Crossing the Line - sustainability and large object conservation in musuems and heritage collections

Large working objects pose significant challenges for the heritage sector. The primary issues are concerned with interpretation, conservation and authenticity but underpinning all of these is the issue of sustainability. Decision making in large object conservation has always revolved around the tension between using it and losing it, or storing it and seeing it decay through neglect. An additional challenge is authenticity. At what point does an object lose its authenticity? How many replacement parts, panels or new paint jobs does it take to reduce an object to a construct? This paper examines these challenges in order to explore a set of ideas that will allow a sustainable approach to large working object conservation in museums and heritage collections to be developed. It will use as a basis for analysis and discussion ground breaking conservation projects at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton in the UK.