ConNext-2021

60 Biological specimens embedded in polymethyl ‐ methacrylate and polyester KEYWORDS: synthetic resin, embedding, taxidermy, damages, terminology. At the latest since the 1950s taxidermists experimented on the suitability of transparent casting resins like epoxy, polymethylmethacrylate and unsaturated polyester for the embedding of animals or plants. The crystal-clear appearance and the polymerisation to a hard and dry plastic block seemed to be perfect properties for displaying objects of anatomical and biological lessons in schools or universities. In comparison to the formerly established technique of wet preparation they are easier to transport, to store and to hand around in the class. The Ruhr Museum in Essen which presents the cultural, social and natural history of the Ruhr area accommodates 89 biological inclusions in the natural history section of the collection. The specimens embedded in transparent synthetic resins show different sorts of animals like insects, molluscs, amphibia or mammals. Most of the objects were produced as teaching material for anatomical or biological studies, probably in the 1980s. The Ruhr Museum is planning to exhibit a representative selection of the objects in a display storeroom which is going to be accessible to the public in spring 2021. The synthetic resins surrounding the specimens show various phenomena like yellowing, cracking or loss of transparency. These changes of the material partly disturb the all- around inspection of the embedded animals. The causes of the phenomena need to be understood for developing a preservation concept. Therefore it is initially necessary to identify the material, to understand the embedding technique as well as to name and describe the occurred phenomena in the polymers. The embedding material could be determined as polymethylmethacrylate and polyester so the specific properties and ageing behaviour of these plastics can be taken into consideration for further investigation. In my master thesis I intend to clarify the causes of the occurred phenomena in order to draft a conservation concept with possible treatments and recommendations for future storage and exhibition. Therefore it is required to use a proven terminology as a standard, which has not yet been established for plastic objects. My presentation focuses on the condition of the embedding materials and the mentioned problematic of the correct terminology for the present damages. franziska.timmermann[at ]smail.th ‐ koeln.de