DETERIORATION OF SKIN IN MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

Skin has been preserved for reuse in many societies. It survives in museum collections on mummies, book bindings and mounted animals. This paper reviews present knowledge on the mechanisms of change in dry preserved skin and its components of collagen, keratin, proteoglycans, DNA etc. Their properties and survival are considered in relation to the museum environment and the demands placed on museum specimens. The initial preservation method has the greatest influence on the state of specimens, though survival itself is frequently determined by gross external influences. Collagenous structures deteriorate by hydrolysis and oxidation (depending on preservative and environment) while the response of skin to humidity variations and mechanical influence is modified by the state of survival of the proteoglycans. Keratinous components are more stable though, because of their greater exposure, frequently suffer photo-oxidation and collapse. The effects (and deterioration) of lipids in pelage and the stratum corneum is unclear. Understanding of the complexities in preserved whole skin does not yet allow for adequate specification of 'ideal' conditions that will prevent deterioration. © 1990.