Lighting glass objects

Regula Mueller Shacham <shamue [at] attglobal__net> writes

>It came to my knowledge, that there are new researches about
>lighting glass objects. With optic fibers or cool light I went up to
>300 lux. It seems, that after new researches only 50 to 150 lux are
>allowed. That counts also for not damaged, not restored and even for
>modern glass. Can someone inform me about new articles, books or
>research-reports, or do you know an address of an institution, which
>is specialized in glass objects?

We worked with the museum at Cooperstown on their fiber optic
lighting, and are using it in other projects.  Once the choice is
made to go this route, however, it is important to get the right
product and to understand how to use it. Aside from the choice
between glass and plastic fibers, different manufacturers have very
different choices of end-fixtures, and it is the various fixtures
and lenses that provide the flexibility needed to actually do the
lighting and achieve the desired results.

The other problem that we see in consulting on lighting is that few
users know what the choices are in terms of what objects can look
like, so they don't always get the best results for their purposes.
Because of a lack of precise understanding among many lighting
designers about the way light contributes to the experience of
viewing objects, and because of pressure that museums feel to keep
light levels low, it seems that many institutions think that they
have a choice between exhibits that look good but are damaging to
objects and those that are safe for the objects but too dark. If
poorly controlled lighting produces glare or too much contrast,
brighter lights do not make viewing easier. On the other hand, if
viewers' eyes are allowed to adjust to lower levels and the
distribution and angle of the lights are properly controlled, quite
low levels can provide excellent viewing conditions.

Fiber optic lighting provides a wide range of options initially.  We
believe that in the long run, the advantages of fiber optic lighting
become even more pronounced in the ease of changing of lamps, lower
power demands, and less heat load.

B. Appelbaum,
Appelbaum and Himmelstein


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