Deterioration of metal and paper caused by camphor wood: a noticeable phenomenon in conservation

Abstract

Although welcomed and used as storage materials by many museums, camphor wood shows a potential risk to museum collections due to its strong smell. Camphor wood was proved harmful to metals in the author’s previous studies, but since the last study about camphor wood reported by the author, the camphor wood samples have not experienced the Oddy test again for two years, so their harm to metals is unknown at the current stage. Meanwhile, there is no standard or specific method for learning the materials’ effect on organics. The present work focuses on the above situation. Camphor wood samples of different species and aged for different years were tested in this study. Their effect on metals was assessed by performing the Oddy test. On the other hand, a series of mechanical tests were conducted to learn the camphor wood samples’ effect on paper samples commonly used in Chinese calligraphy and painting and the corresponding restoration. The results show that the camphor wood samples are still significantly volatile and harmful to both metal and paper. This work would be meaningful to museum curators and conservators as a reference for making correct judgments when camphor wood is included in the potential material list.