How the British Museum protects more than seven million objects

Conservators work on repairing an Anglo-Saxon ceramic cremation vessel which was lifted from a site in multiple broken pieces

The vessel was lifted from the site in little pieces

Staff have been working on the conservation of the Chiseldon cauldrons which were the largest collection of Iron Age cauldrons ever found in Europe

With more than seven million objects to look after, the team of about 100 conservationists and scientists at the British Museum has its work cut out.

The popular museum, which sees about six million visitors soak up its historical artefacts each year, has some 50,000 objects on display which all need to be kept in the best condition.

There is also the small task of looking after the seven million objects it has in storage.

Considering how many people meander around its displays, it is surprising how few objects are damaged.

Information seen by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) shows that in the last three years, just 53 objects were damaged.

These include an East Night Clock from 1670-80 which was damaged when someone stumbled and fell into the display case; a red-figured pottery vase from 325 BC which had its lid damaged and a coffin of Nesbanedjed, from first century BC, which saw a fragment scratched against a mount during an installation of an exhibition.

Placement 'carefully considered'

David Saunders, head of conservation and scientific research at the museum, said there had been very little malicious damage.

"The most worrying thing is people bumping into them," he said.

"On a busy Saturday the museum can be very crammed and we obviously keep things in cases but not everything can be cased.

"Massive statues and architectural monuments can't be so these have to be on open display."

To protect them, the placement of every object is carefully considered.

Those that are vulnerable to breaking, such as porcelain statues, are placed in cases while bigger objects are placed behind a screen.

The FOI figures also show several objects - including a first century Roman marble statue and a Middle-eastern alabaster statue had to have chewing gum removed from them.

"It's a strange thing to do, to stick a piece of chewing gum on an object," said Mr Saunders.

"It's very easy to remove and although we think of chewing gum as being something that is extremely sticky, it doesn't pull away the surface when you remove it... [but] it's a nuisance.

"Anything that has a surface where we absolutely would not want a piece of chewing gum attached to it we wouldn't have on display."

Some objects are just too tempting to resist touching.

With its smooth granite surface, the scarab beetle sculpture - which dates back to 332 BC - is one of the most popular artefacts covered with fingerprints.

Because it can be cleaned easily, conservationists do not mind curious hands having a feel, but objects made of more porous stone are moved high up on plinths and out of reach.

If visitors are really keen to get up close with objects, there are some replicas which are there specifically to be handled.

Out of seven million objects, only 53 were damaged in three years

The possibility that objects might become damaged does not put curators off from putting them on display.

"Why are we looking after it and caring for it? If we don't have it on display, if we don't show things, then why keep them?"

"It's part of our responsibility to make sure that they are there for the next generation but not to the exclusion of the current generation."

At any one time, the team looks after objects made from a variety of materials including glass, ceramics and paper, which stretch back from 40,000 BC.

'Ethical debate'

The specialists work by material rather than era, so those who specialise in paper, will cover everything from old master drawings to ancient Egyptian papyrus.

One of the main challenges is how far scientists and conservationists go to protect and restore the objects.

"It is effectively the major ethical debate in conservation - the extent to which you preserve original material to which you allow it to reflect its age," said Mr Saunders.

"A lot of the objects aren't uninteresting - but perhaps they're more mundane as original objects but their collection history makes them special.

"For example a wooden spear collected from the Pacific - there might be hundreds of these but one which has a label which indicates that it was collected by Captain Cook's expedition is of unique value and significance.

Visitors are free to touch a replica of the Rosetta Stone while the original is behind glass

"Removing the label from it and returning it to its original pre-collection condition would destroy that significance so you simply wouldn't do it."

The main focus is therefore on preventing deterioration.

"We've not had any objects that were irreparable from a definable damage.

"Occasionally there are objects which are beyond repair but they tend to become beyond repair due to some intrinsic vice, something about the nature of the object that will never stop its deterioration."

Mr Saunders said the museum had some glass beads which have effectively all but disintegrated and there was nothing they could do about it as there was something in the original recipe that made the glass unstable.

"We're trying to hold them together for as long as possible and have put them on display - we might as well let the public see it before it ceases being an object worth seeing."

"All our collections will one day disintegrate," he said.

"It might be 1,000 years from now, it might be 10,000 years from now, it might be 100,000 years, but things fall apart eventually."