Initial results on laser cleaning at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Natural History Museum and Tate Gallery

Abstract A collaborative project between the Materials Department of Imperial College, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Natural History Museum and the Tate Gallery was initiated with the objective of introducing laser cleaning in these London-based museums and establishing a long-term research collaboration. An access to these material conservation departments means that materials like traditional statuary materials, heavily corroded metals, ivory, palaeontological samples, textiles, stained glass, plaster and some modern materials can be used to investigate the usefulness of laser cleaning and study their effects using a wide range of analytical techniques.