TOOLS
Plastic Identification Tool
Cultural Heritage Agency Modern Age programme/SBMK Collection Knowledge Project 2.0 / Plastics pilot
Plastics in museum collections require special care, as they often suffer from discolouration, blooming, stickiness and crumbling during storage and display. In order to store objects made of plastic and objects containing plastic under the right conditions, identification of the plastics is crucial.
In 2019, the Foundation for the Conservation of Contemporary Art (SBMK) and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) completed a project to enable museums to identify those artworks and design objects in their collections which contain plastics. The researchers worked closely with museums that manage collections of modern and contemporary art. One of the key results is an online Plastic Identification Tool.
Identification tool
Every type of plastic has its own specific properties. The Plastic Identification Tool (PIT) helps collection managers and restorers identify a large proportion of the plastics in their collections, monitor objects that contain plastics and take appropriate conservation measures – without specialist knowledge or analytical equipment.
The tool can be used in three different ways:
– Through a questionnaire with accompanying PIT kit (see below).
– Through descriptions of the different types of plastics.
– Through ten examples of works in which different types of plastics have been used.
PIT kit
To ensure optimal identification results, this tool is accompanied by a workshop and a set of briefcases containing plastic samples, the PIT kits. Together with a set of tools, these reference materials can be used to answer the Plastic Identification Tool questionnaire. The set is part of the Plastics workshop but can also be ordered separately.
Plastics workshop
The two-day in-company Plastics workshop provides insight into the different types of plastics and their properties. Participants learn how to use the Plastic Identification Tool by examining objects from their own collection. Complementary to the workshop, it is possible to jointly examine larger numbers of objects from the participants’ collection and identify plastics for registration, documentation and conservation. In addition to using the Plastic Identification Tool, instrumental analyses (FTIR) can also be carried out during these identification days. The workshops are led by Carien van Aubel and Olivia van Rooijen.