Lighting glass objects

Regula Mueller Shacham <shamue [at] attglobal__net> writes

>It came to my knowledge, that there are new researches about
>lighting glass objects. With optic fibers or cool light I went up to
>300 lux. It seems, that after new researches only 50 to 150 lux are
>allowed. That counts also for not damaged, not restored and even for
>modern glass. Can someone inform me about new articles, books or
>research-reports, or do you know an address of an institution, which
>is specialized in glass objects?

The Corning Museum of Glass specializes in glass objects.  Light
levels are not as critical for most glass objects, but we tend to
keep our light levels low for other reasons. Light creates heat, and
if the lighting is in a case, the case gets warm. This tends to drop
the relative humidity, which can damage some glasses (e.g.,
crizzled). Moreover, if the lights are turned off and on
(day/night), the cycling can also damage some glasses.  One should
be particularly careful with high light levels on glass objects
which may be composites with sensitive materials, such as beadwork,
or anything with an organic attachment (we have wood, textiles, fur,
etc.).  Modern glasses, with synthetic adhesives as part of their
construction, are also very susceptible to accumulated light damage.

 We have not done much with fiber optic lighting in the past, but
the current renovation of our galleries will include some fiber
optic lighting. Most of our lighting now, however, is outside the
cases, primarily to prevent heat build-up.  Some museums that have
done fiber optic displays include:  The James Fennimore Cooper
Museum in Cooperstown, The Museum of Modern Art, New York City, and
The St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri.

Should you have additional specific inquiries, you can contact me or
Dr. Robert H. Brill <brillrh [at] cmog__org>, Research Scientist, at the
address below.

Stephen Koob
Conservator
The Corning Museum of Glass
One Corning Glass Center
Corning, NY 14830
607-974-8228
Fax: 607-974-8470


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:38
                Distributed: Wednesday, January 5, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-13-38-002
                                  ***