Denmark’s museum objects at risk from ‘extreme’ new mould, say conservators

A new type of “extreme” mould is sweeping through Denmark’s museums, threatening some of the nation’s most important paintings and cultural objects, conservators have warned. Described as an “epidemic for Golden Age paintings”, the highly resistant mould covers objects in a white coating and has been detected in 12 of the country’s museums, including the National Museum of Denmark and Skagens Museum. View image in fullscreen The white mould has grown on a wooden box with ornate carvings held at the Museum Romu in Roskilde. “If you have a museum collection that can give health hazards to people then you can’t use it,” she said. The National Museum is in the process of moving 116,000 shelf metres of cultural objects into a new staffed warehouse near Copenhagen which it is hoped will help fight the mould problem.