Predicting longevity of ephemera

Do any institutional art conservators currently have in place or
know of a rating system which deals with the predicted longevity of
new acquisitions and the conservation implications of its
acquisition? We currently have a 5 tiered rating for items already
in the collection to determine treatment priority (a 5 can be
displayed/lent as is graduating to a 1 which is figuratively on fire
and requires immediate attention), but this does not translate well
to art objects made of plastic, rubber and other materials we know
are are or likely to be ephemeral, yet are in good condition now.

So, at the point just before a decision is made to acquire or not,
we would like to consider introducing a system to rate the
conservation implications of the acquisition beyond merely observing
and documenting its current condition.

Thomas Dixon
Chief Conservator
National Gallery of Victoria
Melbourne Australia

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:47
                Distributed: Tuesday, November 25, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-11-47-010
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