From:  Michel Van Praet, Chair ICOM-France

To:  - Chairpersons of ICOM national and international Committees
- ICOM's members
- ICOM-L subscribers

Dear Colleague,

The Checking Commission of loans of works of Art from collections of
the French State, was set up in 1997 is in charge of general
inventory in France and abroad.

The Commission assignements are :
- to ensure that the correct procedures are used for this inventory, to
organize it, to set up a working methodology, to create new tools if
necessary and to initiate studies,
- to ensure the actual presence of loans entrusted to the holders,  their
condition, to have them photographed, and to establish reports on them,
- to account for them accuratly,
- to decide what has happened to any missing works and to prepare reports
for the Law Courts,
- to make propositions to the holders of works of art and to the minister
of culture,
- and to give a final report to the State audit office stating the results
of the Commission's findings, the situation of the works and all it's the
Commission's observations and propostions.

Therefore, one of the working groups, the Label Sub-Commission was
created to improve all the products and systems to mark the
different supports of works of art, even traditional or
contemporary, These began a few months ago, and Mr Jean-René
Gaborit, General curator of the Sculptures Department of the Louvre
museum, was nominated as Chair. Most of the meetings were held with
two laboratories, one of the French museums (C2RMF) and the other,
the National Laboratory of Tests (LNE).

Few thousands of objects (art collections of the French State) are
traditionally exhibited in public buildings, offices of Ministries
or City Mayors ... Some of the heads of these administrations are
not really proud about their responsabilities and an 'educationnal'
action is engaged by the Ministry of Culture to push them to be more
aware of their duties. In the same time a task force is in charge to
performe the inventory of these objects. In this goal a survey is
engaged to select the better marcking processes. ICOM-France is
engaged in this action and I ask you to kindly answer to the
questionnaire below and to send your contibution to :

Commission de Récolement des dépôts d'oeuvres d'art
to Mrs Genevieve Ravaux, chargée de mission,
1 rue Berbier du Mets, 75013 Paris
(T)  (33) (0) 1 44 08 52 96/97
(F) (33) (0) 1 44 08 52 98
e-mail : [log in to unmask]


This bibliographic study is urgent and has to be completed in
January 2002. After publishing this study, two years of tests will
be necessary to report the conclusions to the ICOM members involved
in the research.

At the end, all the research and tests form of the supports/products
couples will be printed in a report and the best labels to be used
will be identified.

The future prospects of this Checking Commission of the loans of
works of art is to ask the French Committee and the foreign members
of ICOM for help as partners to participate at this research. Next
year, the Commission will publish a general and bibliographic report
about the experiences of products, labels and tests in France and
abroad. We thank you very much for your help.

Sincerely

Michel Van Praët
Chairperson ICOM-France

Jean-Pierre Bady
President of the Checking Commission of Loans of Works of Art

****************************
QUESTIONNAIRE

I - What are the " new " marking processes most commonly used in your
museums:
I-A bar-code labels,
I-B tags,
I-C chemical and biochemical tracers (fluorescents, DNA synthesis),
I-D laser graven,
I-E other processes ?


II - The marking processes currently used in your museums are :
II-A attached to the work of art (thus somehow spoiling its integrity);
II-B separated from the work of art (not to spoil its
integrity).

III - How did you chose the process(es) used?
III-A in compliance with the recommendation of a national or
federal authority  (if so, which authority)?;
III-B by working together with heritage institutions (if so, which
instutions)?
III-C a specialized firm recommended it (which firm)?
III-D the supplier of a product recommended it (which supplier)?
III-E thanks to a bibliographic study made on this subject by a laboratory;
III-F other processes?

IV - How were these processes approuved?
IV-A According to a test protocol defined in association with a testing
laboratory?
IV-B What types of tests did the processes underwent to measure their
strength to environmental stresses to which works of art are submitted:
- chemical characterisation of marking products, of medium products
-  used when they are applied (binder, glue, varnish, adhesiveS);
- strength tests to mechanical withdrawal, to changes in the climatic
- conditions, to chemical agents?

V - Is the selected marking:
V-A to be directly read?
V-B to be read with a special device?

VI - On which criteria was the test protocol established?
- durability,
- readability;
- reversibility,
- irreversibility,
- safety,
- withdrawal,
- others (which criteria)

According to you, what is the mean criteria ?

VII - Did you use ageing test of 10 years, 50 years, more, how many years?

VIII - Is there any comparable study on traditional marking means (paint,
India ink, labelsS)

IX - Among marking processes you applied, did you have :
IX-A difficulties in carrying out the process
IX-B specific problems not referenced in specialized paper or in brochures
of suppiers?
Please mention them.

Please send back this questionnaire to:

Commission de Récolement des dépôts d'oeuvres d'art
to Mrs Genevieve Ravaux, chargée de mission,
1 rue Berbier du Mets, 75013 Paris
(T)  (33) (0) 1 44 08 52 96/97
(F) (33) (0) 1 44 08 52 98
e-mail : [log in to unmask]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the
archives at:  http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html