Samples of pigments indigenous to the US Northern Great Plains were collected in association with the conservation of a buffalo hide tanned and painted by a Crow Indian(s) in the 19th century, which is now in the collection of the National Museum of American Indian. The pigments were characterised using a series of analytical techniques – some common and others uncommon to the conservation science field, including portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). XRF is not capable of differentiating between various ochre samples due to high detection limits. XRD can detect some matrix minerals in each sample, but these data cannot characterise pigments by original source location. INAA is capable of characterizing ochres from different sources based on trace element geochemistry; however, the large sample size it requires (approximately 100 mg), makes sampling from objects challenging and therefore makes it difficult to use for technical art history studies that focus on museum objects. INAA is useful if applied to reference materials, such as historic pigments or known sources for historic artistic materials.

When considering the use of new and innovative materials in the treatment and handling of museum objects, there are many issues concerning health and safety, particularly when the toxicity of these new materials is unknown. However, issues related to exposure of toxic materials are not just related to new innovations; health and safety information is incomplete for most of the materials already used in collection care. Many topics covered in this article apply to any chemical/material to which museum personnel may be exposed. The discussion is divided into three parts: (1) an explanation of why museum workers, particularly conservators, are a unique exposure population when it comes to health and safety concerns; (2) a specific chemical case study (cyclododecane) describing how to approach materials with limited safety information; and (3) practical protocols to protect workers and the public. To gain a better understanding of how to approach these challenges, a summary of related literature, interviews, and survey responses on this topic are provided.