2026-10-09T20:36:08Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34057378 2026-10-02T16:54:06Z category_21 category_272 category_39 category_734 category_61 category_106 portal_87 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Understanding Glass Deterioration in Museum Collections: A Large-Scale Survey of Glass Collections at the Smithsonian Institution Miriam E. Hiebert (18592738) Robin O'Hern (25302991) Sadie Colebank (18592744) Stephanie Lepsik (25302994) Sarah Baburi (18592747) Lance Costello (25302997) Rebecca Kaczkowski (9641941) Biotechnology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Ecology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Developmental Biology Science Policy Collection survey sample survey preventative conservation glass glass alteration glass deterioration inherent vice GIMME <p>Glass is a nearly ubiquitous material in cultural heritage institutions around the globe. Glass is a component in an incredibly broad range of item types, ages, locations of origin, and uses. Similarly, the composition of glass can vary immensely from item to item. While recent research has been focused on understanding trends in glass deterioration in museum collection items, most of these studies have been limited in scope or size. The collections at the Smithsonian Institution, which span the entirety of human history, present a unique opportunity to study glass deterioration on a truly global scale. The Glass Deterioration Working Group was formed to conduct a survey of glass and glass-containing collection items across the Smithsonian's museums. The methodologies used in conducting this survey as well as the results obtained are discussed in this paper. This large-scale, pan-Institutional survey has allowed for a definitive understanding of the prevalence of glass deterioration, in the form of both glass alteration and mechanical damage. It has also enabled correlations between deterioration and other aspects of collection items, including item type, the presence of restricted-air ow internal spaces inherent to item design, and the presence of component materials such as metal alloys or leather.</p> 2026-10-02T16:54:06Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.34057378.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Understanding_Glass_Deterioration_in_Museum_Collections_A_Large-Scale_Survey_of_Glass_Collections_at_the_Smithsonian_Institution/34057378 CC BY 4.0