ABSTRACT
Of course, a curator of an open-air museum of farming faced with a pile of rotting wooden tools may find it hard to take such a lengthy, complicated and formal procedure seriously. How much easier simply to wait until the museum is closed and set fire to the pile – end of problem! But that is exactly how many of the most important collections in our museums have disappeared. It is a betrayal of the trust that society places in its museums and their curators.
