Preventive measures against bronze and gilded bronze degradation during indoor and outdoor exposures: surface treatments, corrosion monitoring sensors and development of a controlled-microclimate open showcase

This work presents the results of a National Italian Project (PRIN, period 2011-2014) aiming at the development of new methodologies for the conservation of bronze and gilded bronze artefacts. Fire-gilded bronze is a precious material, widely used for historical artworks as well as in architectural elements and often exposed to aggressive atmospheres. There, it suffers extensive corrosion damage, due to galvanic coupling between the underlying bronze and the thin, highly defective gilded layer. Protective surface treatments, monitoring methods by electrochemical sensors and controlled-microclimate open showcases can represent quite useful measures against bronze and gilded bronze degradation.