Display lighting for silk

Gwenola Corbin <gwenolacorbin [at] hotmail__com> writes

>I would like to know if there are risks to exhibiting textile
>(silk) at 150 lux with fibre optics.

Textiles generally should be displayed at 50 lux (for 6 months).
Silk is especially light sensitive so this limit should be strictly
adhered to, however with light exposure the relationship is
reciprocal--if you shorten the time, the lux level can increase.  In
other words, if you exhibit it at 50 lux for 6 months you could also
shorten the time to 3 months and increase the level to 100 lux--the
overall exposure is the same.  Light damage is cumulative.

Shirley Ellis
Textile Conservator
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Park
Toronto, ON  M5S 2C6
416-586-5878
Fax: 416-586-8036


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:67
                 Distributed: Wednesday, April 28, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-17-67-005
                                  ***