Exploring the Materials and Condition of 20th-Century Dolls in Zoe Leonard's 2000.

Systematic condition and analytical surveys were carried out on Zoe Leonard's (b. 1961) 2000, an installation artwork in Tate's collection consisting of 162 children's dolls. The dolls were manufactured at various points within the 20th century and encompass several potentially problematic synthetic polymers found in modern and contemporary museum collections.

Water sorption and diffusion in cellulose acetate: The effect of plasticisers.

The conservation of cellulose acetate plastics in museum collections presents a significant challenge, due to the material's instability. Several studies have led to an understanding of the role of relative humidity (RH) and temperature in the decay process. It is well established that a major decay mechanism in cellulose acetate museum objects is the loss of plasticiser, and that the main decay mechanism of the polymer chain involves hydrolysis reactions.