly way. At least eight womencleaners would be needed to keep such abuildingwith its exhibition rooms, storerooms, work rooms and officesin goodorder, and one of these cleaners could serveas supervisor. Two tradesmen a joinerand a paintercould be kept in constantemployment. In the administration of sucha building and staff, the director wouldexercise over -all supervision. II; wouldpreside directly over his office and controlthe activities of the four departmentsthrough their keepers, under whom thetechnical assistants would serve. To corre-late the work of the guards and cleanersand take charge of the bulk stores forcleaning and packing, a foreman would benecessary, through whom orders andinstructions could be transmitted from thedirector. The foreman could also allocateand supervise jobs for the two tradesmen.The appointment of a senior guard and asupervisor of cleaners would ensure theproper carrying out of the work entrustedto these two relatively large groups oftwelve and eight respectively, among whomdisputes might well occur as to which jobwas to be done by whom, in what way andin what order. For the efficient adminis-tration of any staff and the proper carryingout of respective duties, especially wherethey involve team work, there must bea clearly established order of seniority andsystem of control to ensure that detailedinstructions reach each individual concerned,are clearly understood, and are properlycarried out. In this particular case, thedirector's irimediate contacts would be(a) the four keepers (b) the senior of thetwo clerks, and (c) the foreman. Through

66 them and with their aid work in all the

departments could be allocated and reportsreceived regarding its completion. It wouldfall to the director to make periodic toursof inspection to satisfy himself that hisorders had been carried out to his satis-faction. Such tours of inspection serve theadditional purpose of encouraging thegood worker, who works all the betterfor an appreciative notice, and of timu-lanng any, who may be slack or slow, toput forth greater efforts to avoid adversecomment. It may be added, as a result ofconsiderable experience, that it is advisableto be reasonably economical with bothpraise and blame.

Having considered the staff set-up in asmall local museum employing eight, anda larger regional museum employing thirtyfour, we shall take as the final example acentral or national museum of forty orfifty galleries with a staff of nearly a hundred.Assuming that there a e again four majordepartments,the direct° would have underhim a senior staff of for keepers, each ofwhom would require t assistant keepersto enable the field of each department to besub-divided into three, each officer under-taking to make himself expert in certain,branches of the studies involved. Eachkeeper would be responsible for the staff,the collections, and the registration in hisdepartment. The collections would be inpart on exhibition, in part in store, withperhaps a small number of exhibits on loinelsewhere. To look after these collections,each keeper would need a staff of twokindsmuseum assistants responsible forregistration, location noting, dusting, and()Maly arrangement of the specimens inthe exhibition galleries and in store cup-boards and cabinets behind the scenes, andtechnical assistants, equipped with researchapparatus in laboratories and work rooms,to deal with the cleaning, repair, preserv-ation and scientific investigation of indi-v.slual specimens. Each department wouldneed a task force of a senior museumassistant and three museum assistants and,in the laboratories, two technical assistants.The office staff for such a muse.= wouldcall for a secretary, an accountant and twoclerks at least, together with a telephonee ange operas and a messenger. Theanis ns required By a national museum"

,- I

would be about ten joiners, painters,French polishers, metal-workers and elec-tricians, plus one or two engineers to lookafter the heating plant. Under a museumsuperintendent would be placed the securityand cleaning staffs which, in such a museum,would number nt least fifteen guards,eighteen male cleaners and dye womencleaners. This yields a total ninety.- seven.In this case the director gi s his instruc-tions direct to the four kee rs, the secre-tary, the accountant and e museumsuper ntendent, a closely-knit prganizationof seven people, to each of whom is leftthe task of allocating particular duties and

4

special projects. Nor' is the line too lougto the furthest members.in the staff patternan equally important consideration inan institution where everyone must knowand understand the details of all that is tobe done, must appreciate what other mem-bers of the staff are doing and must sharein the spirit that lies behind the wholeundertaking. The bigger the museum thegreater the need for a combination ofindividual responsibility and genuine teamspirit. There are few forms of public servicethat offer a more rewarding ...nse of vocationthan work in the field of museums and artgalleries.

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CHAPTER IV

MUSEUMS AND RESEARCH'by Hiroshi DAIFUKU

INTRODUCTION

Research is defined as 'critical and exhaus-t% e in% estgat-on or experimentation, ha% ingfor its aim the discovery of new facts,their correct interpretation, the revision ofaccepted conclusions, theories or laws. .

In the light of this definition, it mustbe admitted that the most vigoroc.s researchprogrammes are to be found among thelarger museum and those affiliated withur belonging to educational institutions.There is, however, a growing tendencyamong smaller museums to acquire scien-tific staffparticularly younger peoplequalified to undertake serious research aspart of their curatorial duties.

As in the universities and collevs, thework undertaken by museums has beenin academic rather than in applied research.'The series of scientific and scholarly mono-graphs which have been published byanuus museums are similar to those

published by universities on the same typeof work. The principal difference betweenthe two types of institutions is that themuseum also publicizes the results of itsresearch through public exhibitions anddisplays. There are, of course, exceptionsto this rule, foriSine highly specializedmuseums (e.g., medical museums) are notopen to the general public and are intendedfor very restricted audiences.

It is impossible to list here in detail allthe notable contributions made by museumsand their staffs through research program-mes. A brief outline of some of the principalfields of research must suffice. There areno clear -cut lines of division between the

68 kinds of research work undertaken by the

different types of museums. For _sample,art and anthropological (in the Americanuse of the word) museums may undertakearchaeological research, the former as theinheritors of the -tradition of collectingGreek and Roman art which began duringthe Renaissance, and the latter, as the studyof the origins of man, which took overpre-historic archaeology. Today, however,anthropological museums also study civi-lizations in the New World which arecomparable in development to those ofClassical Antiquity studied by archaeologistsin fine art museums. As in other areas ofscientific work, the growing tendencytowards interdisciplinary studies in whichseveral institutions in different fields may co-operate in major programmes of research hasfurther broken down the traditional dividinglines between the areas of specialization.

For purposes of review, we may never-theless describe in summary form some ofthe principal forms of research undertakenby different classes of museums,

MUSEUMS IN THE HUMANITIES

The primary emphasis of research has beenin the field of art history. Studies have

1. I wish to acknowledge the aid of Dr. Hansvan de %X aal, Professor of Art flistory, Univer-sity of Leyden, for his kind suggestions aboutthis manuscript.

2. 'Applied' research in museography is becomingmorc important, as the idea that museum workis a profession has gradually become widespread.Projects such as the study of effects of exhibitions,ot analyses ot the behaviour of visitors; the effectsof publicity to attract visiturS have taken placem several cuuntrics ... see Chapter V, page 73.

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been-Made of the work of a given artist,of 'schools' of art, etc. In recent years thescope of such research has been broadenedto include studies not only of the worksof individual artists or even of 'schools',but of major cultural trends which havefound expression in the corks of artists.

A great deal of what is known of theevolution of human society from the simple'city state' to the large political agglomer-ation has been the result of research under-taken by archaeologists on the staff of artmuseums. The collections in such museumsas' the Metropolitan of Nev.- York or theLouvre in Paris are a striking testimony tothe importance of this type of research.

Folk art and decorative art museumsalso conduct a great deal of historic research.Research on the art of primitiv peopleswould also include ethnological studies.

Applied research, especially in the tech-nical analysis of works of art (drawingupon chemistry and physics), constitutes animportant part of the research studiesundertaken by the major art museums andtheir laboratories.t

The specialized interests of many othertypes of art museums are reflected in theirresearch programmes. Each museum hasalso the further responsibility of interpretingthe results of its research to its lay public.The late Francis Henry Taylor, who had notonly conducted a great deal of research butalso instituted popular programmes whichincreased the attendance in the museumsin which he worked, made the followingcomments concerning the problems of therelationship between the artist and thepublic [6].2 'If the artist is obligated tocommunicate his meaning, the public inreturn should bear in mind that they areno less obligated to make an effort tounderstand what the artist is saying tothem. The message of art is not necessarilya simple message or an easy one, and it isquite legitimate that a painting or a statuebe meaningless to persons at one level ofeducation and yet be dear and explicit tothose of another level, who are particularlytrained to understand it. The same laymanwho takes offence at an abstract picture inan exhibition, into which the artist has putyears of self-discipline in logical and orderlyabstract or theoretical ideas, will accept

without question the right of a universityor a research foundation to publish abstrusemathematical conclusions and equationswhich, as an untrained person, he can neverhope to comprehend.'

The schoolboys of today accept the prin-ciples underlying flight and use them inconstructing model aeroplanes which are farmore sophisticated in design than .the earlypioneering attempts of not so long ago.The lay public in Western countries acceptstoo with appreciation the works of theImpressionists which were once greetedwith scorn and dismay. Is it not part ofthe task of the science museum to interpretprinciples which underlie modern scientific.development in terms which visitors canunderstand? Should not the art museumperform the same service for ..ontemporaryart? Is 'cultural lag' necessary? The curatorin an art museum, working with currenttrends, is or ought to be aware of thefactors influencing contemporary artisticcreation. One of his tasks surely is usehis knowledge and training in interprethe art of the present day in terms whichthe public can understand.

SCIENCE MUSEUMS

There are two main categories of sciencemuseumsthose for the natural and thosefor the physical sciences. These two cate-gories may in turn be subdivided accordingto specializations, but such divisions arenever hard and fast and overlapping fre-quently occurs.

In general, natural science museumsassign a larger proportion of their budgetteresearch than do other museums. Duringthe latter half of the nineteenth century andthe early twentieth century they sent collect-ing expeditions throughout the world andaccumulated specimens from the depths ofthe seas to the upper reaches of highmountain ranges.

Expeditions were sent to collect contem-porary species and also to search ancientgeological beds for fossils demonstrating

2. See Chapter VII.2. The figures between brackets refer to the biblio-

graphy on page 72.

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the sequence of evolution which haveformed the basis for new theories aboutbiological evolution and the creation of

making it possible to explain forexample, the changes in size of differentspecies throughout spans of millions ofyears. Certain studies undertaken by mu-seum staffs have also had direct economicvalue (e.g. the study of invertebrate palae-ontology is important to the petroleumindustry), although such commercial applic-ations were not the purpose of the research.Natural science museums have also con-ducted studies of local ecology and, inaddition to their studies of zoology andbotany, many include anthropology, thestudy of man from the point of view ofhis biological evolution and his culturalhistory up to the early stages of urbancivilization (including the urban culturesof pre-Columbian America).

The physical science museums also covertechnology and industry. For the most parttheir research is devoted to historicalstudies of the development of the physicalsciences and of industry. Many of theirdisplays are didactic exhibits giving anexplanation of principles underlying modernscience and industry. A great deal of studymust go into the preparation of suchexhibitions for they must be historicallyaccurate and at the same time help thevisitor to understand the operation of themechanism which is being demonstrated.They can be and frequently are an excellentmeans of illustrating the transition fromprimitive industry to modern technology.

Other types of museums reflect man'sinterest in and curiosity about the worldand the universe. Regional museums undertake studies vf their areas including archae-ology, folk art, local industry, etc., andproduce publications exhibitions ofreal scientific wurth. Historical societymuseums, ancient buildings and the homesof famous men have also become the fociof research leading to new knowledge ofthe past.

PUBLICATIONS

Museum publications give perhaps the best70 indication of the amount of research under-

4is

taken by them. The wide range of scholarlyresearch carried on by certain museums isevidenced by their 'papers', 'series', 'quar-terlies' and other types of scholarly mono-graphs znd journals. These publicationshave a wide circulation among libraries,universities, museums and professionalpeople whose interests they serve. Theyare, of course, too numerous to list here.Museum staff members also publish articlesin professional journals or have bookspublished by commercial printers.

Reports on research work, or the resultsof a museum expedition often appear too,in the popular pressusually prepared bythose responsible. Some museums, a no-table example is the American Museum ofNatural History in New York, publish intheir monthly magazinp"popular scientificarticles [4], summarizing the work beingdone by their staff or by other allied insti-tutions. Thus the contributions of museumsto research are publicized not only in theprofessional journals but are made avai bleto the general public.

STAFF1

Whether or not a museum has an ctiveprogramme of research depends on thcuratorial staff. Most large museums hadesuch programmes, and there are manysmall or local museums whose staff alsoengage in research. Their curators mayconduct research independently or in co-operation with members of larger museums,universities, learned societies, etc. Suchco-operative work is also advantageous tolarger museums as a means of obtaining localco-operation and the use of local facilities.

In rare cases, persons without universitytraining and lacking any advanced degreeshave still made major contributions toknowledge. Nevertheless, they are theexceptions to the rule and it is generallyagreed that curatorial staff should haveacademic training to give them the necessarybackground for the execution of their duties,and particularly for research work. Academictraining is, in fact, the minimal requirement,for successful research projects depend in

z. Scc also Chapter III.

the final analysis upon the ini iative and Colbert [1] stated: 'Whether the curatorinterest of the researcher, t e human does exhibition work of necessity or throughelement is the most important. choice, it is important that he participates

The share of responsibility takep by the in this phase of the museum's activity if ,scientific staff for general muse4 pro- the museum is to have authoritative exhibits.,Frammes is increasing steadily in most This is where the curator's research paysinstitutions. In some museums which have off so far as the museum administrationactive programmes in the traditional areas and the public are concerned. . .of academic studies there is, however, a He adds that: 'The sad part of thissharp dichotomy between the curators aspect of the curator's work is that,exhibi-carrying on research and the staff members tion work can overwhelm him. ,Exhibitsengaged in such museographical problems may take a very large fraction of his time ...as display and programmes for the general but after that, for compensation,he shouldpublic. This creates, in effect, two separate. for a considerable period of time be entirelyorganizations whose oily common interest free from exhibition problems, in order thatlies in sharing the same building and the he may catch up with his neglected research.'same over-all organization. This cannot fail The foregoing represents the dangers ofto be demoralizing, with consequent detri- one extreme, but in some countries curatorsment to the progress of the museum. still have every little to do with projects. To the specialist in research falls the designed for the publid.responsibility of working out the selectionof objects to be shown and planning thebackground of the exhibition so that the FACILITIES FOR RESEARCHconfidence in its authenticity, on the partof the public as well as of the visiting schol- These facilities may be at a minimum, butars, in justified. Some of the most interesting if a museum believes that its staff shouldexhibitions have resulted from dose co- engage in original and creative' work, itoperation between the specialist, the curator should encourage research by providir g-.in charge of the educational programme the necessary time, and should assist theand the curator in charge of the exhibition. curator by providing worlung apace, equip,_ _0At its best such work produces exhibitions ment and funds. An indication of theof considerable educational value and importance attached to research is giyenaesthetic appeal. by the amount of space which is usually-

In small museums or those having Ern:- allotted for it by muscuniz. According toiced budgets and unable to afford curators Coleman [3], the 'rule of thumb' is towho have been trained as designers, the devote at least as much space for curatorial,specialist in research should also be familiar administrative and service purposes as iswith the basic principles of design for allotted for eAllihitioils. Space for curatorialpresentation. He should know the tech- work (i.e. laboratories, study collections,niques worked out by Bayer for the use study facilities) should amount to a third,of the principle of the 'field of vision' in and in some museums may take over one-setting upclisplays placing objects in the half of the total available space.ccrrect relaton to the height and the angle ost curatodpossess personal libraries,of the average visitor's field of vision. The but the museum also should have ancurator should know the basic principles adequate library for the use of its staffgoverning the use of colour, the use of and for visitors who wish to undertakespace to accentuate objects, and of lighting. serious study. It is estimated by Coleman [3]He should be familiar with the work of that well-known museums of intermediateoutstanding designers at international fairs, size in the United States have libraries ofexhibitions, and of the work being done about 25,coo volumes, and it is not uncom-among the leading museums in exhibition mon for museums to have libraries of overtechniques [s]. room° volumes.

At the same time this should not mean Many museums .provide in their budgetsa sacrifice of his original function. Recently for travel for their professional staff and

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71

for their adimmstrative.officers. Conferencesof fellow professionals encourage the infor-mal exchange of ideas, and make it possibleto keep up with current research (theresults of which may not be published forseveral years). In general, they act as astimulant to the indiv idual and encouragefurther work in research.

THE FUTURE

Work in the traditional areas of researchwill undoubtedly continue, with a gradualshift in emphasis from the collection ofmaterial towards analytical studies. Co-operative projects involving several insti-tutions which combine their resources andtalents are becoming more and morecommon. These projects also contribute totte development of interdisciplinary re-search through which individual specialistscan pool their efforts and arrive at a morecomprehensive analysis than it is possibleto accomplish alone.

One of the important problems facingthe underdeveloped countries today is howto improve their standards of living throughthe incorporation of technological advance,and yet maintain the continuity of theirtraditions and culture. This problem presentsa challenge to all the institutions in suchsocieties and especially to museums whichcan play such an important part. Severalof these countries already have physicalscience or technological museums underway or in the planning stage. Their staffsmust prepare exhibitions for largely illi-terate audiences to whom the new tech-

fugues are eatirely alien. The interpretationof these techniques which have arisen in aforeign tradition will demand a great dealof careful experimentation and analysis.

Natural science museums carrying outregional ecological studies should analyseand interpret prevailing practices in landusage and demonstrate through exhibitionsmodified methods based upon scientificanalyses.

Under the present stress of acculturationwhich has resulted from the introductionof new techniques at an everArfcreasingpace, knowledge of traditional arts andcultures must be recorded and collectionsmade before these arts become irretrievablylost. Analytical studies of these societies,of their changing cultural values, shouldalso be undertaken by museums, but theycan only be satisfactory if they are scienti-fically accurate.

To sum up the importance of researchin museum 'development Coleman [a], in1939 made the following statement whichis still valid today: 'Like institutions ofhigher education, museums are likely tobe as deep or as shallow in their teachingas they are strong or weak in research.When there is no spirit of enquiry therecan be but limited learning since the scholaris the product of investigation. Whereteaching goes on unrefreshed by learning,it soon becomes uninformed or even dull.Museum material demands that whoeverwill interpret it be well prepared. . . .

Research and teaching, though often ques-tioned as to their need and even their rightto belong together, are jointly helpful tothe workings of a museum.'

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. COLBERT, E. H. 'On being a curator', Curator,a quarterly publication of the American Museumof Natural History, New York, Vol. I, No. 1,1958.

2. COLEMAN, Laurence Vail. The :n Americo.3 volumes. Washington, D.C., American Asso-ciation of Museums, 1939. (See Volume II,page 370.)

3. --. Museum buildings. 1/ashington, D.C.,

7Z

American Association of Museums, 195o.(Volume I.)

4. Natural History. New York, N.Y., AmericanMuseum of Natural History.

5. NELSON, George. Display. New York, N.Y.,Whitney Publications, 1953.

6. TAYLOR, F. H. 'Art and human dignity', Satur-day Eyning Post, 17 May 1958. ('Adventuresof the mind'.)

CHAPTER V

THE MUSEUM AND THE VISITORby Hiroshi DAIFUKU

INTRODUCTION

During the nineteenth century many mu-seums xere sanctuaries 'rarely invaded bythe public and, in fact, frequently inacces-sible except through special appointment.Today, however, it is generally agreed thatone of the functions of the museum is toshow its collections to the public. Thereare still certain types of museums, such asthose attached to medical schools, whereentrance is restricted to a particular group,but they are exceptions to the general rule.The great majority of museums are opento everyone, although their success inattracting visitors varies considerably anddepends upon a number of factors includingthe nature of the collections, the periodsof time when the museum is open, theprogrammes conceived for the visitors,and so forth.

To a certain extent the origin of museumsstill tends to colour the relationship betweenthe museum and the visiting public.Museums began as collections accumulatedby connoisseurs, or scholars, which wereshown to friends or to societies. Thosewho took the pains to visit the museumwere more frequently than not alreadyaware of the nature and the value of thecollections. Today, a covert assumpuonundoubtedly exists among some museumworkers that visitors, whatever their back-ground, have or ought to have the sameinterests as the curator. If it becomesevident that few visitors seem interestedin the material on display, it is all toocommon to blame the visitor for his lackof taste or education, thus disclaimingresponsibility for the success or failure of

the museum's programme or the public.However, as long ago as I870 the

Metropolitan Museum of Art in New Yorkstated in its charter that it was form%`for the purposepf establishing and main-taining in said city a museum and libraryof art, of encouraging and developing thestudy of fine arts, and the app cation ofarts to manufacture and practical life, ofadvancing general knowledge of lundredsubjects, and, to that end, of furnishingpopular instruction and . . . it shall beclassified as an educational institution'.

If it is conceded that other museumssha ;e this goal, then the assumption thatthe curator knows what is best for thepublic and correctly anticipates its interests,should be put to the test.

REACTION OF VISITORSTO EXHIBITIONS

Among the first studies of this questionwere those made by G. T. Fechner inGermany in which he used questionnairesto judge the effects on visitors of worksof art (5].1 Similar projects have since beenundertaken in many museums, in which anattempt is made to gauge the response ofvisitors to a particular exhibition or display.However, rigorous scientific studies usingthe techniques developed by psychologistsand sociologists for the evaluation of thereactions of a wide range of visitors havebeen rare.

1. The figures between brackets refer to the biblio-graphy on page So.

3

73

74

In 1924, at an annual meeting of theAmerican Association of Museums, ClarkWissler challenged the assumption thatmuseum exhibitions and programmes whichwere prepared for the average visitor weresatisfactory, inasmuch as controlled datawere lacking. Nor did he believe thatcurators had the qualifications to carry onscientific studies of the visitor. The Asso-ciation decided to undertake a series ofstudies and interested a psychologist,Edward S. Robinson, in this project [s].After preliminary inv estigatiun, Robinsonproposed a 46rogramme of observationalstudies based upon techniques used inpsychology, which were carried out inseveral co-operating institutions in Chicago,Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia.Similar studies were also carried out inone or two other museums in other cities.Observers were equipped with stop-watchesand stationed unobtrusively in varioushalls. An accurate record was kept of theamount of time visitors spent in a givenhall before a particular object or series ofobjects, and of the visitors' routes. Thedata were analysed to determine whetherany patterns could be discerned, and ifexhibitions were altered, how far suchmodifications altered the behaviour ofsubsequent visitors [9].

An intensive study was also made at thePennsylvania Museum of Art by Melton(one of Robinson's associates), in whichseveral a priori assumptions followed bymuseum curators were found to be erro-neous [6]. In general most museums hadbeen arranging their exhibitions so thatvisitors were supposed to circulate in aclock-wise (i.e. in a left to right) order.It was supposed that visitors would lookat the exhibitions in the way books areread in the West. However, observationof several thousand visitors revealed thatover 8z per cent of the visitors turnedtowards the right rather than the left . . .

and objects located to the left of theentrance received less attention than thoseimmediately to the right. It was also foundthat for the most part objects on exhibitionreceived only casual inspection and fewvisitors bothered to read lengthy labels.Another factor which affected traffic flowwas the location of exits. If, for example,

an exit was located along the right wallmost visitors (over Go per cent) wentout without bothering to complete thecircuit of the hall, giving the rest of thematerial a cursory glance before usingthe exit.

Somewhat similar results were found inan analysis of the behaviour of visitors tonatural science museums [8]. The PeabodyMuseum of Yale University was plannedto show the evolutionary sequence of thedevelopment of animal life. Visitors weresupposed to enter the hall directly in frontof the entrance which showed the develop-ment of the Invertebrates. After making acircuit in the shape of an inverted, `U'visitors were supposed to turn left into ahall demonstrating the sequence of thedevelopment of Primitive Vertebrates. Thevisitors then had to turn at the end ofthat hall-way, into the tall of Mammals,finally into the hall of Primates and endthe visit at the main entrance. Instead, theaverage visitor turned to his right at themain entrance and saw the exhibition inreverse sequence.

Of course these patterns occurred in theUnited States of America where motortraffic also goes on the right. It is probablethat differing patterns would be found inother cultures.

These studies of the behaviour of visitorshave provided important data for thepreparation of exhibitions. Planning andlayout of displays have been modified bymany museums, and the habits, of visitorsis now an important consideration in thelocation of choice items. The studies havealso shown that the time spent by theaverage visitor in front of a given item isshort and on the average does not exceeda minute or two. Long labels usually gounread (exception's to this rule are exhi-bitions designed for students) and manymuseums today tend to use captionsinstead of labels. Below the 'headlines theremay be longer explanations which some ofthe visitors whose curiosity is aroused takethe pain to read. Some success has resultedfrom the provision of 'take-away' readingmaterialmimeographed sheets to supple-ment the data given by captions -which canbe picked up by visitors and read at leisuielater.

ATTEMPTS TO ATTRACT A WIDERP4BLIC

The General Conference of Lima), duringits ninth session (New Delhi, 1956) express-ed a wish that attention should be givento ways and means of enabling museumsto attract a wider public, particularlyworkers, it pointed out that 'even in thosecountries that are most richly endowedwith museums, where entrance to thoseinstitutions is often free, hardly ()Jae personvisits them for every zoo who pay foradmission to a cinema' [10].

Many museums have profited by thelessons learned in studies of the behaviourof visitors and vigorous efforts have beenmade to improve exhibitions and make themmore intelligible. In some countries, entryfees have been abolished by many museums,or have been sharply reduced, and somefix certain days on which entry is free tothe public. Guided visits, special exhibitionrooms for young people, special pro-grammes for school visits have all beenmeans of broadening the educational workof museums and have resulted in steads!;increasing attendance figures in museumsthroughout the world [i i]. Undo'.btedly,another very effective means of inducingrepeated visits is the growing use oftemporary exhibitions.

An instructive study of the use ofpublicity in attracting visitors was maderecently in the United States of America.In January 1953, the Japan Society (U.S.A.)co-operated with the Government of Japanin sponsoring an exhibition of Japaneseart. It included objects loaned from someof the principal museums of Japan as wellas from private collections which had neverbefore been shown to the public. Theexhibition lasted for about a month ineach cityWashington, New York, Seattle,Chicago and Boston and a sociologicalanalysis was made of visitors in the lastthree [2].

A card register was made of all adultvisitors (i.e. 18 years or over) to the exhib-ition in the three cities during a sampletime period and recording name, address,age, sex and occupation. A. selected samplewas then taken covering the duration ofthe exhibition and representing propor-

e

tionately the volume of visitors dufingthe hours the exhibition was open toithepublic. The selected sample was theninterviewed at home.

A major publicity campaign to publicizethe exhibition was undertaken in Seattlewhere it was considered to be an importantsocial and cultural event. Constant mentionwas made of the exhibition in newspaperarticles and radio programmes. Billboards,mounted posters publicizing the exhibitionand in addition a letter from the directorof the art museum was reproduced andgiven to schoolchildren to take home totheir parents. The Parents and TeachersAssociation (PTA) also contributed topublicizing the exhibition. In addition, aconstant round of receptions and teas wereheld for the same purpose which werereported in the social columns of thenewspapers. As a result, of a total popul-ation of 500,000, there were 73,000.yisitorsto the exhibition, of whom 2,500 wereregistered and 290 interviewed.

LeF. publicity was given to the bitionin Chicago, although it was trea ed as amajor art event and received a good dealof 2ttenti rn from the press and the radio.However, the campaign was not extendedto th schools and it did not carry theconnota an of an 'obligation' to attendwhich baracterized the Seattle effort.Metropolitan Chicago has a population ofa million but proportionately fewer attended(total of approximately 60,000) of whoma,joo were registered and 280 interviewed.

The situation in Boston differed verymuch from those of the other two cities.Publicity efforts were limited to the openingpeziod abd the exhibition was treated asan ordinary travelling exhibition. Of atotal poplation of 1,600,000 only 20,000visitors attended the exhibition, of whom1,60o were registered and 217 interviewed.The difference in emphasis was in partowing to the fact that one of the finestcollections of Japanese art in the Westernworld is at the Boston Fine Arts Museum.

The success of the Seattle publicly,campaign is evident from the fact that a latgeproportion of the population visited theexhibition, among whom many clic: nothabitually visit museums. In Chicago andBoston 63 per cent of the visitors 75

interviewed had gum_ to art museums fouror more times during the preceding yearcompared to 34 per cent in Seattle. More-over, 43 per cent of the visitors in Chicagoand 43 per cent in Boston stated that theyattended the exh:bition because of priorinterest in Japanese art compared to onlyIx per cent in Seattle.

The success of the publicity campaignin Seattle as compared to Chicago andBoston can also be measured in terms ofthe difference in educational backgroundsof the adult visitors as compared withthe w:iole adult population, shown in thefollowing table:

not art enthusiasts and lacked knowledgeof the traditions and background of Japa-nese art. Bigman pointed out that in allthree cities the interviewees who expresseddissatisfaction 'included some who com-plained that their knowledge of Japaneseartwhether great or littlewas insuffi-ciently supplemented by explanatory ma-terial at the exhibit'. Obviously the dangeris great that having once come to see anexhibition as a result of publicity efforts,

isiturs may leave disappointed. On theother hand, only 34 per cent of the visitorsfrom Seattle had visited art museums morethan four times during the preceding year,

Stade aikaro Boston

tlirlurt edusatson ssenvaInkrziewas Population In:miaow Population Inters-num Population

Less than high school graduate.High school graduate . .

Some collegeCollege graduatePost-graduate degreeNo answer

to332025

t t

0.

453o13

9

3

0.

5

21

23

28 i21

2

oc

5725

9

6

3

2

26t634i21

t

4934to

4

3

It is clear that in all three clues the visitorsto the exhibition were not representativeof the population. However, the visitorsin Seattle were much more heterogenousand more nearly approximated the compo-sition of the general population than didthose attracted in Chicago or Boston.

The next question is to consider howsatisfactory the experience of seeing theexhibition was to the visitors from thesethree cities. Their reactions are summarizedin the following table:

Rear:ton Seattle Gkago Boston

% % %

Liked it very much. . 39 47 66Liked it fairly well . . 39 40 26Very little, disappointed. tg 9 8

Not reported . . 3 4

Proportionately, the visitors from Seattledid not like the exhibition as much as the

76 visitors in Chicago and Boston. Many were

and 39 per cent reported that 'they likedit very much' and another 39 per centreported that 'they liked it fairly well'.This suggested to some American museo-graphers that such campaigns were justifiedand that many among the 39 per cent who'liked it fairly well' would enjoy a secondshow much more, having gained acquain-tance with the first.

COMPOSITION OF VISITORS TOA MEXICAN AND A DUTCH MUSEUM

An analysis of visitors to the MuscoNacional de Antropologia in Mexico Citywas conducted recently [7]. The visitorscould be divided into two major groups,Mexicans and foreigners (of the latter8o per cent came from the United Statesof America, 14 per cent from Cuba and therest primarily from other Latin Americancountries). For most of the foreigners theperiod under survey was their first visit

and presumably relatively feviof them mademore than one visit to the museum. Manyof the Mexican visitors however, were`repeaters' who lived in the immediatevicinity, only 4o Pei cen f them statedthat they had visited the m scum for thefirst time.

The interests of the two grou s of visitorsalso varied. The foreigners tended to con-centrate their visits on such well-knownobjects as the Aztec 'calendar stone' whichreceives considerable publicity in touristfolders, moreover replicas of it are soldas souvenirs throughout Mexico City whichalso calls attention to the original. TheMexican visitors tended to spend a higherproportion of their time visiting the hallsin which their traditional arts and craftswere shown and spent less time on theprehistoric or Conquest material. However,the noteworthy result of the survey wasthat both groups were alike in that a highproportion of visitors from both groupswere from professional backgrounds andwere correspondingly better educated thanthe average individual in Mexico or thecountry of origin.

It is instructive to compare the resultsof a survey of visitors conducted by theGemeentemu scum in The Hague in theModern Art Department of the Museum.The survey was limited to visitors whocame to the museum on Saturdays whenadmission was free [13]. It was hoped thatthe free admission would attract manyindividuals who had not been in the habitof visiting the museum, and particularlymembers of the working classes. However,it was found that the highest proportioncame from the professional classes of theneighbouring area. Most were 'repeaters'who were particularly attracted by thetemporary exhibitions, and spent little timelooking over the permanent exhibitions.

The most popular exhibitions were thosewhich featured the 'early' moderns, i.e.painters between 1850-19oo, whereas con-temporary paintingsparticularly non-objective art were not appreciated. Itwas thought however that the visitorswould have been interested had they hadsufficient explanation of the goals of theartists. Guided tours were available (70 percent of the visitors made use of them),

but were apparently not satisfactory - andvisitors often remained puzzled about worksof contemporary artists. The author sugge,ststhat in addition to guided tours an orienta-tion room be set up where an analysisof the works of the artists would be shownaccompanied by a tape recorded explanationfor visitors before entering the exhibition.Another recommendation was to workwith small, homogenous groups fromdifferent social classes and thus create acultural 'elite' who in turn would spreadtheir influence to attract visitors of morediversified background.

The survey made at the Gemeente-museum showed that the elimination ofentrance fees for Saturday did attract morevisitors than came during the rest of theweek. The principal reason for the largernumbers registered was apparently theattraction of new temporary exhibitions.It was concluded that the elimination ofentry fees was in itself insufficient to attracta more diversified group of visitors.

FACILITIES TO ENCOURAGE VISITORS

any museums have developed specialfa ilines to make visitors feel welcom,.Nevertheless, a survey conducted by theInternational Council of Museums (ICOM)for Unesco revealed that 'museums arcstill being neglected and the number ofvisitors is much lower than it should be'.However it is encouraging to note fromthe report that museums are trying, throughvarious means, to become much moreaccessible to the public. One of these isby offering such facilities as restaurants,pleasant courts, proper seating which in apurely practical way contribute a good dealto the creation of a pleasant atmosphere.Of the museums polled by ICOM (exclud-ing American museums) '79 had taken thetrouble to install a restaurant or at least abar, a cafeteria or lounges with magazinesor books to read. The countries whichhad done most in this respect arc: Norway(to out of 5), the Netherlands (9 out of16), the United Kingdom (6 out of 15),Sweden (4 out of 6), Denmark (4 out of 5),and Austria, Egypt, France, Germany(Bavaria), Italy and the Soviet Union' [Il]. 77

78

Keeping museums open daring lunch,hours, after working hours, and during theevenings once or twice a week and onSundays greatly facilitates visits. Thesemeasures, of course, entail hiring additionalstaff and for evening openings adequatelighting facilities must be provided.

One of the most effective means ofattracting visitors would seem to be thedevelopment of educational services.' Mu-seums in many countries have establishedclose relationships with schools. Organizedvisits are frequently conducted either bythe museum staff or by the teachers andinstructors of the students who receiveorientation lectures before class visits.However, the results of the questionnaireprepared by ICOM show that no profes-sional relations have been established be-oven organized labour and museums, exceptamong Austrian provincial museums andthose of the U.S.S.R. The answers receiveddo indicate, however, that on the wholemuseums are ready to undertake such work.The report goes on to state: 'Yet apartfrom guided visits and individual initiative,no such work has been organized. It couldonly be done systematically by museumeducational services in collaboration withpopular or trade union committees onartistic matters. Such committees are extre-mely rare (Sweden), however, they areextremely necessary, even indispensable, ifthe future of the labouring classes is notto be confined to their daily work and poor

for even degtading, use of their leisure time.'

THE PUBLIC IN NONINDUSTRIALIZED CULTURES

Since the end of World War II there hasbeen a rapid diffusion of industrial tech-niques among peoples who did not pre-viously possess them and who had notdeveloped the social patterns for living inan urban civilization based on industrialeconomy. The changes which are nowtaking .place among such populations arerevolutionary, they bring with them thegrave danger of breaking the continuitybetween the traditional cultures and thenew ones which are in the process offormation.

Museums ca'n take an important part inacculturation:By including in their collec-tions and exhibitions elements of the old,they can ena e visitors to see in concreteform the tra ition between the old andthe new; the can also help to introducenew concepts and ideas [4].

In the United States of America, forexample, several American Indian tribeshave museums which preserve examplesof their old culture, and are studied andused as inspiration by their contemporarycraftsmen. The museum thus serves tomaintain the continuity of a distinct trad-ition and to preserve in present-day craft-work some of the unique qualities of thework of the past. Annual displays of thebest work can encourage high standards,and lend status and prestige to the crafts-men. Continuity of museum collectionscan be maintained by purchase of the prize-winning objects.

Applied museography, the use of mu-seums and exhibitions to help people toassimilate new values, has not yet beenfully developed. For example, cause andeffect correlations based upon scientificand pragmatic observation are a productof a particular culture and must be explainedto people having entirely different modesof thought. Among many folk societiesthe failure of crops, desiccation of pasturelands, poverty, sickness and other seriousdifficulties are often ascribed to the effectsof witchcraft, failure to observe proper'rituals, the malignant attention of somedeity, etc.

A people may have a non-utilitariansystem of values according to which largenumbers of cattle brine status, or the shapeof a horn is more important than theamount of dressed

`meatone can obtain

from a cow. They are unaware that largeherds cause over-grazing with resultantloss of plant cover, erosion, gullying anda drop in the water table. They considerthese as separate rather than correlatedphenotinena, and explain them as the effectsof witchcraft, etc. A reduction of herdsimposed by government authority maycause considerable ill will and resistance.In such situations an educational programme

1. See Chapter VI.

has proved to be the best solution demon-strating the interrelationships of thesevarious phenomena. Exhibitions presentingin summary form a sequence showing theland with adequate cover, the changeswhich resulted from overgraz.ng, andexplaining a programme for the reductionof herds with possibly the introduction ofnew breeds; and the resulting restorationof plant cover would help people to under-stand the problem and the suggested cure.At the same time it would introduce themto one of the methods of evaluating phe-nomena which has been essential to thedevelopment of contemporary science.

While the basic principles of museumexhibition remain constant, it is notadvisable to transfer in exactly the sameform exhibitions designed for the needsof one society to another. To do so wouldbe to risk complete misunderstanding. Forexample, the experimental fundamentaleducation museum in Mysore, India [4],had constructed a large-scale model (half-size) of a hand-lift irrigation system forone of their exhibitions. However, as theuse of scale is not common among manypeople, its function was completely mis-understood and most visitors thought itwas a child's toy. An analogous experiencewas reported in a project to encouragethe revival of weaving among the Navaho(United. States of America Indians). Theywere furnished with photographs of trad-itional old rugs with an enlarged detailshowing the colours. The weavers copiedthe detail without reference to the photo-graphs, and their rugs reproduced onequarter only of the design [1].

Some interesting results were obtained bythe Mysore experimental museum. An eXhibition was prepared in the null districtof Yelwal in which there were over seventyvillages. A high degree of illiteracy, heavydensity of population, deforestation, erosionand widespread poverty characterized thisarea. The exhibition was set up to demon-strate to the villagers of the area therelationship between progressive deforest-ation complicated by overgrazing, anderosion. The exhibition showed what hadhappened to the land in the pa- t fifty yearsthrough careless use of forest land, andthe solution to the problem through re

It was nut possible to evaluatein detail the effects of the exhibition onthe villagers, but it was the consensusof opinion of those who had workedthere (fundaments; education, production,topic and social science specialists) that,if similar exhibitions were an element ofcontinuous campaigns, they would haveconsiderable impact upon the minds oftheir audiences.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The general public's interest in museumsis constantly increasing, and in mostcountries, museums now rely on publicfunds for their support; this is becomingtrue of many United States museums also.In a sense this places them under theobligation of satisfying the interests of thegeneral public and, in recent years, has;read them to seek to interest the largersector of the public which has not beenin the habit of visiting museums.

Museum exhibitions have changed, nolonger are their halls filled with materialwhich would require previous knowledgeon the part of the visitor. The tendencyhas been rather to reduce the number ofitems on exhibition and to present them soas to give the average visitor a generalsynopsis of the subject in a short periodof time. Frequently, this has been donerather by trial and error, but in recent yearsa body of scientific data has been graduallyaccumulated as a guide to the planning ofexhibitions in ordcr to eater for the needsand interests of visitors. Observationalstudies have been made of the behaviourof visitors and analyses of their social andeconomic background and their reactionsto exhibitions. These studies have pointedout several shortcomings and have stimu-lated further development.

Museums are not eddcational institutionsin the formal sense of the word, but rathera source of intellectual stimulation andentertainment. They can be a means ofcommunicating ideas about cultural achieve-ments of other peoples, about modernscience, about one's own traditions. Thisshould not mean, however, that in strivingtowards the worthwhile goal of introducing

013

79

8o

new concepts or of w idening the intellectualhorizons of people, they should lose sightof their traditional purposes. On the whole,the movement towards a broader functionfur museums has been beneficial to museumsand has shaken them out of a state oflethargy and intellectual isolation. Never-theless, it might be well here to quote fromthe ICOM report (1z] pretiously referredto. 'Prudence should, however, be recom-mended to museums tempted to become

involved in the social, business or industriallife of their city or region, a museum mustnot push such activities so far as to losesight of its essential role .. . (which is) .

its scientilc activity or its function as aplace to preserve objects. These are its

iprimary purposes, and it is obvious thata museum can carry out a social missiononly if it has enough staff and ran entrustthe task ;o officers specializing in suchmatters.'

BIBLIO4RAPHY

1. AmstorN, C. A. Sarah° weaving, its technic andhistory. Santa Ana, Cahf., Fine Arts Press,1954.

2. B1GMAN ex, S. K. 'An exhibit audiences', TheAfiaeologirt, no. 55,-6o, June and September 1956.Rochester, N.Y.

3. COLEMAN, L. V. The museum in America. 3 volurnes. Washington, D.C., American Assi.cia-non of Museums, 1939. (Volume II.)

4. Dna 1..KL, H., BowERs, J. Museum techniquesin fundamental education. Paris, Unesco, 1956,54 pp. (Educational striders and documents, no. 17.)

5. FECHNER, G. T. Vorschuk der Aestbetik.Leipzig, Breitkopf u/pd-Hartel, 1897.

6. MELTON, A \V., Problems on Installation inmuseums of o 1935. (Publications of the Ame-man .4stortation of Abueums, new series, no. 14.)

7. MoNzoN, A. 'Bases para incrementar el publicoque visits el Museo Nacional de Antropologia',Andes de hut:luta Nacional de Antropologia

tomo VI, 22 paste, no. 35, 1951.

ci

8. PORTE M. C. Behaviour of Al °Walt visitor inthe Peab Afineum of National History, YaleUniversity. 938. (Publications of the American.Association of Alumni; new series, no. 16.)

9. RosiNsoN, E. S. The behaviour if museum visitors.1903. (Publications of die American Associationof Abiseunit, dew series, no. 5.)

to. KNESCO. Records of the general ronference, ninthmilk; New De/ I, 1 gg, Annex A, 4.6 'Cultureand communi development'. Paris, Unesco,1957; cc. .,/

11. . 'Prelipunary report on museum statistics',U co/S1/R/18, 1958.

11. . 'Preliminary study on the technical andlegal aspects of the preparation of internationalregulaOns on the most effective means ofrendering museums accessible to everyone',Uneco/CUA/87, 3o April 1958.

13. VAN DER HOEK, G. J. 'Bezoekers bekelicn,Medcdllingen,Cemeentemuseum van den Haag, vol. 2,no.:, 1956. (English summary.)

CHAPTER VI

,EDUCATION IN MUSEUMS

INTRODUtTION

Years ago the responsibility of museumofficials was limited to acquisition, ton-servation, research ana some display, butin the modern wo i their successors hivea far wider !estymisibility. They have toconsider how to iiinslate the meaning oftheir exhibits, and how to communicatetheir values to the lay public.

The changelhas taken place graduallybut unmistakably. The broad 'ping conceptof the museum's responsibility first cameto include people who, if. not initiallyinterested, were potentially so and wereequipped by background and training tounderstand. They were a passive audience,but one easily captured and not activelyhostile. But it is only comparatively recentlythat the idea has taken root that the museumhas an obligation to the whole community,regardless of age, or type, or intellectualcapacity. There is a missionary spirit afootin museums and it is more and morerealized that an unenthusiastic ?ublic hasto be won over if the collection, conseryation, study and display of worth chileobjects are to have any real influence inour modern communities. We surely cannotdoubt their potential influence; museumexhibits have inuch tb communicate, butthey are sterile unless they are made to'speak to human beings. The communic-ation of interest, of information, of valuesis the essence of education, thus, for goodor ill, museums cannot avoid education.

To some people education means merelyinstruction. They see it as the means bywhich factual information i4 passed onfrom person to perscr. Ind from generation

by Molly HARRISON

to generation. To ttiem, museums aremerely another kind Of reerence book,presenting factual inforivation in vividand pleasing form.

To others, education means a trainingin the use of one's mental powers. In thissense, learning how to learn and acquiringthe habit of logical thought are the aimsof education. Here, too, museums can help,for their displays do not merely state facts;they can show the relationships betweenthings which are not always brought clearlyinto focus by textbook or verbal lesson.Exhibits can stimulate thought and encou-rage clear observation and logical deduc-tion.

Education is, however, more than eitherof these, and many people today are fearfulof an over-development of the humanintellect at the ,expense of the emotions.They see the purpose of education as beingnot mainly the memorizing of facts or atraining ,in logic, but as aiming primarilyat the development of imagination andsensitivity. The influence of museums onthis aspect of human development can beimmense, they are, by definition, custodiansof quality and merely looking at things ofbeauty and interest can stimulate and fosteran awareness of both truth and beauty.

In its full sense, of course, 'education'implies dl these purposes, and more. Itsgoal is the fullest development of the Violehuman being and among its many meansit must neglect neither the factual evidenceof real, tangible objects nor the evocative,imaginative impact r f things of beautyand worth. Educatit cannot afford toneglect museums.

There are probably few people, at this

15)

8

mid-centiiry, who would deny this closeinterrelation. museums, if they are tocontinue to have any real function, cannotavoid serving education, and education, ifit is to be effective, dare nbt neglect themuseum. That much agreed, there remaina great many practical problems confrontingthe museum official who plans to organizean education service, whether for afro is urfor children. This chapter gives-an analysisof these practical problems under theheadings NI, hich are thought most likely tomeet the needs of the practising museumofficial. Who shall 'do' the educating?Where can it be done? When can it bedone? Vow can we do it? A final sectionattempts to answer the fundamental ques-tion of why?

WHO WILL UNDERTAKEEDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES?

Withuut exception every thing that a mu-seum does is educational, even when thisis not the intention. The standard of displayof the exhibits, the quality of thought thatgoes into their arrangement, the friend-liness and sincerity of the personnel whoserve the public, the design of fitments andequipment, the typography as well as theteat of the publications issuedall theseare a potential influence for good and areas much a part of education as are theservices aimed directly at enlightening theoublic. Some aspects of museum work are,nevertheless, specifically educational andcan best be carried out by special staffrecruited for the purpose.

The curatorial staff, in most museums,take care of the selection and display ofobjects, public lectures and the compilingof labels. They can often deal w ell withthe educated and informed adult visitor,but they rarely have time to devote to theuninformed adult or to children, nor duthey usually possess the necessary combin-ation of abilities. Popular interpretation isvery difficult work, fur which a specializedknowledge of some particular branch ofacademic study may be poor preparationand may, indeed, be a handicap.

Knowledge and under.tanding of the82 subjects covered by the museum are, of

course, necessary fu, anyone who proposesto interpret them to the lay public, but ofcqual importance is a knowledge of people.Anyone who is to be successful in helpingpeople to see and enjoy museum materialneeds to know as much about humannature as he dues about the exhibits. Thismeans that there should be, in all museums,staff who have been trained as teachers.Only a pedagogical training of some kindcan teach a man or woman to know theneeds, interests, limitations and potential-ities of children, and also how to handlegroups of older people skilfully, so thatthe interests of all shall be catered for andboth the brightest and the dullest giventhe help and encouragement they need.

Museum instructors need, therefore, tobe alive to new trends of thought andpractice in the educational world. Theywill be the more successful in their work,the more fully they realize that it is notnecessarily, nor even usually, when ateacher 'teaches' that a person learns. Theirfunction is not to lecture, or to tell allthey know about a subject, but to stimulatethought, to arouse questioning, to strikea spark in even the most unpromisingmind, to kindle an interest and to openwindows which may have been firmlyclosed before.

People capable of doing this are noteasy to find. A university training is notenough, nor is a normal teacher-trainingcourse sufficient preparation. A curnbinationof the two can produce the ideal type ofperson and, in countries in which a post-graduate course in pedagogy can be follow-ed by University graduates, there is likelyto be a ready source of suitable people.Such twofold training is good, but thereis danger in taking students into themuseums before they have had a periodof classroom teaching in a school or college.It is only by personal responsibility andexperience that a man or woman can learngroup management and understand theessential need of immature or under-developed minds for really simple present-ation.

It is important, too, that whoever under-takes this work shall be suited, by tempe-rament and manner, to popular expositiona talent no training can give. It is largely

a matter of contact, of friendliness Combinedwith ease of manner, and an ability to usesimple words clearly: Must people areimmediately alienated by a stiff, academicmanner and the display of much eruditionmay appear to be patronizing and presentdifficulties to anyone having little or nocultural background.

If the dual training referred to is notavailable, there appear to be two possibleways of replacing it with some degree ofsuccess. Museum specialists who wish towork with the .public in the museum canbe given a period of practi-al experiencein a school ur college, orTractising teachersof good educational background can begiven training and experience at the mu-seum. Both methods are less satisfactorythan the one previously recommended, butboth aim at the necessary combination oftwo very differeneskills.

Some people advocate that when childrenzre taken to museums, the class teacherwho goes with them should deal withthe material, but this view is not sharedby the writer. The attitude and interest ofthe teacher they know is, of course, veryimportant in helping the children to enjoyand understand what they see, but a freshviewpoint and a new voice hare a stimulusand an interest all their own. Moreoververy few teachers, immersed in the dailybusiness of school life, can have sufficienttime to give to thorough study of thecollection in a museum and few, perhaps,have, the inclination to do so. Museummaterial is for the most part specialistmaterial and it is no solution to pretendthat all that is required in order to dealwith it is personal interest and a systematicreading of the labels. Anyone who is trulyairaing to 'light a spark', whether for achild or an adult, needs to know and feelfar more about the material being consideredthan can be gained by a cursory visit or two.

The highly qualified specialist teachercould, of course, handle the situation, andfrequently does so, for no sensible museumofficial would discourage a school teacherwho obviously had the necessary knowledgeand flair from dealing with his grouphimself. One of the assumptions thatmuseum educationists have to live down,however, is that anyone who can read and

can speak to a group of listeners is, rhofacto, able to convey the significance ofmuseum material to that group. It is a farmore subtle and difficult matter than thatand, as a general rule, only specially tra...,dstaff can hope to do it well.

In some areas the problem is thought tobe solved by arranging for teachers whbare interested in taking their children tomuseums, to be gir en lectures on the exhibitsbeforehand. The basic assumption behindthis arrangement is, of course, totally wrong.The stimulation of the imagination anddevelopment of sensory awareness whichare among the prime purposes of museumeducation cannot possibly he fostered bypersons who have been given bare factsbut have not had the experience of dailycontact with the tangible objects fromwhich the facts are derived, or with whichthey are related. Only through living andworking in a museum can one acquire areal knowledge of the material, of thediffering specialist points of view aboutevery exhibit, and of its background asrepresented by the work of the curator,administrator, research scholar, archaeo-logist, display specialist and collector. Asa member of an integrated and enthusiasticteam one may hope to impart enthusiasmand to convey something of both the per-manent and the transient values implicitin the museum collection. Lectures furteachers are, of course, good if they aregood lectures, but although they can Dr einterest and knowledge to those who seek,they provide no real substitute for a museunieducation service, however small thatservice may have to be.

It is sometimes objected that smallerand poorly endowed museums cannot hopeto pay the salary demanded by qualifiededucational staff, and indeed cost may bea strong deterrent to plans to set up aneducational service. People may occasion-ally be found who arc so devoted to theaims of museum teaching that they arewilling to undertake the work for a verysmall salary, but only rarely does such asolution work well. In principle we shouldnot expect museum education to fulfil itsfunction properly or to win public supportif the staff are nut properly paid.

The present trend is towards solving

C. Iic

83

this financial problem by co-uperationbetween museums And public educationauthorities. If the authorities in charge ofthe administration of the public educationservice can be persuaded that the museumcan have a valuable influence in generaleducation, they will often b e n 'iling tomate a financial contribution. Wherecommon interests are seri, ed, shared finan-C141 reSplASSAbility AS, of course, reasonable.

Such cu operation may be worked outin various vvas in different national andlocal circumstances:1. The educatiun authority makes a financial

grant to the museum, in proportion tothe number of school parties and adulteilut.,t1,n groups received annually.

z. The education authority provides suit-able members of its teaching staff, towork in the museum education depart-ment. Ir. some cases they remain asemployees of the Leal education author-

in others they are either appointedpermanent:, to the museum staff, lent1.r a stated period, ur given an Inter-mediate pusinun as a liaison betweenthe two parties.

3. The education authority sets up acommittee of teachers, administrators,and perhaps others, to advise themuseum upon its educational work. Thisis usually dune only when the museumlacks a functioning education depart-ment, but it could serve as a usefulinterim measure.

4. Some education authunues api,int oneteacher whose time is divided amonga number of museums in the area.In addition, in some countries the edu-cation authorities also pay staff to orga-nize in museums educational work withadults. This practice meets with goodresponse and might well be extended.

Each of these measures has its merits andeach Its disadvantages and dangers. Eachlocal ,ituation calls for a different solutionand there could be no value In recommend-ing, in a general handbook such as this,any par-.ular method of co-operation be-t 4...en iiiuscums a I education authorities.So long as the interests of the visitors arenever lust sight of, and the general aimsand requirements of museum education are

84 kept in mind, a workable system will

develop. Each museum must find thearrangement which will best meet its part-icular need.

WHERE CAN IT BE DONE?

Accommudauon is frequently a problemand many curators who would like toestablish and encourage specifically educa-tional work do not do so because theybelieve they have not enough room.

This belief is founded upon an assump-tion that education is something apart,separable in a museum from its otherwork. If this were so, then separate andvirtually insulated accommodation wouldbe essential and care would have to betaken that 'education' work did not affectthe other programmes. It is clear, however,that 'education' can be experienced any-where and at any moment. In a museumthe must Likely moment is when a worth-while exhibit comes to life for a receptivevisitor, and the most likely place in whichthat can happen is the museum gallery,where the exhibit is displayed to its bestadvantage, surrounded by other thingsrelated to it, its meaning and appearanceenhanced in all possible ways.

Therefore, inivall and for as long aspossible, talks, discussions and classesshould take place in the public galleties.A stage will be reached, however, whennumbers present a problem or when thegroup needs to undertake noisy orin thecase of childrenmessy activities. Thensome additional accommodation will berequired, but it should not be providedwhile it is still possible to use the galleries.

Museums which consider that a reductionof exhibition or storage space is justifiedset aside a demonstration room, work-room, or lecture room fur the use of variousgroups in different ways according to theprinciples upon which the work of themuseum is based. Exhibits from the galle-ries, or duplicates from the storerooms maybe shown and handled in informal lessons;lectures and slide or film programmes maybe given, after which the audience goesinto the public galleries to relate the back-ground information they have been given

exhibits. Sometimes this room

is used as a private study for those who,having seen the exhibits, wish to read orwrite or browse, and in this case, of course,books and- periodicals and some exhibitmaterial are available for reference. Theroom may also have a reverse function.rather than providing a quiet retreat forvisitors it may be a noisy room. Herechildrenand adults, too, if they wishmay go when they need to discuss morefreely than is suitable in the museum itself.They can also be allowed greater freedomhere, and paint, clay, cardboard and woodare among the materials available to them.

The advantages of separate accommod-ation are obvious, for it permits certainactivities which cannot be allowed in themuseum galleries. Various dangers need tobe guarded against, however, if the useof separate accommodation is not to detract,in the long run, from the true educationalfunction of the museum.

First, there is the danger of excessiveuse. A workroom of the type referred tois usually a more convenient place in whichto assemble a group .than a public gallery.There will probably be chairs and tableslaid out ready, so that the noisy problemof portable stools is avoided, there is littleto distract attention from the matter inhand and no irrelevant material towardswhich curious eyes can wander. Even themost sensitive teacher is liable at times toforget that such a room is merely an organi-zational convenience and but a poor substi-tute for the museum gallery. The realpurpose of the visit is to look at the exhibitsin their setting and if too much timeis spent in the museum classroom thegroup will be given too halt opportunityto see the galleries. Museums which makea practice of using a separate workroomfor group programmes usually arrange forthe groups to walk through the publicgalleries after a lesson or discussionthepurpose being that they may see what theyhave been discussing. However, the reversewould seem to be infinitely preferable. thegroup needs to see ast and will then wantto discuss what they have seen. The realcontact with the objects should come first,and the abstractionthe words, theoriesand explanationsfollow.

There is a great temptation, too, to lapse

into formal instructional teaching if visitorsare conveniently seated as.a group, ready tolisten without interruption. When dealingwith a group in the public galleries, however, it soon becomes obvious, that formalgroup teaching is often ineffective, allcannot see ghat is being discussed, thoseat the back are easily distracted by othervisitors, not all the group want to look atthe same objects. Individual teaching andmore practical techniques are the alternative. museum teaching does much tounderline the truth and relevance of man)of the new educational theories.

There is greater likelihood, too, thatverbal facts about the exhibits will bestressed and the objects themselves neglected if people are separated from them forlonger than is strictly necessary. Whetherfactual information is go, en verbally orthrough films and filmstrips, there is, inthe museum classroom, a great temptationto forget that the main purpose of a visitto a museum is not the mere acquisitionof facts but the broadening of awarenessand the stimulation of imaginaeJn andsensitivity. Real objects seen in their bestsetting can accomplish this far mpreeffectively than can second-hand experience,and a well-arranged museum gallery offerswider opportunities for mental and visualexploration than even the best appointedclassroom. (See Illustration I.)

The influence of a good museum cancovet a wide arca, particularly in relationto schools. There may be many reasonspreventing a particular class of childrenfrom being taken often to visit a museumthey may be too far away, or physicallyhandicapped, there may be an acute staffshortage, lack of means, or inadequatetransport arrangements. In such cases,members of the museum staff can go totalk to the children in school and showthem some of the exhibits, or the museumcan lend suitable material to the schoolsfor a period.

There is little to say about sendingmuseum staff into the school or college.Those sent must obv luusly be good speakers,

,able to meet the young people on theirown level, they must be experienced inhandling groups and more concerned toarouse curiosity and interest than to give

a formal lecture. The museum will inevit-ably be judged by these unofficial ambas-sadors, and if the group have enjoyed theirvisitor they will want to go to the museumitself and will probably find means of doingso Talk about museum material will alsobe much more lively and interesting ifexhibits are included for demonstration towhet the young people's appetites.

The loan of exhibits to schools, collegesand adult education centres has a muchdeeper influence than visiting speakers canhave, because the material stays at the sitelong enough for the local group to becomethoroughly familiar with it. A good loanscheme is an educational venture whichmany museums carry out with conspi-cuous success.

Highly valuable objects, and materialnecessary for the maintenance of a goodstudy collection should not, in general, be:ent by a museum. However, duplicatematerial which is not required for displaycan be of considerable interest and valueto people wh' are unable to visit thecollection.

Perhaps the most important criterion inchoosing mater:al for loan is interest, andcertainly the most important points to beconsidered in presentation are truth, sim-plicity and vividness. These four make upthe quality of a loan, irrespective of therarity or individual value of the object.An everyday piece of craftsmanship, a

.-pleasant piece of pottery or textile areneither rare nor of great financial value,but they may be of great educational value.

In planning.a-loans scheme close consul-tation with schools and other potentialusers is extremely important. Museumofficials may easily hold a view of whatpeople ought to want to see and know,which is at variance with what, in fact,they do want and are able to grasp. Nor,of course, should the requirements of themuseum be forgotten. Objects must bewell packed, properly transported, wellhoused at the receis:ng end and care mustbe taken to avaid damage. It is usuallyfound, in fact, that groups take very greatcare of museum material lent to them.

In such a scheme careful recording ofloans distributed is essential and cataloguesand information relating to material lent

should be published. This information maytake the form of notes for teachers, but itmust not be implied that these are lecturenotes (lectures about the material borrowedwill obviously be inappropriate). Rather,suggestions should be given for thought,discussion, further reading and subsequentvisits. The actual use of the material in theclassroom will not usually lie within thepi wince of the museum staff, althoughthey can give a good deal of help by makingsuitable comments and suggestions and bytaking care to provide vivid and interestingmaterial and sensible captions and notes.Frequent friendly contact between themuseum educational staff and those at thereceiving end is the key to the provisionof a good loans service.(

Travelling exhibitions can be a furtherimportant means of helping people tounderstand and appreciate ways of livingand forms of artistic expression other thantheir own. Lessons in health, satutauon,and technology can also be taught by clear Jand simple exhibitions, attractively mount/ed, sent out from museums to remote areas.

In discussing where museums can bestserve education the question of specialmuseums for children merits consideration.In some countries such institutions are anaccepted and very active element in themuseum sphere, elsewhere they are notfavoured. A brief consideration of the prosand cons would stem to be worth while here.

The points in favour of children'smuseums are perhaps obviousimmediateappeal, ready public interest and support,their freedom from the trammels of spe-cialist departments, and so on. At firstglance there is much to be said for theestablishment of special exhibit materialfor young people, in buildings speciallyequipped for the purpose and with staffdevoted to the interests of the young.

In the opinion of the writer, however,the disadvantages of children's museumsare considerable for, in a world alreadyfor prone to. specialization, they dividestill further, and artificially. They separatechildren from the rest of the commionty,as if a _clear-line could be drawn betweenthose matters which interest young peopleand those which appeal to older people.They separate those in the museum pro-

fession who have a particular concern forpopular presentation and simple statementfrom their more specialized colleagues tothe detriment of both. They tend, too, toseparate young peoplethe future adultsfrom early contact with first rate objectsof great worth, for these inevitably canbe displayed only in the larger publicmuseums.

Although in special circumstances andin particular national or local conditionschildren's museums are certainly valuableand important institutions, it can be arguedthat the future lies rather with attempts tocarry out popular education, at both thejuvenile and the adult levels, in the contextof the public museum.

WHEN SHOULD EDUCATIONA 11.PROGRAMMES BE GIVEN?

Ideally, of course, education in a museumshould be planned for the right moment,when the person is ripe for it, but thatmoment cannot be accurately foreseen. Noone can be sure exactly when a spark willbe struck, either for child or for adult,when imagination and feelings will betouched, or when eyes will see and mindwill truly understand. These things happenwhen atmosphere, circumstances and per-sonalities function in harmonysomethingthat no amount of organization can bringabout. However, museums can anticipateand take advantage of special occasions orevents which will attract visitors to come,to see, to learn. A Bach centennial, thetwo-thousandth anniversary of Buddha, aspecial nation-wide programme such as'Asia Month' (November 195) in tiltUnited States, may be the occasion forspecial exhibitions. A film recently madein England which had rones of the ScienceMuseum in London a..racted numerousvisitors. Television programmes made bymuseums or in co-operation with museumssuch as lVbat in the World by the UniversityMuseum, University of Pennsylvania, orAnixal, Vegetable and Mineral in England,hive encouraged visitors to see the originalmaterial featured in the programme andto see other items in the collections of themuseum.

QRW4E1111P1M19.111E0911141didaili7

An individual visitor can go to a museumwhen, for him, the moment is ripe. Groupvisits are, howev , a different problem; toconduct 'visits for groups of any age needsplanning and pre aration, and inevitablythe moment whit is right for some willbe wrong for oche s. It is for the groupteacher, therefore, o decide when theinterest of the majo y is best served, tosay when they are re dy for the interestand stimulation which museum can give,how many will be in e group, how longthey want to stay, how frequent theirvisits shall be.

In all probability the museum educationdepartment will not be able to meet allthese requirements and adjustements willhave to be made. Here friendliness andco-operation on both sides are vitallyimportant. If the possibilities and limitationsare frankly discussed and both the groupteacher and the museum official realizethat the other has true educational influenceat heart, serious didiculty can usually beavoided.

There is great variation in the amountof time schools are willing or able to devoteto outside visits. Many are ill-placed forvisiting, others are handicapped financiallyor by the pressure of examination workand visits to museums may seem to themat first to be a luxury. Museum staff can domuch, by their enthusiasm and by thethought and effort they give to the needsof each visiting group, to change thispoint of view and to ensure that the oTgaruz-ation of visits is practical.

A first essential is that there shall notbe too many children in a group; the exactnu:ober R hick can be received is a matterfor the museum staff to decide. Limitationsare inevitably set by the nature of theexhibits, the size of the galleries and soon; it is no kindness, and certainly nocordriburion to education, to accept sortchildren than can be properly dealt with.In spite of pressure from teachers wishingto bring large groups, the museum mustset a reasonable standard in such matters,or visits will often be a waste of time andopportunity.

How many schools can visit at onetime depends upon museum staffing andaccommodation and is not a matter on

which the individual schools need to beconsulted. Care must always be taken thatnumbers do not prevent good work frombeing done; two school groups received,well catered for and sent away enrichedand enthusiastic, are far more worth whilethan ten groups who return to schoolfeeling they have been merely herdedthrough a crowded, muddled visit, withno clear idea of what they have seen, urwhy.

How often any-group should visit themuseum depends, of course, upon the ageof the children, the distance they have totravel and the requirements of the themethey are studying. Usually a series of visitsis of very much greater value to the childrenthan a single visit. All boys and girls areat first a little awed by an unfamiliarenvironment, often they arc c ver-excitedand need time to settle down. A first visitcan do little more than catch their interestand whet their appetite; it is on the secondand subsequent visits that real observationand thought can best develop. So longas interest is maintained, it is doubtfulwhether a group of children could ever visittoo frequently, for most museums containmaterial 7hich has infinite educationalpossibilities ii rightly treated.

They should not stay too long, however,nor visit more than two museums at mostin one day. Looking at static things istiring, new impressions are always slightlyconfusing and museum flours are notori-ously uncomfortable to walk on. A shorthvely visit, designed to maintain alertinterest, will be enjoyed by all, a visit thatis even two minutes too long will makethe children disinclined to return and mayprejudice them against museums for a longtime to come. These .principles applyequally to non-specialist visitors of any age.

If boys and girls have enjoyed theirschool visits to museums they will wantto return in their leisure time and, indeedthis is a fair test of the success of anygroup visit. More and more museums arefinding that they arc able to undertake apeat deal of educat-Jnal work with youngpeople during school holidays, on Saturdays,and sometimes in the evenings. This isprobably by far the must important eclu,a-ton or which museums can undertake

ME.511.1alPLAiNia_2111131.1ISCIV.41111T2r1TratIALVII:lageWcwanemilMaer..m.

for children and it presents a considerablechallenge.

When we do a thing because we wantto, we do it in a subtly different spiritfrom that which surrounds things we`must' do. This is very true of childrenand lends particular importance to allhobbies and voluntary activities. A museumin which boys and girls choose to spendregularly a proportion of their leisure timehas a particular contribution to make tothe solution of present-day educational andsocial problems. Education must not besegregated in the schools, it is a force thatcould and should inform all human activity.

The voluntary attendance of children isa great stimulus to the museum staff forit becomes essential to provide childrenwith a variety of things to do, or theirinterest will quickly wane. The organiza-tional problems are different from thoseinvolved in group visits, for the childrenthemselves will decide how often theyvisit, how frequently and for how long.There may well be a danger of over-tiredness as a result of too much enthusiasm,and problems will arise regarding differingtempos for when children are allowed towork at their own pace it is found thattheir pace is in many cases surprisinglyquick. Discipline will not normally presentany difficulty, for when young people areactively engaged upon an activity they enjoyand have chosen to undertake they arc nottempted to misbehave. If the atmosphereis willing and friendly and the environmentpleasing, and if there are interesting thingsto do, very many boys and girls will makegood use of what a museum offers them,and the poorer their background, thegreater their need for stimulation andhelp.

HOW SHOULD THEY BE GIVEN?

How can we interpret museum materialand arousc the interest of visitors so thatthey want to find out for themselves?Surely it should be our long tern aimthat we, as intermediaries between peopleand objects, may gradually become superfluous and that the men and women, theboys and girls who enter out doors shall

form the habit of looking at things withdiscrimination and affectionate under-standing. How can we, therefore, giveenough information but not too much,guide but not too firmly and focus attentonwithout seeming to insist? Much depends,of course, upon local circumstances andthere is great diversity in the type of helpthat museums can give to uninformedvisitors, both young and old.

Clear, coherent display is a first essentialand those concerned with the interpretationof museum material must use their influenceto ensure that the exhibits are shownlogically, simply and pleasingly. The laymanneeds more than this, however, if he is tofind real interest in the museum. He needs,for example, something more than a baredate to help him place the exhibit in itstime and sequence, he will be helped bya technical note about construction andpreservation, perhaps by a map or a sketchshowing where the object was used orfound, or the costume and way of life ofthose who made ft. If such additionalinformation is provided with discretion,skill and taste, it need not detract in anyway from the importance of the exhibititself and many visitors will find help andencouragement from it. (See Illustration z.)

But merely to show things is :.at enoughand however well exhibits are displayedthey usually need some kind of interpret-ation if visitors are not to wander aimlesslyabout.

Interpretation usually takes the form oftalk, but words can as often obscure animpression as illuminate it. A 'guidedtour' can be stimulating but it can also beamong the dullest of experiences and thereis always a risk of denying the existenceof human differences and individuality.People vary greatly in what they knowand what they want to know, in theirunderstanding of words and in the paceat.which they can_think. It is quite impos-sible to satisfy the needs of everyone in agroup and the less informed, the less aca-demic the listener, the more difficult it isfor him to listen and to connect verbalstatement with things seen. Nevertheless,of course, talk there must be. . . .

In some cases a brief introductory talkis all that is required fr: a group of adult

visitors and if lines of interest and inquiryare suggested they can then disperse, eachfollowing his own interest and asking thelecturer the questions which occur to him.In any case it is important that what talkthere is shall not be one-sided. The success-ful museum teacher, as does the successfulteacher anywhere, needs to realize that itis often more valuable to raise a questionin the visitor's mind than to give theanswers, and that a discussion about thingsis, for the non-specialist, far more rewardingthan merely hearing about them.

Children, in particular, do not takeeasily to the set lecture, however well itis done. Education today, in many countries,recognizes the importance of active methods/of learning; and modern boys and girlsare accustomed to pursuing their owninterests at their own pace and to workingbecause they want to and because they seesome sense and purpose in what they arelearning. Some children can, of course,learn by verbal instruction, but they are aminority; they present few problems totheir teachers and will probably in anycase make good use of museums. But itis not so easy to interest the 'ordinary'-.hild (no_child is, in fact, 'ordinary') andhelp him to use museum resources and topursue his studies there for his own,understood ends.

Looking at things and learning aboutthem intellectually is not sufficient. Some-thing further is needed, some way ofencouraging the visitor to use more ofhimself, to participate, to experience throughhis hands as well as through his eyes, earsand brain. Some museum material can behandled without risk of damage and, ifthis is permitted under supervision, under-standing and appreciation will burgeon andthe visit will take on a reality which itmight otherwise lack. If the originalmaterial cannot be handled with safety,often duplicates can be handled and manymuseums set aside part of their reservecollections for this purpose. Some museums,indeed, allow some of their material to beactively used; boys and girls may, forinstance, dress up in costumes and armour,use primitive tools, and play upon instru-ments which, when silent, have no life andlittle meaning. 89

The use of reproductions should not bescorned in this connexion, so lung as it ismade perfectly clear which things areoriginals and which are nut. Many a y aluableobject lying in its case, neither appreciatednor fully understoon, will spring to life ifa less precious version can be actually used.For example, a girl who walks amongeighteenth- century furniture dressed in agood reproduction of the costume of theperiod feels something of *hat life Waslike two hundred years ago, more deeplythan could result from merely seeing, oreven handling the furniture. Her class-mates, too, will notice that she walksdifferently in the long dress and that hergestures and the tilt of het head alter, theywill sense the past more vividly for seeingher walk, even though the costume shewears was made but yesterday.

This reproduction material is used inmuch the same st. ay as stage properties areused by actors. Museums could well makemore use of dramatic technique and 'props'in the interpretation of their exhibits. TWO-dimensiunal material is also useful. Whileprints, models, charts, diagrams and pho-tographs cannot replace tie real object,if properly used they car. ..ve great edu-cational value: models and prints lent foroutside use can stimulate interest and engen-der the desire to see for oneself, chartsand diagrams show the relation of a seriesof facts which may otherwise seem disparate.colour 1..ints and photographs .add enor-mously to the liveliness and Interest ofpublications. Their deep concern for thepreservation and integrity of originalmaterial should not blind museum workersto the importance of good reproductions.Nothing need be lust by their use, muchis to be gained.

There is a world of difference between'looking around' a museum and 'lookingfor' something in it. The first can soonbecome a passive stare, the second entails2 keen, alert, sustained seeking afterspecific things of interest and an informeddiscussion of them. However, while thesuggestion 'let's see if we can find a soant. so' will sustain and stimulate anindividual child ur a small group for aconsiderable length of time, something

90 specific, tangible and definite is needed if

the attention and interest of large numbersof youngsters are not to evaporate. 'Thingsto do' follow as the logical solution. Theidea is fast dying that we can continue togain anything from looking at things forany length of time without some opportun-ity of 'doing'. Seeing and doing are com-plementary activities.

But doing what? It is impossible togeneralize, for the activity which strikeshome with one person will probably boreanother, what is interesting and significantto one museum teacher will not appeal, toothers, what one museum has to offer maybe entirely outside the sphere of another.In some cases the best approach may bea mere list of questions to answer; in others,sketching paper, pencils and crayons maybe provided. The emphasis may be uponeducational apparatus, similar in essentialsto what is used in Montessori classes butadapted to museum material, or upon someform of pictorial summary of the story ofthe objects seen and enjoyed. A greatvariety of materials can be brought into use,children can make delightful series ofpictures from pieces of textile, coloured andpatterned paper and card, leather, veneer,feathers, buttons, pipe cleaners and so on.Once they feel at home they can work in aperfectly orderly manner in front of theexhibits while their inspiration is still fresh.They will be really looking and working,usually far tco absorbed to cause any em-barrassment to other visitors.

Such activities lead the visttor to theexhibit and focus attention upon it, theyslow him down so that he is less inclined torush excitedly from object to object; theygive rise to questions and stimulate conver-sation about the exhibits and theications; they proviciei something for himto take home to show his family and frrprids,a permanent reminder of what he has/seenand enjoyed. Moreover they arc fun and,surely, if museums are to have any appealfor the non-academic majority of people,they must offer an opportunity of worth-while fun.

Two main points should be kept in mindin planning educational activities. First,such activities are not an end in themselvesbut a means of developing in the child acloser understanding and appreciation of

the museum material. They do not replacethe teacher, their purpose is to induce analert and receptive state of mind and feeling,in which the child is able to respond towhat the teacher shows him. Activities area waste of time unless they lead to that all-important moment when an enthusiastic'and, questioning child looks at a worth-while object in the company of a sympa-thetic, enthusiastic and knowledgeable adult.Then a spark is lit, feelings are touched andmind leaps ahead.

Secc/ndly, the further they depart fromthe 'questionnaire' style, the greater theeducational value of such activities andequipment. The museum's domain isprimarily a visual one and the most appro-priate techniques of interpretation andexplanations arc, obviously, also visual.Museums are not primarily reference books,although facts play an important part intheir wrk. The visitor who has successfullyanswered a number of factual questionsmay have done little more than read the-labels; he may go out of the museum noricher than he came in. If, however, hisimagination has been aroused and his senseof values touched, he achieves a synthesis,and the facts-will fall into place as a part ofhis interest.

In some museums, usually under theinfluence of a curator or a teacher whorealizes the importance 6 sensory training,opportunities are given for visitors to takepart in creative art activities. Formal andinformal sessions are arranged for peopleof all ages in various branches of the artsand crafts. What is produced may notnecessarily have any obvious connexionwith the museum material, but this is anexcellent means of developing imaginationand sensitivity and is likely, in the long rn,to improve the standard of appreciationthose w: o take part. People using a museumshould nevertheless not long neglect thesignificant material shown thete. Art andcraft groups, for instance, which merely

' meet there without basing their worksometimes upon the exhibits are not reallyan integral part of museum education.However valuable they may be to theirmembers, they are, as it were, tenants in abuilding used forural purmis.

In some coun museums are being

increasingly used as community centresand thus have a far wider function thanthat of merely showing their collections.Popular lectures are given there for adults,concerts and recitals (often of period musicon instruments exhibited), demonstrationsand meetings of public societies of variouskinds are held. Such use of museums in noway harms their collections, rather thereverse. the public thus encouraged to Someinto the building tends to become interestedin the exhibits and in the ideas whch theyillustrate. As the building is used lJ morepeople, public appreciation is bo d to,grow.

Museums in many countries make gooduse of mechanical visual aids which can bea great asset. There is value in occasionallysupplementing interest 'in tangible, three-dimensional material with opportunities ofseeing films, filmstrips and lantern slides.It is, however, vitally important toremember that such techniques are merelyaids. They are justified in the museumcontext because they can bring exhibits tolife and provide links .between them. Wellused, they can be a means of helping peopleto sec the exhibits, to enjoy them and tothink about them; poorly used they are awaste of time viliich would be much betterspent looking at the exhibits.

Publications are another important meansof increasing interest in museum exhibitsand of interpreting their meaning. Mostmuseums issue them but very few museumpublications are sufficiently simple, attrac-tive and inexpensive to appeal widely tothe non-academic visitor of low readingcapacity. Attractive picture books are issuedby many museums, but the captions to the

Inpictures are often ps.oalist language andthere is rarely a simple i,troduction,explaining the theme in terms that thelayman can understand. There is a lack, too,of inexpensive publications planned to beread before and after museum visits ratherthan during them. Most people find itextremely difficult to look at exhibits andread a 'text at the same time; yet many tryto do so and thus achieve neither concen-trated reading nor real, appreciative looking.Inexpensive publications which includepages for ,note-taking and for sketchingwould perhaps encourage the visitor to 91

make a contribution himself, and he wouldtherefore be more likely to return.

To sum up, it needs to be stressed thatthere are no 'blue prints' or textbookswhich can tell museum workers how tomake the fullest educational use of theirmaterial, every museum must have its ownemphasis. The methods must be flexible,the equipment devised must be varied andof high standard of appearance and mustfunction well, and in interpreting museummaterial at the popular level one mustcontinually think in terms of people, theirneeds and interests. Although we areworking with things we must rememberthat we are working for people. n

WHY SHOULD EDUCATIONALPROGRAMMES BE CONSIDERED?

NX,hy do we do it, why indeed must we do it?Nut merely because we believe that our

museum objects are important, but becausewe believe that people are more important.

In many ways modern man is mostdeprived when he is must privileged:'iIndustrialism is spreading fast but theastonishing technical advancement of .1.e,past hundred years has not, on the whole,been matched by comparable spiritual oraesthetic developments. There are manydangers to human nature inherent in thepresent speed and mechanization of life,museums are among those institutionswhich have permanent values to impart, ifthey can make their voice heard.

92

\X'e live among miracles but tend toaccept them without wonder or delight;museums can help us to recapture a, senseof magic and of awe at the complexity andbeauty of the natural would and at the geniusand skill of men. We live our lives increas-ingly at second-hand, divorced too oftenfrom reality, thinking and feeling throughwords and pictures rather than in realsituations; museums, showing real things,can help us to understand the importanceof evidence and to comprehend thingsthrough what our senses tell us about them.We are faced with a future Of greatlyincreased leisure but many of us do notknow what to do with time and are bored,unseeing and unaware. Museums can openwindows to those who lack interestsand can help to develop sensitivity anddiscrimination in those who are visuallyilliterate.

Many influences today are actively atwork to undermine man's human qualities,and if love of knowledge and contact withthe good, the true, and the beautiful areever to grow and develop in those whoseem often to despise them, the museum isperhaps one of the few instruments whichcan be effective. Museums are marginalinstitutions which can have an integratinginfluence in a world suffering from division:they make an appeal to both intellect andemotions and encourage that kind ofdelighted observation where a storing ofthe mind is accompanied by a rapture ofthe senses. They hae an urgent task in ourmodern world.

CHAPTER VII

THE MUSEUM LABORATORY

INTRODUCTION'

'Man is the worst enemy of works of art.'These hard words from an old conservationexpert may be an exaggeration, but theyhave a kernel of truth in them. In the workof restoration, man wants to show off hisknowledge and skill and often does so atthe expense of the originality and life of thework he is restoring; he builds museumsthat are much better 'conditioned' forvisitors than for the treasures housec there;proud of his possessions, he ships them offto into national exhibitions, where, as hewell k ows, different climatic conditions,will d mage the artistic heritage of whichhe is b t th trustee.

The two world wars, with theirresultant destruction of cultural property,have drawn general attention to the safe-guarding and active protection of relics ofthe past, historical monuments and museumspecimens. Unesco, its Museums and Monu-ments Division, ICOM (InternationalCouncil of Museums), IIC (InternationalInstitute for the Conservation of MuseumObjects) and many other bodies have enteredinto direct relations with the ever-increasingnumber of laboratories and workshops inevery part of the world which now devotescientific study to works of art, theirdeterioration and their preservation.

It seems natural to lay first stress onscientific study as pursued in museum labor-atories. It will help us to become familiarwith ancient materials and with the wayin which they deteriorate, and to understandbetter the problem of their preservatioh,which is the ultimate aim of all laboratorytechnicians. But alas, there is an inexorable:

by Paul COREMANS

law which spares no works, past or present:all living matter is subject to decay andmust one day perish; like doctors, we canonly do our best to delay that deadlyprocess.

Archaeologists, art historians and, insome degree, aestheticians study an ancientobject in the light of comparable documentsof the past, place it in its historical am'stylistic setting, determine, in fact, thecharacteristics by which it may be situatedin time and space.

Unlike these specialists of the form ofobjects, a laboratory deals with the substanceof which they are made, probes into theircomposition, structure, state of decay, infact, into the possibilities of conserving orrestoring them. The laboratory researchworker must forget that he has before hima prehistoric axe; what he seeks to deter-mine is the metal or alloy it is made of, thepeculiarities of its casting, the later mechani-cal or thermic treatment it has undergone,the harthful effects of air and soil upon thewhole object. So he weighs all the charac-teristics which will enable him to recommenda method of treatmentin order that thisaxe may survive for a long time tg come,as a subject of learned archaeological' studyand of growing curiosity on the part ofmuseum visitors.

An investigation carried out by theauthor a few years ago in three countriesof Western Europe revealed that less thanone ten-thousandth part of the public fundsavailable for the purchase and installationof museum objects and the repair of histori-cal monuments was deiroted to museum

t. Received in 1957.

0193

laboratories. Thai ,ts surely a very smallproportion and argues scant concern forthe tuture tat a cultural inheritance whoseirreplaceable character i5 St/ frequentlyproclaimed.

SCIENTIFIC EXANUNATION

Less than twu hundred years ago, medicinewas an art which endeavoured to cure allills by purging and bleeding. Until a fewdecades ago, the medical treatment of worksof art existed only in name, and restorers,shut away in their ivory towers, applied afew standard remedies. A painting receivedits ration of alcohol or was saturated withglue through innumerable little canalspierced by a needle. As a last resort, thespecialist would assert his mastery of 'trans-position'. Times have happily changed, andthere is now wise collaborations betweenmuseum heads, restorers and'the laboratory,

\.1 which last puts more and more numerousand varied methods of investigation at theservice of cultural property.

Whenever an ancient object is broughtinto the laboratory the same problemsnormally present themselves. What is itsnature, its composition, its structure. Howfar has it deteriorated; and what are thenatural ur accidental causes of that deteri-oration. The technicians are then askedtu rind a suitable way uf conserving it furthe future. Admittedly, their answers will,often betray some doubt, surge degree ofignorance, since the field is a vast one, butin every case they vial point the way to arational solution which others may developand perfect. Nur must these -.Imitationscause us tu forget that the essential needhas been met. The study of ancient ma-terials has come into being and taken theplace uf empirical knowledge acid indi-vidual knuw-huw. The laboratory researchworker whu handles physical matter knowsthat, in becoming a wurk of act it hasreached its highest furm. For the samereason he also knows that artistic expressionmust dominate matter, and when a work isentrusted to him he will endeavour topreserve it in such a way that its inherentbeauty will in no wise suffer.

94 With this understanding of the labura-

tory's task, we must now review themethods which it has at its disposal. Adistinction is generally made between phy-sical (optical) methodsoften called 'non-destructive methods' because most of themdo not require the taking of samplesandmicrochemical techniques, for which a fewminute portions are indispensible as speci-mens. To avoid the taking of samples, theexamination of a piece must always beginby the use of physical methods, and it is inthis domain that the most profitable inno-vations may be,expected.

Laboratories therefore start by exhaustingthe whole range of physical methods,including the fields of both visible andinvisible radiation.

Roahation Watrtmgth On 2)1

1X

0.001 - 0.010,01 - to

Ultra-violet to - 4000Visible 4000 - 7000

\ Infra-red 7000 - to' (0.1 mm.)

t. The unit for measuring wavelengths, the Angs-t;ueni (A), corresponds to one ten-indLorith of ,aMillimetre.

It will be seen at once that the visible rangeis an infinitesimalinfinitesimal part of the whole. Thevast field of invisible radiations haf. therefcireto be investigated, with the help of photo-graphic recording, which makes, up for theimperfections of the eye and furnishes alasting, document available for a wholevariety of subsequent comparisons.

Among the short wavelengths, most useis made of X-rays (radiography) and inparticular, of their power to penetratematerial 4. This is an easy and rapid way ofascertaining the object's condition through-out its depth and obtaining data on, forexample, the mineralization of metal, therepairs to,a piece of pottery, damage to andrestoration of a painting. In recent years,the technique of gamma radiography hasdeveloped. The effect of ,gamma rays iscomparable to that of X-rays; they will findabundant applications when atomic energycomes to be used for the preservation ratherthan the destruction of the cultural heritage

of man. X-ray # diffraction and electronicdiffraction, so useful fur studying intimatephysical structures or very detailed surfacecharacteristics, have r future beforethem. For the moment, h " ver, the cost ofequipment and the difficulties of inter-pretation remain serious obstacles.

In contrast to these short-wave radia-tions, the ultra-violet, visible and infra-redrays reveal the characteristics of the materialat its surface, or in the neighbouring zoneof superficial 'patina'.

We are all familiar with the selectiveeffect of light, which varies especially withthe colour, texture and characteristicabsorption power of the object. Within therange of the visible rays, a glaze of red paintshould be examined with the help of asource rich in red rays; the chances will beincreased of detecting a concealed designand exposing a portion which does notbelong to the original woke, especially ifthe naked eye is supplemented by the use ofa binocular microscope of low magnification(enlarging 5 to 5o times) and if the directionof the light is varied.

Generally speaking, the same principlenampiy, the capacity of a radiation to beabsorbbd, transmitted or reflected selec-tively lby a specific materialapplies toultra-violet and infra-red rays. Although indi-vidual results are not easily predictable, ingeneral ultra-violet rays have a better chanceof success with cold tinted objects, warmcolours give better results with infr..-redrays. Fluorescencean ultra-violet radia-tion transformed into visible lighthasbeen used in a great variety of ways in thehistory of art and in archaeology; it helps todetermine the relative age of the varnish ina painting, the presence of restoration, falsepatina of an organic character on manymuseum objects, repairs to textiles, thedifferentiation of colouring matters, and soforth. The field of investigation is becominglarger ...very day, thanks to the variation ofwavelengths in the invisible range and tothe use of simple apparatus for transforming,infra-red into visible rays.

In addition to the nun destructivemethods, there are others which, thoughlikewise based on physics, require the taking

1

of samples. Foremost among them is thcspectrography of emission and absorption.

The first of these two techniques makes Itpossible to determine thc composition ofinorganic substances, , the second helpsmainly, in the visible and invisible ranges,to characterize the .chemical structure oforganic compounds, which arc identifiedonly with great difficulty by other opera-tional techniques.

Microchemistg, as its name implies, ischemistry applied to extremely small quan-tities. It remains a favourite tool of museumresearch workers, who are usually providedwith only a few milligrammes of materialand have to be content with a restnctedseries of cry,tallization and colourationreactions in determining the nature ofancient organic substances with transformedcharacteristics. In this field (for example,the binding medium of a painting) progressis slow, in contrast to that in the identifi-cation of inorganic compounds (e.g. pig-ments), which is usually reliable.

Microscopy, or examination by means ofpowerful magnification combined withmicrophotography (in the visible and invi-sible ranges) and the preparation of trans-versal and longitudinal sections of oldmaterial, is everywhere in use. 'Micro-chemistry determines the presence of cer-tain compounds, microscopy and sectionsmake it possible to localize these compoundsand give a semi-quantitative appraisal ofthem. It has thus become possible to identifystructures, with excellent results, especiallyfor old metals and paintings.

Museums have begun to apply the Cifmethod in determining the age of ancientobjects. The British Museum ResearchLaboratory has been working with thistechnique for several years and is nowgathering the first r uits of its research. Thework is continuing and many new appli-cations will develop.

Considered separately, all thcsc methodshave relative value, their sensitivity andprecision are often faulty, and, even moreoften, valid interpretation is lacking. Butwhen they are used together, their resultsconfirm and supplement one another andlead to profound and more objective know-ledge.. Mureuvet, photography, the impor-tance of which dues not need emphasisserves to record these results. Photographymakes up for the imperfections of thr. eye, 95

9',

Ito which the vast field of invisible radiationremains inaccessible and of memory whichis unable to register for long the charac-teristics of deterioration and the sometimesradical transformations undergone by awork during restoration. Black-and-whiteand colour photography remain the onlyobjective means of recording the variousstages of examination and treatment and oftransmitting them to future generations.The men of the future, more fortunate thanwe, will no longer have to 'innovate', bitwill enjoy a maximum of guarantees ncontinuing the work of their predecessors,to the greater benefit of cultural property.

DETERIORATIONOF OLD MATERIALS

When we glance casually at a museumobject in its showcase, we tend to think thatthe object is inert and that the matter,composing it is no longer subjedt to change.Nothing could be more untrue. Thoseresponsible for cultural property are wellawait that a short period of inattention orat,; bast? or ill-directed action is all thatsucn matter requires in order to remind usthat it is stilt very much 'alive' and', parti-cularly sensitive to any variation or shockinflicted upon it.

By. 'deterioration' is meant the naturaland accidental 'ageing' of a material, andits inevitable effect upon the appearanceand structure of museum objects. Thesetransformations arc obviously in propor-tion to the specific power of resistance ofvarious materials and to the nature, violenceand duration of the factors of deterioration.

To emphasize the importance of 'air-conditioning' in museums, we shall discussat some length the question of climate,before proceeding to another factor indeterioration, 'light'. We shall then passfrom the general to the particular andbriefly establish a broad classification, validfor most types of museum, of the varyingdegree of resistance to detenoratiOn offeredby objects in collections.

Climate1

ortunately matter, and therefore 'fashioned')matter as seen in antiquities and works of

art, possesses an extraordinary capacity toadapt itself to the climr.te in which it nasto live. Thus a swamp can adequatelypreserve bronze or wood; a painting canresist the persistent dampness or certainchurches. After a long preliminary periodof deterioration, equilibrium is achievedbetween the material and its stproundings.However, this balance is disturbed, and theprocess of deterioration resumed in Cotowhen the object is moved and has to breathea new environment. This is why so manyobjects found in excavations are deformedor crumble into dust as soon zs they leavethe soil. It is for the same reason that anobject of ethnographic interest causes somuch double to the distant museum whichreceives it, while organizers of expeditionswonder why .a work of art, so much lesswell treated in its country of origin, reactsso unfavourably to a perfectly air-condi-tioned gallery.

A first general rule may be deduced fromthis: a museum object must not be subjectedto variations, especially to sharp variations,in its physical climate.

In defining this climate, we must considerfour .primary factors: the purity and homo-geneity of the air, its temperature and espe-cially its humidity.

Humidity is largely responsible for thedecay of material, in which it provokesmechanical, chemical (or physico-chemical)and biological reactions.

Mechanical effect. Organic materials (papy-rus, parchment, paper, textiles, wood, bone,ivory, leather, as well as glue, adhesives andimpregnatini%ibstances) have an essen-daily cellular sthicture. As a result, they areextremely hygroscopic: the cell: are swollenby increased humidity, with consequentexpansion of the material (except canvas,which shrinks); dryness empties them oftheir liquid content and contracts them.Moreover, water dissolves the salts con-tained in objects (e.g. soft stone) or crystal-lizes them (with a resulting increase involume) with any increase in dryness.

Chemical effects. Practically no form ofchemical deterioration can take placewithout water. There will be no oxidationof old metal, no migration of soluble salts, no

4-:;*tin i

--

discoloration of tissue. Water almost alwayscontains carbonic acid gas, which consi-derably increases its dissolving power. Anexample of direct chemical deterioration isprovided, in industrial regions, bylimestonemonuments, to which 'sulphating' causesconsiderable damage.

Biological effects. The 'mould formationpoint' (more accurately called 'fungi') isgenerally agreed to be a relative humidityof 7o per cent (see below) when the temper-ature is between zoo and 25° C. The relativehumidity in. a museum must therefore bekept below this point; proper yentilationmust prevent air from stagnating (as itwould in a corner' too sheltered or in thedrawers of a cabinet containing drawings).During the last war, many organic objects,temporarily sheltered in unheated cellars,became ideal media for the developmentof micro-organisms; at the same time,insects attacked the material, which hadalready become less resistant. Obviouslybiological destruction is most to be fearedin tropical countries (for example, theplains of Indonesia), where the relativehumidity may be above 8o per cent through-,out the year.

Control of humidity. In the analysis of atmo-sphere in museums and of air-conditioningin the galleries, the concept of humidity isgenerally replaced by that of relative humi-dity (rH), which indicates the close rela-tionship of humidity.. with surroundingtemperature (t). That is, relative humidityexpresses the relation between the quantityof water present irt a given volume of airat a given temperature and the maximumquantity of water which that same givenvolume may contain at the same tempera-ture.

TtmperaP6-f (ciirs&

Crammer of water vapour per istagreartmeof by air

al.= 20 di= 60% rH=r :00%

0 0.38 2.28 3.S220 1.43 8.69 14.6240 4.5, 28.30 48.67Go 12.50 i3.35 152.45

A glance at these figures shows that, at agiven rH, the quantity of water present inthe air increases considerably with t, or inother words, that rH can be reduced if tis raised; likewise, at a given rH, it sufficesto lower t sufficiently to reach the saturationpoint of the air (r11.:rx3 per cent). Part ofthe water vapour will then condense, andmoisture will be deposited on the object;this phenomenon is particularly dangerousto the well-being of all ancient materials.The influence of t on rH is still better seenby reference to the 'psychrometric curve(see diagram on page too).

In recent years, the optimum rH ofmuseum galleries has been a matter ofgeneral-concern. It has come to be realizedthat with, a complete stabilization of theatmosphere in museums, most forms ofdeterioration would theoretically - ceake.This complete `conditioning'i.e. purityand homogeneity of the air in regard toboth r1-i and tis the ideal to be aimed at;but installation and maintenance costs arehigh and very few institutions (severalmuseums in the United States, the Kunstmuseum in Basle, several rooms of theNational Gallery in London, etc.) haveattained this result. It is therefore moreusual to try to 'obtain an optimum rH,which specialists consider to be between6o per cent and 65 per cent. That figure,applying_to all climates, is determined bythe 'mould formation point', fixed at 70 percent, and by the need of not reducing rH to5o per cent or below, where conditions areunfavourable to hygroscopic materials.

The 6o-65 per cent rH optimum is, veryoften, impossible to obtain. Care must thenbe taken that variations in rH shall not besudden or excessive, rH must remain some-where in the Zone between about 5o and65 per cent. In most climates where museumsare built of solid materials, the screenprovided by the thick walls prevents rH inthe galleries from oscillating more thanbetween 5o and 5o per cent, even when thefigures for outside vary betweeh 3o and90 per cent. The fluctuation is even slighterwhen - the museum contains regularizingmaterials, such as tapestries, which absorbwater, or when objects arc kept in water-tighr cases. In this last eventuality, fluctua-tion hardly exceeds to per cent. The 97 -

98

measures adopted 20 years ago at the Brus-sels Musces Roy aux d'Art et d'Ilistoireresulted in a rl I which rarely went beyondthe limits of 50-7o per cent, and in certaincases (tapestries) 5 54)5 per cent, the same wastrue for the more tightly closed showcases.

ofis thus usually possible-4n the case

ot buildings or museums with a limitedbudgetto accept without risk a rH varyingbetween so and 65 per cent.

In countries with a temperate climate(in the Northern hemisphere), it is not oftennecessary (except in July-August) to reducethe humidity of the atmosphere; to increasethe relative humidity (in December-January or February) is much more impor-tant. Every year, in mid-winter, it becomesnecessary for us to vaporize water in therestoration workshop of the Institut Royaldu Patrimoine Artistiquel; otherwise, fur-niture would crack, sculptured wood wouldsplit and paintings would warp. Dozens oforganic objects require urgent and carefulattention a few weeks after the end of everycold period (and of the extreme drynessproduced by central heating). In tropicalregions the problem isiquite different. evenduring a so-called dry period (in Indonesia,for instance) the atmospheric humidity mustbe reduced at all costs, for the, high tem-perature favours the growth of mould and`mosses'.

For lowering rH, inexpensive apparatusis now available based on the refrigerationprinciple or the Lite of silica gel. The firsttype of apparatus consists in the main of atinned refrigerator with ventilator, thewater being collected in a container placedbeneath the apparatus. The second methoduses a ventilator with a reservoir containing

Na large quantity of- humidity-absorbingsilica. silica gel Is an artificial product havingthe same composition as natural silica (sand,or rather quartz), but containing, like asponge, innumerable fine pores. Thus itcan 'adsorb' large quantities of water(several dozen tithes its own volume);another and a remarkable property is thatit can be used again after saturation, if it isheated to above zoo° C. Silica gel, 's acompletely neutral substance, is muchsuperior to the products formerly employed:sulphuric acid, quicklime, soda-lime, etc.When finances; permit, a very useful acces-

sory to these two types of apparatus is ahumidostat, which can be set at the desiredminimum Hi.

_Humidification ofthe atmosphere is mosteasily obtained, at little expense, with oneof the many kinds of vaporizing apparatus.The air is sprayed with water from a reser-voir.,All types are acceptable, provided thattrue water vapour is sprayed.from the appa-ratus and not a fine rain, for small dropsdeposited on objtcts would constitute idealcentres of decomposition. Here again theuse of the humidostat gives an additionalguarantee. Where money is lacking, Hi' canbe raised 5 to 15 per cent if vats of waterare,placed, preferably above the radiators,'or if a kind of flowing-lattice is installed,.holding a long cloth with one end in areservoir of water. In this case, evaporationwill be accelerated by a Ventilator.

`Hygrometric conditions in the building,the conditioning of which is to be improvedmust; of course, be known at the start.A hygrometer with a dial is generallyemployed; ,rH is registered by a substance(quite often a small tuft of hair) which issensitive to humidity variations.The meth9d-is a good one provided i is realized thatsuch apparatus soon gets out of order andmust be checked every week. This is alsotrue, though to adesser extent, oflhermo-hydrographic rectirding instruments. Onegood checking instrument, which is also anexcellent means of measuring temperatureand humidity, is the dry- and wet-bulbthermometer. The dry-bulb thermometergives the temperature, and relative humidity-'s obtained by noting' the difference be-tween this temperature and the one recordedon the wet-bulb thermometer. The latter's'reservoir of mercury is lined with a saturatedabsorbent tissue; by rotating the apparatusfor a certain.length of time (12o to r so revo-lutions, as the experimenter may thinknecessary), the difference between the tem-perature of the wet-bulb thermometer (heatof evaporation) and that of the cfry-bulb isfound to be greatest when is lowest;climatic' values may then be determinedwith the help of a slide rule and a tablegiving rH t. t relationships. -

1. Formerly known as the Laborat ire Central desMusics de Belgique.

Another climatic factor which must beconsidered is temperature, although, byitself, it hardly influences the deteriorationof museum objects. Its importapcit lies inits telationship with rH, whicN will bemodified by any considerable variation .n t,thus .(see diagram ion page zoo), when theair out of doors (see annexes pages 113to 118) has a 1 of too C and a rH of 8o percent, the rH in a building heated to z..o°will be only 40 per cent. Such conditionsmay easily prevail in winter and explain mostof the damage dune by central heating.

The purity of the air, the thira factor inthe problem of conditioning, deserves someattention.

Air in inhabited places contains substan-tial quantities of dust. This dust is depositedon museum objects and wears them gra-dually, with the help of well-meaning butov er-zeal9us attendants who lightly brushthe objects entrusted to them once a daywith their feather dusters, the dust flies upand then settles anew in the same quantity

3 on the same objects, and this operation isrepeated every z.} hours until it is finallyunderstood that there exist such things assuction machines, called vacuum cleaners,which are infinitely more practical, if lesselegant: Dust slowly wears down softmaterials, everywhere it creates centres ofdeterioration in which water vapour is mostapt to condense and catalyse chemical andbiological reactions.

The residual products of combustion,fumes and sulphurous gases, which arecharacteristic of large industripti and urbancentres, are far more dangerous than dust.Sulphur compounds (hydrogen sulphideand especially sulphur dioxide) attackmetallic onstructions and historical 'mow:ments, especially those byllt of limestone,they also attack these materials, though toa much lesser extent, even when they ;reprotected by museum walls or by glass.Cities like New Delhi or Stockholm, whichhave little or no heavy industries, and aresurrounded by a scrccn of water or a greenbelt, are in a much snore favourable positionthan Brussels or Paris, for example, or such`smoke-producing' centres as Pittsburgh orLondon. Throughout Western Europe,where limestone has always been a favourite

rbuilding material, stone decay has to begiven constant attention, however, museumlaboratories experience sulphurous deteri-orat:n in only a few cities, notably inLondon. -

Ancient buildings situated dose to theseashore (e.g. the ruins of the ancientAbbaye des Dunes at Cox:, de, Belgium, thevast Roman shipyard at Salona, Yugoslavia;many religious monuments in India) arespecial examples of air vitiated by marinesalt, a hygroscopic and particularly corro-sive substance, however sodium chloridedystals rarely find their way as far as themuseum showcases.

The homogeneity of the air calls for lessdiscussion.

In a gallery of simple design which issuitably ventilated by doors and windows,I and rH of the air will be practically thesame everywhere. But if the room has amore complicated structure cot is filled withscreens (partitions, showcases) or if objectsare enclosed in receptacles, the figures willvary. These differences may, in themselves,be negligible, but there are cases wherethey catalyse deterioration, especially if thesurrounding rH is high. In cellars andstorerooms, some particularly shelteredcorners may have a rH to to zo per centhigher, permitting mould formation. InBelgium during the last world war, twofamous Rubens paintings were shelteredfrom bombs in an unventilated cellar. Two'months later their painted 'surfaces werecompletely covered with mould, and severalvarieties of voracious insects had also beguntheir work.

The remedy is simple, perhaps too siniplefor general use. All that is needeclis ventila-tion, to keep air circulating. The sameprinciple holds fur. but and damp, climates,where I and r11 conditions are ideal for thehatching and growth of micro-organismsand insects, good ventilation does muchto slow down biological decay.

To sum up this important problem ofair-conditioning in museums:1. The ideal is to come as near as possible

to complete conditioning, with pure,.homogeneous air, a low temperature ofabout i8°C and a rH of abuut Go per cent..

z. If this is impracticable, rH should bekept within the 5o to Gy per cent range, 99

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a low 41 is more to be feared thad ahigh one.Sudden changes in HI, which rapidly`faugue' ancient matchals, must beavoided; so must a very high rH, mouldsand. t e condensation of water.

4. 'Fe erature is practically of no impor-tan e except in regard to rH; a rise into craturc considerably diminishes rHand vice versa.

5. If the air is not really pure, thc accumu-lation ,and scattering of dust must beprevented.

6. The building must be ventilated so asto avoid stag'nation of the air.

7. in whatever climate the museum islocated, its characteristics must beknown; simple, inexpensive apparatusfor measuring rH and t is obtainable.

Light

The choice of a light source depends upontwo important factors. it must be capableof showing up exactly the colour and reliefof exhibits; it must not constitute a majorcause of deterioration.

When the relative merits of artificial,sources, for the most art incandescent

lamps and fluorescent tu es, are comparedwith those of sunlight; it is sometimes

i forgotten that the former, are unchanging,while the latter is infinitely; varied in qualityand quantity according to the country, theatmospheric conditions, the season and thetime of day,Thus, if it became necessary tolight ._.a Chartres window artificially, the-tec-Gcian would feel that he had succeededfairly well if he faithfully reproduced thevalues of the two main colours, the red andthe blue; but he would be quite unable toimitate, at the same time, the impressionproduced by morning suna real sym-phony of bluesor the crimson glow ofthe window when flooded by late afternoonsun. The monotonous rendering of cc.louris probably the physiological and psychol*-gical cause of 'museum fatigue', the visitorprefer l the infinitely varied resources ofsunlight to artificial illumination.

However, except when, by chance, itfalls in exactly the right way, natural lightgives a very imperfect rendering of thevolume of bas-reliefs, sculptures, and all

works whose 'plastic values require to bebrought out. Here, fluorescent tubes arelittle to be recommended, unless their raysare combined; with those of incandescentlamps, which, as pin-point sources, areeasy to adjust, and throw clearly localizedshadows.

We all know that light is a sure cause ofdeterioration in materials; in the home nowallpaper or carpet can in the long runresist its destructive action. In museums,its effects are of course, mainly felt byorganip materials (paper, textiles, leather,water-coloursmote than any other kindof painting), especially if they are coatedwith colouring matter which is sensitive tolight. The members of ICOM's Interna-tional Committee on Museums Techniqueswill long, remember the strikifig evidenceoffered them in 195o by their Stockholmcolleagues when the latter exhibited twoeighteenth-century French tapestries (be-longing to the same series, from cartoonsby -Boucher), one of them as luminous asa tapestry of today, the second dull andfaded (`patinated' is the wrong word) likeother old tapestries we daily admire inmuseum galleries.

The mechanism of deterioration by lightis still a little-known subject. Certain majorcausesenumerated belowmay be recog-nized, but other obscurer factors also playtheir part, especially in tropical countries,where higher temperature and humiditycatalyse this, decay,

It can be postulated that all light, whethervisible or invisible, natural or artificial, isa cause of deterioration. Sooner or later,the illuminated matter, which is sensitive tolight, must deteriorate and finally disappear.The process may continue over severalyears or centuries, according to the -durationand intensity of the exposure, the type ofradiation and thc kind of objecttilluminated.

Intensity and duration of exposure : L'ght. At theend of the last war, many museums wererebuilt and their collections reinstalled. Atthat timethanks also ,to the introductionof a new light source, fluorescence --a pro-nounced move was made towards increasingluminous intcnsity. One effett of this other-wise praiseworthy initiative was to stimulatedeterioration by light. 101

Incidenially, the ineensity of direct sun-light is much stronger tens or evenhundreds of times, according to circurn-stan&sthan that of the usual forms ofartificial lighting. Even diffused sunlight ismuch more intense thin spotlighting.

Little need be said about the factor ofduration of exposure. ,There is hardly amuseum whose staff does not turn off thelights at once at closing time or fails tolower blinds in order to prcy>e infiltration of daylight.

T.,pe of light youra. In additicin to visible andttherefore directly serviceable light, the sunaad artiLiaLsources emit a certain quantityof inv (ultra violet and infra-red)radiation Ultra violet light (which has ashorter wavelength) is mainly to be fearedfor its spectro-chemical effects, infra-redlight. (with a longer wavelength) has acalorific action.

When the fluorescent tube (`cold source')and the incandescent lainp (`warm source')are compared, it will be seen that the tubegives out more ultra-violet light than thelamp, while sunlight has the deleteriousqualities of both artificial sources, and, itmust be repeated, to a higher degree.

ICOM and Unesco have concerned them-selves with the potential danger which bythe way, has, been much exaggeratedofthe use of the fluorescent tube, A large..scale survey instituted by ICOM led to thepublication, in 1953, of a pamphlets whichhas given general extension to the use offluorescent light in museums, it also drewthe attention of manufacturers to a few raretypes of tube which were less to be recom-mended for the illumination of museumexhibits. some institutions are still conser:vative enough to forbid the use of fluo-rescent light. The same thing happenedwhen the first oil lamps made their ap-pearance, and later, a half-century ago,when the first incandescent lamps wereintroduced. But the large" majority of visitors seem to have become used to fluores-cent light. At first they hacho accustomthemselves to the change from the yellowlight of incandescent lamps to the 'colder'tints of some fluorescent tubes, they stillfeel, perhaps, without being able to explain

x oz it, that there is some essential physiological

difference between the discontinuous fluo-rescent source (radiant emission) and thecontinuous source of the old yellow lamp

of the sun.

Nature of object Illuminated. Attention hasalready been d,rawn to certain materialswhich are more sensitive to light than others.This experimental result is the fruit ofobservation and has not yet been satisfac-torily explained. The physical and chemicalcomposition of the substratum of objectsmost certainly plays its part? as does thecomposition, of the colouring matter: Butit will be many years before,the direct causeand effect relationship can be determined,especially the relationship between %deem;absorption' and deterioration by light.

This report has Attempted to outline afew theoretical and practical aspects of thedeterioration of museum objects by the Ieffect of light. To the general recommen-dations already advanced,, the followingsuggestions may be added regarding the useof screens.r. Opaque screens (of aluminium, sheet -

iron, etc.) direct the luminous fluxselectively and make it possible to useless harmful indirect lighting:

z. Translucent screens (opaline and frostedglass filter ana diffuse the light and diluteits intensity).

3. Transparent screens (natural and artificialglass) also filter, the light. A good artifi-cial substitute which keeps pack ultra-% tole. rays without distorting colours inthe visible range has still to be found.

Specific liability to deterioration,

Museum materials are generally classified infour categories. organic materials (hides,leather, parchment, paper, bone, ivory,textiles and tissues, wood); metals andalhys silver, lead, tin, copper-and itsalloys, iron and steel), siliceous and equi-valent materials (natural stone, bricks,pottery, ceramics', glass) and, lastly, easeland mural paintings.

It is not easy to determine the relativeliability to deteriorate of these four groups,

r. Scc bibliography, pp. rob -u.

it)

t.

very different factors of deterioration canexert more or less action according toi thegroup; secondly, within the same group,and by the play of the same factor, somematerials may resist perfectly well, while,others go completely to pieces. With dueregard to these qualifications, it is, however,possible to draft a table of specific liabilityof materials to deteriorate; the relativestability of the structure and composition

, offeach mate ial is compared with the natureand intensit of the factors of deteriorationin the envir nment (air and ground) whichattack the mechanical, physico-chemical andbiological integrity 'of these substances.

Organic materials'. The first category includesorganic materials, viz.l.those of rimal orvegetable origin, the three other ategoriesinclude all the inorganic compou ds fromthe mineral kingdom. ,Easel paintingshowever (in the fourth group) include a feworganic substances: certain colOuringmatters, alniost all the binding mediums andadhesives, and certain supports, such ascanvas and wood.

In the study of liability to deterioration, aclear distinction must be made betweeninorganic materials, with their infinitelyvariable structure and composition, and theso-called organic 'materials with their,

-carbon-based composition and cellularstructure. Organic substances are of coursethe least stabIe..They offer little resistanceto light, to variations in humidity andtemperature, to dryness (collapse of thecells) and to excessive humidity (biologicalreaction). Hence the small number oforganic antiquities which have reached usand hence their brittleness, especially aftera prolonged period under ground.

Metals and their alloys. Metals and theiralloys are much more stable. Light does notaffect therocvariations in temperature are oflittle importance, and they are safe' frombiological action. On the other hand, varia-tions in humidity, impurities in the air andespecially in the ground (sulphur vapours,caroonic acid gas, soluble salts) exert anextremely variable influence according towhether the metal is 'precious' (gold and,to a lesser extent, silver) or non - precious(in ascending order of liability to deterio-

ration: lead and tin, copper, iron). Thisdeterioration, commonly called 'corrosion',is reflected in a transformation of the metalinto its salts (patina, incrustation) and ulti-mately into the corresponding minerals(`mineralization') found in nature. In thisway nature reasserts her rights and beginsto reverse the cycle of the metallurgicalproces. (from ore to pure metal). The mosteminently precious of the metals, gold,remains intact even in unfavourable sur-roundings. Silver oxidizes on exposure tothe air, its surface 'becoming tarnished. A.long stay under ground may produce, apatina with an oxide, chloride or sulphidebasis. .At the other end of the scale, copper.and iron are easily oxidized metals evenwhen exposed to the air, still more so, whenthey are under ground. In fact, satisfaccoryconservation is possible only under parti-cularly favourable conditions; lackitig these,the metalsiron even more than copperbecome completely 'mineralized', iron beingtransformed into 'rust' (oxide) and copper ,

into complex salts the beautiful brown, blue -or green colour'of which cannot conCeal theinstability of the metal.. Examples are thesulphurous green patina of the copper-containing roofs of buildings in industrialcentres, Egyptian antiquities devoured bychlorides in the valley of the Nile, the manycopper and bronze objects Which havebecome distorted in soil lull of water andcarbonic acid. Among these various factorsof corrosion, the chlorides arc probably themost destructive, and the best known toMuseum curators: a fine, pale-green powderis sometimes to be observed in showcases;this is almost always evidence of chlorideaction and is a sure sign that treatment isurgently called for.

Sato, s and equivalent materials. A number ofdifferent materials, are grouped tinder theheading 'siliceous and equivalent materials'.This is a convenieni, but not quite accurategrouping for, although most of these mater-ials have a basis of silica or silicates, some

i.ertain varieties of natural stone, lime-stone and marble, for instancedo notcontain those substances. However, as, faras 'liability, to .deterioration is concerned,the phenomenon is everywhere comparable.

In this second group, natural cones must41

i 4 0

103

be considered separately. They differ greatlyin composition, density and hardness, tteirsusceptibility to factors of deterioraubnvaries infinitely from granite and basalt,whiCh are highly resistant, to limestone andsandstone, which are plrucularly friable. Thegranite of historical mxiuments in Spainand Indonesia resists much better than thesoft stone of Western Europe, Egypt orIndia. We can, 116wever, cite a few majorcauses of desqloration that are common tothem all: rdastrial sulphur fumes, tem-perature and humidity variations, salineefflorescences and the cryptogamic invasionthat accompanies them. The factory'schimneys and house fires of the Londonarca, for example, fill the air with vast quan-tities of dust, soot and sulphur fumes, whichattach themselves to limestone, Modify itschemical composition at the surface (sul-phatation) as well as its structure (increaseof volume). The stone flakes off, crumbles'away, and Sit by bit sculptures disappear.The process is not observed in cities likeStockholm or New Delhi, where thesecauses of deterioration are absent. A strikingexample of the effect of temperature varia-tion is provided by the site of Persepolis,where recent excavation has uncovered anhistorical collection of the greategt impor-tance: daily temperature variations of about4o per cent are ruining the sculptures oneby one. To a lesser extent, such deteriorationaffects stone in all countries with consi-derable and sudden changes of tempera-ture (as from day to night). The surfaceof crystalline stone is especially vulnerableto heat: the minerals expand and cleavagesoccur. Humidity variations are even moreto be feared: their concomitants are themigration of soluble salts (effickescences)in all climates, the effects of freezing in coldcountries, abundant washing of the materialand cryptogamic growths in the rainyseason of tropical regions. For soft andtherefore porous stone, saline efflorescencesare probably the worst of these perils. Allstone contains water, often heavily charged'with salts. These salts dissolve in the rainyseason, and crystallize again (increasing involume) during the dry season; repeatedad rnfinaum, this cycle draws the salts,towards the surface, where they form `efflo-

04 rescences' which flake or rupture the ma-

.s. .

`crial. The Opcjtenth increase in volumewhich accomp`inies the conversion int., iceof the water in the stones is also responsiblefor extensive damage to old buildingstirircountries with hard winters. In tropi81countries the alternation of wet sand dryseasons accounts for most of the trouble.In Indonesia, the rainfall exceeds z,000 mm.in about three months; on the same day afterheavy rainand for months during the dryseasonthe sun rapidly vaporizes the waterat the surface of the stone and exerts strongpressure on the pores of the material; suchviolent and repeated shocks disrupt themechanical equilibrium of the stone, espe-

-fially if it is hard and does not absorb orgive up humidity like a sponge. Con-ditions in tropical countries are ideal for theappearance and development of mouldsand `mosses': high temperatures, very .highrelative humidity (8o per cent or morethroughout the year) favour the rapidgrowth of all cryptogamic vegetation.Micellae find their way into the smallestcracks, attach themselves firmly and rupturethe stony envelope surrounding them. Alltoo often, purely mechanical means (brushesmade of wood fibres) are still employed toremove such vegetation; the envelope ofstone, already, very brittle, crumbles at thelightest touch.

Construction bricks and pottery baked ata high enough temperature may be put intothe same class; they are of similar compo-sition (clay). Their liability to deterioratemay be compared withithat of natural stoneof average resistance. Pottery baked at lowtemperatures or merely dried is, of course,more fragile, and its sensititity texternalagents is at least as great as that of softnatural stone. Genuine ceramics are highlyresistant to these various factors of deteri-oration. Their principal enemyas in thecase of bricks and potteryis water withsalt in solution, which can provoke effio-rescences.

Glass, the last sub-group *among thesiliceous materials, is relatively stable. Yetmuseum laboratories regularly have to dealwith old glass which an excess of alkali hasrendered less resistant; on contact' withwater, part pf the alkali is spread along thevitreous mass. Humidity also sometimes setsup a disease in glass; tWinaterial becomes

715111

dull and loses some of its transparency.Chemists then find that the physical equi-librium has been upset; the glass is becomingdevitrified and contains an infinite numberof small cracks.

Easel painting and mural painting.' The fourthcategory includes easel painting and muralpainting. This rather arbitrary classificationmay be justified by the highly variablenature of the organic and inorganic ingre-dients composing the various layers: thevarnish (or protective layer),. the layer ofpaint, the 'ground' and the support. Varnishis purely organic; the layer of paint, some-times with' .several secondary layers, iscomposed of organic and inorganic colour-ing matter bound by an organic ,medium(exception frescos); the ground..(eaRl paint-ing) or coating (wall painting) is of similarcomposition. The support varies greatly.sometimes it is organic (wood, 'canvas) andsometimes inorganic (copper, the substanceof a wall). In ,addition, a film of organiccomposition is often applied between thesevarious layers to help them adhere to oneanother. Such variety in chemical .compo-sition and such complexity of structureobviously presents many possible causesof deterioration; the layers may cease toadhere to one another, or decay may occurwithin each of the various layers.

No ordinary varnish (made of naturalresin) conserves its original properties forlonger than zo to 3o years. Affected mainlyby damp, it loses its elasticity, cracks andceases to protect the layer of paint; indeedit becomes a-danger and, in falling, carriesthe paint away with it. This loss of elasticityis accompanied by a physico-chemicaltransformation seen in the yellowing of thevarnish, a new characteristic which someconsider the finest expression of 'patina'.Others reject it as a veil held between thespectator and the original work, a veil whichdenatures the colours and even obscures thecomposition.

In the Oyer of paint, there are fewpigments which do not resist time's action.However, certain organic colours and a fewinorganic pigments are of doubtful stability,especially when atmospheric agents (humid-ity, notably) are violent in their action.The main source of deterioration is the

instability of the inediums (siccative oils,distempers of egg, gum, glue, etc.); theseare liquid when applied, but arc rapidlytransformed into a film which is at firstelastic, but l?ter becomes brittle and there-fore permeable to damp, its gincipal enemy.This natural 'ageing' is, of course, hastenedand intensified when conditions of conser-vation are unfavourable. The results ofdeterioration soon become visible : cracksin the paint layer, protrusion of littleislands of colour formed in this way,flaking, loss of , the original colour.Over-frequent cleaning and clumsy repairwork often diversify and augment thedamage.

The groUnd .or foundation (white lead,chalk, gypsum, marble powder, kaolin,mortar, oil, glue, etc.) is better'protectedon the paint layer side (especially in easelpainting) than on the reverse surface. Here,too, damp is the most important factor indeterioration. It is revealed by a powderydeposit on the ground, or even by crypto-gamic invasion. In easel painting, soft woodsupports (pine, for example) are less resis-tant to water and insects than those of hardwood (oak is the best). All of them, howeverand can nvases still moreare affected bydamp. Tliat is why many old Flemish panels(Van Enks, for example) were originallycoverecl 4t the back by a protective layer ofchalk knd glue. Damp, with its accom-panying aline efflorescences and moulds,sis the principal cause of the destruction ofmural p, inungsnot only of paintings incaves and other underground places butalso of those in quite different and betterventilated sites such as churches and largehouses. The trouble almost always comesfrom the wall; water, sometimes containingsalts, either seeps out of it continuously orrises from the floor, by capillary action, tothe level of the painting. This movementmay be horizontal. or vertical and soonaffects the paint layer, both in fresco and Indistemper work. The painting (whichalternates between dry and moist) disinte-grates, the phenomenon being catalysed bytemperature variations and by the effect oflight and micro-organisms. On the whole,it is well that most mural paintings havebeen laid bare only recently. Even so, theyare not yet safe, for damp in wallsand

tit)

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tv

their condition determines that of the paintlayeroften defeats us still. ,

Of course, various factors of decayoperate not only inside the lay ers of thepainting, but cause _still greater damagebetween these layers. When organic sub-stances (oils, glue, etc.) no longer fulfil theirrole as adhesives,. then unsticking, blistersand all the other ills which gu with insuffi-cient adherence arc bound to follow.

CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION

It is _nut possible here even to sketch thepancipal methods of conservation andrestoration . there are far tuu many of them,museum materials are too diverse, and theirstate of conservation too variable. Wetherefore refer the reader to the selectedbibliography at the end of this chapter andespecially to an excellent work by H. J. Plen-derleith, The Conservation of Antrquitfes andForks of Art, published in.1956. It is hopedthat this will soon be translated into otherlanguages. The present document will belimited, then, to general considerations,illustrated by concrete examples froni dataavailabld in Brussels.

In 195o, during the treating of VanEyck'sAgnes Da, the Instakt Royal du Patrinioine.Artistrque defined this treatment as 'a tech-nical operation aimed at maximum prolonga-tion of the life of the workconservationwith a minimum_ of surgeryrestora-tion' This definition is valid for thetreatment of all museum objects and histor-ical monuments; the versatility of therestorer and the fashion of the day mustyield to 'the need to preserve these workskfor future generations. It is probably forthis reason that in Germany and in , theUnited States, the technicians who under-take this work are termed 'conservators'rather than 'restorers' as they are still calledin other countries.

The treatment of a museum object isprimarily a 'technical operation'. That isobvious, since what is being treate4 andsubjected to reagents in the laboratdry isthe material. Yet the aestheticians rightlymaintain that a work of art is 'a thing ofbeauty' and that treatment, of whateverkind, must be satisfactory from the aesthetic

point of view. Laboratory workers cannotjust steep a fine wooden statue in paraffin inorder to preserve it, and send it back to thegallery darker and greasier. They must alsofind a way of restoring its pristine appear-ance; the work' will then be preservedwithout giving the impression of havingbeen to the laboratory.

As regards both easel winting and muralpainting, the apparent Oposition betweentechnique (aesthetics' and conservation(restoration) has led to controversies,notably around the thorny problem of the'reconstitution df the original'. Some spe-cialists, especially museum 'curators, aretempted to reconstitute the work as com-pletely as possible. Their first concern is topresent the public with an entire exhibit inwhich the inexperienced eye can no longereasily distinguish the original from lateradditions. Othersthe educatorsareopposed to this intentional deformation ofthe work. The degree of deformation variesaccording to the individual responsible forit, but is always dangerous; the visitorbelieves he is admiring the creation of arevered genius,, and whit he sees may beonly the result of the successive interven-tions of various restorers in the course ofcenturies. This purist controversy will recurperiodically until it is admitted that everytreatment presents a special case, that inrestoration respect for the master's workis the first concern, and that, lastly, gooddocumentation (reports, photographs) cando much to allay anxiety. The removal ofvarnish (totally or partially) is 'also muchdisputed. The contending parties are ,notthe less agitated for being divided merelyby 'an infinitesimal layer of varnish'. Andhow are we to differentiate between varnish,patina and 'dirt'? Where are we to find thesolvent that will remove the varnish withoutdestroying the original glaze ? How can wepossibly leave an unhealthy varnish, wheneverybody knows that before long it willdamage the paint layer ? The discussion isoften academic, for whatever ws- mayrecommend in theory, the varnish will inpractice, have to be removed if the paint

".?

z. P. Coremans, '.Uagneau mystique au laboratoire.Examen et traitemene,in . Let primi0 flamandr,Vol. 111, Nu. 2. Sec bibliography on page p ro8.

I

itself is in bad condition. In other lesscommon cases, we must trust the operator'srespect for tfie work, and its conditionwould be far better safeguarded if moreattention were paid to the condition of thesupport which largely determines that pfthe painting itself. Reasonable reinforce-ment and barriers against damp, madepossible by techniques of impregnation,can obviate the necessity of a good'dcal ofcradling and transposition, the final resultsof which are hard to foresee, with theexception of their increasing the cost ofrestoration.

As regards historical monuments, restor-.ation is always the main objective. In everycountry, churches, cathedrals and civicbuildings are constantly marred by scaf-folding; new stones inserted one by onecontrast crudely with the patina of thosewhich still resist the hand of time. Theconservation of stones and bricks by labor-atory methods has made scant progress,there, are very few products which canprevent or reduce the,action of weather bywashing or impregnation. The fact thal asmall country like Belgium devotes ,4ens ofmillions of francs (io million francs repre-sent's Szoo,000) annually to the restorationof its ancient monuments, gives .some idea,of the enormous sums spent on this taskthroughout 'the world. It must be hopedthat a laboratory will soon be establishedwhich will be exclusively concerned withthis world-wide problem. Such a workshopwould serve to clear up many points and.to compare the different forms of deterior-ation with the protection offered by pro-ducts on the market. Within a few years,concrete' results should be reached whichwould greatly reddce the sums allocated tothe restoration of ancient monuments.

In archaeology, there is much less oppo-sition between restoration and conserva-don; conservation iS almost ihvariably thefirst consideration. Antiquity is regardedrather as a venerable document than as amanifestation of beauty; and archaeologists,much more than art' historians, seek truththrough the labyrinthine channels of a

remote and almost always anonymous past.As a rule, they prefer that a ferruginousmass shall be, freed from its coating of rust,and are content if the technician gives themback an axe whose main features have beenpreseryed; they will ^ask the laboratory torespect the fine patina of a bronze statuette,unless it is a threat to the figure's verysurvival or conceals ornanTent or inscrip-tions which are indispensable to its study.Whatever the laboratory's difficultiesandthey are manyit can go about its, work

iwith a quiet mind; and it produces success-ful results more often than in rte field ofeasel painting, where the ethics of treatmenthave not yet been defined with sufficientclarity.

The increased number of laboratorytools, the diverse methods of conservationand restoration and a steadily growinginterest in this useful anci interesting activityhave brought new laborpories and work-shops into being. The search is everywherekeen for museum chemists and physicists,keener still for chualified 'restorers'. Andalthough our leading laboratories haveopened their doors to a few favoured 'trai-nees', all too little progress has been made.The time has come when we should considerthe establishment of research and)conscrva-,tiontchqols in a field which so closely affectsthe preservation of the cultural heritage yfall nations.

CONCRETE EXAMPLES OFEXAMINATION AND TREATMENT

The reader is referred to the illustrations(Plates 3-33) which have been chosen withdue regard for the various methods ofexamination aLd different kinds of conser-vation and restoration treatment.

By inchiding sp many, we wish to empha-size the importdnce of the photographicdatr whichAhould accompany all laboratoryoperations.

i. See the appendi;, to this chapter entitled 'Photo-graphic Technique' on pages 117-18.

Uo

107

\ 1

BIBLIOGRAPHY

These few pages on the mission of the museum laboratory present a bare outline of the many problemscreated by the study of the deterioration, conservation and restoration of cultural property. The followingbibliography may serve as a guide to readers who wish to study the question more closely, the publicatiorishsted will point the way towards other ieteferices which it was rot [ lssible to include.

'Art et science', Alumni, vol. XIX,.pp. 247-387+ ill. Brussels, 195o.

AUGUST', S. Il contribute, della cbimica e cklla fine°alliesame de: dipinti. Florence, 1942, 8 pp. + ill.

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8

APPENDIXES4

I. TABLE OF CONCORIANCEDEGREES CENTIGRADE (CELSIUS) AND DEGREES FAIIF.ENHEIT

ot -To -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2

28.4

d---1 0 I 2 3

°F 24.0 15.8 17.6 19.4 21.2 23.0 24.8 26.6 30.2 32.0 33.8 35.6 37.4

°9

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39.2

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 132;

14 15 26 17

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°C 28 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

78.8

27 28 29 3b 35

°F 64.4 66.2 i 48.0 69.8 71.6 73.4 75.2 77.0 80.6 82.4 84.2 86.o 95.o

°C 40 4$ 50 55 60 65 7o 75 8o 85 95 100

°F 104.0 113.0 122.0* 131.0 140.0 149.0 158.0 167.0 176.0 185.0 194.0 203.0 212.0 .1-

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III. ANNUAL AND MONTHLY ME,3tx TEMPERATURES (t) (IN 0C)1

S'ation Latitude oda butual Jilt. Fib. Mar. April May Jams July 4k;. &p . Oa. Nor. Dx.

Athens (Greece). 37 °$8'N 107 17.6 8.6 9.4 11.9 . 15.3 20.0 24.4 27.3 26.9 23.5 19.4 14.1 10.5

Berlin (Germany) 52030'N 50 8.5 ;3.4 0.3 z.8 7.7 12.7 16.7 18.1 17.4 13.9 9.0 3.4 0.4

Bogota (Colombia) . 4°36'N 2600 14.4 14.82 , . 13.92

Bombay (India). ° . 18°55'N 10 2.6.3 23.61 29.22

Boston (U.S.A.) 42°42'N 9 9.3 -2.8 -2.2 ,.6 7.4 13.7 ,8.8 21.8 20.5 17.1 11.2 5.1 -0.2

Buenos Aires .(Argentina) . . 34037'S

r..: (Egypt)Cairo .-...ii-, . 30°50'N2023

16.221.2

23.1112.3 13.8 16.9 21.2 24.9 27.7

10.1228.6 28.2 25.6 21.9 18.4 14.4

Caracas (Venezuela) . xo°30'N. 900 21.8 , 23.32 20.32

Chicago.(U.S.A.) 41°46'N 35 9.9 -3.9 -z.8 2.3 8.4 14.2 19.9 23.1 22.2 18.1 12.3 5.1 -1.5

Denver (U.S.A.). . 39°46'N ,6,z xo., -0.9 0.5 3.9 ' 8.7 13.5 19.2 22.4 21.8 17.2 10.9 4.5 0.4

1Detroit (U.S.A.) . 42°24'N 189 9.2 -3.5 -3.6 1.2 7.9 14.2 19.8 22.6 21.4 17.8 11.4 4.3 -1.8

4Jakarta (Indonesia) 6011'S to 26.0 26.51 25:82

Hang Kong . . 220x8'N is 22.0 14.31 27.62 '

Lenpoldville(Belgian Congo) . 4 °17'S 300 25.3

.26.82 r ,

22.41

Lisbon (Portugal) . 38°42'N 23 15.3 9.6 x x.x 12.3 13.6 16.o 19.1 21.1 21.2 20.0 16.4 13.4 10.4

Madrid (Spain) . . 4o°24'N 655 13.3 4.3 6.6 8.6 11.3 15.2 20.3 24.3 23.8 19.1 12.7 8.4 4.5

.Nielbourne (Auitralia) 37°50'S 30 14.7 19.7 19.6 18.r 15.4 12.2 10.3 9.3 10.6 12.2 14.2 16.2 18.1

Mexico, D.F. (Mexico) 19 °27'N 2300 15.5 18.32 11.91

Milan (Italy) . . 45028'N 50 12.5 0.2 3.4 7.8 12.9 17.0 21.1 23.8 22.8 18.9 13.1 6.7 2.0

Montreal ,(Canada) . 45030'N 57 5.6 -10.9 -9.1 -4.3 4.8 ,z.6 18.3 i 20.5 19.3 14.7 7.8 -0.2 -7.1

Moscow (U.S.S.R.) 55 °30'NNagpur (India) . . 210 9'N

170

300

3.9

26.4-11.0 -9.6 -4.8 3.5 11.7

34.7216.4 18.9 17.1 11.2 4.3 -2.4

..-8.219.51

New Orleans (U.S.A.) 29°58'N 20 zo.6 11.72 to.,..- .27.42 0

New York (U.S.A.). 40042'N 3 11.5 -0.1 -0.1 4.o 94 15.7 20.8 23.6 22.8 19.6 13.7 7.4 --Tr7

Paris (France) . . 48050'N 50 10.0 2.1 3.7 5.9 10.0 13.1 ,6.6 4.0 17.7 14.7 9.0 5.8 2./. Peking (China) 39 °57'N 116 11.7 -4.7 -1.7 5.0 1'3.7 19.9 24.5 26.0 24.7 19.8 12.5 3.6 -2.6Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 22054'S zo 23.2 26.12 20.42

San Francisco (U.S.A.) 37°47'N ,6 13.4 9.9 11.4 12.3 13.0 13.7 14.7 14.7 15.0 16.3 ,6.o 13.6 10.7

Shanghai (China) . 3 x° i z'N 10 15.0 3.12 26.92

St. Louis (U.S.A.) 38°37'N 146 13.2 -0.6 o.8 6.4 13.4 19.1 23.9 26.2 25.2 21.1 14.7 6.3 1.9

Sydney (Australia) . 33051'S 5o 17.2 21.92 11.32

Teheran (Iran) . 35?41'N 116o 16.5 0.9 3.7 8.9 16.3 2 x.8 26.7 29.4 28.4 25.4 18.8 10.7 5.4

Tokyo (Japan) . 35°41'N zx 13.8 2.9 3.5 6.7 12.4 16.4 20.5 23.9 25.4 22.0 15.9 10.2 5.2

Trondheim (Norway) 63 °26'N 10 4.7 -2.6 -2.9 -1.1 3.3 7.7 11.9 14.0 13.5 10.0 5.1 0.4 -2.5

Warsaw (Poland) 52013'N 121 7.4 -3.5 -z.r 1.0 6.8 13.4 16.3 18.2 17.2 13.2 8.o 2.I -1.7

Washington, D.C 4

(U.S.A.) . . 38 °51'N 4 13.3 1.8 2.3 6.8 12.3 18.1 22.8 25.2 24.o zo.6 14.3 8.o 2.9

t. From E. de I4artonne, Tram de geograpiis p.Ynque, 6th edition, 1940- except for Chicago, Denver, Detroit, New York,San Francisco and Washington, D.C., figures for these stations were taken from Chinatologiral Doh; U.S. Departmentof Commerce, Weather Bureau, 1953-54.

2. Average of hottest or coldest month.

ii6

OF TEMPERATURE (t)IV. ANNUAL (195 3-5 4.) AND MONTHLY AVERAGES

0C) AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY (rH) (in percentages)FOR A FEW CITIES OF THE UNITED 'STATES

(First line- Annual and monthly mean temperatu,. . Second line. Highest and lowest recorded temperature. Third line:Annual and monthly mean relative humidity, recorded early in the morning. Fourth Line. Annual and monthly meanrelative humidity, recorded towards noon.)

Station AnnuallAtitat twigHaan(in m.)

An. Fob. Mat. April Moy Jun' jay Aug. &pt. Oct. Nov. Dm.

Chicago, Ill. 41°46'N 185 11.7 -2.3 3.1 1.7 11.8 14.0(-21.7)

75 73 73 69 71 67

55 64 58 53 54 43

Denver, Col. (ON 6 12 ILO 4.2 0.3 6.6 6.o 11.9(-19.0)

59 5o 57 56 70 68

34 34 37 30 43 34

New York, A.Y. 40°42'N 3 12.4 -0.3 4.6 5.1 11.7 15.1( -18.9)

73 72 68 65 75 7161 63 59 53 62 61G '

Sin Francisco,Calif.

37°47'N 16 13.7 12.4 -12.2 11.8

(4.5)

11.5 13.7

88 ,n 77 88 88 8767 8o 65 59- 69 62

Washington, D.C. 38 °51'N 4 14.6 2.3 6.7 7.1 15.7 17.3(-ILO

24.4(37.7)

72 73 83 77 81 81 7750 50 57 48 57 61 69

21.0 23.3 21.8 18.9 12.4 6.2 -0.3

61 65 68(37.7)

46 53 56 5829 38 33

24.8 23.0 20.8 13.o 5.8 0.0

21 29 35 43

21.2 24.0 zz.o 19.3 t6.o 7.7 2.1

(35.5)74 73 75 79 77

t74 80 656 54. 62 68 62 66 6r

14.3

896d

14.0 15.34

91.73

13.9 26.2

(4c)

90

17.0 16.5

(31.5)86 '86

75 69 56

23.0 16.724.3

74 76 69 68 76 7o 69 68 77 79 8249 6o 43 47 49 48 46 40 53 48 49

. a

t. According to Climatological Data, U.S. Department of Commerce, Weather Bureau, 1953.54.

13.7 x2.8,

go 88

75 18

7.7 3.3

83 7456. 54

Museums are calling more and more upon photo-graphy in the preparation of inventories, for thereproducing of objects for study or dissemination,and to provide documentation on works undergoi4treatment.

A t-tv principles governing the photography ofcultural properkaiould therefore be recalled.

V. PHOTOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUE,

Aj5paAtur

The choice of the camera and its size depend on agreat variety of factors, including, of course, theamount of money available and the proposed use.

Lary camera'. Generally the i3 X x8 or 18X 24 cm. I17

I

118

sizes correspond respectively to the 5X 7 andso X 12 inch sizes.

Advantages: interchangeable lenses (normal focuslenses, long-focus lenses, wide-angle lenses); possi-bility of attaining a true perspective by havinghorizontal and vertical adjustments, use of adaptersfor.smaller sizes, possibility of making macrophoto-graphic prints, adaptability to techniques ofphotography using ordinary light, infra-red andultra-violet photography, use of plates or cut films;uss of contact prints.

Disadvantages : cost (especially of sensitive mate-rial); slow operation.

Middle -size cameras. Generally the 6 X 9 and 9 X 12 cm.Or 2 Y4 X 3 ye and 4X 5 inch sizes (plates or rigidfilms).

Advantagg': the same as for the large sizes, exceptthat the document must usually be enlarged; inaddition, use of roll film.

Small cameras! Generally the 6x 6 or 6x 9 cm. (rollfilm) and 24X 36 mm. (perforated film) sizes.

Advantage: (especially for the 24X 36 mm. size):existence of many different types with a built-inrange finder-or 'reflex' optical system; wide choiceof lenses; accessories for close-range photographyand macrography, possibility of photographs usingboth visible light and infra-red and ultra-violetlight; ideal size for microfilming, rapid execution.

Disadvantages no adjustment of the image ispossible; enlargements are almost always necessary;preservation difficulties and 'fragility of negatives.

Sensitive material

For black-and-white photography there are theorthochromatic emulsion (maximum sensitivityfrom ultra-violet to green), chromatic emulsion(sensitivity extending to red) an infra-red emulsion(sensitivity up to the nearer s de of the infra-redrange). Radiography requires special film.

Colour photography is coming more and mole toreplace black-and-whits techniques. Several typesof emulsions (negative, positive, reversible, fordaylight and artificial light) are available.

Special photographic techniques

Radiography. The choice of apparatus for radio-graphy depends upon' the type of material to beexamined. For textiles, paper and wood fibres andfor examination by diffraction and micro-radio-graphy, apparatus with a low kilovoltage-5 to15 kV (soft rays)is needed. Paintings (with densepigments) and thick wood (sculptura) are traversedby harder rays of 2o to 6o kV (medical apparatus).Work on metals must be done at between zoo and30o kV. Thick blocks of metal such as brow; sta-tues can be photographed by means of the gammarays- (gamma radiography) emitted by radioactivesubstances.

Ultra-violet and fluorescent pbotograpY. These twotechniques require illumination by mercury-vapouror arc :amp7, which are sources of UV (maximumof about 365o A) and visible light. In UV photo-graphy, the visible rays are absorbed by a woodscreen placed in front of the lens, whilst in fluorescentlighting, the wood screen absorbing visible rays isplaced in front of the source, and a screen to absorbthe UV rays is placed in front of the lens.

Ortho- or panchromatic emulsions arc to beemployed as sensitive material.

Infra-red photography. Lighting is the same as forordinary photography: daylight or incandescentlamps. A screen which absorbs visible rays and somakes the emulsion sensitive to the correspondingIR rays (generally about Boon A) is to be placed infront of the lens.

Special emulsions sensitized to IR rays are to beused as sensitive miterial.

MicrograpY. Microphotography comprises phOto-graphs" taken through a microscope, starting, ap-proximately, from a tenfold enlargement. The sizesused are 9x 12 emit., 6 X 9 cm. and 35 111111. hilts. Aspecial photographic chamber adaptable to themicroscope must be procured.

There are also microscopes specially designed formetallOgraphy.

Various accesso ries (luminous source, screens,emulsions, lenses and finders) makes it possible touse all black-and-white, UV, fluorescent and colourtechniques.

';

INTRODUCTION

CHAPT\ER VIII

\ 'COLLECTIONS :

THEIR 'CARE AND STORAGEby H. DAIFur

At the turn of the century it was the customof Ariany museums to place their entirecollections on exhibition, a practice whichis still to be found among some museumstoday. This results in a series of mote orless identical objects being crowded to-gether in what seems to be, and sometimesis, meaningless confusion. These museumsmay not be without interest and they havea fascination similar to that of a visit to acluttered antiquarian's shop where anunusual' or valuable thing may sometimesbe discovered. And, of course, certainspecialists who visit museums to study thecollections consider that the manner ofpresentation is ndt too important.

It is interesting, however, that during thei9zos and 193os a number of studies madeto t auge the duration of time spent by theaverage visitor in a museum showed that afunctional relationship existed between thenumber of items on exhibition and theamount of time given to the study of anindividual object. The total 'amount ofaverage time spent in an exhibition hallremained constant after an optimum num-ber of objects were place6 on exhibi-tion and thereafter increases in the numberof objects shown resulted in less time beinggiven to individual items on diplay [6].'

In addition to the factor of 'fatigue',contemporary trends in exhibition (in whicha smaller number of objects are placed ondisplay for aesthetic as well as educztionalreasons), place considerable emphasis uponstorage facilities. This tendency toward thedisplay of selecteU items does not do awaywith the impgrtance of having a series of

objects for comparative purposes. Objectsplaced in storage are important not onlyfor scientific reasons, but also fOr changingexhibitions, for loans, travelling exhibi-tions and other museographical activities.These functions cannot be fulfilled efficientlyif objects which are not currently on exh:bi,nun or in use elsewhere areNt haphazardlyin any 'convenient' space. Efficient use ofthe collections, which justifies the time andexpense involved in their accumulation,calls for careful maintenance to preventdeterioration, careful storage and accuraterecords.

The amount of space given to storage bymodern museums today is indicative ofthis attitude. It is generally considered thatonly one half of the space of a museumshould be devoted to exhibitions, the otherhalf being for curatorial functions includingstorage. In some types of museums, parti-cularly natural history museums, more thanone half of the available space may bedevoted to storing study collections N.

`New' objects are continually being addedto the collections and they arrive in variousstates of disrepair. When an item is acquiredit should be registered' and, if necessary,examined for insect or mould contantina-don before it is added to the collections.

Chapter VII, on the museum laboratory,covers several aspects of the work involvedin preserving or restoring material. Thefollowing discussion on the care of collec-tions is a brief summary. of some of the

z. The figures betwern brackets refer to the biblio-graphy on page z{3.

a. See Chapter II and the book by Dorothy H.Dudley, Irma BCzold,.ei al. [3]. 119

8'

I20_

practices followed. An extensive technical'literature exists, particularly for the tare ofworks of art [9, 10, i r,

INORGANIC NI,ATEFSIAL

In general material \N111Ch is Inorganic is=lath ely stable and does nut need is muchprotection as objects which are organic inorigin. However, nearly all objects, what -

('everever their origin, can be affected by adverseconditions, and some things which areinorganic can deteriojate very rapidly underimproper care.

Mineralsr

In all museums minerals in many commonforms are foundranging from crystallineformations in a geological museum tocarved objects of stone in an art museum.They differ widely in hardness, usuallyexpressed in terms of a scale introduced byMohs in which the minerals are numberedfrom i to to by order of hardness (thosehaving the higher numbers are hard enoughto scratch those haVing lower numbers).This is the list : r, talc; z, gypsum; 3, calcite;4, fluorite; 5, apatite; 6, orthocalse (felspar);7, quartz; 8, topaz; 9, sapphire (corundum);io, diamond. For example, an alabastervase which has a hardness of about 2 or 3on the Mohs scale can be scratched by one's

.fingernail and needs corresponding care inhandling.

Sedimentary rocks, such as sandstone orlimestone, may be subject to deteriorationas they are comparatively porous and maybe impregnated with salts. Hygroscopicaction (absorption of moisture) would leadto flaking of the surface. They should beleached or kept in a dry place in storage.Marble, a metamorphosed limestone, usedparticularly in sculpture may need consider-able care. Marble statuary in storage shouldnot be in direct contact with excelsior bat-ting (wood sham s) as this may lead tostaining, nor for tjie same reason shouldthe marble be in coontact with iron or steelnails or screws. Oust covers of cloth (suit-ably fireproofed) or paper should be usedto cover statuary in storage and marble

objects" on exhibition should be periodicallycleaned.

Quartzite, chert and flint were commonlyused in the manufacture of implements bypeoples lacking metals or where metalswere rare and expensive. They are relativelyinert and not easily affected whether ondisplay or in storage. Most damage is causedby careless handling which may be aggra-vated by overcrowding in storage.

Objets of unbaked clay raise difficultiesin preservation. If they are valuable and itdoesn't matter whether physical changestake place, it is best to have them firedbefore they are stored. Other methodsinclude impregnation with a liquid plasticsuch as polyvinylacetate.

Pottery and other objects of clay whichhave been well 'baked are relatively stable.For example (under some conditions),specimens have been recovered which mayexceed 3,000 years in age. The surface,however, may not be durable, for examplesome pottery may have 'fugitive' decora-tions, in which the potter used a water paintin the design. Care must therefore be usedin cleaning them. Dry brushes may be used,sometimes supplemented by toothpicks.

Modern glass is generally very stable. Butancient glass may have a much higher per-centage of alkalis and thus would be subjectto 'disease'. Glass which is subject todisease should be treated in a laboratory andkept in air-tight cases on display or instorage. A package of silica gel is usuallyadded to the container to prevent moisturefrom affecting the specimen. >

The storage of gold objects is usually aquestion of security rather than preserva-tion. Some museums have gold specimenskept in bank vaults for storage if they lacksufficient 'secure' storage in the museum.

Objects of silver should be cleaned beforebeing placed in storage. Silver tarnishesrapidly, particularly in the presence ofsulphur compounds, which are frequentlypresent in the atmosphere of industrialcentres. Silver objects can be wrapped inand-tarnish cloth or placed in containerswith an anti-tarnish paper which wouldlessen the possibility of reaction with- sul-phur compounds.

New objects made of copper and its alloysshould be cleaned and buffed before being

placed in storage. Polyvinyl or celluloseacetate may be sprayed or brushed on theobject to retard tarnishing. It is usuallyconsidered desirable to preserve the 'patina'on older objects, particularly of bronze, buta given specimen may have areas which aresubject to corrosion, in which case theyshould be treated before .being placed instorage. If there is danger of further corro-sion, the object should be placed in an air-tight case or some form of container witha dessicant like silica gel.

Objects of iron or its alloys are frequentlyfound in historic as well as art museums.Objects which are in good condition shouldbe carefully cleaned and rust spots removed.Some sort of preservative which wouldkeep air from coming into contact with themetal shothl-le_applidd. There are manycommercial preparations based upon petro-leum derivatiyes which are used to keepiron or steel from rusting. Objects whichare corroded should be treated or stabilized,before they axe placed on exhibition or instorage.

ORGANIC MATERIAL

Objects of organic origin are much moresensitive to su,rrounding conditions thaninorganic mattrial. High humidity encou-rases the growth of various moulds. Cer-tain insects, such as termites, some beetles,larvae of moths, etc., are constant dangers.Excessive heat, humidity or dryness maycause warping, splitting, etc.

All objects of organic origin should bechecked for insect or mould infestationbefore they are added to the collections, asthey may introduce pests which can bedifficult to eradicate, and which wouldattack other objccts in the collection. Opti-mum temperatures are between 68 and 800 F.with approximately 5o per cent relativehumidity. Some types of objects would needhigher humidity and others less. Manymuseums located where temperatures andhumidity conditions range beyond theoptimum have installed air conditioning forstorage areas as well as for exhibition halls,curatorial offices and laboratories.

Fine art museums have devoted a greatdeal of study to the storage of oil or easel

paintings, which deteriorate rapidly underextremes of temperature and humidity.Many museums ensure their preservationby storing them in air-conditioned roomswhere.a relative humidity between 5o and55. per cent can be maintained. Paintings onwood need similar care where there is adanger of the wood support warping withwide changes in humidity. Many museumsstore their oil paintings on movable rackswhich are suspended from the ceiling andwhich can be slid out for easy access (seePlate 34).

Bone, ivory and antler, while they appearto be durable, can be attacked by rodents,moulds,or insects. Old ivory is particularlysensitive to changes in temperature andhumidity. It is generally agreed that ivorykeeps best at about 55 per cent relativehumidity. If the objects fire in poor condi-tion they should be stabilized in the labor-atory before being placed on exhibition orin storage.

Objects made of wood should be care-fully checked for insect infestation bet rebeing placed in storage. If necessary t yshould be fumigated in the 'laboratoryby a commercial organization before beingadded to the collections: Wooden objectsshould not be subjected to temperature andhumidity extremes. Painted wooden objects(particularly panel paintings) may, needparticular care [4]. Lacquered objects shouldbe kept at fairly high relative humidity ofabout 55 per cent. Fine furniture should bewaxed periodically.

Hides and leather are found in manyethnographic museums as well as naturalhistory museums. Skins which have been'tanned' with -such primitive methods assmoking, or rubbed with animal brains, orurine are not very stable, and become dryand brittle if there is insufficient moisture.Rawhide and skins which have been`tanned' by greasing should have an appli-cation of vaseline before being placed instorage. Paradichlorobenzene crystals areusually placed in the containers with thematerial. Relative humidity should bebetween 5o and 55 per cent. If 7o per centrelative humidity is reached, there is dangerof mould growth.)

Hair and fur are subject to attack byinsects, particularly if there is any trace of 121

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animal grease or other organic waste. Theyshould be cleaned before being added tothe collections. Some museums place fursin long-term .commercial storage wherethey can be kept. in refrigerated rooms,although some museums may have suchfacilities on their own premises. as-tightrooms arc also used in which the furs arepreserved by the use of fumigants. Indivi-duM pieces may be kep\ in plastic bagsfilled with paradichlorobenzene crystals.Furs in exhibition cases Mould be protectedby paradzchlorobenzene crystals or some

-other repellant.Textiles (cloth, clothing, mats, nets, etc.)

should not be placed on exhibition-orstored in such a way ak to form creales.This eventually weakens the fibre along theline of the crease with ensuing tearing orbreakage. For storage, large textiles areutially rolled on a wooden cylinder whichmay be suspended from wall brackets orfrom the ceiling. Clothing can be paddedwith tissue paper to prevent creasing orhung from padded forms and covered withplastic bags (see-Plate 35). Textiles of animalorigin (wool, silk, etc) are subject to attacksby insects and should be cleaned and moth-proofed (see Plate 36). Smaller objects canbe placed,in plastic bags with paradichloro-benzene crystals. They should be shieldedfrom light to prevent fading. It is best tomaintain a rather low relative humiditybetween 4o and 5o per cent.

Mats, nets and basketry may becomebrittle if too dry. They may be brushed witha solution of beeswax and turpentine orsprayed with polyethylene plastic beforebeing placed in storage or on exhibition.Generally they are kept in more humidconditions ranging between 5o and 55 percent relative humidity.

Paper is very hygroscypic and may alsobe subject to attacks by insects and moulds.Standard library practices should be fol-lowed for books [13]. Rare manuscriptsneed special cart [mi. Prints are usuallymounted on mats (rag stockas sulphitepulp eventually stains) held in pace withJapanese or Chinese rice paper, with acovering 'window' that. A clear celluloseacetate or plastic sheet may be used toprotect the surface of the print. If" they areplaced on exhibition from time to time,

they may be mounted between air-tightluc.ite or plexiglass sheets [8] (see.Plater37).

Historical museums frequently keep oldews apers or issues commemorating' an

impor t historic event in Their colleb-tions. Newspapers before 186o were usuallyprinted on rag paper, but following thisdate wood pulp and sulphite stock becamecommon. The ;latter types ,become brittlewith age and change colour more quickly

ktha,,n-paper made from rags. Many librariesbind newspapers between hard coversormount them so that they can be storedflat.

Plant and animal specimens are keptparticularly by natural science and sitemuseums. Plant specimen's are usually driedand mounted on rag paper known as her-barium sheets. In turn these sheets are keptin. suitably identified envelopes. Standard,manufactured cases can be purchased tohold the envelopes arid sheets. Specimensshould be thoroughly dried and treatedbefore being placed id storage to discouragethe development of moulds.

Animal, specimens vary from collectionsof insects to large animals. The smallerspecimens and skin' of the larger are subjectto attacks by rodrnts, insects and moulds.Insect specimens are usually kept in glass-covered trays which help to retain naptha-lene or paradichlorobenzene. The U.S.National Museum in Washington, D.C.has standardized cases built for theirStorage [I]. Specimens which are kept inbottles with alcohol or other preservativesare usually placed on wooden shelves, thelarger ones just off the floor.

STORAGE CONDITIONS

Many museums use the basement floor forstorage which avoids certain problems ofload stress but imposes others, among theseis the greater danger of humidity in thebasement. There are, moreover, many otherfunctions which can be best carried ognthe basement; the furnace and air-condi-tioning equipment should be installedthere; the basement is the best place for:storage of large stocks such as cases andother hardware; accepting deliveries andfor crating and uncrating material; the

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carpenter shop; the photography dark-room, etc.

Many museums may haVe a centralstora e system for all departments, parti-cular the smaller museums. However, thegene tendency in the design of newmuseum buildings is to treat the curatorialspace as an integral unit with the office andthe laboratories of the curator attactiejito thestorage areas. Thus the curator undertakingresearch or preparing an exhibition cancheck the collections and still be near hisoffice. In addition, if there are studentsworking with him or visiting specitlists,he can keep an eye on what is going op andbe on call if needed to help look up material.

In designing the building, the architectmust provide floors strong enough tosupport the weight of the material. Storageareas should meet fireproof standards andshould also be proof against rodent orinsect invasion. Facilities such as ,extin-guishers and buckets of sand to put outsmall fires which may damage specimensshould be located in sategic areas.

Air conditioning is be ming increasinglyimportant in planning th construction otmuseums.' The wide variztio midityand temperature found in many parts of theworld have led many museums to includetheir storage areas in the air-conditioned.sections of the museum. In the absence ofair cond:tioning other means have beenused; in air-tight cases humidity can bemaintained within limits (using desiccantssuch as silica gel) suitable for the objectsstored. Other solutions include the use ofeither electric or gas-operated driers orhumidifiers in rooms and individual itemsmay be placed in sealed plastic bags.

ACCES 'TBILITY

The accessibility of a given object is animportant factor not only for the keepingof accurate records, but it should also be anelement in the efficient design of exhibitionand storage facilities. Adequate lighting,work tables and other necessary facilitiesshould be provided in the storage.arca forthe use of staff or visiting scholars.

If the curatorial space and storage faci-lities are several storeys high, a goods

elevator should be installed. The architectshould plan its location so that it can bereadily loaded and unloaded in the basementand on all other floors. leis an advantageto place it so that it is accessible to deliveryvans and can be raised to the height of thefloor of the vary to facilitate loading andunloading.

Standard warehouse mobile hydraulicjacks are useful to manoeuvre heavy loadswhi'ch can be placed upon wooden plat-forms. If a museum plans to acquire suchequipment, the central aisles, at least, shouldbe wide enough for it to pass. Two modelsof trolley have been found useful. A lighttype for standard museum trays and, aheavier one for larger objects. These trolleyshave ball-bearing, rubber-tyked, castor-typewheels, they are silent in use, easily moved

?nd swivelled and do not mark floors., Shelving for storage. Some museums use

standard steel shelves which are manufac-tured commercially for warehouses (seePlate 39). They have certain advantages inthat they can be dismounted without toomuch difficulty and are termite proof andfire resistant. Other museums prefer woodenshelves as they reduce the risk of breakages,and danger from condensation. An adapta-tion of these is the use of wooden shelvesplaced upon vertical supports made fromstandard plumber's pipes and joints. Thiskind of shelving can be easily asserribled bythe museum staff without the assistanceof a carpenter. Rapidly assembled anddismantled steel shelving using speciallypatented nuts and bolts, such as those manu-factured by Unistrut (U.S.A.) and othersimilar commercial units have been provedexceptionally flexible. But they are moreexpensive than ordinary shelving and maynot be available in all countries.

Racked sliding trays are widely used tostore smaller objects and can usually bemade by the museum carpenter or orderedfrom a timber merchant. A. common modelis about 24 to 3o inches long and about18 to zo inches wide and 4 to 5 inches high.The bottom can be made of quarter-inch plywood or masonite (temperedfibre board) (see Plate 4o). Various sizesof pasteboard boxes: 4 X z X4 inches;

T. See Chapter VII and artide by Logan L. Lewis l s J.

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4 X4x4 inches; 6 X4 X4 inches; and6 x6 X 4 inches are convenient for storingsmall specimens. Cotton batting may beplaced in the boxes to nest more fragileitems. These boxes can be stored in thewooden trays mentioned above.

Sliding screen panels for the storage ofeasel paintings are commonly used by artand historical museums. The frame of thepanels if made of z x z-inch stock, in whichexpanded metal fcreens or 'heavy meshscreens are set. The screens may be of stan-dard 4-foot widths and about 8 feethigh. Each panel is made up of two 4-footwidth screens, so that the total width of thepanel including the z x z-inch frames wouldbe 8 feet finches. -

Seyeral methods are used to make thescreens movable:z. Suspension from the ceiling.

(a) Single track. Relatively inexpensivehardware rollers and tricks) of thekind designlid for ,sliding garagedoors can be obtained. The disad-vantage of a single track is thatpaintings (if they are heavy) mustbe of the same weiniit on both sidesof the panel otherwise thezznel

t stand perfectly upright.A solution to this oblem is,

instead of suspending the p nel aboutff6 inches above the oor continueit so that the botto s slides alonggrooves or guides set in the floor.

(b) Double track. A T-bar suspension isused (see Plate 34). Balance is notimportant as the double .track sta-bilizes the panel. The clearancepermits easier cleaning of the floor.

z. Floor sUpport.(a) The panels arc set on wheels and

tracks on the floor with ceilinggrooves to hold theipanel in place.Cleaning becomes a problem in thiscase.

(b) A combination of floor and ceilingtracks to assure great rigidity hasbeen used.

Most museums today seem to prefer theceiling support as it facilitates keeping thefloors dean. The panels are usually aboutz8 inches to z feet apart. The hallwayshould be at least 8 feet wide to permit

124 pulling the panel out to its full width.

STORAGE RECORDS

Records of the objEcts kept in storage isusually the responsibility of the registrar,if there is a central storage system, or thecurator storage is b depart ents. Oncehrubi =has-beat-sent torstorag it shouldbe recorded in a file noting the r oin, Bay,cabinet or shelf in which it placed. Ifthis object was stored in the department;the registrar Should. be given the informa-tion for the I files as well. It is ad-visable to have standard form printed on.file cards for this urpose. In addition, eachseries of shelves, trays, or other storageunit, should also h_ve a card mounted on itto record the objects placed in it or takenaway, and by whom. Nothing is moreexasperating and time consuming thantrying to trace down a missing item fromthe collections.

The keeping of records of individualitems placed in charge of a curator or theregistrar is an irksome task. However, itis an essential part of the work and takesless time than trying to find items whichflay have been moved about from time to'me by five or six different people and for

as many different reasons.

SUMMARY

Museums are responsible for objectsentrusted to them whether it is a choicespecimen for exhibition or whether it isprimarily for study and comparison.

' as against 'dead' storage is one ofthe ke to the well being of a museum.Th is little sense in having Collectionswhich cannot be used owing to lack ofreCOr s, or to inability to locate them,Or keeping them under conditions whichead to their deterioration.

All these problems are faced by museumswhich ha,ve an active programme of collect-ing, research, and education. An efficientprogramme of conservation, and a policy ofaccessibility to the collections for exhibi-tions (lo-an or temporary) and for research,will maintain the interest of the staff in theirwork and encourage others to make use ofthe institution.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. BURNS, N. J. Field manual far museum:. Washing-ton*, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office,1941. *%,

z. , L. Museum: buildings. jWashington,D.C., erican of Museums,Smithsonian Instituti n, 1959.

3. DUDLEY, D. H.; BEZOLD, I, et al. Mare= regis-tration methods. Washington, D.C AmericanAssociation of Museums, Smithsonian Institu-tion, 1958.

4. INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MUSEUAS. Thecare of wood panels Le traitement des supports enboir. Paris, Museum, vol. VIII, no. 3, 1955.

5. Lzwrs, Logan L 'La clirnatisation des musics /Air conditiOning for museums' Museum, vol. X,no. 2, pp. 132 -47. !axis, 1957.

6. MELTON, W. An. Problems of installation inmuseums of art. Washington, D.C., AmericanAssociation of Museums, Smithsonian Institute,1933. (Pthlicarion: of the American Amnia:ion ofMurrumr, new se.:es, no. 54.)

7. NOBLECOUET, A. Protection of cultural propertyin the of armed conflict. Paris, Unesco, 1958.(Museums and monumentiseries, no. VIII.)

8. Ossosug, E. C. Manual of &ova exhibitions.Paris, Unesco, 1953. (Museums a monument:seri,s,zo. V.)

9. PLENDERLEITH, H. J. Tie conversation of prints,drawings and manuscripts. London, Oxford Uni-versity Press, 1937.

so. . The conservation of antiquities and work: ofart. London, Oxford University Press, 1956.

rt. Scour, G. L. The rate of pictures. New York,Columbia University Press, 1948.

12. SUGDEN, IL P. Care and handling of art objects.New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art,1946.

:WHEELER,W HEELER, J. L.; GITHENS, A. M. The Americanpublic library building. Chicago, Ill., The Ame-r icaa Library Association, 5941.

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CHAPTER IX'.

1-1E EXHIBITIONby P. R. ADAMS

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INTRODUCTION

After a museum has collected, preserved*aria studi'id the objects of its special interestit must exhibit them. The ends of instruc-non and edification could possibly be betterserved by other means- sRch as books orfilms, and at less cost, put 'the uniqueconcern of the museum is with things andthe exhibiting of things. Now to exhibit isto sh w,.to display, to make visi le; but inmost nguages the word eachibitio implies

ti the me ngful showing 4f things, 'splaywitlra purpose.

The purpose will vary with theonature ofthe museum or of its departments. Thepurpose of Londog' National Portrait

cry, for exatnple,/is obviously to exhibitportraits of historic British personages.The visitor settles comfortably into thisassumption until he is startled by annquesiioned work of aellington, whose high his ric importance

Duke ofrtance

is secondary to its aestheti value, even insuch a setting. Should the National PortraitGallery transfer its Goya to the neighbour-ing National Gallery, securing instead amere Wellington, history disturbed by

? Or should the Natio al Gallery inexchange send over the Wiltonil Diptychwith its portrait of Richard I, since acontemporary likeness of a fourteenth-century English king is so rare that itshistoric value must outweigh almost anyartistic consideration ? Probably qe. ither ofthese distinguished museums is agitated by

. the question, but many historical and ethno-logical collections do raise such problems.A science museum for example is not welladvised to ignore completely the often

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greit intrinsic beauty of the specimens it''tiles to develop an ecological or evolution-

ary argtment. Neither should an art tnuseumneglect the human and hietctrical Implica-tions of its objects. Assuredly not all arti-facts are works of art but all works of artare artifacts, and many of them below thelevel of the masterpiece might be better sohandled. Portraits are a case in p nt, as aremany of the so-called decorative whiciNfrequentlk have more to say fgeneral cultural background than of hiscapacity for artistic,excellence. On the otherhand many a canoe piddle or jungle fetishhas rejected the anonymity of the anthro-pological shelf and insisted on its artistic

'rights..Another question of purpose is whether

the object is to take its plate in a long-term.or permanent setting or answer to the moreimmediate demands of a tempora4' exhi-bition. The difference between a tempotaryand a permanent exhibition is something/like that between a poster and a painting.Temporary exhibitions, like posters, needto make their thematic points quickly, andthis must be accompliihed in the course ofa single visit, the object being required toplay a supporting role to the theme. Inpermanent displays such subordination ofthe object, especially art objects, can bedisastrous.

PLANNING THE EXHIBITION

But before these and many other importantproblems arise, the object itself asks basicquestions. For whatever purpose it isdisplayed the showing of the object cannot

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be effectiveffective unless its olzn particular per -\.sonality is brought out and enhanced; a

fresh look at the object is the beginning ofall exhibition procedures. Is it big or little,big or little i character as well-3s actualmeasurement ? 's is the problIm of scale.Indifference to prOperty of size canshrink big objects into insignificance orinflate little objects out of reasonable pro-portion. The *Alai 'museum visitor maynot be conscious of these factors, but byunconscious process of empathy (or physi alidentification with the object), he may, eelcramped or otherwise uneasy if the scaleadjustments are not right. And at the first.stirrings of mpntal discomfort the objectbegins to lok4 its native power of com-munion_with.its observer.

What is the specific gravity of the object,and did it move or was it still ? Did it floator fly like a fish or bird ? Is it massive likea boulder..or a column ? Was it worn like asword, a cloak or a broocb, ortbild like acrosier ? Did it move swiftly lik a deer or alocomotive ? Was it held and caressed byhands like a violin a book or a scrollpainting ? Did it sit like a chair or lie likea rug ? And bow many of these originalqualities can be respected in the staticframework of exhibition ? TO'`.be sure allobjects in a museum must be fixed, eventhough some turn by clockwork to showtheir profiles or demonstrate a scientificprinciple, but the air of deadly reposehanging over some museum halls breathesfrom a violation of the object's physicalnature.

What is the colour of the object, what isits texture? A background of complemen-

, tary colour is a safe formula for decora7Live effect, but may work against whateversubtle colour variations the object mayhave. Eighteenth-century porcelains, forexample, are often shown against a comple-mentary ground as a contrast to their pre-dominantly white colour range. The varia-tions of these delicate whites, however: areimportant to 'a collector's eye and henceimportant to the untaught eye which mustbe educated. They can be best brought outby an off-white background; and.the sameis true of the Turkish pottery, once calledRhodian, where the quality of the .whitedetermines the value Of the plate or tankard.

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Silver will gleam against a background ofalmost any colour, but different shades ofgreys can play up particular variations frompiece to piece. Gold rases similar questions;the blues, reds, blacks and ,warm brownsagainst which it is frequently exhibitedpiOclaim its richness at a glance, but theexquisite tonalities. of anemia metal aresometimes thereby sacritced to the dramaof the moment, whereas beige and softgreys can cherish them. These are weightyconsiderations in the choice of immediatebackgrounds such as case 1;nings and panelmounts; but all-over schemes of primarilydecoiative effect need nevertheless not beabandOnedvItogether. Tomato-reds, purple-blues and greens have ,been used for wallsand ceilings where nirkish pottery isshown, powder blue for walls holding theoff-white cases la French ceramics, evenlacquer reds and 'blacks for silver galleries.

The same principle holds as regards thetexture of the object, although contrasthere is more often desirablea smooth-textured setting for a rough object (perhapsnot so often should a cod= texture, likethe currently popular burlaps and grass-cloths, bz used as a ,background for a fine-

. surfaced object). Smoothest of all, glassshows equally well against knobby raw silkor antique satin and velvet. Common usewill sometimes suggest appropriately tex-tured backgroundsthe suede and satinlinings of jewellery boxes, the velvet liningof violin cases, the baize or felt linings ofknife cases when arms are to be shown.

In what light was the object seen ? Thedark unfathomed caves of ocean may haveborne many a museum gem, brit in spite ofthe ,monumental gloom dear to many tra-

,ditional museum buildings enough lightfor adequate visibility is needed for theexhibition of all objects. The question oflight immediat;ly raises the complicatedquestion. of original setting and of how farit is desirable to reproduce the object'snatural context without undoing the basicpurpose of exhibition, which is to singlethe object, out for special attention. Byapproximating original conditions of lightthe Ainerican Museum of Natural Historygives additional conviction to its showingof tie Men of the Montafta, a culture whichlives in thc jungle shade of upland Peru. An

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unlighted awning stretches as forest roofover the exhibition area; from above itcome the sounds of tropical rain, the triesof jungle fauna. With simpler means, pri-marily by co rol of light, New York's

MMuseum of dery Art, in a notable exhi-bition of the ri of toe South Seas, empha-sized the artistic differences between objectsof many kinds made by dwellers' in theMelanesian forest's half-light and 'thosemade in the blaze, of the sun by coastalpeoples. Both exhibitions, one permanentthe other temporiry. considered the circum-stances of the objects' original settings andjudiciously exploited them to achieve aMaximum of aesthetic and educative effect.VIn their 'habitat groups' museums ofnatural history have deviloped ,extra-ordinary skills in reproducing rranfal set-tings' nut only of plants and animals but ofman as well, although not alwacs as success-fully in their anthropological departments.Art and history museums have profitablyfollowed this lead in recreating the lived-with atmosphere of given periods andplaces. Archaeological museums are ableto house object and actual setting both,whole architectural units such as tombsand small shrines with their contents.

While the buildings of art museumsusually attempt to reproduce the 'formalsettings for which much painting andsculpture of the past was designed- theyhave to decide carefully how far they shouldinclude the historically appropriate, butpossibly distracting decorative details offurniture, textiles and bibelots that ori-ginally accompanied the paintings. Someart museums, following the early lead ofpalace collections, in throne room as wellas Wunderkammer and the pioneer museumpractice of the Kaiser Friedrich, choose tostress the aesthetic whole of a period,running the calculated risk of subordinatingart to history. Others of late insist, as amatter of pure artistic emphasis, that paint-ings should be shown unframed unle theframes are chronologically cunsiste . Printsof all kinds, miniatures and boo illustra-nuns, scroll paintings that were meant to belooked at singly and in the privacy of astudy, obviously cannot be shown in anycontext that remotely resembles the original.Similarly, the arts of use, the so-called

decorative arts, so often seem ill at easein the frozen air of museums.

TH.A SETTINGFOR THE EXHIBITION

All problems of setting begin with theplating of the exhibition in the museumbuilding itself. Almost all buildings haveto be adapted to the needs of the exhibitionin one way or another, since no architectcould conceivably design all the kinds ofspace required by the varied and changing,exhibition programmes of even the smallestmuseums. If this is true of ne , speciallydesigned muss= buildings, it still maretrue of the many museums tha must Ttthemselves,into former post offices, librariesand government buildings. It is painfullytrue too of museums housed in inherited`white elephants' which so often, withcostly materials and unusable space, memo-rialize an older period's 'idea' of a museum.As Laurence Vail Coleman aptly says, themonumental stairwv.si in the grand hallsof nineteenth and early twentieth- centurymuseums are about as convenient as 'anopen step-ladder in a closet'. It may not bestrictly accurate to assert that a museumofficial shbuld be ready to fight an archi-tect at the drop of a hat' as one veteran NewEnglander remarked, but he does need tobe fairly bold if he is to bend the cumber-some architecture of most buildings to his.plans, which though they may bear tracesof the changing tastes of passing generationsare the result of his deep thought and carefulconsideration of the problems to be solved.

In defence of architects however, itshould be said that walls and roofs have tobe weather-proof and reasonably permanent, -...and hence are fixed quantities not subject tomanipulation. But apart from these stableeleinFins everything, ideally, including out-side approaches, lighting, interior walls,ceilings and floors should be as adaptable aspossible. Structural building alterations arecostly, but adjustments inside the building'sshell need not be excessively so. Translucentawnings can be stretched to lower ceilingsand diffuse light, and perhaps to conceal anearlier era's love of elaborate cornices andother distracting ornamentation. Slight

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screen walls of a construction which .is notbeyond the abilities of the average carpenteror carpenter-janitor, who constitutes themaintenance staff.of many small Museums,can be put up with inexpsnsive.materials,moved on occasion, pierced with openingsof 'simple design, and placed in front o.Eoldcases. Temporary lighting arrangewentsare available to anyone who can plug, in anextension cord.

Most museum officials, unlesrthey workfor very rich foundations, should be ableto use their hands, at least on a drawing -board, 'or'have enough, practical sense oftools to befable to design and overse ,theinevitable adaptation of fixed spac tochanging' needs. This ability is no ftenmentioned in raining courses, but it is arude necessity r all but the most fortunate.After all, effect_ exhibition must dependupon the person riginally responsiblesforthe object and its museum Ifse,whethef heis curator, director or educator. He must,as a scholar and critic, be able to conceivethe proper showing of the object, and alsobe practical enough to devise ways toachieve it. No one else can quite do it forhim I

TEMPORARY EXH:BITIONS

Experiments in modification of buildingspace, control of circulation of visitors andarrangement of material can be tried out intemporary exhibitions. It is, in fact, one oftheir chief virtues that they invite, almostrequire, fresh exhibition effects, many_ofwhich can be adapted to permanent, or atleast more lasting, use. Some of these effectswill need judicious toning down of colouror of dramatic lighting accentsince thepace of temporary exhibition is swift. Ittries to communicate quickly by legitimatelytheatrical means rather than to develop theleisurely and quiet contemplation whichcomes from the frequent return to familiarthings in familiar settings.

In order to make its point quickly. thetemporary exhibition Must guide the visi-tor's attention and movement as firmly aspossible; movement of the eye or the bodyfrom object to object is an element in anykind of museum showing. First comes the

.general effect, the oiluivialent of raising thecurtain in the theatr. This introductioninvites the visitor and announces theharmonic theme which should unify theexhibition. Consistent" colour schemes aremost useful in m taining this unity andhelp set the spe exhibition off from therest of the muse m. If the first impression,which must be striking to do its job, is'over emphatic or too prolonged, the Visitor"may be disilclined to concentrate ade-quately on the details that followit isrobablya poor opera that is remembered

only for its overture. 'Then comes die.orderly development of the theme whichmay ha anything 'from a categorical arrange-ment by material; medium, geographicalplace or historicoperiod to the illustr%tionOf an explicit idea.

Of course temporary exhibitions havemany other uses. A new or small museum

`can plan a series of changing shows, overseveral seasons perhaps,4Thich will outlineits 'ideal programme and define its aspira-tions for the benefit of its public and patrons.Large and long-established museums cancall attention to aspects of their collectionsby special showing, and temporarily fillgap§ in their permanent collections. Some-times a new acquisition suggests a tempora-ry exhitlition to introduce it. No museumlacks occasion for special exhibitions, theproblem is to determine how many can beadequately presented in view of the Jost,and of the months or years of preparatorystudy a good exhibition demands. Tem-porary exhibitions impose a discipline oforder and arrangement for calculated effectwhich many museums could well apply tothe display of their permanent collections.They require forethought, planning andabove all a clear conception of the end inview. No museum, big or little, can easilyexcuse itself fora carelessly prepared specialexhibition as it often excuses its permanentshowings by citing the poor quality oroth.7r shortcomings of its collection. .

LABELS

Temporary exhibitions call for catalogues,informative material of many kinds and,above all, for labels. Museums which may

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be casual to the point of neglect in labelling'their permanent collection's will often risefo the challenge of a.temporary showing.Perhaps t i is because only one or a fewaspects of t e object have to be treated inthe label of a tempoilry showing, whereasthe permanent label must treat it fully.bnlythe person w ho has tried to write a museumlabel can understand how thorny a problemit is. The purpose of a label is to impartinformation in a compact comprehensibleform. But how. compact ?2There is no endto the educational chain-reaction setup by

.museum objects. Comprehensible towhom?The casual, possibly illiterate, visitor, or tothe travelling specialist ? He at least iscertain to read, a colleague's labels and notalways with fraternal sympathy. When allthe requirements are considered it becomesevident that only a master of the short essayshould be allow ed to yrrite a museum label,unfoqunately not many of these work formuseums. And whereas Montaigne andBacon presumably had definite audiencesin mind, as has a popular journalist today,a museum's reading public is of the mostgeneral kind. One possible solution is togive two.kinds of information on the amelabel: a bold heading easily read at dis-tance to identify the object, carryin essen-tial vital statistics, followed in smaller typeby as extended a discussion as the museumcares, or is able, to make. If a visitor iscontent with dates and scientific Latin hemay glance and move on, if he wants morehe is entitled to it, but not at the cost of thatprior attenuon which is the object's right.

Ideally both the bold identification andthe extended discussion should be close torather than on the object. Even where theobject must be identified quickly the expla-natory material will command its ownattention and s'hould be placed nearbyrather than in direct competition. This maynot be so in the theme exhibition which isitself an enlarged label with objects usedby way of illustration. However, for mostexhibitions, temporary or permanent,labels should be visible but not intrusive.Extended information may also be pro-vided by `room labels' in pamphlet formto be read by the studious visitor. Experi-ments have recently been made too withcontrOled radio transcriptionsa com-

.......)plicated antipcfensive butsiromising device.

The content of a label is an educationalmatter, ltut its visual presentatidn is anorganic 'part. of the wbsle exhibition; it--should conform in colour, scale gild loca-tion with the all-over scheme. Throughoutthe exhibition the typographical style ofthe labels should be_consistent. Consistentstyling of announcements, invitations andposters is also desirable. The labels shouldreferably be proctssed in some way, ifossiblei,printed, or if not, photostated

from typed or hand-lettered texts. Photo-statinv permits easy enlargement of atypewritten text as well as decorative tonegraduations from negative to positive. Per-manent labels should be mounted orframed, ftiy reasons of both appearance andmaintenance:

Maps are a graphic way of impartliginformation and useful for many kinds ofexhibitions. They may range in size from asketch map on the label, small enough notto compete with the object, to large ruralmaps designed as pact of a fairly large areaand helping to unify it. Maps have endlessdecorative possibilities and the furtheradvantages of being readily available andauthentic. Mural maps should take theircolours, however, from the colour schemeof the gallery or exhibition area and notrisk the confusion of introducing newelements of design. Their lettering againshould be consistent with the style of theexhibition. Such small factors can add upto a powerful iniluence on the visitorwithout his being consciously aware of it.A sovereign rule of all exhibition proceduresand one that is common to most creativeactivities is the rule that art shbuld concealart, the method of exhibition should notbe more noticeable than the things shown.

EXAMPLES OF EXHIBITIONS

Since these general principles apply to thecxhibition problems of all types of museumsand are infinitely varied in their application,it may be valuable here to discuss someconcrete examples, beginning with thequeen of museums, the Louvre (Plate 41).Not all museums arc housed in great palacesand few, unfortunately, have things of such

01kl

supreme irorth as a fragment of theParthenon's frieze to exhibit.` But mostmuseums havOto adapft their permanent

. architecture to the scale and space require-ments of their collections and every museunThas some objects it particularly prizes andwants to show in a ,way Out will inducerespeci ,and affection, or t least serious

1 attention, in itevisitors. It is an old bayingthat no museum can show an object withoutcommenting on it, even if only by theirmanner of showing it. If the presentationis casual or indifferent, pompous or con-fustil, the public's sensibilities will reactlaccordingly.. And these sensibilities canbe marvellously acute; even if not oftenarticulate; a museum should never over-estimate its visitors' knowledge, orunderestimate their intelligence.

The Louvre's problem, in this case, wasto simplify the palatial architecture withoutabandoning or concealing it and to relateit to the modest scale and the inherentcharacter of the Parthenon fragment.Beneath huge vaults and against a largeblind arch of richly coloured and patternedmarble a simple stone slab rises from astepped platform to hold the frieze. Every-thing is measured to the grave statelinessof classic style. Without the stone, thefrieze in its simplicity might have beenoverwhelmed by the 'rich marble whichhowever does comment ou the artistic valueof the sculpture by striking a luxurious note.But the stone background slab is plainerthan the Attic carving of the frieze, whichis set close to the marble walk although notimmediately against it and placed ,so thatnatural side light from a window picks upand emphasizes the relief. The platformsuggests the stylobate of a Gree!, templeand defines a volume of uninterruptedapace, a kind of unwalled room inside thelarge hall, where the visitor feels he canenter and see the sculpture by itself. Theplatform appears to invite close inspectionof the sculpture but in practice it keeps thevisitor at a respectful distance and protectsthe ancient stone from the damaging touchof hands. Platforms also reduce the sheeracreage of gallery floors which is a cause ofmuseum fatigue and boredom.

In the very ,different modern setting ofNew York's Museum 4Modern Art (see

Plate 4z), one of the hey objects in anexhibition of American India had to beshown so that its truly, onum tal scale ,..s;could be hrought out in spite of itstore size. The) pipe is a scant eight,'inches high, yet it has a sculptinals,randeurwhich the visitor with average intelligencebut, without special experience in suchartistic matters might,not sense. It wasshown in a Small free-itinding caso-againsta huge photographic erilargemerit. Thisphoto-mural announced the scale of thewhole group of small but monumentalobjects from the same culture and unifiedthe exhibition area by its decorative power.The cut-out letters of the master label arealso larger than many of the objects but donot compete with them or diminish them.This results from their relation / to thecolossal size of the photo-mural, whichruns from floor to ceiling of the galleryand is as much larger than the original asthe room will permit. In fact both the mural,and the label become part of 'the roomrather than of the exhibition. Had theybeen smaller they might easily have been.a source of confusion, neither decoratingthe gallery nor asserting the character andimp,.rtance of the objects. This dramaticeffect is perhaps more suitable to a tem-

orary exhibition but the principle could bemodified for permanent ustz,. Textures andcolours are studiedly neutral, so as to let themodest soapstone, steatite and obsidian ofthe objects speak for themselves.

Enlarged photographs are often used tobring out the latent monumentality pf smallobjects such as coins, carved gems, medalsand' seals, or simply to make them morevisible regardless of their scale properties;the chief problem is So find the right sizefor the enlargement. Actual magnifyingglasses are sometimes set over small objectsbut this method perMits only one visitorat a time to see the object, whereas photo-.gra phic enlargements can be read by many,and at a distance.

The Palazzo Bianco in Gehoa (see Plate 43)deliberately contrasts the dramatic austerit7of modern decoration and modern, materialswith an early Renaissance sculpture ofmedium size. A machined metal supportcan be raised, lowered and turned showingthe infinite profiles of an object in the round; i3

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the visitor can thus relax and does not needto move. The spirit of the materials usedfor the mounting is in direct contrast withthe hand-carved stone of the sculpture.Surrounding walls and furniture define thevolume which the.sculpture's self-containedmovements reach out and demand. Anyhurt of period setting is conspously avoidedso that the Giovanni Paano is presented inan atmosphere of almusr surgical purity.This is a bold and effective way of concen-trating every power of observation on theobject itself. Perhaps only a masterpiece cansurvive such concentration but studiedsimplicity is a.uscful focus for most museumobjects.

Natural light, often the most desirableand inexpensive, is always appropriate forthe great majority of natural objects andthose originally meant to be seen in naturallight. But it is sometimes difficult to control,especially for objects in the round. Thediffused overnead light of traditional gal-leries .s excel' nt for paintings but can betuu blind for sculpture and other three-dimensional objects. Fixed artificial light-ing has its virtues but can never capture thevariable play of natural light which, evenin a short period of observation, can modeland animate. Plate 44 shows an effort tothrow a sharp raking light on two shallowreliefs in order to accentuate the fine detailof their carving. One bay of a large gallerywas partially walled to exclude a generaland warm yellow south light. Two tall,narrow windows to the north were in.eapensively closed with paperboard onw,ouden frames to concentrate cool bluishlight, falling from above and to the side (seeFig,i). The reliefs were then set in wallsat ifight angles determined, by moving thereliefs until they seemed to find the bestillumination. The Assyrian fragment of awinged genius is mounted at the height itwould have reached if it were intact andthe ply wood wall is covered with coarsesand mixed with wet paint to contrast withthe fine-textured alabaster. The Persianrelief came from the parapet of a stairwayleading to the palace platform of Persepolis.Though small it has considerable powerwhich was lost when It was shown flat ontoo large a wall. Set in an approximation

13Z of its original parapet location its curved

,.,

upper edge functions naturally and it feels-

generally more `comfortable', hence moreaccessible to the observer. Its wall isunpainted rough plaster without the finishcoat:The space of this area, enclosed pri-marily to provide adequate light, maysuggest the proportions of a Mesopotamianpalace corridor v{fthout too urgently insist-ing on the resemblance.

Reconstructions of original settings runthe r le.of seeming artificial and contrived.The . are in any case, complicated, possiblycost y undertakings, and the desired effectcan often be simply achieved Ly suggestion.The NiederUaererchisches tandesmuseum(see Plate 45) gives two Schleinbach gravestheir proper subterranean character byraising a stone platform above floor levelto house them. The rough masonry isappropriate to the prehistoric theme andincorporates a case of small objects. A largemap of the site gives both information anddecorative unity and a styliked mural ofskeletons in burial position symbolicallyannounces the theme. Graphic symbols ofthis type can be highly effective'but, wheremore sophisticated objects are shown, canalsb be competitive.

Plate 46 shows the quieter environmentof a permanent gallery in a small museumadapted for the showing of Greek andRoman art. Large museums often have toselect their exhibitions from an embarras-sing profusion of objects, smaller museumssometimes need to expand a few to give theeffect of many. This gallery in Honolulu'sAcademy of Arts is architecturally unobjec-tionable but was obviously designed toexhibit paintings. The potteries are smalland need enclosure and the small sculpturesask for sympathetic emphasis. Walls oflight construction divide the larger areaand provide niches for sculpture and alsoincorporate conventional cases. Cases area constant museum problem, since thereis no such thing as an all-duty case. Ideally,every single object and type of objectrequires a space of its own. Shelves can beinstruments of boredom and the case itselfis often a bulky object, adding its ownphysical presence to the scene. As a generalprinciple of design three elements, whetherof colour, value or shape are the maximumthat can be successfully combined without

tist

Solid areas show original architectureshaded areas show added walls. t Assyrian andPersian sculpture (see Plate 44). 1Window dosed with paperboard on wood framework. 3 Two-way or window casts. 4-,uspended wall .cases for pottery and bronzes. Inset wall cases. 6Raised platforms with couches and sloping-topped tables that show miniatures. 7 Angled wall mountin5sthat show miniatures. 8Free-standing casts for pottery and bronzes with self-contained lights. 9Free-standing cases connected by a soffit that holds light. toMural map.

causing confusion. It is difficult enough tohandle the object, the element of space-colour-and-texture immediately surround-ing it, and .the larger room in which it islocated, without the fourth element of thecase intruding itself. If cases then can beincorporated with walls or theii.structureminimized, the problem is simplified. Oneinexpensive way of accomplishing this is tobuild walls around the cases a museumhappens to have, as was done here. Theprojection of the centre case is a pleasing

variation and works against the threatenedmonotony of too many objects of the samesize on the same levels. The mosaic fromAntioch is quite logically shown as a floorpavement and being a large rectangulararea on a different plane helps to tie theroom together.

Large, wall spaces and room areas canbe adjusted to the showing of small objectsin a variety of ways. The Pinacoteca di Brerain Milan (see Plate 47) lowers the vaultedceiling of a disconcertingly long, high

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gallery by a suspended ceiling, half thecurridur's width, set at a congenial heightwith c vc lighting above it, to show earlyLombard acid Venetian paintings which arecharacteristically small panels. Vistas aredramatic in themselves but can shrink theobjects set along them and sometimes tirethe visitor with the threat of too much lyingahead. Yet cutting the long hall into cubiclescould be monuNnous and would sacrificethe monumental scale of the old gallerywhich does suggest the original churchsetting of the paintings. The Brera reducesthe corridor's sweep with screens at rightangles to the wall, set on legs for &Ieffectollightness, and stayed to the wall with arod. The hanging space is considerablyincreased, the scale is brought down forthe benefit of small paintings while theoverall architectural unity is not violated.Natural light from high windows on theopposite wall is gently brcl.en and diffusedby the screens. r..

The Stedclijk Museum in Amsterdam (seePlate 48) soft,r.s the light from side win-dow s hti setting them with panes of translu-cent glass, and lowers a beamed ceilingwith an awning. Benches have been builtalong the window wall to cover unsightlyradiat,,rs and a horizontal exhibition planehas been introduced w ith low platforms onwhich paintings are shown. The platformsplay an important part in the decorativescheme of the room, breaking up a largefloor area and offering a fresh way, of look-ing at paintings. The Stedelijk ha's changedthe surface of many walls in its old buildingby nailing up a gridw (irk of wooden battensover which fabric can be stretched, sizedand tinted in the fashion of stage scenery.The battens hold nails fur picture hangingat all the usable Inds and are much lesscostly than the floor to ceiling plankingcustomarily used in painting galleries.

The Museo Nacional de Historia in Mexi-co (see Plate 49) had to adapt the massivescale of the Castle of Chapultepec to suitthe display of coins which demands a moreintimate setting. This was most success-fully dune b% a permanent alteration whichlowered and simplified the ceiling over alung hall electrical fixtures being providedwhere neededand lowered it still furtherwith a wide flat dropped ceiling above

I

.which cove-lig g gives a diffused generalillumination .tbthe gallery. A master labelruns from the flouLtp the dropped ceiling,subdividing the exhiBition spacc_and.carry-ing information on the history of silvercoinage in Mexico. Strip cases are built intoone wall, and a fin wall with a two-way casebounds the exhibition area. Walls of thistype allow the visitor to see something ofthe neighbouring galleries, inviting him togo fiirther without distracting him or toorigidly confining him to the subject aihand. They demonstrate the valid modernprinciple of fluid space and resist the tyrannyof the rectangular room. There is nothingsacred about a right angle as the Chapul-tepec rases show by curving their back-grounds to make the small coins,_morevisible d offering a welcome relief fromflat-planes. The cases are set in a long hori-zontal line along which the eye travels moreeasily than if forced to jagged verticalmovement. The master label and fin wallvary a too-insistent horizontal stress.

The Print Section of Amsterdam's Rijks-museum (see Plate 5o) breaks the longhorizontal line of subtly designed cases byacknowledging the neo-Gothic architectureof the hall whose compound piers breakthe sweep into manageable bays. The ...a.esalso vai v the vertical stress by .leaning awayfrom the plane of the wall. The backs of thecases take an opposite incline holding theprints for the observer at the angle At whicha hand would hold them for close inspec-tion. Interior light can be controlled, in thisinstance, with filters over fluorescent tubesfor the protection of the prints. Absence ofgeneral light under the gloomy vaultsconcentrates attention on the small objects.It is an admirable solution of a difficult and,all too common problem, that of adaptingconventional architecture to pat ..cularmuseum use.

Plate 31 illustrates the solution of asimilar print exhibition problem, fabric-covered wood panels applied to plasterwalls and a long horizontal cove builtabove the exhibition strip to hold andcon...eal fluorescent tubes. Venetian blinds

'diffuse and screen out an excess of generallight from high windows. Two-thirds of alarge rectangular gauery were walled off forstorage, work and audy space to reduce the

'ply'5 tJ

scale of the remaining, corriciiir appro-priately for showing prints. The heavycornice of the original room containedventilation and heat ducts so that it couldnot be cloied off, although its interruptedarchitecture needed to be concealed, andscale required that the ceilibg be loweredat least 3 feet. This was inexpensivelydone by building a hori' intal louver withfoot-wide redwood boards of a pleasantsolour. Automatically this suggested akeneral scheme of warm brown valuesaccented by off - White, lending an extrabrilliance to the black-and4hite or colourprints to be shown in the room. On one sidethe cove runs continuously thto h threegalleries, thus avoiding the intpre sion of'chopped-up' space.

Another way of modifying a large roomso that small objects will not be over-powered ,,by its sheer size is shown inPlate 31. Here 44 miniatures and some textpages from an eleventh-century Persianmanuscript are exhibited. Miniatures areliterally miniature, paper-thin buiyk illustra-tions meant to be seen at no more thanarms' length. Hung on the 17-foot wall ofthe original gallery they would have beencompletely lost, like a postage stamp on avery large envelope. Since high -set win-dows reaching the cornice prevented lower-ing the ceiling without major alterations,z x iz-inch beams were thrown across thegallery at a height of 9 feet. These holdboxes with fluorescent tubes behind frostedglass to light a long plywood strip on whichsingle folios ate shown at a slight anglefrom the vertical, the strip acting as anelongated unified mat for the series. Fram-ing and matting can increase the size ofa small cbjcct it properly done, but mat-ting poses its own problems: Near-Easternartists considered the mounting of minia-tures hardly less important than the paintingitself, and since they were seen singly aspages of a book there was no danger ofmonotony in prolonged repetition of thesame size. Museum exhibition of miniaturepaintings is a direct oppbsite of all thecircumstances of their original environ-ment, which should be compensated forin some way. The inatf&script had been cutapart by previous owners so that all thepages in this group could be shown without

-\.ruthless dismemberment. But several folios

were double, with paintings on both sides,which presents an even more complicate&exhibition problem. Plexiglass sheets were -1cut out with the aperture being slightlysmaller than the page so that it i heldfirinly at the edges. Between the sheet labellabeltranslations of the text are inserted elowthe pages and the two sheets are sealed onthe outer edges to stop air. movement with .e

its destructive changes of humidity. Glasscover-sheets are placed over the plexiglassand the whole is held together by a groovedframe. The frames are then supported onwooden piles in the 'pogostick .(spring-supported poles) fashion, nailed to the floorand socketed in soffits set between thebeams. Thus the double folios seem lightlyheld as their own fragile nature dictated.The soffits house incandescent spotlightsbehind frosted glass throwing light equallyon both sides of the folio so that onepainting will not be visible thiough theother. Venetian ,blinds over the two bigwindow's diffusediffuse soft general lig& throughthe lower part of the room. The tawny toneof old paper and the vivid colour of theseoldest of Persian miniatures suggested asimple scheme of warm grey for walls andoff -white woodwork. A further changewhich seemed desirable was to break thestiff rectangular g-llery into a more informalspace. As the sketch plan shows (see Fig. z)the strip: alls and row of lights above forman 'V at a slight angle to the lines of thewall and the double folio mounts follow afree 'S' curve. If the whole effect shouldhint of a garden pavilion to some romanticvisitor no harm would be don:.

By building angled temporary walls to.house spedal cases for an exhibition ofPre-Columbian Art of Western Mexico theColorado Spings Fine Arts Center (see.Plate., 3) successfully defied the despotismof the right angle and achieved the gracefuleffect of a curved wall at far less cost thanan actual curved wall would have entailed.Angled walls can control the visitor'sattention to some extent as does here thehorizontal line of cases with their smallobjects which points to a climax of large ,tarracotta figures .The free-shaped group ped-estal in the centre of the room plays curvesagainst straight lines and large cut-out

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Fig. 2. z --Gridwork of 2 by 2-inch beams. 2Boxes holding fluorescent tubes abOve frostedglass. ; Sloping wall of plywood with apertures cut for miniatures protected by glass. 4Soffitsholding 75-Watt umandescent spots over, frosted glas. 5 Two -inch dowel; holding mounts fordouble folios.

letters are used to label tlie*om. Anawning ceiling diffuses light and concealsthe permanent architecture of the building.

Since the museum experien(e is pri-marily visual rather than verbal, maps areoften the best kind of label and have greatdecorative possibilities. The Niederoster-reictusches Landesmuseum in Vienna beinga museum of both art and nature uses mapseffectively throughout the baroque palacethat houses its ecological collections. InPlate 54 the map acts as a mural friezeplaced well above the group of objectsfrom the iron Hallstatt culture, and locatesthe culture itself, showing its disseminationthrough the north Mediterranean world.A built-in wall case shows a key monu-ment, a reproduction of the Kuffarn situla,mounted on a rotating .plexiglass stand andnearby on a modes_ brick pedestal a stonerelief,_This-is a sensitive use of materials;the plastic base for the situla ..emphasizesthe light, portable character of the vessel,the simple brick pedestal is ,appfopriateto the prehistoric theme and is architec-

1 3 6 turally justified since it supports an archi-

tectural fragment. Lettering on map andobjects is consistent and carefully designed;the, colour of the wall is used for landmasses, making the map an organic part ofthe room.

In the mesolithic gallery of Stockholm'sStatens Historiska Museet a series oftable maps carries the principal story ofthe Scandinavian glacier's slow retreat(see'Plate s 5), and the resulting cha_rges inflora, fauna and human cultures. They arecut out of an opaque material and set onglass table-tops which are ;ri turn set in atable frame of simple massive design.A mural of graphic symbols on one of theend walls announces the theme of the room.Screens are set\at right angles between thewindows of a side will to hold objects.The opposite long wall is broken with anaccordion line of panels supported onwooden legs similar to those of the tablemaps. They hold photographs and smallsloping table cases of objects. It is a mosteffective exposition of a complex subjectwhich manages to 'be -unusually attractive.

The Museu do Indio, in Rio de Janeiro,

" r`)t) I

combines similar elements more compact-ly (sec Plate 56). A grid of vertical polesholds a cut-out map showing the distribu-tion of Indian population, a screen carriesphotographs and two simply designed lowhorizc teal cases house Indian objects. Thefloor covering, if only owing to its size, an

iimportant element in the composition ofany room, works well as part of a moderndecorative scheme.

The mural map in Plate 57 locates the.cities of origin of the pottery, textiles andminiatures of a late-Islamic gallery. It alsoserves the aesthetic purpose of offeringlarge simple shapes as a relief to the intimate.scale and the' repetition of small decorativeelements characteristic of later Ncar-Easternart. Its colours are those of the room, deepblue, pale lavender and off-white suggestedby the Ikamascus plate in the two-waywindow cl-s-e to the right. At the axis of thegallery is a Koran from sixteenth-centuryMecca .and it is actually the graphic symbolof the room's theme. It is shown on a plexi-glass lectern so that its eighteenth-centurybinding can be seen and its pedestal caseis attached to a platform against whicha Persian vase carpet is held at a slight anglefrom the floor. This inclined rug platformhas two uses, aesthetic and practical; itshows the rug, which is after all a floorcovering, in physical relation to a floor anddetaches it enough to keep it from beingabsorbed by the floor, holding it up to theobserver for special emphasis. The practicalpurpOse served is that the angle keepspeople from being tempted to walk on itand does away with the need for suchsecurity devices as ropes or railings. Secu-rity measures are necessary to protectmuseum obje-ts from human curiosity, butthey should not be too insistent, tooconstantly forbid touch; say 'no' too often.Many museum visitors are not quite surewhy they came in the first place, they tendto be timid in the presence of things theyare seeing for the first time. If they feelthey ae being regimented they will exercisetheir privilege of !caving and will not comeback.

The labels in this gallery have printedheadings and typewritten texts which havebeen photostated. The middle toned greyphotostat negatives are mounted on card-

board. For the labels inside the cases whichare lined with off-white silk, positive pho-tostats are used. The angles of the Koran,the rug platform and the Indian miniatureon the wall, all help to lead the eye up tothe map and lend some variety of plane tothe rectangularity of the fixed architecture.

Architectural motifs can underline thetheme of an exhibition and give decorativeunity, especially if the exhibition is tem-porary and the architectural motif implicitrather than obtrusive. The M. H. l2e YoungMemorial Museum in San Francisco (seePlate 58) adapted the space of permanentgalleries with panel. _screens of natural,mahogany set in white spruce frames toshow Art Treasures from Japan. Thepedestals are of the same material. Finwalls to hold hanging scrolls were guardedby light-wood railings and the Japanesemote throughout was asserted by materialsand proportions in the Japanese spirit morethan by specific Japan designs, forinstance, in the way a trough of lights washung from the ceiling no more than

anan effect of Japanese beams. Potted plantswere accents especially appropriate to thetheme. Plants and flowers, however, makea vigorous bid for attention, competingdangerouisly with inanimate objects, evenmasterpieces and they also add maintenanceproblems. Judiciously used, however, theycan decorate and freshen the still atmo-sphere of a museum hall.

The Museo della Civilta Romana in Romeis an excellent example of the type of themeexhibition where objects illustrate ratherthan dominate, where the exhibitionbecomes in fact an enlarged label. InPlate 19 the theme is ancient Roman familylife and large Ietteis well-placed high onthe walls proclaim it, relating objects ofvarious .,izes to the subject. The large free-standing panel dividing the long gallerycarries a text explaining the theme, witha niche holding a husband-and-wife fune-rary portrait in much tbe same way as in awell-designed book a page of text might beenlivened. The gallery itself is a goodexample of modern exhibition architecture,a bare shell asking no attention for itselfMond its patterned skylight and graciousproportigns, proportions which themselvesexpress d3e theme monumental for the 137

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Fig. 3. Possible use of temporary or screen walls.t Wall of any desir nstruction and size.zApertures of any d d size or height. 3Modi-fication of old case erior to escape rigid rectan-gularity and control e interior for new or specialuse. 4Another We control of cast interior.C,ilings could be used both instances and lightingvariously supplied fro sides or overhead.

institution of the family but scaled also tothe individuals who compose the family.

A basic archaeological principle is effec-tively demonstrated by a large label towhich objects are fixed in Chicago's NaturalHistory Museum (see Plate Go). This is apioneer example of eloquent simplification;its concrete specimens have educated severalgenerations of school-children in whatwould otherwise be the wholly abstract

'"\ 'sequence numbers' of scientificarchaeology.The specialist can at least be amused by sotelling a popularization and the averagevisitor of average sensibility is immenselyhelped. Literal reconstructions of stratahave been used by many museums, andwith good effect, but there is a greatergraphic directness in the Chicago label. Itmay be that whereas such techniques are

legitimate for technical and .scientificmuseums an art museum must considercarefully whether or not its art objectsshould be cast in such a minor part. In anylarge group of objects, however, evenamong paintings and prints, some are lessartistically important than others. Thesemight well be used to adorn the tale of atruly explanatory label. The artistic,1noralcan still be pointed by accentuated showingof the finer worki.

There are very few objects available totell the Story of the Atom. The Palais de laDhcouverte in Paris (see Plate 61) conse-quently uses diagrams and enlarged micro-scopic photographs to develop a complextheme of great importance. Here a museumattempts to do on a popular scale what itextbook may often fail to do except for thetechnically trained. It calls on every deviceof aesthetic arrangement, visual emphasisand control of space and traffic to guidethe visitor through a consecutive presen-tation. The rectangular room is first sub-divided with fin walls and screen walls.Light is concentrated and concealed bysoffits. Colour subdues large empty areasto the horizontal line of narrative. Someplanes are inclined away from the perpen-dicular in the easy position of a book beingread. Curves are played against straightlines to relieve monotony. Lettering andtypography are consistent in style andvaried in size depending on the distance atwhich the text is to be seen. In short, everymeans of holding the visitors' attentionthrough a sustained period of time isemployed without makin ; him feel restiveor too authoritatively lectured at. This isthe ideal of the expository, teaching exhi-bition, and one which is not often so success-fully realized.

In contrast thefe is an over-abundance ofillustrative material for such a theme exhi-bition as the Los Angeles County Museum'sMan in Our Charging World(see Plate 62). Anexhibition of this kind usually begins withthe text which carries a simplified argument,necessarily reduced to a few major points,in large letters, sometimes cut out andapplied, to walls and panels, at other timespainted on panels of regular or free-shape,or printed and photostated. Typographicalconsistency is essential, not only for decor-

" 9

ation but also for effective exposition.A well-designed newspaper page with itsbanner headlines, sub-heads, paragraphheadings and so on could serve as a guidefor this type of pres/entation. Maps, dia-grams, photographs, 'models and graphicsymbols were all used to illustrate the text.Much of the material was shown on thepernianent walls of two rectangular gal-leries. Soffits were introduced to reduce theheight of walls and concentrate lighting insome areas, and screen walls of various.kinds, sometimes open grid walls, werefreely used to vary the exhibition space andguide visitors' circulation (see Fig. 3). Con-trol of the visitors' movement is essentialif an orderly argument is to be developed,but too strict regimentation may be re-sented. Walls set at carefully studied anglescan lead by their direction without imprison-ing the visitor; photographs, label.s andcharts can be slightly set out from the walllending a variety of plane to what is other-wise an array of flat shapes.

LIGHTING

The exhibition's subject and the objectsused to illustrate it became one and thesame thing in the London Scie ce Museum'sfive-month showing of Dar err into Day-light (see Plate 63). Ironically but logically,natural light was blanked out f the galleriesto show the history and p -sibilities ofartificial light. Existing space was effec-tively adapted by fin walls, stri of hori-zontal cases and an enclosed ledge slightlyraised from the floor and roofed with asoffit. Poles running from floor to soffit ofthis area held label panels, display shelvesand cases. Cove lighting above it illu-minated a series of photo-murals, set outfrom the wall to give them greater body.

The rapid development of modern light-ing techniques has presented many oppor-tunities to museums, not least among themis the chance they now have to remain openat night during the only leisure hours inwhich most of the members of their com-munities can visit them. Beginning withthe Institute of Art in the highly industrialcity of Detroit the lighting of many modernmuseum buildings has been plannedpri-

madly for night opening. Some museums*also argue that artificial light is preferable

to natural light under any circumstances,since it is more constant and more easilycontrolled, and possibly less costly sinceskylights are notoriously difficult to /main-tain and even windows need cleaning. Someexperts contend that the destructive powerof lightand all light can destroy or atle t t fade certain museum objects, paperan to tiles being especially sensitivevarie in direct ratio to the intensity oflight, and that sunhght is usually far moreintense than artificial light. Hence, fromthe viewpoint of conservation as well aspresentation, its champions argue thatartificial light is preferable. But Artificiallight has introduced problems of its own.It is difficult, for example, to determine thedegree and nature of destructive propertiesin artificial light. And while fluorescenttubes consume noticeably less current andhave a wide range of colourat least seventones of white are currently availablethey tend to change their colour with use,making it hard to keep a constant balanceof both colour and intensity unless all thetubes of an installation are replaced at thesame time.

1/4

CASE DESIGN

Sometimes the virtues of both kinds oflighting can be combined. Plate 64 showsa gallery of pre-Islamic art with four typesof cases, two of which use both naturaland fluorescent light. Over several years, asthe Near,,,Eastern _collection of this museumgrew, a lare/riave-like hall lighted byclerestory windows and flanked by aislesof alcoves was divided into a series ofsmaller areas adjusted to the intimate sizebut occasionally monumental scale ofMesopotamian, early Persian and earlyIslamic objects in gold, silver, bronze andivory (see Fig. 1). These walls were inexpen-sively built and plastered by the staff car-penter to house .square inset cases in thecentral gallery and to hold Coptic andSeljuk sculptures in an approximation oftheir original architectural placement onthe other sides (see Figs. 4 and 5). Fluo-rescent tubes over circular frosted glass

Fig. 4. Possible construction of built-in all case.zMetal moulding to hold glass front. 2Sky-light with frosted glass which can be lifted andmoved to replace lighting fixture. 3Fluorescenttube. Moulding which can be of any desiredprofil .

Fig. S. Possible free-standing case with combinationof natural and artificial light. s Metal conduit.2Groove to hold mitred glass formed by mould-ing and case floor. 3Skylight with frosted glass.4Fluorescent tube. 5Removable top for repla-cement of lighting fixture. 6Current taken from

140 floor socket.

openings in the ceilings of the square usesarc the chief source of li ht, though thereis some general natural light thro gh therooms. They are lined with beig velvetsympathetic in colour to the aim t goldobjects which are suspended onmountings. They are protected by h -inchbullet-proof glass set with light metalbeading and Phillips-head screws. Thisshould discourage the casual pilferer whomight be tempted by the monetary valueof the gold, but cannot break the glass orloosen the screws without a special tool,The professional burglar who would beinterested in their far greater artistic valueis another matter. Three of the more impor-tant works, an Assyrian ivory statuette. ofthe eighth century B.C., an Achaemenidgold cup of the fifth century,ancl a bronzestatuette from the First Dynasty of Babylonare shown in single cases but tied togetherfor architectural effect by . a soffit whichalso holds fluorescent tubes. The soffit ishigh enough to allow even the tallest visitorto walk comfortably under it, and byuniting the three cases into the effect of acolonnade reduces the confusion so easilycaused b repetition of small accents in aclutter useum furniture. Too manysingle utting from a gallery floor orbacked to gallery walls, accidentallyreflectin: :ht from their glass, can distracta v" attention from the preciousobjects ey contain. Their fragility maymake f. a cumulative impression of inse-curity nd, in fact, they may be unstableunless secured to walls or floors. Electriccurrent to light this colonnade of casescomes from a floor pocket and is franklycarried up to the soffit in a pipe.. Metalconduits so thin that they can be set in themitred joints of a glass case have beendeveloped, but they are apt to be compli-cated and to require special installation.When the wall now holding a mural mapwas raised to enclose a small gallery ofpre-Islamic sculptures it was pierced witha two-way or window case to show Sasan-ian silver vessels. It, too, is lighted byboth natural light from front and back, andfluorescent fight from above a frosted-glassskylight. Incandescent bulbs light the smallcases set into a strip wall beyond the windowcase. These exhibit Luristan bronzes which

are characteristically light, hence lightlyheld. A plexiglass column lifts the Sasanianplate; the sloping sides of the wood basesfor the centre bjects make the transitionfrom the fairly arge case floor to the smallbut powerfu sculptures; and might recallthe truncated-pyramid shape of a ziggurat.The colour scheme is in two tones of coolgrey to complement the warmth of ancientgold and silver and the labels are middle-tone photostat negatives of typed textswith printed headings, mounted on heavycardboard.

The Museo Archeologico in Arezzo (seePlate 65) makes good use of the built-intwo-way or window case. The glass fron9slide in metal frames giving easy access tothe contents, an important consideration i.-..a technical museum where qualified sti,dentsneed to examine objects closely. Smalllabels identify individual potteries and adetailed group label is framed convenientlynear. No architectural elements other thana small necessary floor moulding are allowedto compete with the pure classic shapes ofthe pottery, while a simple cool colourscheme enhances their warm, reds andblacks.

Another type of case which does awaywith a bulky base or emphatic legs is wellused by the MUseo Internazionale delleCeramiche in Faenzi (see Plate 66). Its lightmetal framework is attached to the wall;metal rods support glass shelves at differentlevels to avoid monotony and set off withlinear elegance the round or ovoid potteryshapes. These case units can be combinedin various ways, extended in a horizontalline along a corridor, set at varying heights,or, if desired, incorporated in walls.

The Geodesy Section of the DeutschesMuseum in Munich (see Plate 67) exhibitsmathematical instruments in inset caseswhich, placed back to back, determine thewidth of the walls that divide the -roominto alcoves of a size suitable for the inspec-tion of small objects. Windows giveiade-quate ckylight for the cases, which havefronts that can be operated in-a variety ofways. set with screws or bolts so that theycan be removed entitely, counter-weightedso that they can be lifted into the wall above,like a window sash, or hinged at the topand propped open with a wooden support.

The glass front of a case this size or largeris too heavy for side hinges. Piano hingesthat run the entire length of the frame arepractical. The alcoves are simply, and gra-cidusly designed; slight vaulting varies therepetition of straight lines and flat planes,architectural details are kept to a minimum.

The Rblisska Museet of Goteborg hasdesigned a simple and adaptable case madeof plain boards forming a honeycomb ofsquare compartments (see Plate 68). Movablebacks, solid or of frosted glass, can be setin individual squares at whatever depthmay be desired, glass fronts can be applied.Such a case can be placed in front of awindow if, for example, glass is to be shown;it can be combined with other units of thesame kind, raised or lowered to variousheights, be variously painted in modernschemes and is generally useful for theshowing of almost any kind of small object.

By inserting a dividing panel in a con-ventional case the Rijksmuseum in Amster-dam (see Plate 69) makes the case an effectiveroom divider and adjusts its size to thesmall objects shown. Here, as in many otherexamples, the framework of the case is keptas slight as possible, with a wood frame atthe top but none for the mitred corners ofthe glass, which rests in grooves on thebase. All objects suffer Then they are closedin glass, necessary thotrgh such protectionis, and the slighter the barrier is betweenobject and observer the happier the result.Cases of this kind can subdivide a largegallery, creating a sense of architecturalvolume appropriate to the material shown,Delft pottery in this instance. There 9probably no more important single factorin successful display. than proper haddlingof the space that contains an exhibition,and the serene simplicity of this gallery isan admirable example.

MOUNTING OBJECTS

The mounting of individual objects offersendless possibilities for success or failure,and should always command serious pre-paratory thought. Here the personality ofthe object, its weight, colour, function andall other properties must govern absblutcly.The Statens Histonska Museet in Stockholm

; 4(11 ',"to

a

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142

S

(see Plate 70) has fully understood the natureof a mitre, which i$ worn on the head, anda carved ivory detail from a bishop's staff,which is held. The silhouette of a crosierhas been cut out of a sheet of plastic to holdthis ivory detail and a plastic support holdsthe mitre at the natural relative heightabove the crosier. The surrounding spaceis in proportion- to the scale of the objectswhich, in tutn, are proportioned for humanuse. Musical instruments can also be heldby relatively invisible wires and plasticsupports in the position in which they wereplayed, automatically giving them a vitalitythey must lose when laid on a shelf or hungon a wall. To the same end, natural historymuseums go to great lengths to give theirbird and animal specimens a life-like andconsequently convincing mounting.

The Brooklyn Museum's problem inmounting a group of shallow reliefs fromTell-el-Amarna (see Plate 71) was different.Many Egyptian reliefs in tombs and theinner precincts of temples were never meantto be seen, but prove to be masterpieceswhen properly lighted and mounted. Thedelicate style and small dimensions of thesefragments called for an intimate humanscale of presentation. Since they varied inthickness they have been inset in the ply-wood panel which forms the back of anexhibition case at a uniform .urface laneOne result of this unified mounting is thatthey add to each other's size, creating atotal effect greater than the sum of theparts. A general label discusses the style ofIkhnaton's reign, and individual labelsidentify the single pieces. The labels aresimply but well designed, mounted oncardboard for effect of greater solidity, andoutlined by a small border so as to distin-guish them still further from the sculptures.

An exhibition of petroglyphs from theAmerican southwest presented the oppositeextreme in scale (see Plate 72).To show a seriesof accurate reproductions of rock drawingswhich had been engraved and painted onactual cliffs, the Brooklyn Museum built atemporary wall of plasterboard, cuttingapertures to the size and contour of theindividual specimens. The reproductionswere set at about a foot behind theseopenings and concealed lights between theouter wall and the reproduction gave

dramatic illumination. General light in thegalle1y was subdued to focus attention.The showing made no attempt to suggestthe original physical setting which was ablaze of outdoor light, but the plasterboardwall unified the group somewhat as a cliffface might, keeping the scale large. Paper-board of various kinds, plywood, and fabricstretched on wood frames can be used tobuild such walls quickly and with neithergreat difficulty nor expense.

Many types of museums have wrestledwith the problem of exhibiting costumesand perhaps none has solved it with com-plete success. Costumes are meaningless,except as textile specimens, unless they aremounted on some approximation of thehuman wearer. Both the `habitat group'technique of natural history museumswhich requires carefully modeled figures,and almost abstract stylizations have beentried out. Too stylized a mounting can seem

. tricky or self-conscious, however, and maydeflect the observer's attention from thething shown to the mann& of showing. Onthe other hand, too life-like a mannequintends to make the visitor feel he is in a

. waxworks. Plate 73 shows the StatensHistoriska Museet's solution. Stylizedsilhouettes of human figures have been cutfrom plywood and reproductions of BronzeAge arms and garments have been applied.This schematic treatment is simple andunpretentious.

The Deutsches Museum in Munich(see Plate 74) prefers a highly naturalisticsolution in the hall where early weavingtechniques are shown. Alcoves openingoff the larger gallery are handled in thefashion of a realistic stage set, with archi-tecture appropriate to a spinner from LowerBavaria and a Japanese weer. Controlledlighting enhances an illusion achievedmainly through the skill which has goneinto the making of individual figures forspecific settings. Stock mannequins fromstore windows, which many museums areforced to fall back on, are probably thepoorest solution to an admittedly difficultproblem.

Order saves the multiplicity of objectsand labels in the education hall of SaoPaolo's Museu de Arte from overpoweringthe visitor.at first glance. Since an educa=

1,0

Fig. 6. Pogo-stick screens, a simple easily built example. x Pipes cut to appioximate height ofroom and threaded at top.: Flange screwed to top thread. 3Adjustable foot. 4Screen of plywoodor other material, fabric-covered if desired. 5. Solid foot with Range, actually a heavy bolt small en nighto slip into pipe. 6Nut adjusted to desired height. 7Metal hasp bolted through screen. 8Rod plazdthrough holes in pipe to hold hasp.

tional point is to be made, the label materialmounted on panels held on a pipe frame-work dominates the large room. Actualobjects mentioned in the labels are shownin horizontal lines of cases lightly supportedby tubularl legs along both walls of thegallery. This is an effective demonstrationof the versatility of 'pogo-stick' mounts,pipes or poles or tubes that rise from floorto ceiling and can be regrouped in an endlessnumber of ways (see Plates 75a, 75b, andFig. 6). Unistrut is another standard material,light steel strips in a `U' section, that can beused in similar ways. It can be used withoutspecial tools. or skills and assembled as caseor table supports or as frameworks to holdpanels of wallboard or plywood which canfit into its grooved section.

THE TRAVELLING EXHIBITION1

Through the medium of circulatingexhibi-dons many museums extend their pro-grammes and facilities to smaller centres,perhaps to regional centres or others in thesame city. Since these smaller centres maynot be equipped or experienced enough tohandle cubittions adequately, a circulatingexhibition must be a self-contained instal-lation adaptable to many kinds of setting.An exhibition of Yugoslav folk art in theRoyal Scottish Museum of Edinburgh is anexcellent example (sec Plate 76). The wall and

x. See E. C. Osborn, Manual of TrAling Exhibi-tions, Paris, Unesco, z95 3. (Museums andMona's:ter series, No. V). 1113

case units can be combined in a variety ofU.1% S, die large map will serve as announce-ment and label in any circumstances. TheCursed %%ails raised un legs held in a curvedplinth are especially serviceable in breaking

munuton) of straight lines or in actingas a boundary wall for the showing. Suchmovable units have to be more sturdilyconstructed and consequently more expen-sit e than similar elements in a permanentexhibition, but withou, them a circulatingexhibition may completely lose its unity.Since any circulating eNhtbitien is bound tosuffer a certain amount of wear and tear,the materials used should be not only strongbut easily cleaned and repaired. Severalmuseums have developed a most useful butcostly type of mobile unit, specially. adaptedtrucks which are miniature tra,vellingmuseums, sometimes designed with Wwningroofs that can unfold from the truck andbe supported on poles that will also holdpanels. This is a highly specialized matterhowever, whereas most museums need to

design and make, redesign and remakeexhibition equipment for their own usewhich can be adapted o their varyingexhibition needs. The melecko-Prumys-love Museum in Prague (s e Plate 77) devisedseveral exhibition units 6f4mple construc-tion and material for a show of modernarchitecture which could be used again indifferent combinations or serve as the pre-

fabricated installation of a circulating exhi-bition. The slow curve of the table unitsin the centre is especially graceful as is thecurved screen wall with glass louvers whichsets the exhibition off from the rest of themuseum.

It is said that a wise general always plansa retirat, and it is true in museums that noamount of careful forethought can providefot all the problems that even a modestexhibition will present. Resilience andadaptability are necessary virtues for anyonewho designs exhibitions, in addition to themost important of them all, a fundamentalsympathy with the object to be shown.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ADAMS, Philip Rhys. 'Towards i strategy of present-ation', Abutum, vol. VII, no. t, pp. 1-15.

ALLAN, Douglas A. `Museumsmukiir murandit,The Museums Journal, vol. 46, no. 5, pp. 81-7.

ALTH1N, Torsten. 'The atomanum of the TekniskaMuseum, Stockholm', Museum, vol. VII, no. 3,PP. 167-73

AEGAN, G. C. 'Renovation of museums in Italy,Museum, vol. V, no. 3, pp. 156-65.

ATKINSON, Frank. 'Colour, and movement inmuseum display', The Museums Journal, vol. 49,no 6, pp. 135-41.

BARD1, P. M. 'An edu ational experiment at theMuseu de Arte, Silo Paulo', Museum, vol. I,

no. 3-4, pp. 138 -42.BASSLER, Karl. 'Deutsche MuseumMuseum of

Science and Technology', Museum, vol. VII,

no. 3, PP. 171-9.BAZ1N, Germain. 'New arrangements in thdepart-

ment of paintings, Musee de Louvre,1 Paris',Afuseum, vol. VIII, no. t, pp. 11-23.

Giovanni. 'Recent rearrangements inItalian archaeological museums', Museum, vol. Na,no. I, pp. 39-51.

BEER, Abraham. 'Recent developments in mobile

144 units', Museum, vol. V, no. 3, pp. i86-93.

BLACK, Misha (ed.). Exbibirion design, London, 2952.BLAKELY, Dudley Mtore. 'Solutions to exhibition

problems caused by space limitations', TheMUUUM Neal, vol. XIX, no. 1, pp. 11-22.

BROGLIE, Louis de. 'Scientific museology and thePalais de la Decouvene',Mureum, vol. II, no. 3,1111. 141-9.

BURNS, Ned J. 'Modem trends in the natural historymuseums', .Munum, vol. VI, no. 3, pp. 164-73.

COLEMAN, Laurence Vail. Museum buildings. Vol. I.Washington, 195o.

FELLOWS, Philip. 'Planning for the Festival ofBritainstaging a temporary TheMuseums Journal' vol. 50, no. 12, pp. 287.9.

FREEMAN, C. E. `Museum methods in Norway andSweden', The Museums Journal, vol. 37, no. to,PP. 469-92.

GEBHARD, Bruno. 'Man in a science museum of thefuture', Museum, vol. II, no. 3, pp. 162-71.

GENARD, J. 'Lighting of museum objects', Murnent,vol. V, no. I, pp. 53-65.

QirrmANN, Robert; KocH, Alexander. Aussisl-lungssidnek. Stuttgart, 1954.

HOWARD, Richard Foster. 'Some ideas aboutlabels',The Museum NMI, VP'. XVII, no. 7, pp. 7-8.

KALi.smoM, 0. `Use of plastic mounts for the

specimens of goldsmith's art', MUICUM, vol. V,no. 2, pp. 106-9.

kiNcstAN, Eugene. 'Installation of permanentexhibits in relation to education', The MuseumNa':, vol. 27, no. 12, pp. 7-8.

Katherine. 'Explaining art visually', Museum,vol. I, no: 3-4; pp. 148-55.

LOHSE, Richard P. New design in exhibitions. NewYork, 1954.

MANo-Zissi, Djordje. 'Reorganisation of theNational Museum, Belgrade', Museum, vol. VIII,no. 1, pp. 50-63.

MARCENARO, Caterina. 'The museum concept andrearrangements of the Palazzo Bianco, Genoa',

. Museum, vol. VII,. no. 4, pp. 250-67.MCCABE, James A. 'Museum cases to minimize

fatigue', The Museum Newt, vol. X, no. 18,,p. 7.MELTON, Arthur W. 'Studies of installation at the

Pennsylvania Museum of An', MI MuseumNa':, vol. X, no. 14, pp. 5-8.

MORLEY, Grace L. McCann. 'Museums and circu-lating exhibitions', Museum, vol. III, no. 4,pp. 261-75.

NoRrit, F. J. 'Labelling and display in Canada andthe United States', The Museum: Journal, vol. 35,no. 3, pp. 8t-6.

'Notes for students: labels, their function, prepara-tion and use', The Museum: Journal, vol. 49, no. 2,pp. 26-3o; no. 3, pp. 55-62; no: 4, pp. 80-6.

O'DEA, W. T. 'The Science Museum, London',Alsunait, vol. VII, no. 3, pp. 154-br.

OSWALD, Adrian; LAWRENCE, G. Wilson. 'Makedo and mend', The Museum: Journal, vol. 48,no. 11, pp. 130-I.

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OWEN, D. E 'Notes for students : the temporaryexhibition', The Museum: Journal, vol. 48, no. 5.PP. 96-8.

PAYLER, Dona 'Display and labelling', DrMuseum: Jo opl. 33, no. 2, PP. 41-4.

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SANDBERG, W. J. H. B. 'An Rid museum adapted

Amsterdam', Museum, vol. IV, o. 3, pp. 155-61.for' modern art exhibition, edelijk Museum,

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STANSFIEV.D, IL 'Museums of Tomk7ow', TheMuseum: Journal, vol. 45, no. 10, pp. 69-75.

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THOMAS, Trevor. 'Penny plain twopence coloured,the aesthetics of museum display', The Museum:Journal, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 1-13.

THORDEMAN, Bengt. 'Swedish museums', Marcum,vol. II, no. 1, pp. 7-62.

WILSON, James H. 'Labels which last', The MartiansI Journal, vol. 49, no. 5, pp. 114-16.

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145

CHAPTER X

MUSEUM ARCHITECTUREby Bruno MoLAjou

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Whenever it is proposed to build a museumwhether large or smallthere is usuallyone preliminary matter to be settled: thechoice of a site. Where several possibilitiesare available, the drawbacks and advantagesof each must be carefully weighed.

Should the site be central, or on theoutskirts of the town? This appears to be themust usual dilemma. Until twenty or thirtyyears ago there was a preference for thecentre of a town, with its better transportfacilities. But as the use and speed of publicand private transport have graduallyincreased and it has become easier to getfrom one point to another, it has beenrealized that the convenience of a centralsituation for, a museum is outweighed bythe many and substantial advantages of aless central position. These include agreater choice and easier acquisition ofland (at lower cost), less fatigue from thenoise of traffica growing and alreadyvery real problemand an atmosphereless laden with dust and with gases whichwhen not poisonous are, to say the least,unpleasant.

A museum should always be readilyaccessible from all parts of the town by.public transport and, if possible, be withinwalking distance as well, and must bewithin easy reach of schools, colleges,university and libraries. As a matter of factall these institutions have similar problemsand stand equally in need of topographicalco-ordination, it would be advisable to takethis into account at the town-planningstage, rather than deal with each case separ-

146 ately as it arises, a method which may

involve the sacrifice or neglect of manydesiderata.

Museums tend- nowadays to be regardedmore ancinTrCre .as 'cultural centres' (theterm by which they are indeed sometimesknown in America). It must therefore beremembered that as such they are visitednot only by students but by people withdifferent backgrounds who, if a museumis near enough and easy to reach, may cometo it, even with little time to spare, in searchof instructive recreation.

Though there is still a prejudice againstthe building of museums in parks orgardenson the plea that this makes themmore difficult to reach and disturbs thetranquillity of such placesthese arebecoming very popular as the sites of newmuseums. They offer considerable advan-tagesa wider choice of detached positions,thus reducing the risk of fire; a relativedegree of protection from dust, noise,vibrations, exhaust gases from motorengines or factories, smoke from thechimneys of houses and from municipalheating plants,.the sulphur content of whichis always harmful to works of art.

A belt of trees surrounding the museumbuilding serves as an effective natural filterfor dust, and for the chemical dischargesthat pollute the air of.a modern industrialtown; it also helps to stabilize the humidityof the atmosphere, to which paintings andperiod furniture are often sensitive, It issaid that large trees, if unduly close to thebuilding, cut. off or deflect the light andthus diminish or alter its effect on colour;but this disadvantage would appear to beunimportant, or in any case easy to over-come.

The rroundmg land may offer spacefor an nnex, built at a suitable distancefrom museum itself, to house variousequipment and services (heating and elec-tricity, repair shop, garage, etc.), or thestores required for them (wood, textilematerials, fuel oils, etc.), which it would beunsafe or, for some reason, inconvenientto stock in the main building.

Moreover, space will always be availableat least in theoryfor future expansion,either by enlargement of the original build-ing or by the onstruction of connectedannexes; this is articularly important ifthe first project to be restricted in scalefor reaso w ich, though unavoidable,are likely to be transitory.

The beauty of a museum is considerablyierainced if it is surrounded by a garden

which, if the local climate is propitious, canbe used to advantage for the display ofcertain types of exhibit, such as ancient ormodern sculpture, archaeological, or archi-tectural fragments, etc.

Part of the surrounding grounds mayalso provide space for a car park.

The planning of a museum is an outstand-ing example of the neec' not only forpreliminary and specific agreements butfor close and uninterrupted collaborationbetween the architect and his employer.

There is no such thing as a museumplanned in the abstract, suitable for all casesand circumstances. On the contrary, everycase has its own conditions, requirements,characteristics, purposes and problems, theassessment of which is primarily the taskof the museum director. It is for him toprovide the architect with an exact descrip-tion of the result to be aimed at and of thepreliminary steps to be taken, and he mustbe prepared to share in every successivephase of the workfailing which thefinished building may fall short in somerespects of the many and complex technicaland functional demands which a modernmuseum must satisfy.:

Another point to be considered is whetherthe new building is to house an entirely newmuseum (whose contents have yet to beassembled) or to afford a permanent homefor an existing collection. In the first casewe have the advantage of a free approach tothe problem and can decide on an ideal

form for the museum; biit with the atten-dant drawback of beginning our work inthe abstract, on the basis of entirely vagueand theoretical assumptions which futuredevelopments will probably not confirm. Inthe second case we must take care not to gothe opposite extreme by designing a build-ing too precisely adapted to the quality andquantity of the works or collections whichform the nucleus of the museum; futureneeds and possibilities of developmentshould always be foreseen and provisionmade for them.

All this is part of the director's responsi-bility.

Due regard should also be given to thespecial character of the new museumthequality it already possesses and by whichit is in future to be distinguishedin rela-tion to its collections. This may, of course,be of several kinds (artistic, archaeological,technical, scientific, etc.) and respond tovarious needs (cultural, general or localpermanence or interchangeability, uniform-ity of the exhibits or group display, etc.)

Naturally, every type of collection, everykind of material, every situation has its owngeneral and individual requirements whichwill considerably influence the structure ofthe building and the form and size of theexhibition rooms and related services. It isno usc attempting to present a series ofarchaeological or ethnographical exhibits,whose interest is chiefly documentary, inthe space and surroundings that would beappropriate to a collection of works of art,paintings or sculpture of great aestheticimportance, or to apply the same standardsto a museum arranged chronologically andone whose exhibits are classified in artisticor scientific categories, nor is it possiLle todisplay a collection of small works of art,such as jewellery, small bronzes, medallions,miniatures, etc., in rooms of the size neededfor large objects of less meticulous workmanship, which require to be seen as awhole and from a certain distance.

Even a picture gallery cannot be designedin such a way as to serve equally well forthe exhibition of old pictures and modernones. for, apart from the fact that aestheticconsiderations recommend different settingsfor the two groups, it is obvious that agallery of old paintings is comparatively

I /17-AL)

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r48

'stabilized', whereas the appearance of amodern gallery is to some extent 'transi-tory', owing to the greater ease and fre-quency with which additi9ns, changes andrearrangements can be made. In the lattercase, therefore, not only the architecturalfeatures of the building but also its actualconstruction must be planned with a viewto facilitating the rapid displacement andchange-over of exhibits. The transport ofheavy statues, the adaptation of space andthe use of the sources of light in the wayand on the scale most appropriate forparticular works of art, should be takeninto account as well as the possibility eitherof grouping or of displaying them singly,according to the importance and emphasisto be attributed to them.

A museum must be planned not only inrelation to its purpose and to the qualityand type of its exhibits, but also with regardto certain economic and social considera:tions. For instance, if it is to be the onlyinstitution in the to A n which is suitablefor a number of cultural purposes (theatricalperformances, lectures, concerts, exhibi-tions, meetings, courses of instruction, etc.)it may be desirable to take account in theinitial calculations of the financial resourceson which it will be able to rely, the natureof the local population, the trend of clop-ment of that population as revealed bystatistics, and the proportion of ,the popu-lation which is interested in each of themuseum's activities. -

In fact, the word 'museum' covers a widerange of possibilities, and the architectcommissioned to design one must makeclear to himself first of all nut only thespecific character of the museum he is tobuild, but the potential subsidiary develop-ments and related puiposes which can besensed and foreseen in addition to thedominant theme.

The future may see substantial changesin our present conception of museums. Ifthe architect who designs one allows in hisplan for easy adaptation to new fashions,new developments, new practical andaesthetic possibilities, his work wiii be allthe sounder and more enduring. A museumis not like an exhibition, to be broken upafter short time and brought togetherlater in an entirely different form. There

should be nothing 'ephemeral' in its charac-ter or appearance, even where. the possibilityof changes or temporary arrangementsis to be contdmplated.

These considerations should be borne inmind when the architectural plans for thebuilding are drawn up.

According to a prejudice which, thoughgradually dying, is still fairly common, amuseum building should be imposing inappearance, solemn and monumental. Theworst of it is that this effect is often soughtthrough the adoption of an archaic styleof architecture. We are all acquainted withdeplorable instances of new buildingsconstructed in imitation of the antique,they produce a markedly anti-historicalimpression, just because they were inspiredby a false view of history. Another out-moded prejudice is that which demands a'classical' setting for ancient works of art,as thbugh their venerable dignity wouldsuffer and their aesthetic value be diminishedif they were placed in modern surroundings.

But though the style of the buildingshould be frankly contemporary andgoverned by the creative imagination of itsdesigner, architectural interest must not bean end in itself, but should be subordinatedto the purpose in view. In other words wemust not devote out entire effort to design-ing rooms which will be architecturallypleasing, it is at least equally importantthat attention he concentrated on the worksexhibited, that their mile en valour be,ensuredand their predominance established. Amuseum in which the works of art wererelegated to the background and usedto 'complete' a pretentious architecturalscheme, could not be regarded as success-ful, but neither could a museum whichwent- to the other extreme, where theconstruction was subordinated to cold,mechanically functional considerations sothat no spatial relationship could be createdbetween the works of art and other exhibitsa museum with a completely impersonalatmosphere.

The ideal would seem to lie somewherebetween these two extremesthe aim beingto allow for that sense of proportion whichshould always be in evidence when amuseum is planned, to ensure that thevisitor will find there the friendly, welcom-

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ing atmosphere, the attractive and conve-nient features that he enjoys in his ownhouse.

It is the difficult but essential task of thearchitect, no less than of the director of amuseum, to brine the place into conformitywith the mentality and customs of everycitizen of whatever rank and standard ofeducation. Much will depend on they levelof taste of both men, on their human quali-ties of sympathy and sensibility, which mustgo hind in hand with their nfofessionalabilities and which cannotbe prompted ortaught.

PLANS FOR- SMALL MUSEUMS

The foregoing remarks apply to every newmuseum, whatever its size. We shall nowconsider more particularly the principlesand characteristics on which the planningand construction of small museums shouldbe based.

By 'small museums' we understand anyinstitution whose programme,and fins teesare restricted so that, at least at its incep-tion, the premises built .for it will be oflimited size, in Most mks only one storeyhigh.

-It is not so easy to determine preciselywithin what limits the idea of the 'littlemuseum' is to be confined; for while it may,at its smallest, consist of one room, it mayon dm other hand be of an appreciableextent, though still too small to be properlydescribed as a medium-sized or largemuseum.

For the present purpose it may beassumed that the 'small museum' will notconsist of more than to to tz medium-sized exhibition rooms (3 c 7 square metres)in addition to its other services.

A new museum, even on this small scale,cannot function efficiently unless it respectsthe general principles of museography andthe special possibilities for applying themwhich are provided by the particular cir-cumstances governing its construction.

There are certain museogranhical consi-derations which must have a decisive in-fluence on the structure of the building, forinstance, on the arrangement of the roomsor the type of roof chosen, and which

are therefore of technical importance in theconstruction.

Consequently, the successful planning ofmuseum entails the well-considered choiceand unerring application of these decidingprinciples, whose chief theoretical andpractical aspects I shall now briefly describe.

Natural lighting. This is one of the subjectsmost keenly discussed by museum authori-ties, and is, indeed, of outstanding im-portance. It was believed at one time thatelectric light, being easy to switch on,adaptable and unvarying in its effects andable to give full value to architecturalfeatures, might provide not merelyan alternative to the use A* daylight inmusQms, but a substitute for it. Butexperience has forced tb to recognize thatespecially where running expenses have

ito be considereddaylight is still the bestmeans of lighting a museum, despite thevariations and difficulties which charac-terize it at different seasons and in differentplaces. The building should therefore beso planned as to make the best use of thissource of light, even if certain otherstructural features have to be sacrificed asa result.

Daylight may come from above or fromthe side. In the former case suitable sky-lights will be provided in the ceilings of theexhibition rooms. In the latter case, one ormore walls will be pierced by windows, theheight and width of which must be decidedaccording to individt.41 requirements (seeFigs. la- if, z and - 3d).

I.-Ishii/7g from above. This type of lighting,sometirris called overhead lightift (I dislikethis term, which seems too restrjEtive, ignoi-ing the possibility of directing the -lightfrom above at any desirable angle) has longbotri favoured by the de'signers of museums,fc. it

freercertain obvious advantages.

2. A freer and steadier supply of light, lessliable to be affected by the differentaspects of the various rooms in thebuilding and by any lateral obstacles(other buildings, trees, etc.) which mighttend, by causing refraction or by casting.shadows, to alter the quantity or qualityof the 'light irself.

z. The possibility of regulating the amountof light cast on the pictures or other

j149

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Fig. 1. Different methods of admitting natural lightfrom above. (a) Cross section. (bb) Cross sectionand view from above. (rI) Cross section.

Fig. 2. The Museum of San Mateo, at Pisa, isinstalled in the buildings of an old Benedictineconvent. The convent also includes a cloister, asecondary court and garden. The premises havebees restored and the M1111 build.ngs have beenjoined together to house the collection\ of themuseum.

The system adopted to use light from the sky isa particularly interesting one which could be appliedto advantage in other installations of exhibitionhails in old buildings.

This system consists of a series of glass panels setinto the ceiling to form an unbroken luminous bandabout sixty centimetres wide around the wholeceiling about seventy centimetres in from the walls.The panels arc of frosted plate glass, and abovethem is placed an outer band of glass panels builtinto the roof.

This type of natural lighting has many advantages,particularly with regard to the intensity and thediffusion of the light which remains unchanged inquality and can be easily regulated by means ofshutters, etc. installed in the space between thetwo sheets of glass. This space can also be used forartificial hghting and ventilation systems. t Outerglass panel. 2Inner glass panel. 3Ceiling.4Ventilation.

exhibits and of securing full and uniformlighting, giving good visibility with aminimum of reflection or distortion.

3. The saving of wall-space, which thusremains available for exhibits.

4. The maximum latitude in planning spaceinside the building, which can be dividedwithout requiring courtyards or lightshafts.

5. The facilitation of security measures,owing to fewer openings in the outside

Compared with these advantages the draw- 4-backs seem trifling, and can in any casereduced or overcome by suitable technicaland structural measures, they arc:1. The excess of radiating light, or of

diffused light interspersed with irregularrays.

z. The disadvantages inseparable from any

3-

system of skylights (increased weight ofthe roof or ceiling supports, liability tobecome coated with dirt, risk of panes%wig broken; danger of rain-waterinfiltration; condensation of moisture;admission of sun-rays, irradiation anddispersion of heat, etc.).The monotony of the lighting, andoppressive claustrophobic effect pro-duced on visitors called upon to walkthrough a long succession of /roomsfrom above.

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The greater complexity of the arclu-tectural and technical problems to besolved in providing a roof which, whileadapted to this form of lighting, willeffectively serve its various purposes(problems relating to weather-proofqualities, heating, maintenance, cleaning,security, etc.). 1St

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Fig. 3. (a) Plan. x Prints. ISculpture. 3Paint-ings. 4Patio.

The Swiss pavilion at the BiEnnale of Venice wasbuilt during tsos t-32. It consists of a large hall(t t m. x t8 m.) which was designed for punting!,a small gallery for prints and a court with an over-/aging roof, completely open on to a patio, forsulpture. This arrangement results in a continuityof interior and exterior spacesa particularlyimportant consideration in a pavilion of limiteddimensions.

The hall for paintings is lit from the ciling byclerestory-type windows. An awning of white clothforms the ceiling and covets the entire hall thusensuring an even diffusion of light.

Lateral lighting is used in the small print gallery,thb displays being so arranged as to avoid lightreflections on the glass.

(b) Longitudinal section.(r) Cross section of the sheltered court for sculp-

ture.(a) Cross section showing the clerestory windows.

x Openings for ventilation. 2Awning. 3Airinlets. 4Patio.

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Lateral lighting. This is provided either byordinary windows of various shapes andsizes, placed at suitable intervals in thewalls, or by continuous openings;. bothwindows and openings may be placedeither at a level at which people can see outOf them, or in the upper part of the wall(see Figs. 4a - 4b).

The solution adopted will be determinedby thetype of museum and the nature of itsexhibits, as the advantages and disadvan-tages vary from one to another.

Windows at the usual level, whetherseparate or continuous, have one seriousdrawback, in that the wall in which theyare placed is rendered useless and theopposite wall practically useless, becauseshowcases, paintings and any other objectwith a smooth reflecting surface, if placedagainst the wall facing the source of light,will inevitably cause an interplay of reflec-tions which impedes visibility. These win-dows will, however, shed full and agreeablelight on exhibits placed against the otherwalls and in the centre of the room at acorrect angle to the source of light.

Advocates of lateral lighting point outthat this is particularly successful in bringing_out the plastic and luminous qualities ofpaintings and sculpture created in pastcenturies, when artists usually worked bysuch light.

All this must be considered in conjunc-tion with the proper use of the floor-space,the shape, arrangement and sequence of thec.tfferent rooms, their size and depth inrelation to the outer wallsthe aim beingto make the most of the sources of light andto obtain the greatest possible uniformityof lighting throughout each room.

A definite practical advantage is, however, that'of rendering possible the utmostsimplicity and economy in the style ofbuilding, permitting the adoption of theordinary, non-transparent roofing (flat orsloped) customary in the district, and pro-viding, thanks. to the side windows, a con-venient and, simple method of regulatingventilation and temperature in museumswhich carrot afford expensive air-condi-tioning apparatus.

Another advantage of windows placedat the ordinary level is that some of themcan be fitted with transparent glass, allow-

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Fig. 4. Boston Fine Arts Museum. (a) Polygonalhalls showing different arrangements of wall spacefor displays in relation to the windows. (b) Recessedwindow and position of doors.

Fig. S. Music des Colonies, Paris. Lighting of agallery with blind walls, by a series of skylightswith vertical windows, awnings are placed beneatheach skylight.

5

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Fig. 6. Museum of Modern Art, Milan. (a) Ground floor plan. AEntrance. BCloakroom. CExhibition hall. DSculpture gallery. EStorage cabinets. FMovable partitions. (b) First floorplan. AUpper Gallery. BStorage of prints and drawings. CExhibition hall. DExhibition ofprints and drawings. EStorage cabinets. FMovahle partitions.

ing pleasant views of the countryside,gardens or architecturally interest.ng court-yards. This provides a diversion, ,restingthe visitor's eyes and refreshing his mind.

For this purpose it may be wise, evenwhere overhead 'lighting is adopted, toarrange a few lateral openings for thepassing visitor.

High,placed windows, especially if theyoccupy more than one wall, provide morelight, more closely resembling that supplied

by skylights, and leave all four walls freefor exhibits. but as they must be placed at aconsiderable height, if visitors are not tobe dazzled, the rooms must be compara.:tively large and the ceilings lofty. Thismeans that considerable stretches of wallwill be left blank, and building expenseswill increase owing to the larger size of therooms (see Fig. 5).

The tendency nowadays is to abandonuniform lighting in favour of light con-

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Fig. 7. In 194z, Mies van der Rohe devoted a greatdeal of attention to the theoretical design of amuseum for a small city to provide a setting forPicasso's painting Gueretiea. The building is designedto be u flexible as possible, consisting simply of afloor slab, columns, roof plate, free-standingpartitions and exterior walls of glass.

The relative 'absence of architecture' intensifiesthe individuality of each work of art and at the sametime incorporates it into the.entire design.

One of the museum's original features is theauditorium which consists of free-standing parti-tions and an acoustical dropped ceiling.

'Two openings in the roof,plate (5 and 7) admitlight into an inner court (7) and into an openpassage (3). Outer walls (4) and those of the jnner

court are of glass. On the exterior, free-standingwalls of stone would define outer courts (r) andterraces (ro). Offices (z) and wardrobes would befree-standing. A shallow recessed area (5) is pro-vided, around the edge of which small groupscould sit for informal discussions. The auditorium(8) is defined by free-standing walls providingfacilities for lectures, concerts and intimate forum!discussions. The form of these walls and the shellhung above the stage would be dictated by theacoustics. The floor of the auditorium is recessedin steps of seat height, using each step as a con-tinuous bench. Number (6) is the print departmentand a space for special exhibits. Number (9) is apool.' (From Mies Ns alss Robe, by P. C. Johnson,Museum of Modern Art, New York, r947)

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I

155

centrated on the walls and on individualexhibits or groups of exhibits, which arethus rendered more conspicuous and morelikely to attract the visitor's attention.Consequently, instead of lighting the wholeroom it is found preferable to light theshowcases from within, either by artificiallighting or by backing them with frostedglass which admits daylight from outside.

This is a possibility which the architectof a small museum can bear in mind, makinguse of it in special. cases and for objects(glass, ceramics, enamels, etc.) whope effectcan be heightenol,by such lighting. But itentails special structural features which maycomplicate the general budget.

Moreover, if the lighting system is toorigid, too definitely planned to suit a parti-cular setting and to establish certain rela-tionships between that setting and theexhibits, it will form an impediment byImposing a certain stability, tending toreduce the,museum to the static conditionfrom which modern institutions are strivingto emergethe present-day idea being thata museum should make a lively, dynamicimpression.

It therefore seems preferable, especiallyin small museums, to choose an interme-diate system which can be adapted to vary-ing needs and necessary changes, even if itthus becomes more difficult to achieve ide&results.

litrktatron and &mon of space. In designinga museum the architect will also be de-cisively influenced by the way in which it isintended to utilize and divide the space tobe devoted to the displays. This, too, isof course closely connected with the ques-tion of lighting, which we have alreadydiscussed.

The modern tendency is to create largeunbroken spaces, which can then be dividedup by movable partitions or light-weightstructures, to be grouped or displaced asrequired (see Figs. - 6b and 7).

The tradiuonal system is the contraryone of dividing the space, by means ofpermanent waifs, into rooms of varioussizes, which may be either communicatingor independent ( connected, in the lattercase, by passages or side galleries) (see

156 Figs. 8a - 8e).

A small museum may do well to adoptan intermediate system with a successionof average-sized rooms (for the display ofpermanent collections whose contents willnot change, such as those,received throughbequests, donations, etc.) and one or morelarge rooms which can be variously dividedup when required by movable partitions orlight structures.

The structure of the building, and with itkthe interior and exterior technical features,will vary according to the purpose forwhich it is intended. Requirements and Vcosts will be different in each separate case,for it is evident that the larger the surface,to be roofed in one span without interme-diate supports, the greater the technicalproblem and the cost of the roof. Further-more, the architect's calculations for thevarious features of a co-ordinated project(plan, circulation, lighting, etc.) will not bethe same if the project relates to rigid con-struction subdivided by permanent walls,or to flexible construction, adjusted to thechanges periodically effected in the museum.

Museum services. Before considering theplanning of the museum it is essential todetermine the size and location of thevarious services. In other words, we mustdecide how much space can and should beallocated for subsidiary activities, or forthose necessary to the functioning of themuseum in its relationship with the public(offices, rooms for meetings and lectures,library, documentation service) on the samefloor as the exhibition rooms, and whichservices and technical plant (heating andelectrical apparatus, storerooms, workshops,garage, etc.) can be housed in the basementor, if possible, in special out-lying buildingsto be built as annexes, at a convenient dis-tance from the main building.

It should be remembered that the usualcustom is to set aside for these purposes.anarea which may be as much as 5o per centof the total space available. In smallmuseums this proportion may be reduced.But the fact remains that two conflictingneeds have to be reconciled: on the onehand there must be easy communicationbetween the public looms and the museumservices, since this makes for sn.00th rela-tions between visitors and staff; on the other

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Fig. 8 (a, b, c, d). Floor plans for the location of doors in relation to the use of space. (s) z Traditionallocation of doors. z-8Secondary doors. 9- z Polygonal enclosures. z6Floor plan of the PrincetonUniversity Museum (leftground floor; rightfirst floor).

'57

hand it must be possible to separate thesetwo sections, so that they can functionindependently at any time. This is necessarychiefly to safeguard the collections at timeswhen the building is closed to the publicwhile the curators or office staff are still atwork and the library and lecture hall in use.

Planning

It is hardly necessary to explain, before em-barking upon a discussion of the differentquestions that may arise when a smallmuseum is being planned and built, that myaim is merely to put forward certain sug-gestions to serve as practical pointers, basedon experience of,the subject, with no in-tention of trespassing upon the domains ofthe various technical authorities who mustinevitably be consulted.

The exterior. A museum which is to be builtin an isolated spot or reserved sface (park,garden, etc.) needs to be surrounied by anenclosure, especially if the site forms partof an extensive area. For the visitor, thisenclosure will provide a foretaste of themuseum's architecture, and thus must notconstitute a 'psychological barrier', thoughthe fundamental aim of security, which ithas to serve, must not be sacrificed.

If, on the contrary, the museum is tooverlook a public street, it will always beadvisable: (a) to separate it from the streamof traffic by a belt of trees or even byflowerbeds; (b) to set back the entrance ina quiet corner: (c) to allow space for apublic car park.

The architect should think of the buildinghe has been asked to design as an organismcapable of growing, and therefore providefrom the outset for suitable possibilities ofexpansion, so that when the time comes forthis it will not require far-reaching ,andcostly alterations. He should regard theportion to be built as the nucleus of a cell,capable of multiplying itself or at least ofjoining up, according to plan, with futureenlargements.

Where space permits, it is best to allowfor horizontal expansion, as this, thoughmore expensive, has the twofold advantageof enabling all the display rooms to be kept

on one leel and of leaving the roof freefor overhead lighting.

Renouncing all pretensions to a monu-mental style, the outward appearance of thebuildingespecially if overhead lighting isadopted, so that there are no windows tobreak the surfaceshould be distinguishedby a simple balance of line and proportionand by its functional character.

Arrangement. Any general plan of construc-tion which entails an apportionment ofpremises is closely bound up with the pur-pose of the museum and the nature, qiialityand principal components of its collections.Each type of museum has different require-ment?, which may be met by various archi-tectural methods.

It is difficult to give any exact classifica-tion of the different types of collectionsbut we can offer a very brief one, if onlyto indicate the wide range of demands thedesigner of a museum may be called uponto meet:1. Museums of art and archaeology. The

size of the rooms and height of theceilings will be determined by the natureand dimensions of the works to beexhibited. It is not difficult to calculatea practical minimum ca able either ofaccommodating old paiqtings, whichare usually large, or 4-:medium -sizedmodern canvases; a suitable room mightmeasure about 16 x 23 feet, with wallaccommodation to a height of about14 feet. In the case of furniture, or ofexamples of decorative art (metal,, glass,ceramics, textiles, etc.) to be displayedin showcases, the ceiling need not beas high. If pictures and sculpture are tobe shown separately, their settings mustbe different from the point of view ofspace and lighting. For silver, jewelleryor precious objects it may be better' touse showcases set in the wallswhichcan thus be equipped- with lockingdevices and anti-burglar safeguards litfrom within, the rooms being left insemi-darkness. Rooms lit by artificialmeans rather than by sunlight are bestfor drawings, engravings, watercoloursand textiles. Such rooms may be longand narrow rather than squareratherlike corridors or galleriesas the visitor

4.1

a

has no need to stand back in order tolook at the exhibits, which will bearranged in showcases against the longestwalls (see Figs. .9a,..9b and 9c).

z. Historical or archival museums. Theseneed less space for the showcases inwhich their exhibits are placed, andcomparatively large and numerous store-rooms for the documents kept in reserve.Relics and papers are best shown inrooms equipped with suitable protectivedevices and artificially lighted, thoughsome use may also be made of indirectnatural light.

3. Ethnographic and folk museums. Theexhibits are usually displayed in show-cafes: They arc often large and cumber -so e, requiring a good deal of space.Considerable space is also needed for re-producing typical surroundings, if thisis done with genuine pieces and proper-ties or full-sized replicas. Strong artifi-cial lighting is generally used as beingmore effective than daylight (see Fig. to).

4. Museums of physical and naturalsciences, technological or educationalmuseums. Owing to the great variety of

Fig. 9. Wallraf Richartz Museum, Cologne.(a) Cross section of the exhibition halls.(b) Ground floor plan. AEntrance hall. B

Exhibition hall.,CWork rooms. DLibrary.EReading room. FAdministrative offices.

(c) First floor plan. AAdministrative offices.BExhibition halls.

i.;2: kJ

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Fig. to. Ethnographical Nfuseum, Hamburg. Planfor the location of exhibitioncases.

collections involved, their division intosections and the necessary scientificcataloguing, these museums differ insize and in architectural and functionalcharacteristics. Where the exhibits arearranged in series (minerals, insects,fossils, dried plants, etc:), medium-size&rooms may suffice, whereas reconstruc-tions and built-up displays of animals orplants demand considerable space andspecial technical features (for instance,means of keeping the special materialsand preparations in good condition,unaffected by the atmosphere, or equip-ment for maintaining aquaria, permanentfilm displays, etc.). This type of museumneeds laboratories for the preparationand upkeep of certain exhibits (stuffing,drying, disinfecting, etc.).

It thus rests with the architect to decide,for each of these types of museum, whatarrangement will best satisfy the particularconditions, purposes and requirementsinvolved.- I There can never be any objection toadopting the modern principle of a buildingso constructed that its interior can beadapted, divided and altered to meet thevarying demands of successive exhibitions.

IGo If this is done, the most important thing is

that the construction shall be 'flexible',that is, capable of adaptation to the differentfeatures it must simultaneously or succes-sively contain, while preserving unchangedits general frameworkentrances and exits,lighting system, general services and tech-nical installation. This principle is particu-larly valuable in small museums and in anyothers which must allow for enlargementsnot always foreseeable -at the outset.

The internal arrangement of the availablespace, the distribution and style of thegalleries can then be either temporary orcomparatively permanent. In the formercase, use will be made of movable parti-tions, panels of light-weight material (ply-wood or thin metal frames covered withcloth, etc.) fitted into special supports orinto holes or grooves suitably placed in thefloor; these can either be separate orarranged in groups held together by boltsor hinges.

This system is very practical for smallmuseums which intend to follow a definitecultural programme including successiveloan exhibiitions of works of art, and arctherefore obliged to make frequent changes,dictated by circumstances, in the size andappearance of their galleries. It has, how-ever, the drawbacks that all the interiorstructure is independent-of-the outer wallsof the building and nude of comparativelyfragile materials which are expensive tokeep in repair; moreover the place neverlooks settled, but rather mechanical anddisjointedan effect which is displeasing tothe eyb unless the architect designs thecomponent .parts with great taste.

Other objections to this method includethe difficulty of preparing new cataloguesand guides to keep pace with the changes,and of overcoming the conservatism of agreat proportion of the public; and, aboveall, the consequent impossibility of arrang-ing circulation within the building, andother matters affecting the divisiOn of spaceon a permanent basis. These things haveto be left tt, the Organizers of each succes-sive exhibition, and therefore cannot beincluded in the architect' original plan.

If, on the other hand, ;the interior spaceis to be divided up in a more or less per-manent manner, the question of 'flexibility'being set aside until the comparatively

distant time when the original plan of themuseum comes to be radically altered, thenthe dividing walls can be really 'built' tolast, even if light-weight materials areemployed. For their role will be reduced toproviding a background forzyorks of art,for showcases, or for any exhibits hung onthem, and to supporting their share ofwhatever type of roof or ceiling is chosen.

In this case the interior arrangement willbe very similar to, if not identical with,that of a museum of the traditional type,planned as a complete building with all itssections permanently fixed and the size andshape of its rooms settled cnce and for all.

In this kind of structure it is more thanever necessary to plan with a view toenabling the public to circulate) and toarranging the collections and s rvices inthe most rational and functional mannerpossible.

The question of circulation must bestudied attentively, so that the arrangementand the itinerary will be clear not only toanyone looking at the ground plan of themuseum, but also to anyone walkingthrough the rooms. It should be plannedto fit the logical order of the exhibition,whether that order is governed by chro-nologv, by the nature of the material dis-pla}ed, or as in a scientific museum, aimsat providing a connected sequence ofpractical information.

Though a compulsory, one-way routemay not be entirely desirable in a largemuseum, it is satisfactory and one mightsay logical in a small one, as it saves spaceand facilitates supervision. Viiitors shouldnot have to turn back and return throughrooms they have already seen, in order toreach the exit. They should, however, beable to turn off on their way round if theywish to cut short their visit or confine it tocertain things that particularly interest them.

So, even if a museum is to show a seriesof selected works of the first quality, weshould consider the possibility of arrangingthem in proximity to one another in such away that they can be seen without thenecessity of traversing the entire building.For example, in a succession of rooms sur-rounding an inner courtyard (see Fig. i z).

Care should always be taken, however,to avoid`the confusion of too many adjacent

Fig. xi. Suggested floor plan for a small museum.

doors, or of rooms running parallel to oneanother; visitors must not be made to feelthat they are in a maze where they can easilylose their way.

If the designer's preference or thedemands of space result in a series of roomsall set along the same axis, it may be desir-able to connect them by a corridor. Butthis should not be the only means of accessto the rooms, for if the visitor is forced toreturn to it each time, his fatigue andbew:Iderment will be much increased.

Entrain e. However many outside doors maybe found necessary for the various museumservices (but these should be as le' w aspossible, to facilitate supervision and secu-rity measures), there must be only onepublic entrance, placed quite separatelyfrom the others. This should lead into avestibule where certain essential serviceswill be locatedsale of tickets, informationservice, and sale of catalogues and post-cards.,In a small museum one person willof course be responsible for all this, andthe necessary installation musLbe carefullyplanned to ensure the most practical formand arrangement. The official in chargeshould not be confined to a booth behinda window, but should be able to move 16z

about freely and leave his position whencircumstances require.

In a little museum it would be particu-lady unsuitable to design the entrance hallon a massive or pompous scale, as wascustomary in the past, making it unneces-sarily lofty, and to decorate It in would-bemonumental style, like the atrium of a clas-sical temple, with arches and pillars. Modernarchitects tend increasingly to reduce over-head space and give the greatest possiblewidth and depth, producing a balancedeffect of greater intimacy and attraction.It is important fur the entrance h.11 to .seemattractive even to the casual passer-bywhois always a potential visitor to the museum.It should provide an easy introduction tothe building, a point from which the indi-vidual visitor can find his way withoutdifficulty and where large parties can begreeted and assembled. It must thereforebe jai/. spacious, and provided with thetystrict ni mum of sturdily built furniture(one ur 4.11_0,tables for the sale of tickets,catalogues, etc., a cloakroom, a few benchesur chairs, a notice:board, a general plan ofthe museum to guide visitors, a clock, andperhaps a public telephone booth and aletter-box). It is not advisable to have onlyone dour from here into the exhibitionrooms, there should be two, an entranceand an exit, fat enough apart to preventdelay should there be a crowd but placedin such a way that both can be easilywatched at the same time.

In museums where arriving and depart-ing visitors are to be mechanically counted,an automatic turnstile should be installed,serving both doors but placed at a sufficientdistance from the main entrance and theuckevoffice. Another possible method is thatof the photoelectric cell, but the objectionto this is that when .visitors are crowdingthrough the turnstile the record may not beaccurate. In museums where admission isfree, attendance can be computed for statis-tical purposes more simply by the custodianwith a manual counterwhich will avoidiicitling an unnecessary complication to thefittings of the entrance hall.

Exhibition rooms shape and requirements.A museum in which all the rooms are the

162 same size becomes very xJotonous. Byas

varying their dimensions and the relationbetween height and widthand also byusing different colours for the walls anddifferent kinds of flooring =we provide aspontaneous and unconscious stimulus toattention (see Figs. I za

Monotony also results when a number ofrooms follow one another in a straight line.Even u here this cannot be entirely avoided,the rooms should be so constructed that thedoors are not opposite one another, provid-ing a 'telescopic' view through the building.An uninterrupted prospect of the longroute ahead is usually. found to have adepressing effect on visitors.

There are, hu-s;....-..er, undoubld advan-tages in being, able to see into several roomsat the same time, it is a help, for instance,in directing visitors, and for securitypurposes.

On the other hand, by varying the posi-tions of the doors we are also able to placethe visitor, from the rr..rnent of his en-trance, at the point chosen by the organizerof the display as the best for conveyingan immediate and striking impression ofits general contents, or forgiving a view of

ithe most important piece in that particularroom. In principle, the door should beplaced in such a way that a visitor comingthrough it will see the full ltngth of theopposite wall. It is therefore not advisablefor it to face a window, since the visitorwill then be dazzled just as he comes in.

With regard to the shape and size of therooms, I have already pointed out thatdimensions should be varied so as to stimu-late the attention of the public and shouldalso be adapted to the size of the exhibits.

I ought perhaps to repeat here, for thesake of clarity, that the form and size of therooms will also depend to some extenton the lighting system chosen. Overheadlighting allows greater diversity of shape(rectangular, p.ollgonal, circular, etc ) be-

thc lighting can always be arrangedon a scale to suit the room. Oblong rooms,divided by partitions to a certain height,but with one ceiling and sky light, shouldhowever be avoided; this system has provedunsatisfactory both from the aesthetic andfrom the functional points of view.

Triepractice of rounding off the cornersof rectangular rooms is also out of)

1.) 3

A

bsieltanamme

Fig.tz (a, b, c, d, t,f). Different ways of dividing upexhibition space.

fashion, as it has been found that the advan-tage of unbroken walls and the impressionof better use of light in a more compactspace are offset by the resultant monotony,and that the general effect is not pleasingto the eye.

Lateral lighting requires shallow rooms,their walls set at an oblique angle to the

f

source of light. But the larger the windows,the More difficult it becomes to preventlight from being reflected in the worksplaced against the opposite wall. It isundeniably difficult to give a pleasingappearance to these asymmetrical rooms;the taste of a fine architect is needed to givethem character and harmony, either by

,6 4 -1-

I63

:areful attention to spatial proportion orvlhe use of different colours for the walls

and ceiling.Theoretically, the door between two

laterally lit rooms should be placed nearthe wall next to the windows, becauseotherwise the two walls meet in a darkcorner where nothing can be exhibited.But if the daylight is admitted riot througha vertical or comparatively narrow window,but through a 'ribbon' of glass running thev. hole length of the wall, the problem isnut the same. In this case the two end walls,meeting the outside wall from the normaldirection, or at a slight angle, will be well.Lt throughout their length, the doorwayscan therefore be placed at the furthestextremities, thus adding to the effectivedepth of the room.

One important fact should be rememberedwhen the shape of the rooms is beingdecided. A square room, when it exceeds acertain size (about a; feet square), has noadvantage over an oblong one,.either fromthe point of view of cost (roof span) orfrom that of the use of space in the satis-factory display of the exhibits, especiallyif they are paintings.

It is sometimes found advisable to placea work of art of outs.anding interest andexceptional value in a room by itself, toattract and concentrate the greatest possibleattention. Such a room need be only largeenough to accommodate a single work,but there must always be enough space forthe public to circulate freely. Galleriesintended for permanent exhibitions may,on the contrary, be of considerable size,though it is never_ advisable for them tobe more than al5i3ulzi feet wide, tz to18 feet, high and 65 to 8o feet long.

Construction and equipment

On the basis of the above considerations itshould be possible to prepare a generalplan or broad outline of the museum andproceed to carry it out, with the construc-tional details I shall now describe.

The building, especially if it is beingerected in the middle of a town, must beprotected from vibration, damp rising from

164 the ground, and the danger of fire spreading

from neighbouring premises. Special caremust be given to layinglfirm foundations,using materials which are waterproof anddo not transmit vibrations, and intblatingthem, by a supporting wall if need be, fromthe subsoil of the surroutkding streets.

An essential precaution is to make a veryaccurate prior examination of the geologicalstructure of the site, especially where thewater table is encountered close to thesurface.

Reinforced concrete, nt.cv employed inan ever-increasing number of ways and inall parts of the world, offers excellent resultsin museum-building, and not-only-in coun-tries which, like Greece, Japan and Sicily,are subject to earthquakes. It provides asimple means of insulating the museumfrom external vibrations, its greater strengthenables the roof to be constructed in onepiece with the rest of the building, and itsuse permits of large interior spates s hichcan be divided up by partitions of light-weight material.

It is not possible to recommend onemethod of construction or one materialrather than another, every country has itsown traditions and possibilities.

In the exhibition rooms and in all publicparts of the building (passages, stair-ways, etc.), floors and their supportingwalls should be designed to carry a weightof at ,least half' a ton per square yard, witha very wide margin of safety. Allowancemust be made for the weight of the largestpossible throng of visitors and for theassembly of a number of heavy objects inthe individual rooms.

As the museum adds to its contents, thedirector must be able to place statues, evenheavy ones, in the middle of the roomswithout fear of:damage to the floor.

In selecting his materials the architectmust aim at reducing noise to a minimum,whether it comes from outside or fromother parts of the building. Reinforcedconcrete has been criticized as a transmitter')of sound, but there are v*ious ways ofovercoming this, and full use should bemade of them in the construction of amuseum. The choice is wide, the walls canbe lined in the traditional manner with corkor coated w ith asbestos, mica or w uod-pulp , a more up-tu date method is to use

plastics and synthetic resins together withglass fibre (`glass wool') conipressed inlayers to a thi,Iness at which sound wavesare deadened and the conduction of heat,preventedchiefly by the air trapped inthe kinks of the fibre.

The rooras of a museum must be pro-tected not merely from noise, but fromextremes of temperature and humidity. Thebuilding must be insulated as completely aspossible. It is advisable not only to isolatethe outer walls adequately by the use ofinert or cellular materials or by leavingspaces, but also to investigate the capacityof absorption of the structural materialsand wall surfaces used inside the roomsimmediately behind the exhibits, these mustbe chosen with a view to ensuring thatthe temperature and humidity of the atmos-phere surrounding the objects exhibited arekept as constant as possible, since thoseobjects often consist of particularly delicatematerials, sensitive to external conditions.In special instances certain new buildingmaterials may be used, but the architectshould remember that the museum has tolast a long time and should therefore givepreference to what has already' been welltested.

Ceilings and roof. Rooms with lateral lightingmay have ordinary ceilings (flat, vaulted,smooth or with mouldings), all that isrequired beirk a suitable refraction ofdiffused, colourless light, matters are muchmore complicated, however, when a roomis lit from above.

The light may penetrate into such a roomeither directly from outside, or indirectly,through a glass-panelled ceiling with sky-

. lights above it.Light falling directly from above, through

skylights or windows which form a per-manent feature of the room, is in myopinion to be avoided, it is not possible,by this system, to control the angle ofthe light, which will change according tothe time of day and the weather.

Moreover, direct contact with the exteriorhas an immediate influence on the tem-perature, rendering it difficult to avoidextremes of heat and cold. These drawbacksare inherent in every system, even the best,which employs the 'shed' type of roof, and

in all those where the 'monitor' system-isused (this consists of a group of verticalwindows in a central, raised, section of theceiling), the greater facility of upkeep doesnot compensate for the entirely unsatis-factory practical and aesthetic effect.

Another system to be avoided is that ofthe 'cement glass' skylight, where the glassplates are so thick that the light comingthrough is too c d.

The best meth is a compromise in;:hick the ceiling of the room consistscompletely or partly of glass while the roofabove it is of a type which shelters thebuilding from atmospheric influences butallows the quantity and quality of lightbut suited to the museum to pass throughsuitable glazed openings (skylights).

For the construction of this outer roofwe should turn to the ordinary technicalmethods, which offer a wide choice ofsuitable frames, usually made of iron orreinforced concrete.

There can be no hard-and-fast rule con-cerning the ratio between the transparentand the solid surface, for it varies fromcountry to country, according to theaverage duration of daylight and the courseof the seasons. Where the days are moreoften long and the sky clear, the skylightswill naturally be comparatively small,whereas in regions where clouds, rain andfog prevail they must be as large as possible.The need to prevent loss of heat from thezooms below must also be considered. Byway of indication, however, one may sug-gest that the transparent suiface should beabout a third of the roof area.

A recently tested method of securing aconstant amount of light,. whatever theweather, consists in having a larger trans-parent surface than this, and placingbeneath the sky light some form of apparatus(venetian blinds or metal shutters operatedeither electrically or by hand) which can bedrawn right back or moved slowly forwarduntil the light is ainiost entirely shut out.This is also extremely useful in hot coun-tries to prevent the galleries from becomingover-heated.

For the construction of the outer skylightsit is now possible, to buy, and easy to fit,special metal frames which I ,Id and sur-round the panes of glass while allowing for

4t 47 ,yju

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the Rccessary expansion. and ensure thatw*hater die weather there will be noinfiltration of damp.

Considerable use Is made, for roofs ofthis kind, of a type of glass into which wire-netting is incorporated at the liquid stage,so that, should the glass be broken, thefragments are prevented from falling andpossibly causing damage.

Owing to its particular structure, how-ever, this 'netted' glass has to be fairly thick,which sometimes has the unfortunate effectof gibing the light a greenish tinge thatundoubtedly detracts from the visual effectproduced by works of artespeciallypaintingsand also Imparts an unpleasantly,cold and glaucous appearance to their sur-roundings.

These drawbacks are overcome if, insteadof the netted glass, 'tempered plate glass'is used, fur this, whsle it gives equally goodif nut better protection from the incle-atencies of the weather, is as transparentand colourless as can be desired.

All glass roofs, particularly those of amuseum, have %to be kept in regular andcareful repair, along the outside, andespecially round the sky lights, so thereshould be permanent, suitably protectedgangways fur the convenience and safetyof the workmen.

The space inside, between the roof andthe transparent ceiling, should be equallyaccessible, to facilitate security measures,maintenance and cleaning of this area, allof which are so essential to the smoothrunning of a museum.

Since, as I have already mentioned sooften, one of the chief needs of a properlyorganized muses,, guu.1 lighting, theform and construction of the ceilingsthrough which light is to penetrate mustreceive the most careful consideration.

The glass ceiling (frosted or opal glass)through which the light is diffused fromthe sky lights above it, must be far enoughb the latter fur the light to spread

ularly. A distance of from i to io feetwill be enough, iris greater, the lightwhich filters through the panes tends tolose some of its infra-red rays and sheds anunpleasant greenish tint on the worksexhibitedwhich should be prevented.

i66 The degree to which the daylight loses

1

its intensity on its way in from outside mustof course be calculated, and the size of theouter skylights suitably proportioned tothat of the transparent part orfhe ceiling.

This transparent portion may be eitherflat or sloping. If flat, it will be in one pieceand, in a small room, placed in the middleOf the ceiling. In larger rooms, to preventthe rays of light shining in all directionswith a dazzling effect, it will take the formof two :ribbons' or bands, parallel to thewalls and thus running between non-trans-parent strips of ceiling, one in the centreand one along either wall. The strips ofsolid ceiling along the sides cut out theexcess of light which would otherwise giveundue relief to the rough surfaces of thepaintings and their actual texture instead ofenhancing their effect as works of art. Thesolid portion in the centre serves to breakthe surface through which light penctrajEsand, by intensifying the effect of the ba'ndof light nearer to each wall, reduces thedistortion resulting from any reflectionsthrown on that wall by light from the stripon the opposite side of the ceiling.

-This effect is strengthened if the strip ofglass is tilted at a suitable angle towards

wallall it is to light. This requires a slightlymore elaborate supporting structure, butgives better resultswhich are even moresatisfactory if a row of parallel slattedshutters is fixed below the sloping windowand tilted towards the middle of the wallthat is to be lit. The purpose of thesereflectors, or shutters, is to guide andconcentrate the flow of light on the wallswhere the exhibits are arranged, preventingits dispersion and diffusion in the rest of theroom, where arrives only by reflection,so that this will be left more or less inshadow. Consequently, by direct and indi-rect means, the walls will receive a maximumof light and visitors, instead of beingdazzled or flooded with light from over-head, as happens with ordinary skylights,will feel the psychological influence of apleasant, restful atmosphere.

The objection to these large expanses ofglass, whether laid horizontally or at anangle in the ceilings for the diffusion oflight, is that it is difficult to, keep diemclean and that they may easily be brokenwith a possible risk of injury to visitors.

This can now be avoided by using,instead of glass, the modern plastics(`plexiglass', 'perspex', etc., with a thick-ness of z to 3 millimetres); these materialsare now being manufactured in everycountry, and are, highly transparent andhard wearing. Most of these plastics arelighter than glass which simplifies theproblem of the supporting framework; itwill, however, be wiser for this to be ofmetal of a standard type, or of some lightalloy, it will then last longer and notbecome warped.

In ceilings of this type the main weightis constituted by the glass (or other trans-parent material) and its supporting frame-work, which should therefore rest on theside walls or be suspended from the roofstructure (by adjustable metal rods). Thesolid, opaque portions can be built of light-weight materials, except in places where theworkmen responsible for maintenance haveto walk. At such points the ceiling shouldbe of stucco or hard plaster, in whatevershape the architect finds most pleasing tothe eye or best suited to reflect back thelightfor we are not concerned with thequestion of acoustics.

The ceiling must also carry the apparatusrequired for the artificial lighting of theroom and its exhibits, it is preferable forthis to duplicate the effect of the daylight,by means of tubular fittings runningparallel to the strips of glass.

If is desired to concentrate light onsome particular work of art, it will alwaysbe best to place the necessary projectorsabove the ceiling so that only their lensesare on the level of the ceiling itself.

For hanging the pictures, too, it isadvisable to make provision, during theconstruction of the building, for a specialmetal groove which should be fitted firmlyinto the wall just below the level of theceiling. Fitted into the wall in this way, thegroove will be almost invisible; it shouldbe of steel, shaped like a 'T' or `L' insection, so as to present a flange in whichto place the hooks 'bearing the cords orwires holding the pictures, thus enablingthem to be moved along the groove.

Windows and doors. The winthfilvs, at what-ever height they may be placed, must be

(a)' of suitable size for lighting the room;(b) strong and able to be securely closed;(c) non- conductive ,of heat from outside.

Metal frames are preferable, for they aremore durable, easier to handle, and can bebought ready-made in standard stylesamong which the appropriate type caneasily be found.

The glass should be chosen for its bright-ness, colourlessness and capacity to 'diffuselight to the best advantage. Ground glassusually gives a better light than 'opal glassi.e., that made from non-transparentwhite paste. Another frequently used varl-et, is `thermolux' (two sheets of glass witha thin layer-of 'glass wool' between them);this is only about half as translucent asground glass, but on the other hand' itdiffuses the light well, looks pleasant, andguarantees the necessary non-conduction,because the rays of tlie sun cannot penetrateit and the air trapped in the convolutions ofthe fibre considerably reduces the transmis-sion of heat.

Another type now obtainable is thedouble glass 'thermopane', put to ether -insuch a way that a thin layer-of-air- is left lathe middle. This givEl remarkable iesuliafrom the point of view of non-conduction,but is somewhat costly.

Venetian blind: made of wood, or betterstill of aliimin;um, are -being increasinglyemployed to screen the light from entirelytransparent windows where there are nospecial panes to diffuse it. These are easyto fit (the metal type can even be placedbetween two sheets of glass mounted in oneframe), very simple to work, and can beused to moderate, tiirect or diffuse the lightat will, with a wide range of effects mostuseful in a museum.

Qutside doors should be as few as pos-sible (a small museum need only have, inaddition to its main public entrance, aservice door for use by the staff, a safetyexit on the side farthest from the mainentrance, and a separate entrance to theworkrooms, garage, etc.). All outside doorsshould be strong, reinforced on the innerside by metal cross-bars or supplementedby a separate metal door or grating to givefurther protection when needed. The locksshould be of the strongest possible makeand of a type which can be opened only 167

with a key, even from the inside, to preventillicit ur unsupervised departures from thebuilding.

There should be no doors inside themuseum except where a part of the buildingrequires to be permanently cut off forfunctional reasons (doors leading into andout of the general entrance hall, manage-ment offices, storerooms and services, etc.).

The exhibition rooms should be con-nected only by doorways, for doors wouldseldom or never be used, and would merelywaste space at the narrowest punts through

iwhich visitors have to pass, it is bettersimply to face the sides of the doorwayswith marble, stone or wood, either through-out their height or in the part most liable

- to wear and tearapproximately from the hipto the shoulder of a person of aN erage height.

At most there should be doors only atthe beginning and end of each group ofrooms, to enable them to be cut off whilethe museum is closed to the public, or forany other reasons, such as repair work,rearrangement, etc.

Whenever it is desired it should be pos-sible to cut off one or two rooms withoutclosing the enure section to the public; thiscan be done temporarily by means of ascreen or a curtain.

The doorways should be of uniformheight throughout the museum and thatheight should be such that the largest-sized exhibits can be moved as easily aspossible from room to room.

In picture galleries, where some of thepictures may be of considerable size (it willbe enough to measure the shortest side,provided there is sufficient space to tilt thepicture and slide it through at an angle)doorways should be high, or may even beleft open right up to the full height of theceiling.

Walls. The treatment of the walls can domuch to make the rooms pleasant, variedand serviceable and to set off the exhibits,especially in art galleries, where appearanceis obviously of particular importance.

Materials and colours play the chief part,and it is difficult to make any suggestionson the subject, as their choice must bedecided by the taste and judgement of the

z68 designer.

In theory, and always allowing for thenatu of exhibits and the general aspect, itmay c said that the larger the room andthe greater the wall space, the lighter shouldbe the colours used on the walls. To avoidmonotony, large surfaces may be treatedwith stuccostippled or slightly pittedorthey can be shaded off in successive grada-tions, the colours being delicately overlaidso as to soften them, or applied, muchdiluted, with a sponge.

Dead white or neutral tinted walls aregoing out of fashion. Their popularity wasbased on the presupposition that white wasequivalent to the absence of colour andconsequently allowed paintings, whetherancient or modern, to reveal their tonalqualities entirely untrammelled. In actualfact, any colour darkens when seen againstthe background of a white wall; and thecolours, patina and lowered tonal contrastsof old paintings are particularly liable tobe affected in this way.

It should be remembered that, whereasin a private house the ideal wall colour isusually one which refracts the light, amuseum, on the contrary, must use coloursthat absorb light, if good visibility of theexhibits is to be assured.

A judicious use of colour in the back-ground can go far to bring the generalatmosphere of the room into harmony withthe works displayed, provided the walls donot compete with them in tone or intensity.Furthermore, even a slight variation of thecolours used in successive rooms helps tocompensate for uniformity of size and shapeor for any inevitable inequality in the distri-bution of light, the effect of which can beoffset by the use of lighter shades near thewindows, where the walls are in shadow,and darker tones on walls directly facingthe light.

Where the walls are excessively high inrelation to the size of the objects displayed,they may be colour-washed only up to acertain height, leaving the rest white, likethe ceiling. It should however be remem-bered in this connexion that for some-timenow there has been a tendency to place allexhibits at a lower level than was formerlychosen, since it has been found that it isless tiring for visitors to look slightlydownwards than to raise their eyes. This

4

,

fact should also influence the height ofshowcases, which ought but to exceed sixfeet. But this is not a hard-and-fast rule;and old pictures, in particular, nearly all ofwhich were paintcd with a view to theirbeing hung comparatively high, may withadvantage be hung in museums at a similarlevel, or at any rate at a medium heightconvenient to the visitor's eye, and alwayswith due regard to the perspective shownin the painting itself.

Floor. The choice of flooring for a museumis a matter of considerable importance,sinec the chief physical effort demanded ofan attentive visitor will consist in muchwalking to and fro and standing about.The nature of the floor may have itsinfluence both on the fatigue of visitors andon their degree of concentration.

Furthermore, the colour and texture ofthe floor must be such as to set off theexhibits. Generally speaking, the floorshould be darker than the walls, with areflecting capacity of less than 3o per cent.This is because a white marble floor, forinstance, which has a reflecting capacity ofabout so per cent, will refract light on tothe pictures, especially those in dark colours,and thus impair visibility. (The same appliesto the glass fronts of showcases.

Two other points to bear in mindforreasons which it is superfluous to discusswhen selecting a type of flooring, aredurability (i.e., resistance to the wear andtear to which the floor of the averagemuseum is exposed, with the resultant1danger of creating dust which is harmful'to the exhibits), and maintenance require-ments (ease, efficiencY, and cost of cleaning,and the time required fot it).

By way of guidance, I shall flow indicatebriefly the principal characteristics of thevarious types of flooring and their uses ina museum.

Concrete floorsunbroken surface, in squares,tessellated, etc. These are among the mosteconomical, but also among the mostcommon and undistinguished, they areeasy to keep in condition if polished byrubbing over with carborundum, they donot absorb damp, they are hard, noisy, andunattractive in appearance owing to theconcrete, especially if light coloured cement

is used; they are not yery suitable forexhibition rooms, but may be used in partsof the museum not open to the public.

Stone anduarble. These are always appro-priate, though they must of course be chosento suit the individual case. Where suppliesare easily obtained, the expense, usuallyconsiderable, may be reduced to reasonableproport,ons, especially when we allow forths compensating factor of durability ascompared with other materials. They areshiny and resonant, but these drawbacksare balanced by their beauty and decorativevaluethough these qualities make it pre-ferable to reserve certain strongly markedmarbles for stairs and corridors and touse others, quieter and more uniform incolour, for the withdrawn atmosphere ofthe exhibition galleries.

Tiles (terracotta). These are made, thoughnot everywhere, in different shapes andsizes, for a variety of patterns (in squares,herring-bone, parquet style, etc.); well-baked, they have a fine colour of their own,or the reddish-brown tint that they havewill absorb any colour which may beapplied to them, being thus well suited tothe requirements of a museum, they areeconomical; demand carefurbut not difficultattention; if waned or treated with asynthetic varnish they collect no dust andare long lasting.

Wood. This may be of various qualitiesand cuts, according to position; if wellbedded in a concrete base it is not resonant,though f-irly hard, maintenance is difficultsince wax polishes may make it too shinyand slippery, although synthetic varnishesare easier to use and keep in good condi-tion, certain of its characteristics make itvery agreeable for exhibition rooms, as itscolour is pleasing and tones in well withthe works of art, and it is warm and com-fortable to walk on I In countries wheretimber is scarce or imports are chieflyconfined to valuable woods, this type offlooring is more costly than the average.

Cork. This is the most silent, softest andmost elastic of all types of flooring; itrequires considerable care and attention,it is delicate, easily stained, and wears awayquickly even if polished, it is best suited toplaces such as libraries, where circulationis limited and silence a necessity.

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Rubber. Except for the elasticity andsoftness that make it appropriate for exhibi-tion rooms, rubber flooring has no advan-tages to compensate fur its high cost, it isdifficult to keep in condition, easily becomesshiny, and is slippery when wet, for a lungtime after being laid down it has an un-pleasant smell, but above all it is harmfulto silver, illuminated manuscripts and, ingeneral, all materials (including unvarnishedpictures) and metals, which become tar-nished ow in to the sulphauuslapours(hydrogen sulphide) w hich all rubber emits,however slowly.

Linoleum. Frequently. used and easy andeconomical to lay, linoleum's pleasantappearance, yielding surface, silence andeasy upkeep render it useful even in a fairlybusy museum.

Asphalt tile. Relatively resilient, easy tomaintain, and obtainable in various colours.It can also be used,,%in basements forexample, under humid conditions. It isfireproof and resistant to corrosion andstaining.

Plasm. varnishes. Several kinds of varnishmade of synthetic resins have recentlyappeared on the market, they are applied inseveral layers un a suitable, smooth con-crete base, with a result strongly resemblinghnoleum in appearance, but cheaper andeven easier to apply and keep in condition(wax polish). They are hard wearing andcan be obtained in any colour.

N.B. Wood, cork, rubber, linoleum andplastic varnishes cannot be used in museumswhich are heated through grids in thefloor.

Museums housed la old buildings

A practice which is already widespread andusually proves most satisfactory is that ofhousing a museum in some ancient buildingwhose architectural and historical character-istics give it a certain value. ,

In many cases the choice is deterMinedby considerations of .economy and utility,as it is thought better to use an existingbuilding than to put up a new one.

In some cases the motive is the oppositeone of finding a practical and cultural pur-

hose for an old building and thus saving itfrom the risk of becoming derelict or suffer-ing undesirable alteration.

In any case these advantages have tocompensate for the unfortunate fact thatmodern methods of museum organizationcar; be applied only within strict limits in anhistorical building or even in a merely oldone. Those methods can, however, be drawnupon for certain adaptations, possible evenin an ancient building, for instance, someof its features hay serve to provide a moreoriginal and typical setting for works ofart.

In such cases one of the advantages isundoubtedly the special interest attachingto a museum housed in a building of artisticand historical importanceall the more :,0if it is connected with the memory of somehistorical event, some important figure oreven some legend calcUlated to stir thevi'sitor's imagination and feelifig forromance.'

Almost every European country RiosseLsessome ancient buildings which have beenturned into museums, and these are of themost varied typeRoman. baths ar.dmediaeval castles, churches and monasteries,private houses and public buildings, risonsand palaces.

These relics Of the past many of which,however, have recently been modernindor restored by up-to-date methodscan beclassified in various groups, each of which,in the light of circumstances,.is:seen to 15F.subjed" to restrictions so far as its usand adaptation as a museum are concerned.

The first strict principle, from whichthere.must be no departure, is that of pre-serving all the original features of the archi-tecture and decoration of such, a building.When necessary, therefore, scrupulous res-toration and repair work should: be carriedout before the museum "is established; andthis requirement must always be kept to thefore in any project.

While present-day taste rejects as falseand artificial any imitation of ancient stylesmade under the pretext of restoring a workof art in the manner of its period, ourfeeling for history makes us unwilling a)reject or alter the genuine historical flavourof any period which, tv,here by good fortuneit has survived, illustrates the taste that

k

prevailed in that day, even if it is at variancewith burs.

The cases likely to arise can, it seems tome, be classified as follows:i. The building of historical and artistic

interest which still contains the furnish-ings and art collections assembled thereIn former *tunes. Such a building isitself a musem, and little change can bemade in adapting it for public exceptthe most faithful restoration and a littlecautious retouching of a strictly func-tional nature.

z. The building of historic al and artisticinterest whose original contents havedisappeared but whose decoration hassurvived intact or can be refurbished.This is su;table for the exhibition ofhistorical and artistic or decorative piecesin keeping with the setting, so as toreconstruct a harmony of style, periodand taste between the objects and theirsurroundings.

3. The-building which has preserved onlyits outer aspect, together perhaps witha few of its internal features (such' ascourtyards and staircases), its roomshaving been completely ;leered. Thisshould be adapted to house a museumbf an,independent, modern type.

i. The building which, though old, has noparticularly interesting features eitheroutside or inside. It should be adaptedlike the preceding one, but more freely.

As regards buildings in the first of thesegroups, it is hardly necessary to point outthat any changes made to convert them intomuseums should be as slight as possible.They are genuine historical monuments intheir own right, and the organizer shouldconfine himself to measures essential topreserve the structure and make the mostof it, without impairing its harmony.pi,,The building may, in a- few exceptionalcases, be an historical one which hasretained its original furnishings, works ofart and decoration; It may be one with thehistorical interest of an old house whosecharacteristic, traditional features illustratethe craftsmanship of its day. GO may havebeen the home of some celebiated figurew hose possessiol s and relies must be keptin place'simply to preserve the surroundingsin which he,lived and worked. In all these

cases care must be taken not to destroy thehistorical atmosphere; which must be re-stored if it has been impaired in any respect.

Even a building of this type cannot, ofcourse be opened as a public museumunless certain requirements are met. Sosome part of the premises should be found,suitably situated and not in itself remarkable(such as always exist, even in an ancientbuilding) and adapted to house the essentialservices (offices, records and storerooms,laboratories, etc.).

Obviously it will also be possible andnecessary to modernize all the technicalequipment (electricity, heating, security,cleaning, etc.), make sure that it is efficientand safe, and place all pipes and otherfittings in positions where they will notdetract from the period atmosphere of thesurroundings.

If the building still has its original stairsand floors and there is any reason to fear that ,these might be worn out by the coming andgoing of visitors, they should be protectedby carpetsbut only in the places actuallyexposed to wear and tear, for they oughtnot to be entirely concealed, especially ifthey are decorated and 'typical of theirperiod.

The present-day organizer can do littlemore than this, his own good taste andrespect for history will prompt him to the,right solutions of the many individualproblems which it is hardly possible toanticipate.

In the case of a buildj6k sin the secondcategory, where the arcNtecture and interiordecoration have surviVed more or lessintact, but which has lost all its originalfurnishings, the litganizer will be facedWith the difficult but stimulating task ofbringing the contents of the museum intoharmony with surroundings which cannotbe altered.

There are two possible solutions to thisproblem. ,,(a) the exhibits or collections maybe so arranged as to suggest a cot-.nexionwith, the style, period and taste of theirsetting, (b) the ancient setting may be toa great extent preserved, but the exhibitsarranged without regard to it, according tothe dictates of present-day taste andmuseum tech,niques. .

In the former case the organizer will

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here and there introduce elements whichbring the setting and the exhibits Into amutual relationship, but he is bound toexperience difficulty in establishing a system-atic classification, and will not be able tosettle matters merely by lining up a numberof fine piecesfor the effect will be arbi-trary, artificial, and only vaguely suggestiveof some unconvincing historical arrange-ment.

The better preserved and more genuinethe .architectural style of a building, themore complex the problems that will arise,and their solution will vary according tocircumstances.

The main problem will, however, alwaysbe that of bringing the requirements ofsystematic classification and of the actualstructure of the collection into line with theimportance and architectural features ofthe rooms in which it is to be displayed.

Sometimes the buildingespecially if itdates from the eighteenth or nineteenthcenturymay even have been planned andconstructed to house certain art collections

the manner of its day. In such cases it isan absorbing task to restore it to its originalpurpose and thus confirm the historicalinterest of its past.

The problem, in each individual case, isto decide:

Whether it is possible to preserve orre-establish the former relationship be-tween the collection and the architectureor decoration of its setting.

a. Whetherif their characteristics are toodissimilar and a majority of the exhibitsare unsuitable for this architecturalframework, so that there is no basis forsuch a relationshipit is desirable toplan an harmonious but largely unrelatedcollection guided by present-day prin-ciples and the canons of historicalcriticism.

The latter solution is naturally the mostfrequent, for there are compara Lively fewcases in which a sufficiently plecise recordof the original arrangement of an old build-ing is available, and fewer still in whichartistic material is forthcoming for a faithfulor historically adequate reconstruction.

In most cases the best plan is to arrangecollections in an historical building freely,

7a but without completely ignoring their

surroundingsto preserve all the original,architectural and decorative features andarrange the exhibition rooms independently,in a style entirely unrelated to the surround-ings, but connected with them by theinfluence of a taste which succeeds in har-monizing the most modern forms with anancient setting.

In any event, the relationship betweenthe building and its contents must neverdegenerate into sham aestheticism of the'antique shop' type, an indiscriminateassemblage of heterogeneous items.

Neither should the c clanizer be templedinto the bad taste of introducing into theold building architectural or decorativeelements (staircases, windows, ceilings,State beds, etc.) taken from other houses orpurchased with the intention of reconstruct-ing an 'atmosphere'.

The result will be completely false, evenifin fact becausethe individual itemsare genuine, but disconnected and alien toone another.

This is a subject more appropriate to atreatise on the restoration of old buildings.Here I need do no more than point outthat this tendency should be avoided, evenif one of the purposes for which the museumwas founded was to assemble and preservearchitectural relics from buildings pulleddown 1n old districts, which happens whenancient towns are cltaned up. In such casesthe architectural and decorative fragmentsshould of course be selected, arranged andexhibited for their historical, ,artistic andeducational interest- -but never re-eployedfor spurious architectural purposes.

The cases mentioned in the third andfourth groups will provide the organizerwith wider scope for initiative and occasionfor tasteful innov iiiions and unusual adjust-ments to the conditions he finds in thebuilding. This may have retained only afew traces of its original decoration, or itsproportions and the shape of its rooms maybe all that is left to bear witness to itsformer dignity.

In such instance, where reconstructionis hardly possible and the building is not ofequal architectural or decorative meritthroughout, the really interesting rooms orvestiges should be scrupulously preservedand restored, but every thing else should be

modernized as completely as possible, withall appropriate innovations and alterations.

In many cases the interest of a museumof a particular type, such as one devoted tolocal history or to applied art, will be advan-tageously heightened by housing it in anold building: this is especially helpful infostering an awareness of the value oftradition and of the connexion between thelife of former periods and the greater orlesser works of art they produced.

The plan which brings out the harmonyand affinity between the folklore or handi-crafts of a particular district and' an oldbuilding possessing local and traditionalfeatures--even if the latter are rior of a highartistic levelwill facilitate their union andsuggest imaginative and original methodsof arousing the interest and curiosity of thepublic.

When an old building is to be adaptedfor use as a museum, the first step towards

ithe rational arrangement of its collectionsis to solve the problem of where they areto be placed and what itinerary visitors areto followjust as when a new museum isbeing designed.

An old building, originally intended forother purposes, is not easily transformedinto a museum without altering and adapt-ing the system of communication between,its various parts in order to establish a clearand logical progress through it and to makethe best use of available space.

The search for a suitable route must beguided by these considerations.

Certain characteristic features of thebuilding may even be sacrificed withouthcsitationthough not without cautionand discernmentin order to achieve thebest results in this respect, for the sake ofwhich a comparatively large sum may bespent on knocking out walls, changing theposition of doors or windows and openingnew ones, even if these differ in size anddesign from the uniform style of thebuilding.

Particular attention will also be devotedto the probleml of access to the rooms.Staircare,r, if not numerous or not strongenough for the intensive and concentrateddemands, sometimes made on those of amuseum, must be suitably strengthened urwidened, new ones even being constructed

atAt

where they will be most useful.t least one supplementary or 'service'

staircase should be brought back into useif it already exists, or constructed if it doesnot; this will be used for all supervisoryand other functional work, and in the eventof fire or any other danger. It must thereforeprovide an unbroken link between all thefloors of the building and go right up to theattics to facilitate the inspection and repa.rof the roof.

The roof of an old building to be turnedinto a museum provides the organizer withone of his chief problems.

If it is a wooden one and financial consi-derations make it inadvisable to replace thebeams by something safer (e.g., steel), itmust at leagt be strengthened in a rationalmanner, all wooden parts must, be fire-proofed and it must periodically be tho-roughly sprayed to prevent damage, or therisk of damage, by termites, borers, etc.

The attics should be cleared of anyunnecessary superstructure and of every-thing that is inflammable or liable to rot;and their floors, above the exhibitionrooms, should be made watertight by oneof the usual and now widespread technicalmethods, to avert the risk of rain-waterseeping through the roof and ceilings anddamaging the exhibits.

The roof (whether a tiled or a flat stoneor metal one) should always be at.t.,ssibleboth from inside and outside, with gang-ways and protective parapets to facilitateupkeep and inspection by the museum staff.

A menace to which old buildings in allparts of the world are particularly vulner-able is moisture, which creeps up from theground into the walls. Strong and rationalmeasures must be adopted to parry this forit can do untold harm to works of art andto the other contents of a museum. Thefoundations of the building must be isolatedfrom the soil, which absorbs water andhumidity by capillary attraction or bydispersion. This may be done by insertinghorizontal layers of impervious material,(lead, concrete, asphalt sheeting, etc.) intowalls where damp is found to have risenvertically through capillary attraction, bybuilding new walls side by side with thoseinto which saltpetre or water has penetrated,leaving a space between the two surfaces

.6 i

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174

for insulation and ventilation, or by intro-clueing some method of absorption andevaporation such as the Knapen system.

To coat the walls with so-called damp-pruof material is useless and harmful, forthis not only fails to remove the cause of thedamp, but by prev enting it from evapora-ting at once, forces the water into otherdirections, ku that it spreads all over thewall.

Even in the rooms of an old building itis possible to arrange the contents of amuseum so that they are seen to advantage.

The chief necessity will be to improvethe lighting by suitable adjustment of theexisting installations. Windows and sky-lights can be fitted with lighter frames andwith glass which is more transparent ormore suitable for diffusing and directingthe light, etc., and where overhead lightingis supplied by antiquated skylights, thesemay be adapted by fitting them withlanterns with ground-glass panes, speciallydesigned to meet each individual case byscreening the light, diffusing it morewidely, and directing it on to the wallswhere the exhibits, are placed.

The old rooms can be improved bychoosing for the walls such colours as willset off the exhibits to the best advantage,and their height, if excessive, can be reducedby using a different material- or colour upto a level proportionate to the size of theobjects displayed, while rooms which aretoo large or too narrow can be divided bymovable or separate partitions (of a sizewhich will not interfere with the style ofthe place) into more manageable sections.

The outward appearance of the roomstheit doors, window,-frames, wainsctotingcan be altered or improved to suit their newpurpose. Door-panels, for instance, may bechanged, leaving the frames as they were orreplacing them by simpler ones. as I hav ealready pointed out there is no need to closeall the doors leading from room to room ina museum and it is therefore preferable tomake the doors themselves as unobtrusiveas possible, to ensure that visitors, espe-cially on crowded occasions, can passthrough easily and safely, and also that thedoors Volll be simple and elegant in ap-pearance.

if the floors need repair they should if

possible be kept in their original style, orin one which, while suited to the characterof the building, is also appropriate inappearance (colour) and practical qualities(cost, durability, upkeep) to the new useto which the building is to be put.

Another situation, not unlike that inwhich an old building is to be adapted,arises when a museum built and equippedby old-fashioned standards is to be mod-ernized. Other occasions for changing thearrangement of an old museum may ariseif one or two departments are added toit to 'house new acquisitions, legacies orgifts; or they may result simply from achange of standards, preferences and cul-tural programmes on the part of the man-agement, brought about by changes in staffor by the natural evolution of taste. It maythus happen that the previous normal in-crease in the collections devoted to a parti-cular period of history, school of paintingor category of objects ceases altogether oris reduced to make way for new interestswhich are thenceforth to take precedencein the museum and therefore condition itsrenovation.

In this event we need only apply thetheories and follow the practical advicealready given with regard to newly builtmuseums and those to be housed in oldbuildings. Here too the joint objective oforganizer and architect will be to retain asmuch as possible of the existing structure,for obvious reasons of economy, whileadapting it to the new aesthetic and func-tional recA4rements.

If all ingenious expedients adopted toincrease the capacity of the building andsave spec should prove insufficient, it maybecome necessary to enlarge it.

This may be done either horizontally(by taking in neighbouring premises orbuilding on a new wing) or by adding astores to part or all of the museum. Withoutsacrificing the advantages offered by thisnew building, its proportions and archi-tectural features should be such as will notdisturb or distort the practical and aestheticqualities of the existing display rooms.Even if the architectural styles are different,it should be possible to design the additionso as to bring it into harmony with theld.,;.:

MUSEUM SERVICES

As to the general considerations and appropriate divisions to be borne in mind whenplanning the part of a museumless inevidence, but no less essential to its existenceand functionsknown by the general titleof 'services', I will refer the reader to thesuggestions already made (Chapter II,page 18). All that is necessary here is tostress the advisability of making a distinc-tion between what might be called 'external'and 'internal' services. By 'external' I meanall those which, in addition to the exhibitionrooms, serve to integrate the culturalacuvities of the museum, and are thereforepermanently or periodically open to thepublic (rooms for temporary exhibitionspfor lectures and concerts; library , andrecords; rooms for study, etc.); whereasthe 'internal' services are all those directlyconnected with the actual running of themuseum (laboratories for restoration andcleaning, heating system, electrical instal-lauon, etc., storerooms, workshop, garage,etc.).

Hall for temporary exhibitionsand lectures; bar

A small museum, where space is restricted,must be able to use one room for variouspurposes, especially if these are temporary.This applies to rooms for temporary oreducational exhibitions, etc., which shouldalso be suitable for lectures, concerts,meetings, etc., as required by the museum'sprogramme of activities.

Such a room should therefore be pro-vided in the plan of a new building, or setaside when an existing building is beingadapted. It should be in the position bestsuited,to its multiple usesLe (a) apartfrom the itinerary normally followed byvisitors to the museum, (b) close to themain entrance hall or, better still, leadingdirectly off it, (c) it should be fully equippedwith safety devices (side doors, independentelectric system, isolated from the rest ofthe building as regards heating andacoustics, etc.).

It should be as large as possible whileremaining in the right proportion to the

building as a whole and to the estimatedaverage attendance, and in any case not lessthan about 16 to 31 feet wide, 4o to 5o feetlong and 13 to z6 feet high.

It is useful, where this can be donewithout raising architectural problems, tohave some arrangement whereby this hallcan be divided into two or more parts,differing in size and appearance, by meansof hangings or easily movable partitions.This is a great help in adapting the hall toits various usesfor instance for individualor group exhibitions, for an exhibition anda meeting held simultaneously, or for theexhibition of single pieces, recently acquiredby the museum. In this way the hall will besatisfactory both for exhibitions and forlectures or concens.

With regard to the first of these purposesI can only repeat what I said before aboutthe considerations which should governthe construction and fitting out of roomsin a museum; for here there is the sameneed to display the works of art aid bringout their full quality with tl c help of thearchitectural setting, the lighting and thedecorative features of the hall. I shouldperhaps add that in this case it is more thanever necessary to make the architecturalscheme as 'flexible' as possible, equippingthe room with all practical devices helpfulto the easy introduction and removal ofobjects which may be shown, of suchmovable panels and cases as may be erectedfrom time to time. ThiC should be done insuch a way that it is not necessary to wastemoney on structural alterations or touchup and change the colour of the walls beforeor after each exhibitionunless this is donedeliberately, to give an effect of novelty.

Arrangements can also be made toincrease the surface available for exhibitsbeyond that of the actual walls, whennecessary, by dividing up the centre of thehall with movable panels, of various types,either equipped with their own suppoirts orfitted into special sockets provided in thefloor of the room (see figure on page x43).

It will also be necessary, with a view tothe requirements of different exhibitions,to provide for the possibility of combiningthe usual and rational sources of naturaland artificial light with special effectsobtained by electric lighting, whether 175

diffused or reflected, ur concentrated andprojected in a particular pattern by pro-jectors, of v.hich anuus types are un themarket. To facilitate the placing of theseprojectors and to enable them to be movedto any point required, electric plugs. andsupports for projectors or reflectors maybe fitted to the ceiling in a regular andperhaps geometrical pattern with a decora-tive effect.

When the same hall is to be used formeetings, lectures and concerts, its struttural features must be combined with themeans pro% ided by modern technique forsecuring good acoustics with or withoutamplifiers. Any technician w ill be able tosolve this problem, which has to be deaitwith individually.

Apparatus must be available for theshow Ins of films, slides, etc. It should bepossible to conceal the screen, in order touse the wall for exhibition purposes, thiscan be dune by means of a double, rev ulvingpartition, by hoisting the rigid screen andits weer into a space provided above the

by simply drawing a curtain acrossIt or using roller-type screens.

If 35 mm. type films are to be shown,a projection cabin must be built outside thehall, with an entrance from the exterior,and it . .st conform to the security regula-tions enforced in all cinemas.

A complete outfit should include a pro-jector for i6 mm. sound films, an epidia-scope for projecting slides of different sizes(6 AA, cm. and z4 A3z mm.) and opaqueillustrations (photographs, pages frombook , etc.), a microphone connected withthe cinema's amplifier, a dual sound-and-light connexion between the lecturer'stable and the projection cabin (if there isone); a tape-recorder; a full set of electriccontrols, alarm signals, fire extinguishersand automatic connexion with the inde-pendent emergency lighting system.

The furniture in this hall (table or plat-form for the lecturer, chairs for theaudience) r tnnot, of course, be fixed andshould therefore be of the lightest typ,easy to cur) and with as little bulk aspossible, so that it can be removed withouttoo much trouble to a special storeroomwhen the hall is in use for exhibitions. It is

176 highly desirable that the storeroom should

r-t6,AI i

be adjacent to the hall, and fairly large, inaddition to the chairs, it can take the pianowith which the hall will be equipped, andwhich would be in the way during non-musical functions. It is desirable to havecloakrooms and toilets attached to this con-ference room which can be closed off fromthe rest of the museum.

A café-bar is nowadays attached to anyhall intended for public meetings, and alsoto the most up-to-date museums. It shouldbe included In the plans, to satisfy publicdemand. Only large museums, of course,and in fact only such as can rely on a cons,-deraille fluw of visitors, will find It desirableor possible to set aside the space and under-take the organization necessary for a full-scale restaurant service (the 'public diningroom' ur `cafeteria' of American museums),as this requires at least one very large roomfur v isiturs and further space for the kitchen,storeroom and other essential services.

But a small ur medium -sized museumcan easily provide a snack bar at a centralpoint, serving only, drinks, sandwiches, etc.

This room, viihi,fh should if possible openon to a garden op exterior gallery, by a doorwhich would 1r closed in winter, or haveone or morn windows with a pleasantview, must be separate from the rest ofthe museunh both to avoid disturbancebecause ofi noise and to permit smoking.It should also be possible, when necessary,to close it off so that visitors will not gothrough it.

The refreshment room should have smalltables, there should be a public cloakroomnearby, toilets, a public telepl one booth;and next to it should be a small roomto hold stores, cooking apparatus and theequipment for the bar. There should be. allsuitable safety devices.

Storerooms and reserves'

Even in a small museum it is neither pos-sible nor desirable to put the entire collec-tion on public exhibition. on the otherhand, specialists in a particular subject mustalways have access even to what is notdisplayed. Every museum, therefore,

1. See Chapter VIII, page 119.

whether large or small, must set aside oneor more rooms for its reserves.

These storerooms need not be on thesame level as the exhibition rooms, they,may be in the basement, in premises setaside for them in the general plan of thebuilding, in separate rooms, orin oldbuildings adjacent to or on the flcurabove the museum offices. The essential'thing is that they should be dry, safe, easyto inspect and adequately lit in fact thattheir external features should be as carefullyconsidered As those of the display rooms.

They will be permanently equipped fortheir purpose, which will be determined bythe type of museum. Scientific collectionsneed a great number of capacious woodenor metal cupbo:-ds, and the space in thesemust be pt.. to the best possible use bydividing th.f.r... in accordance with a system-atic c13..siE..ation. Certain objects, which needto be kept behind glass and to be visible onboth sides without being touched (c.g oldfabrics, embroideries, coin and medallions,engraved glass, etc.) should be,placed inpanels faced with glass on both sides andturning on hinges or,s'ading into a speciallyprovided space, so that without beingshifted they can be,protected from the light.

For storing paintings the most up-to-datemuseums now use a Lint: of vertical frame-work consisting of metal' panels slidinghorizontally along rails, with pictures hungon both sides of them, one beside the other.Arranged in series, these panels, even ifclose together, can be brought forwardsingly or in groups by drawing them alongtheir rails, and kept out until inspection ofthe pictures is concluded.'

Library, photographic collations, printsand phonograph records

In every museum, but especially in thesmaller ones, the purpose to be served bythe library must be carefully determined inorder to provide it with the right amountof space and with suitable furnishings.A library which is to be open to the publichas very different requirements from, oneused only by the curators of the museum.

The latter case, however, though itappears simplr. to deal with, is usually only

temporary; for as the library grows, andparticularly.if it is the only one in the town,it will be impossible to refuse admittance tostudents from outside. \ '4'e shall thereforeconsider the requirements of the library interms of its use, actual or anticipated, by alarger public.

Here, too, much depends on the characteras well as on the size of the museum. Ina history or sci:nce museum the librarywill tend to grow proportionately morerapidly, than in a muse m of art orarchaeology, where the mbcr of spe-cialized publications to e assembled ismore limited and in may' cases only a briefreference to the musL-cn s own collectionsis needed.

One or more rooms may be set aside forthe library, according to possibilities. Ifthere is only one it should be fairly large,with bookshelvesmetal ones perhapslining the walls, and tables for students inthe centre. The best form of lighting is bylateral windows, under which may be moretables and the general card indexes of thelibrary. .

If several rooms are available the largestshould be kept for the books and smallerones set aside for the librarian's office, forthe use of the students and for the displayof current periodicals and recently acquiredbooks. _

In selecting or designing the premises,the architect should take all the normalstructural precautions for library buildings,not only because walls and floor will fromthe first be required to carry, a considerableweight, but also in anticipation of thegrowth of the library, which may end byfilling the entire room with bookshelves.The walls must thus rest directly' on speciallydesigned foundations, and should perhapsbe separate from the walls of the museumitself. .

The walls, doors and floors should belined with some substance which givesaiequate protection against fire and as fatas possible keeps out sounds coming fromthe rest of the museum.

It is naturally preferable for the libraryto be close to the administrativ e offices. It .it is to be use by visitors and students if

t. Scc Chaptcr Viii, pit.tc 124 and PLitc 34. 177

must be readily accessible from the entrancehall of the museum, but have facilities forcontrolling the different entrances.

The museum's collections of prints andphotographs can also be kept in the 1prary,in filing cabinets, in bound volumes or isboxes. Photographs should _preferably bemounted separately and placed verticallyin draWers which slide easily in metalcupboardsarranged according to what-

ett-filing system may facilitate referenceto them and suit the type and contents ofthe museum sunder place, photographer,material, subject, etc.).

When the museum has its own photo-graphic laboratory, the catalogue of itsne,ativ es, whether ur not it is kept apartfrom the general photographic collection,should 1, ,rm an 'illustrated record', i.e., itshould consist of mounted copies of eachsubject, clearly indicating the negative andits number in the catalogue, to facilitateidentification by students applying forprints.

lithnographic museums are obliged tokeep a collection of recordings of folk songsor music, which they can make availableto students. But even history, art andsiniilar types of museums now feel calledupon to include a music section. Therecords or tapes should be catalogued andmay be kept in thc library itself, but alisteners' room will have to be set aside,,th sound proofed walls and doors. Or ifthis particular section expands considerably,one room can be fitted with several cubicleseach sound proofed by the methods usedin ordinary telephone booths and broad-casting studios.

0 filtJ laL,,ratories and a-orkroomsh

111c ,pace set aside for the offices of themanagement arid administration will varyaccordine; to thc size of thc museum, theextent of its cultural activities and the sizeof the staff. The minimum would be anoffice for the director, another for thesecretar:, a third fur the administrativeservice.,, and such extra premises as theymay require.

Larger museums which have an indepcn-78 dent administration or arc controlled by a

board of governors ur trustees, will needa room for board meetings, a small waitingroom and an office for the chairman.

The office section should be connectedwith the museum, preferably through themain entrance hall su that there is a singlechannel of communication with the public,but it should also have a separate entranceof its own, so that the working hours of theofficials can be independent of those atwhich the museum is open.

The laboratories, too, must be propor-tioned to the size of the museum.' In everycase there must be a room for restorationwork and for all the various technicaloperations required for the 'conservation'of the museum's possessions, whether thesebe chiefly works of art ur objects of manydifferent types. The premises set aside forthis purpose must be reasonably spacious,well lit and well ventilated, equipped withe% cry possible precaution against theft andfire, easily accessible from within themuseum and from outside, so that anyexhibit brought in for restoration (whichmay be of considerable size and weight)will not have to be transported by a com-plicated route,_so that any new acquisitionscan be deposited there when they arrive andundergo any protective treatment, restor-ation, cleaning or disinfection, before beingtaken into the museum and displayed.

Adjacent to the restoration room thereshould if possible be a smalldaboratory forphysical and chemical research equipped atleast for the most ordinary scientific investi-gations which form part of all restorationwork. This minimum equipment shouldinclude a Wood lamp for examining objectsby filtered ultra-violet rays, a laboratorymicroscope and a low-powered binocularmicroscope for surface examinations, andthe requirements for the simplest chemicalanalyses. This equipment can of course beincreased according to the museum's needsand resources, agt1 may ultimately includea radiographic iatallation for direct X-rayexamination and for the ordinary radio-graphy of paintings; a gas chamber withmetal-lined walls (hermetically scaled andfitted with an electrical system for gasextraction and ventilation, communicating

x. See Chapter VII, page tot.

1

with the outside of the building), for thedisinfection of the various objects, parti-cularly wooden ones, by the use of methylbromide, and any other apparatus employedin modem technical methods of examina-tion and scientific treatment, which presentno danger and give lasting results in thedelicate task of preserving the historical,arustiu and documentary material assembledin the museum.

It is extremely useful for even a smallmuseum to have a photographic laboratoryfor records and studies which are a dailynecessity. This may be situated either amongthe offices or in the 'services' section.Photographic apparatus has now reached aremarkable degree of perfection, especiallyin the use of colour.

Where it is not possible to allocateseparate premises for each type of work,a dark-room should be provided, largeenough to deal.with each task singly. Sinksshould be ranged along the walls, alternat-ing with slabs of marble, enamel, stainlesssteel or some other, more modern, synthe-tic, waterproof,- substance which is =per-

. viuus to acids. Special care must be takenin fitting up the electrical apparatus forlighting and for working the automaticequipment, and in installing the water pipes.

Th air in the dark-room should be keptin circulationeither by methanic..1 meansblind ventilators with exhaust fans corn-murutaung with the exterioror naturally,by the arrangement of a 'labyrinth' type ofentrance, where the staggered walls,painted in non-glossy black, overlap in sucha way that a ,d_uclr is Unnecessary, yet notthe faintest ray of, light can enter.

One room may be set aside for photo=graphing works of art, it should be longenough to give the necessary distance forphotographing large canvases, and wideenough to ensure that the floodlights willnot cause reflections on the surface ofpaintings.

To facilitate the photographing of seriesof objects of similar size and shape, such asvases, coins or drawings, the room shouldhave movable shelves in a fixed framework,on which the objects can be arranged at agiven distance from the camera.

Microfilming equipment, the use ofwhich is now widespread, can be very

valuable to a museum. As well as providingthe reproductions of prints and .....muscriptswhich are in frequent request by studentsfor their work, microfilming permits 'theestablishment, at very small cost, of acomplete record of the artistic, historical,ethnographical and scientific contents ofthe museum. It provides an extremelyuseful and practical 'visual' inventory.Microfilming may be carried out either witha special camera, which uses 8 mm. or16 mm. film, or with a camera, such as aLeica, fitted with a lens and copyingattachment, suitable for taking close-upsand using 24x 36 mm. film; this latterformat permits enlargements large enoughfor study purposes in cases w here no specialprojector is available.

Very important, more especially for thedocumentary valye accruing to it as timegoes by, is a collection of negatives, whichneed occupy little zpace provided it iscarefully classified and alianged in drawerspossibly metal onesin such a way thatthe negatives are perfectly protected againstdamp, kept at a constant temperature andinaccessible to noxious emanations or dust.

A properly equipped workshop, or atleast an adequate supply of tools kept in asuitable place, for carpentry and smallmechanical or electrical repairs, etc. (anelectric saw and planing machine, a lathe,,drills, a carpenter's bench, etc.) is mostuseful, not only in dealing promptly withurgent repairs and matters connected withthe normal upkeep and satisfactory func-tioning of the museum building and itsequipment, but also as an adjunct to thework of the restoration and photographiclaboratories. It should therefore not be toofar from these. However, it is equallyimportant that the sounds of the work dunethere, and of the machines employed, shallnot penetrate'to the exhibition rooms. Boththese conditions can be secured by a carefulchoice of position, and cellar or basementrooms may consequently be preferred. Inany case there should be a separate entrance,reserved for supplies and staff, placed at adistance from the public entrance to themuseurtr,even if within sight of it, andgiving access to the storerooms, reserves,heating, main switches of the electric systemplant, and the various controls. Tlfis will 179

facilitate the co ordination general supervision, which can be entrusted to onemember of the staff who will have a smalloffice (or even a mere glass panelled box)just inside the entrance and ,vho can super-vise everything that goes on there, such asdeliveries of supplies, dispatches, etc.

In addition to the space set aside for thepermanent storage of materials and suppliesneeded for the normal functioning of themuseum, it is advisable to include andallocate sufficient space fur the necessarypacking and temporary storage of packingcases when temporary exhibitions are heldWith works lent by other museums.

This part of the building might alsohouse the 'guard room' and the arrange-ments for the daily and nightly supervisionof the museum. In that case one or moreroomsaccording to the staff employedfor this puipose may be set aside as cloak-rooms, with individual lockers for clothesand uniforms, a refreshment room, a showerand} toilet facilities separate from the publicono.

'When the museum is large enough tomake such a measure possible and justi-fiable, this service section may also includeliving quarters for a custodian, to whichthe telephone anil electric connexions andall burglar alarms, etc. can be switched athours when the building is closed to thepublic.

Teihnical and security installations

Even where money is scarce it is never wiseto begrudge the cost of the best technicalequipment for a museum. The satisfactoryfunctioning ci such equipment leads to adefinite sav mg in management and maintenance and Also in wages, if the work issimplified in some respects by the use ofmachines.

1.,aung and venttlatton. Only a few largemuseums can afford the considerable costof installing a complicated air conditioningplant, let alone that of running it con-tinuously. I shall therefore disregard thispossibility and confine myself to a descrip-tion of the usual systems of central heating,

x8o In choosing one of these the particular

requirements of the museum must be care-fully borne in mind, for the most importantthing is to. avoid any risk of damage to thecontents. The chief dangers are (a) excessiveheat or variations of temperature, (b) fluc-tuation ii. the degree of humidity in theatmosphere, (c) draughts of hot or cold airconstantly blowing on pictures hung nearradiators or air vents.

The wrong heating system, or the inju-dicious use of even the most suitable system,may cause incalculable damage to museumpieces, most of which are not only, valuablebut irreplaceable. To go no further thanpaintings on wood, numerous instances canbe cited of wooden panels that have warpedor split and of surfaces fat have peeledaway or blistereu.- beyond the possibility ofrepairs as a result of improper heatingconditions.

The choice and arrangement of a centralheating plant, as of any ether technicalequipment, is a problem fo4, engineers, andshould not be based on empirical advice orproposals. At the same time it is essentialthat the problem should be solved in amanner compatible with the particularresults desired and risks to be avoided.

The steam heating system, with radiatorsagainst the walls or under the windows, isnow superseded. it is preferable to useconveczors placed in spaces between theexhibition rooms or high up on the walls(though this does not look attractive), sothat heat radiates from places at a distancefrom the exhibits.

It is easier to adopt this solution whenthe apparatus is one which ventilates byforcing out warm air and by controllinghumidity a method which to some extentresembles that of air conditioning. In thiscase the warm air may be brought into theexhibition rooms through vents concealedby metal gratings which can be regulatedand which are placed in the positions bestcalculated to avoid affecting the works ofart either directly or by causing draughts.

This system heats the whole interior ofthe museum, to a degree sufficient to ensurethe comfort of visitors throughout theirtour of the building, it must therefore bestarted several hours before the museum isopened to the public, and the cost cv ill

increase accordingly.

The system-o£heat radiating from underthe floor may be found more economical,because apart from its direct effect, it morerapidly creates a zone of adequately heatedair which makes an immediate impressionof comfort on visitors. It has the furtheradvantage of being inconspicuous, since itconsists of a network of pipes and panels inwhich hot air circulates below the flour.While very suitable for picture galleries,where works of art are usually hung on thewalls, it may have certain drawbacks inmuseums where materials naturally sensi-tive to heat (wood, textiles, paper, etc.)have to be placed in the middle of therooms, on the floor, in direct contact withthe source of radiation.

As for the type of boiler fuel to be used,coal and coke are no longer employedbecause they give rise to penetrating andharmful dust and smoke. It is better to useelectricity or, as funds permit, gas, kerosene

i or fuel oil. The last, in particular, has con-siderable advantages owing to .ts low cost,cleanliness, safety and ease of supply, forit can be stored in underground tanksoutside the museum.

While it is indispensable to heat themuseum in the winter months, which varyin length and harshness, it is no less essen-tial to ensure a proper supply of air, whichis required in all seasons.

Every care must therefore be taken,while the building is being designed anderected, to allow for the maximum ofnatural ventilation and for a constant andautomatic flow of air, especially when thereis no reason to fear that this may bring indust and smoke from optside. The bestmethod is that of openings in the lowerparts of the outer walls, protected on theinside by a metal grid which can be regu-lated or even completely closed. Cor-responding openings should be made atthe top of the walls, or better still in theceilings, to allow the air to escape thanksto the slight draught which will be set upby the natural heating of the premises.

The air in the space between the ceilingand the roof must, of course, find similaroutlets and possibilities of absorption andchange.-

It is also advisable to make horizontalopenings in the walls between the different

rooms, su as to stabilize the temperaturein the upper part of the rooms and thusfacilitate the movement of the air.

If more funds are available, ventilatorsand exhaust fans may be installed, workingeither together or separately, the formerforcing in air and.the latter drawing it outthrough the roofa system which insummer has a certain cooling effect insidethe building. Additional cooling can beeffected by the automatic watering of theskylights from a pipe on the roof.

The ventilators may be fitted with suit-able filters to keep out dust and also linkedwith refrigerating and humidifying ma-chines, various simple types of which arenow on the market.

Electric exhaust fans are particularlysuitable for use in lecture halls, clod -roomsand storerooms.

Clioning equipment. The daily clean g of amuseum is greatly facilitated by the useof vacuum cleaners, which can serve notonly fur cleaning and polishing the, floorsbut for dusting the rest of the premises.

The choice of tnese machines and 'theextent to which they can be used will dependpartly upon the nature of the exhibits,reserves and collections. The usual portabletype is certainly adequate fur the needs of asmall museum. In the case of larger insti-tutions, however, it should be pointed outthat portable machines have the drawbackof trailing considerable lengths of electricwiring after them round the room; this isan encumbrance and may lead to trouble(short-circuits, danger of fire, etc.). Whenpossible during the period of general instal-lation, it is preferable to make this service,safer and more efficient by providinga fixed network of steel suction tubes,connected with a central apparatus( electric turbine vacuum) situated in theart of, the building intended for the

gen era j/ services.Ajl that is necessary is to insert com-

mrcially made tubes fitted with brushesinto one or more of these openings, andthe dust is sucked up and conveyed-dlr..ly to a central container. The openingsare placed at appropriate intervals in therooms and passages so that the wholebuilding can be cleaned from floor to

(.,)1 0(,),<,,

181

ceiling The same apparatus can be installedabove the glass ceilings.

Electrhity. All the eleCtrical equipmentrequired in a museum, whether fur lightingur fLr power, must be planned and installed

,nut Gni) accurding to immediate require-ments, but also with a view to its possibleincrease'd use ur further extension in thefuture.

All wires, controls and fittings, in what-es er part of the building, should be con-nected, by a number of independent circuits,to a main switch box, which will be placedin the .quarters sct aside fur the tcchrucaltipervis.un of the museum, and, if neces-

sary, Inked by a relay system to the night-watchman's room or the custodian's quar-ters.

At this central control point there shouldto charts and clearly worded explanationsand instLictiuns, which can be followedand applied by anyone in the event of anemergency. The charts will plot the courseof the :mlividual lines, and show (by meansof indicator bulbs of various colours) thepoints where the current passes and is used,and the preoise course of every circuit. Allmembers of the staff should be able touperate the switches which cut off part orall of the s) stem, so that they can deal eitherwith everyday circumstances or with emer-gencies. There must nut, however, becomplete freedom of access to these con-trols, which should not be Accessible to

disposed persons who ght be planningdamage or robbery. Th system shouldtherefore combine sim iuty with thefullest security.

It is extremely useful have a secondemergency network in ddition to thegeneral system, this sh uld have a low

oltage, produced eithe by storage bat-teries or by An independ t generator. Ifthe main current should unexpectedly fail,it is essential to be able to provide emer-gency lighting, even if this is weak, in thepublic rooms and especially at points ofpossiLle congestion (lecture rooms, cot=riders, staircases, emergency exists), thisis for the sake of visitors' security.as wellas for that of the museum.

The switch over should be immediatei8z and automatic. It is therefore preferable for

the emergency system to be fed by storagebatteries kept permanently charged andable to run for at least three hours. Thesystem should be used customarily forlighting the museum while the nightwatchmen go on their rounds. This methodhas several advantagesit keeps the emer-gency equipment in working order andunder constant supervision, it does awaywith the need to use the ordinary current atnight and thus incur possible risks on thepremises, it actkas a substitute for the hindlamp, with its limited range, and this is ofpsychological as well as practical advantageto the nightwatchmen, and, without draw-ing on outside current, it feeds t4 museum'sburglar alarms, automatic signals andsecurity appliances.

Signals, controh, protection against theft. Amodern museum needs luminous and acous-tic signals for the public, and others reservedfor the staff.

Among the first group are the chartsindicaing the way through the museum orthe whereabouts of the various services,and it is sometimes advisable to make theseparticularly bright. Most important of all,however, are the signals that announce theclosing,of the museum, usually by the soundof a bell. The present very sensible tendencyis to avoid the use of loudspeakers in amuseum, since the disturbance they causeis greater than their usefulness warrants.

_The_signals _reserved for the staff may beof two typesfor purposes of communi-cation, and for giving the alarm. A smallmuseum will provide the former by meansof ordinary teleplionds; internal lines willconnect up all parts of the building and belinked with the switchboard which carriesthe outside lines. Larger museums willappreciate the automatic individual indi-cator, which repeats a pleasant sound for agiven number of times for each member ofthe staff, who can thus be called to thetelephone.

Alarm signals arc a more complicated_problem, -hilt they are an essential .part of

the general equipment for supervision andprotection against theft.

The best of all safeguards against thedanger of theft is the complete isplation ofthe museum and its outbuildings from any

4,

other premises, the architect should bearthis in mind and make his design from thatpoint of view.

Further protection can be attained by themethods of exhibiting a number of objectspaintings, sculpture, etc.and of fasten-ing them to the walls. Care should be takenthat those exhibits which, owing to theirmaterial or their artistic rarity, are the mostvaluable and most liable to arouse thecupidity of thieves, are protected by strongshowcases the glass of which is eitherunbreakable or so thick that it is difficult tobreak; and in any case for such exhibitsspecial metal cupboards should be installedwith shutters or bolts that slide back intothe wall and are hidden while the museumis open to the public, but Which can beclosed at night.

Even the most perfect equipment cannotbe regarded as efficient and adequate unlessthe human factor also plays its part, i.e.,unless the guards who supervise the museumby day and by night are well organized,alert and unremitting in their vigilance.Every room or other part of the buildingmust be equipped, for their use, with anelectric flash signal which in case of emergency (theft, fire, disturbances) will transmitthe alarm to the guardroom or to a neigh-bouring police station. A siren may alsobe used to give the alarm throughout themuseum and iii the surrounding area. Tenable help to arrive quickly, however, theguardroom must simultaneous! receive anindication showing from which gallery orat least which part of the building the. alarmoriginated. This can be done by connectingthe flash signals with separate circuits, eachof which operates a lamp on the generalplan in the guardroom.

In small mus ms, with a limited numberof guards, the alarm signal should cause theimmediate and automatic closing of alloutside doors, so that the guilty or suspectedperson is unable to escape from the buildingbefore the police arrive.

Supervisiou and security are, of course,greatly facilitated by the architecture of the

'modern museum, which reduces or doesaway with ground floor windows andincludes the fewest possible outside doors.

Nocturnal alarm signals may be providedby the eagle apparatus, made available to

the watchmen during their tours of inspec-tion. But this is not enough, there must alsobe an automatic signalling system, in case aburglar should try to force a door or window and enter the museum during the rught,or to get out of it after successfully hidingthere during the day.

The photoelectric cell Celectnc eye), asystem in which an infra-red ray perma-nently connects two points situated at somedistance from one another, su that any solidbody passing between them interrupts thecircuit and brings the alarm into actin.,, asnot given the hoped for results, chieflybecause it is difficult to make the ray com-pletely invisible in the darknessand onceits direction is apparent it can easily beavoidedand also because of the consider-able expense of using this system on thelarge scale which is essential even in a smallbuilding if every part of it is to be effectivelysupervised.

A simpler system consists in installingone or more electric circuits which arecompletely closed only when every dourand window is tightly shut, or in insertingan electric cable, so arranged that the shuttercannot be opened without displacing thewire and thus interrupting the generalcircuit and consequendy giving the alarm.In this case, too, if the building is dividedinto several sections, each with its oncircuit, the precise location of the alarm canbe immediately indicated on the correspond-ing plan.

A similar arrangement of electric circuits,linked with a series of electric flash signalsplaced at points where every generalinspection of,the museum must necessarilypass, can transmit tO the guardroom andautomaticall y register (indicating the placeand hour of the inspection) the passage ofthe nightwatchmen, and thus beep a recoruof the regularity of their succesive roundsof inspection.

Precaution against fire. Obviously, the firstmeasures or plotectiun against fire mustbe provided by the site, the method ofbuilding, the safeguards available in thimmediate vicinity, the choke of buildingmaterials, and the precautions taken in theintroduction of any equipment wluch maycause fire or itself be vasil; inflammable. 183

Wood shou:d not be used for roofs,partition, walls, staircases or ceilings, it isadvisable to avid using Any inflammablematerials, to use as little wood as possiblefor decorative purposes, and not to line thewalls with hangings. When this is unavoid-able, such materials should be fireproofedby the most up-to-date methods. Evenstricter precautions should be taken whenan old building is being adapted as amuseum, as a certain amount of the fabricis sure to consist of wood.

Ev ry care should be taken to-avoid thedan t of short circuits in the electric

em, all wiring will, of course, beinstalled according to the highest stzndardsof safety, And completely insulated.

The precautionary measures adopted onships as protection against fire should allbe extended to museums, ur at least betaken into account during building andequipment. Every country has rules andregulations on this subject, to whichreference must be made.

The usual fire alarms with which shipsare fitted, and which are manufactured

:-adays on a large scale, should be pro-vided more particularly in the exhibitionrooms where the carelessness of visitorsmay cause fire, and above all in the store-rooms which contain a wide variety ofmaterials and in laboratories where use ismade of volatile liquids and inflammableresins or where heating apparatus functions.Such places will be supphed with sandboxes

and, their accompanying equipment andwith an adequate number of manual fireextinguisherspreferably those which dis-charge carbonic anhydrides and thus,saturating the air with neutral gas, leave theflames nothing to feed on and does no.damage the exhibits, as jets of chemicalfoam or liquids may do. Where heatingconsists in the circulation of hot air throughpipes, it is wise to install a device whichseals these automatically in the event of fire,to avoid the flames being carried throughthe pipes to other parts of the building.

All openings communicating with stair-cases or lift shafts, and especially thoseleading into the storerooms, where fire ismost likely to spread, should be fitted withinsulating doors (asbestos) which closeautomatically the moment the temperaturein their immediate surroundings rises abovea certain level, this is ensured by an auto-matic release system in which the doorslides shut when the wire holding it openmelts.

The museum should be supplied withtanks equipped with electrical pumps toensure a sufficient water supply in an emer-gency if the water in the ordinary pipesshould be cut off or if pressure should beinadequate for immediate requirements.And, to meet emergencies, the museumshould have some permanent means ofdirect communication with the local firestation as well as with the police station.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BASSI-BERLANDOBOSclICTTI. Document,-

Arrhaetture, no. 26. alitore Antonio Vallardi,1956.

BOIWIER, It, SEOPIIOR, M. 'Mus6cs d'art moderne',iliyourd'bui, no. a, March April 1955, pp 58 72Paris, 195).

COLLUAN, Laurence Vail. The museum in Amenea.3 vols Washington, 13.0 , American Associa-non of Mu-eurns, /9;9.

Ecc1.74, J. B. "La (Aerie riationole d'art dc Washing-ton', Afousoor, vol. 57-58. Paris, Oirrc Interna-tional des musCes, 1946.

calcsinri, Benjamin Ives. Museum ;shah of pwpose andmethod. Cambtidge, Mass., Harvard UniversityPress. 1423.

--. The maseum news. Washington, D.C., Ameri-can Association of Museums, 1924.

Ilomnuricca, 0. Murewirrieunde, with an extensivebibliography. Breslau, 1924.

rAcy. Ministeno della Pubblica Istruzione. Munie gallerie d'arte in Italia, Rome, LaLibrerto dells. Stato, 1953.

JACKsoN, Margaret Talbot. The mus:um. New York,Longmans, Green, 1917.

Fiskc. 'Modern museum of Art',Arebiteadral Record, December 1929. pp. 559.90.

KALis, W. 'Muscumsbauta, in G. Wasmuth (ed.),Lex:kon der Bork:out, v ul. III, pp. 658-62. Berlin,

1931.

Luse, Mario. '11 Museo del Tesoro di S. Lorenzoin Genova', Casabe lla, no. 273. Milani 1956.

Mot.Nou, Bruno. Maui a °pot d'arta di Napoliafire:perk la gum-a. Naples, SoprintendetFa alleGallerie, 1948.

. Notitie di Capodimontr. Naples, EdizioneL'Arte Tipografica, t957.

Mouseion. Bulletin of the International Office ofMuseums, Paris, 1928 Si fig.

MURRAY, D. Humors: their bitterly and their sue..:3 vols, with an extensive bibliography. Glas-gow, 1904.

Aflulographie: arcbitectsav et amine:gement des malesd'art. 2 vols. .Paris, International Office ofMuseums, 1934.

11

MWS1011. Quarterly review published by Unesco,Paris,' 1948 it sm.

Slim, R. Bibliography of InUtel0111 and museum work.Washington, D.C., 1928.

STEIN, Clarence S. 'The art museum of tomorrow',The architectural record, January 1930, pp. 5-12.

WHEELER, Joseph L.; GITHENS, Alfred Morton.The Amerman public library buiang. Chicago, Ill.,American Library Association, 1941

Yotrrz, Philip N. 'Museum architecture', Themuseum news, December 1937, pp. 10-11Washington, D.C., 1937.

O

185

Museums are faced with problems familiarto many other institutions, but theseproblems which the various institutionsshare in common must nevertheless behandled by each of them in its own way.For this reason we have studied some ofthese problems in detail, together with thesolutions which have been arrived at bymuseums in different parts of the world.The purpose of this booklet is not to .presentfinal conclusions, but merelyas its titlesuggests to serve as a guide. Museology,so far as it can be called a seienr 's, likeall other branches of science, csstantlychanging to meet new needs, what may beconsidered as standard practice today willbe modified tomorrow. Yet the generalprinciples remain much the same over theyears, and our readers may well find thepresent booklet of considerable help, tothem for some time to come.

It has been my privilege to take part inone of Unesco's international seminars, andI also had the honour of acting as directorof the third seminar, held at Rio de Janeiroin September 1958, which dealt with theeducational role of museums. One thingaccomplished by these seminars was thatthe members from the different countries,each a specialist in some particular field,were led to discover that they all had tocope with a number of similar.problems andthat many of them had a great deal to learnfrom the experience acquired by others. Thebuilding u- of collections, cataloguing ofitems and a :ir preservation and display aretasks common to museums in all countries.All museums are confronted with theproblems of scientific research and thepresenta,ion of its results to visitors, just

CONCLUSION

as all museums must work out an efficientadministrative system so as to co-ordinatetheir different activities.

It was not really until this century thatthe part museums play in the life of thecommunity and the use of their collectionsfor educational purposes took on their realimportance. Emphasis on this aspect ofmuseum work in many countries has beenone of the outstanding developments in themuseum world over the past fifteen yearsand has, beyond doubt, been the chief spurto the replanning of all forms of museumwork. The new line of development, isreflected in logical and attractive exhibi-tions, new hours for the opening ofmuseums to the public, and a steadilyincreasing number of visitors of all agesand walks of life, who have come to regardtheir visits to museums as an importantexperience. Friendly rivalry has sprung upbetween museums, in their pursuit of apolicy which enables the, public to viewand study their collections, to observe andunderstand natural phenomena, and toappreciate man's cultural and technicalachievementsfrom the prinis,sve vestigesof the Pleistocene or glacial epoch to thecarving on a canoe paddle from the SouthSeas, a Japanese scroll painting or apainting by Rembrandt.

And what of the future ? One thing isclearthat in many countries, museumswhich once had no active teaching pro-gramme now take a very keen interest inthis kind of work. What other impulses areactuating museums today ? There is, forexample, the development of the specializedregional museum. In France one museumtraces the history of the 'wine civilization'

j11,41

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187

188

in Burgundy, from Roman times to thepresent, and displays, for purposes of com-parison, material assembled from lands nearand far. In this field of museum work, wemay well see the start of rational planning(in the past the specialized museum wasoften a matter of chance), whereby eachregion will have a museum to record thehistorical background of its basic localindustry, its effect on folklore and thetraditional culture of the region and itslinks with regions of a similar character.

Museums are suited by the very nature oftheir functions to perform this kind of

I

W-;

work. In this industrial age with its stan-dardized products and fashions, carriedso quickly from one part of the world toanother, it is well to remember that uni-versality would have no meaning but forthe traditions peculiar to each region.Museums can serve as one wav of helpingto preserve and maintain these originalfeatures, which bring a welcome varietyinto our lives.

Georges- end RivitimDi ector

International Council of Museums

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16. Copper fragment, 3000 B.C., Cyprus Muscum,Cyrcnc. Partial spectrogram: on the Icft, ironspectrum for comparison. Major impuritics: nickel.silver and iron; traccs of rin and cobalt.

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10. Calcareous sandstone (Bacleghem stone), St.Bavon Cathedral, Ghent (Belgium). Traces of

-;ulphatiun. This is a common disease in calcareousmonuments exposed to the sulphur fumes of coal,

11. Calcareous sandstunc (Bacleghem stone),Gothic façade, 'l own Nall of Ghent (Belgium).,.licrugraph (truss section enlarged ao times)

Illustrating, damage by sulphation. t Intactcalcareous sandstone. quartz. crystals in a calcium-carbonate cement, z fine (0,02 mm.) gypsumborder. beginning of transformation of calciumcarbonate into calcium sulphate, 3 thick (o.5 mm.)black outer layer of soo' and gypsum.

In this way the laboratory detects sulphatiun,measures its Importance and estimates its effect.

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2. Sandstone, Church of St: Nicholas, Enghien(Belgium). Deterioration by freezing. shattering ofthe stone by the increase in volume of frozen water.This happens in rainy countries where the temper-ature falls below o0C.

23. Virgin and Child (detail), limestone, beginningof sixteenth century, Musses Royaux d'Art etd'Histoire, Brussels. A coatinq of cellulose materia:has been shattered by pressure from the salt.,(chlorides) which have crystallized kn, the limect,toc. JStone must breathe. Salts must never be confined. 1 3

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24. Shells, from the Indian Ocean, Institut Royaldes Sciences Naturelles, Brussels. Macrpgraph(enlarged 4.3 times). the acetic acid in the oak casinghas reacted un the calcium in the shell of the speci-men and : umed saline efflurescences. 'I hey arc easyto remove by washing. .

If. Lid of a Ru.aan sarcophagus in white marble,second century Am. Photograph in fluorescent light.Tu the right of the break. old fragment, to the left.the modem addition.

26. Corinthian terra cotta pitcher (detail), endseventh-beginning sixth centuries tt,c. Fluorescentlight shows that the vase is composed of originalfragments (i dark zones) and modern fragments(alighter tone).

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270, :71). Tumb painting, t j c, ancient Abbeyof St.Pierre. Ghent kBc1g.unri. for Cundmun befuretreatment and kb, after treatment gruund astercuntamAng Larbum, and had Lau3ed mrustanunsof calcium Larbunatc. It has been necessary tocombine the use of abrabl,,Ls and Lhen.n...1 reagents.

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28.ained glass window, fourteenth century,Musees Royaux d'Art ..et d'Ilistoire, Brussels.Punctures in the glass caused by an excess of alkalitransformed into carbonates. Modem glass is moreresistant.

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290, 296, 29e. R. van der Weyden; Trinity (detail),oil painting on oak, Music Communal, Louvain(Belgium). Recon?titution of the original (middle:X-ray photograph).

pa, ;ob. R. van der Weyden, Trinity. Micrographs(enlarged t65 times) in infra-red (a) and fluores-cent light (6). D:rk red of a.garment: ground :chalk and animal glue; 2layer of waterproofing,with an oilbase; 5sizing: white lead, a little ochreand animal black with an oil medium; 4layerwith an oil base, purpose unknown; 5layer ofpaint: white lead, a little animal black, oil medium;6layer of paint: fixed madder-red, less white lead,oil medium.

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32. Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine (detail) (r479).Mem ling, oil painting on oak, Mused tic l'HopitalSt. Jean, Bruges (Belgium). Infra =red photograph:drawing and changes in the composition arerevealed, especially on the two hands and the face.

JI Triptych of the Calvary (detail) (circa 466.68),Juste de Gand, oil painting on oak, St. BavonCathedral, Ghent (Belgium). Infra-red photograph:identification of restorations, especially in theVirgin's blue mantle.

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Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cam-bridge, Mass. Sliding scrccn panels for storing oil,or caw! paintings. Double rail ovcrhcad suspensiont.,

type.31. Thc study storage collcction of the CostumeInstitute, Metropolitan Muscum of Art, New York.Thc costumes arc filed according to period and scrvcas a designers' reference library, where designerscan pick a gown from a rack or take a garmcnt froma drawcr much as one takes a bqok from a shelf.

pc. Musco Thai! Biosca, Tarassa, Spain. Onemethod of mounting textiles fur a study collection,thcy are readily tvessiblc and protettcd from light

insects.

v. Loan and study cullccuun of the MetropolitanMuscum of Art, New York. Prints, mountcd andprotccicd.

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38. The print study room of the MetropolitanMuseum of Art, New York.

39. Musec de l'Homme, Paris. Metal shelving. onthe right, dust -proof trays in which feathers andtextiles arc kcpt.

lo. Musee de Pl-lommeP,arts. Racked sliding traysand por,table cabinets.

4i. Musde du Lluvre, Parts. Presentation of afragment of the frieze of the Parthenon (Athens, fifthcentury), in a setting which recalls an ancient palace.

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42. Museum of Modern Art, Isiew York. Presenta-bon of a miniature object on Adena pipe) to showits monumental scale.

43. Palazzo Bianco, Genoa. Lxhibition of an earlyRenaissance sculpture in the modernized setting ofa sixteenth-eighteenth century palace.

44. Cincinnati Art Museum. Reliefs mounted touse natmral side lighting so as to accentuate thedetail017 the carving.

Niederustereichisches Landesmuseum, Vienna.Exhibitiun of two graves,frum prehistoric Schlein-bath. The exhibition includes a map of the site,a case containing artifacts, and a mural of theskeletons in burial poMtion.

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46. Honolulu Academy of Art artial view of agallery adapted to show Greek and Roman art.

47; Pinacoteca di 13rera, Milap. A long narrow hallwith high ceilings adapted to show small paintings,by using a suspended ceiling anci-Sireens.

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterain: Translucentscreens set over windows'soften diclight admitted.Nation.% help to break up a large'lloor area andoffer a "fresh way of looking at paintings;

49. Museo Nacional de Historia, Castillo. de Cita-puitepec, Mexico D.F. The Hall -of Numismatics.The ceiling hal been lowered; and a fin,.walt with atwo-way ease bounds the exhibition area. The finwall and master label give a welcome relief to thehorizontal presentation of the objects on exhibition.

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10. Rijksmuscum, Amsterdam. Print sectiontheprints are mounted at the angle at which a handwould hold them for inspection. The cases leanaway from the wall to vary the vertical stress andredticc annoying reflections from the glass.

f t. Cincinnati Art Museum. An exhibition of printswhich were mounted on fabric covetcd wood panelsapplied tk, plaster walls. The horizontal cove builtabove the exhibition stop conceals fluorescent tubes.

;z. Cincinnati Art Museum. Beams (1 by t z inches)set at a height of 9 feet modify the room (whichhas walls 17 feet high) for an exhibition of minia-tures and pages of an eleventh-century Persianmanuscript.

;j. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre. Angledtemporary walls achieve the ffects oc a curved wallat less cost. The free shape group p.-destal in thecentre of the room plays curves apirst nraightlines.

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II. Statens Histuriska NIuseet, Stockholm. Theretreat of the glaciers and resultant &loges in flora,fauna and human cultures aire illustrated with theaid of table maps. Screens are set at right angles fordisplay of objects and photographs, and smallsloping table cakes hold objects.

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Id. Muscoidt Indw, Rio de Janciro. Arid of largepoles supports a cut -out map. A ..imply made screcncarries photographs and two kw horizontal castshouse Indian objects.

17. Cincinnati Art Museum. A mural map locatingthe cities of origin of the objects on exhibition. Inthe axis of the gallery is a sixteenth- century Koranfrom Mecca, shown on rplextglass lectern.

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IS. M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, SanFrancisco, Calif. Panel screens of light naturalPhilippine mahogany set in with spruce frames adaptthe space of permanent galleries to show a tempor-ary exhibition, An Treasures from Japan,. mr. Thepedestals were made of the same material.

19. Musco della Livilta, Rome. Ancient Romanfamily life. The free standing panel carries the textof the theme of the exhibition and has a nicheholding a husband-and-wife funerary portrait.

60. Chicago Museum of Natural History. Strati;1 tication in archaeology, clearly and graphically

explained utilizing objects in an explanatory !able.

`6t. Palais de la Decouvcrtc, Paris. Diagrams andenlarged microscopic photographs used to explainon a popular level pririciples which would otherwisebe difficult for visitors lacking technical background.

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62. Los- Angeles County Museum. Man in oarchanging world, an exhibition on ace prejudice usinga few major points to illustrate the theme.

6;. Science Museum, London. Darkness into Day-light,an exhibition on fluorescent lighting principles.

64. Cincinnati Art Museum. An exhibition of Pre-Islamic art using inset cases and free standing caseswhich are united by a soffit.

Museo Archeolugicu, Arezzu. An exhibitionusing a built-in two-way window case.

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66. Museu Internazionale de(iCeramiche, raenza.A suspended wall case with belying set at differentlevels.

67. Deutsches Museum, Munich. Geodesy section.Inset cases used to display instruments used in themeasurement of the earth.

68. Rohsska Musect, Goteborg. An "egg-crate" orhoneycomb type of case. Movable backs vary pre-sentation.6g. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The insertion of adividing panel HI a conventional case makes it aneffective space divider and adjusts the size of the

-.moo case to the objects shown.

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7o. Statens I listoriska Musect, Stockholm. Use ofperspex to mount a mitre and a carved ivory crozier.

77. Brooklyn Museum. Fragments of bas-rchcfsfrom Egypt mounted in a ply la uud panel at auniform furface. plane.

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7j. Statens Histunska Muscet, Snrkholm. Stylisedsilhouttcs used to mount reproductions of BronzeAge arms and garments.

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7i. Statens Histurtska Museet, Stu-:khulm. StylisedsdhouLttes used to mourn reproductions of BronzeAge arms and garments.

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74. Dcutschcs Museum, Munich. A naturalisticsolution to show early weaving techniques.

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74. Dcutsches Museum, Munich. A naturalisticsolution to show early weaving techniques.

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76. Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. Travellingcxhibition of Yugoslav folk att.

;7. Umciccko-Prumyslove 'Museum, Prague. Exbibinon units of simp'e construction which can beuscd again or scrve for travelling exhibitions.

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