Digital Lighting for the Analogue Museum

Exhibition lighting in museums and galleries usually strives to render the true nature of the surface of the exhibits. This would normally include using light sources that provide the most accurate rendering of colour and tone - white light sources with an appropriate colour temperature and high colour rendering index scores. This has been the traditional approach to exhibition lighting for decades, but in the era of solid state lighting, is there now an opportunity to rethink how we illuminate our precious and fragile historic artefacts? Should we be questioning our whole knowledge base for conservation lighting and looking for new ways to maximise visibility and minimise damage to our most fragile artefacts?