Viewing page 108 of 201

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

34.
NOTES ON THE SAFEGUARDING AND CONSERVING CULTURAL MATERIAL IN THE FIELD
                       34.
VI. [[underlined]]MOVING WORKS OF ART AND CULTURAL MATERIAL[[/underlined]]
A. [[underlined]]General considerations[[/underlined]]
1.  Movable objects which have to be safeguarded will sometimes be in particularly dangerous situations.  They may be in damaged buildings in imminent danger of collapse, which cannot easily or quickly be made safe; they may be exposed to the weather, and cannot easily be protected; the risks of fire and flood may be so acute that ordinary precautions are of little service. Also they may be in buildings which are indispensable for administrative, police or military purposes, in which it is difficult or impossible to establish reasonably safe conditions.
In such cases, a decision to move the objects may have to be made. [[underlined]]In every case, the presumption should be against moving[[/underlined]], unless expert help is available.  The danger to delicate objects of improper packing, unskillful handling, and unsuitable means of transport, is so great that even remaining in a dangerous situation may be less risky. [[footnote:]](1)
----
[[footnote:]] (1) An expert in packing and transport need not be an expert in cultural material.  The British Navy packed, loaded into a warship, and unloaded, the exhibits sent from China to the great Chinese Exhibition in London in 1935-6. They treated the exhibits in the same way as live ammunition, with complete success.