Thinking inside the box: evaluation of polypropylene boxes for the storage of museum objects

Abstract

In 2013 new improvements took place at the storage areas of the national palaces of Pena, Queluz and Sintra administrated by Parques de Sintra?Monte da Lua. The initial goal was to achieve a better use of the little space available by building custom made polypropylene boxes so stacking up could be done safely. We tried to develop a system that was simple and easily repeatable so that identical materials, methods and organization principles could be followed in storage areas in spite of the different characteristics of existing objects. This paper aims to share practical aspects that were developed while searching for an optimal solution to adequately cushion and box museum objects. The ongoing assessment, carried out according to the agents of deterioration, triggered significant changes to the initial methodology. Results of the evaluation of the use of boxes to block or mitigate some agents of deterioration and their contribution to preventive conservation are presented. How these improvements also reflected in collection management and lead to a better use of the collections is also discussed.