The move towards harmonisation follows the recent increase in the number of European Union member states and the rise in cultural exchanges between museums following this expansion.
The project, called the Conservation of Cultural Property, has been established under the auspices of the Brussels-based European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
Momentum for the project has come from Italian museum authorities, which sought international standards to help address conservation concerns about historic buildings in Venice. Amilcar da Costa, who leads the project at CEN, said there was a need for a unified approach to conservation.
'Unfortunately, the great experience developed in this field by different European countries cannot constitute a common background,' he said. 'There are too many differences not only in methods of analysis, but also in terminology.'
Standards will be created for five categories: guidelines and terminology; materials; evaluation of methods and products for conservation work; environment; and transportation and packaging. All five working groups are now in place.
In the UK, the guidelines will become BSI standards. Among the guidelines that should be created are rules for showcases, measuring light levels and climate controls, and risk assessments on transport and security.
The key benefits for the UK museum sector will be to facilitate cooperation and the exchange of artefacts and displays. 'When we lend exhibitions abroad we take people's word for it on how they look after objects and what environmental standards they have,' said Freda Matassa, an independent museum consultant who is the UK expert representative on the environment, and the transportation and packaging working groups.
'The standards will mean we won't have to check up on them - they will just show that they meet the relevant CEN standard and that will be a guarantee of quality. '
Matassa says the workload implications for the British museum sector will not be onerous. 'Countries on the continent tend to look to us for examples of standards,' she said.
The project has been cautiously welcomed by Alastair McCapra, the chief executive of the Institute of Conservation. 'It's a good thing if it facilitates access and supports loans,' he said. 'But you have to be wary of creating a monster that is impossible to comply with.
'New developments raise standards all the time. You could have a British museum having to lend work to a country that shows it has reached a recognised standard that everyone knows is already out of date.'
Mark Rowe
The project, called the Conservation of Cultural Property, has been established under the auspices of the Brussels-based European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
Momentum for the project has come from Italian museum authorities, which sought international standards to help address conservation concerns about historic buildings in Venice. Amilcar da Costa, who leads the project at CEN, said there was a need for a unified approach to conservation.
'Unfortunately, the great experience developed in this field by different European countries cannot constitute a common background,' he said. 'There are too many differences not only in methods of analysis, but also in terminology.'
Standards will be created for five categories: guidelines and terminology; materials; evaluation of methods and products for conservation work; environment; and transportation and packaging. All five working groups are now in place.
In the UK, the guidelines will become BSI standards. Among the guidelines that should be created are rules for showcases, measuring light levels and climate controls, and risk assessments on transport and security.
The key benefits for the UK museum sector will be to facilitate cooperation and the exchange of artefacts and displays. 'When we lend exhibitions abroad we take people's word for it on how they look after objects and what environmental standards they have,' said Freda Matassa, an independent museum consultant who is the UK expert representative on the environment, and the transportation and packaging working groups.
'The standards will mean we won't have to check up on them - they will just show that they meet the relevant CEN standard and that will be a guarantee of quality. '
Matassa says the workload implications for the British museum sector will not be onerous. 'Countries on the continent tend to look to us for examples of standards,' she said.
The project has been cautiously welcomed by Alastair McCapra, the chief executive of the Institute of Conservation. 'It's a good thing if it facilitates access and supports loans,' he said. 'But you have to be wary of creating a monster that is impossible to comply with.
'New developments raise standards all the time. You could have a British museum having to lend work to a country that shows it has reached a recognised standard that everyone knows is already out of date.'
Mark Rowe
