Article
Displaying a taxidermy rhinoceros in a museum: the Lisbon conservation approach
Catarina Teixeira1,* , David M. Waterhouse2, Laura Moura1 , Pedro Andrade1
1 National Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon / Museums of the University of Lisbon, PRISC, Rua da Escola Politécnica 56/58, 1250-102 Lisboa, Portugal
2 Norfolk Museums Service, Norwich Castle Study Centre, The Shirehall Market Avenue, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 3JQ, United Kingdom
* cteixeirasilva@museus.ulisboa.pt
Abstract
The present problems around the public display of a full taxidermy mounted rhinoceros in Lisbon and the motifs for the replacement of its original horns are presented in this paper. The twentieth century specimen concerned belongs to the National Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon (MUHNAC). The several warnings of rhino horn thefts occurring in museums across Europe in the last two decades and the frequency of requests for loans of this specimen for exhibitions, raised an internal debate at the MUHNAC. In this paper, firstly, we present a short overview of the problems in terms of the international context and the vulnerability of these specimens at museums, followed by a brief overview of the history of the Lisbon specimen. Finally, we detail and discuss our conservation, methodology and ethical approach to the removal and replacement of the specimen’s original horns with replicas, based on Norfolk Museums Service’s (UK) protocol and experience.
Keywords
Horn
Replica
Replacement
Ethics
Preventive restoration
Language
English
DOI
10.14568/cp2018043
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Conservar Património | APA | Chicago | NP405 | ABNT
Conservar Património: Teixeira, C.; Waterhouse, D. M.; Moura, L.; Andrade, P., 'Displaying a taxidermy rhinoceros in a museum: the Lisbon conservation approach', Conservar Património 33 (2020) 10-23, https://doi.org/10.14568/cp2018043.
APA: Teixeira, C., Waterhouse, D. M., Moura, L., & Andrade, P. (2020). Displaying a taxidermy rhinoceros in a museum: the Lisbon conservation approach. Conservar Património, 33 10-23. DOI:10.14568/cp2018043.
Chicago: Teixeira, Catarina, David M. Waterhouse, Laura Moura, and Pedro Andrade. 2020. "Displaying a taxidermy rhinoceros in a museum: the Lisbon conservation approach." Conservar Património 33:10-23. doi:10.14568/cp2018043.
NP405: TEIXEIRA, Catarina [et al.] – Displaying a taxidermy rhinoceros in a museum: the Lisbon conservation approach. Conservar Património. [Em linha]. 33 (2020) 10-23 [Consult. ]. Disponível em WWW: <URL:https://doi.org/10.14568/cp2018043>. ISSN 21829942.
ABNT: TEIXEIRA, Catarina et al. Displaying a taxidermy rhinoceros in a museum: the Lisbon conservation approach. Conservar Património, Lisboa, v. 33, p. 10-23, 2020. Disponível em: <https://doi.org/10.14568/cp2018043>. Acesso em: .
History
Received: 2018-10-7 Revised: 2019-3-4 Accepted: 2019-4-8 Online: 2019-6-18
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Stable url: https://doi.org/10.14568/cp2018043
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