Collection rotations

Collection rotations are part of the on-going work of the Chester Beatty Library conservation studio.

Since the beginning of my internship in 2015 as the Heritage Council Intern, I have taken part in several gallery rotations, including the deinstallation and redisplay of cases in both galleries.

Due to the nature of the objects on display in the library – most of which are light sensitive – the library collections on display need to be rotated regularly. This prevents irreparable damage, such as damage due to dust deposit or fading of painted and illuminated folios.

The collection rotations gave me the opportunity to work on a wide-range of objects selected for installation, including condition assessment and mounting as necessary. The work also involved handling the objects during rotation, and their proper re-housing after removal from display.

The following images are reproduced by permission of © The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.