Storage of bone

I thank you for the response on my question how to store bony flute.
I have received a few advises concerning this problem and I thank
for these. Now, I have to discuss all suggestions with my colleges
and to decide what to do.

As the interest for this object is apparent I can give some more
information about it. The flute was found together with many other
crude bones in wet conditions. After excavation it was cleaned with
brush and water and dried on air. No particular precautions have
been taken in conservation sense. During this process, I suppose,
small cracks have appeared. Some analyses have already been made
like C14. We abstain of any active conservation activity, as we are
afraid to cause any irreversible changes or disturb any possible
future analyses. For the same reasons we did not make cast replica
of it but we modelled a new one. The bone is air dry now, partly
covered with very light calcareous layer.

Concerning storage options, it has to be emphasised that it is
fossilised bone without any organic rests. No efflorescence has been
noticed. Nevertheless the content of salts should be analysed. Such
test should be carried on the other bone laying beside. Small cracks
were formed during first drying, later changes was not identified.
The flute will not travel around and it will be placed in our museum
storage. People will come to our storage to look at it and therefore
it should be placed in some transparent container not to open it
very often. I expect the box will be opened only few times a year.

Proposals for safe storage was:

    a.  Acid free cardboard box filled with cotton fabrics and
        cotton bag filled with active carbon

    b.  Glass jar filled with ArtSorb bags and ageless bags and
        ageless-eye.

    c.  No particular RH  and T values were suggested

Any comments to this proposals are welcomed.

Zoran Milic
National museum of Slovenia
Ljubljana, 13.2.98

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:71
                 Distributed: Friday, February 20, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-11-71-002
                                  ***