Monday, February 9, 2009

The Meaning Behind Accession Numbers

I've decided to create my own Snow Globe Museum in order to demonstrait the use of accesssion numbers for museum artefacts. I hope you enjoy the tour.

The accession numbers I’ve given to these snow globes provide information in themselves about the artifacts. The first number is the year the object was accessioned into the museum. For instance these snow globes were acquired in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The second number refers the order they were accessioned that year. For instance, if the accession number indicates 01 as the second number, this means the item was the first artifact acquired that year. If the accession number is 02 this means it was the second artifact acquired that year and so on. The last number refers to the number of items in that acquisition. If there were multiple items acquired at the same time and part of the same collection or provenance then further numbers would be indicated to represent the different items in that acquisition. Some times artifacts also have parts. For instance a tea pot has two components a pot and a lid. These items would be further identified by issuing the letter A for the lid and B for the pot. These letters would be placed at the end of the accession number. For instance, if this item were in two parts their succession numbers would be 2009.02.1.a and 2009.02.1.b. Although there are various ways to number artifacts this is the most commonly used method.

Melissa's Snow Globe Museum


Artifact Number 2007.01.1
Name: Snow Globe of Chateau Frontenac
Measurements: 10 cm height 7 cm width
Condition: New
History of Artifact: This item was acquired as a souvenir from Quebec City on November 20 2007.


Artifact Number 2008.01.1
Name: Snow Globe of Angel
Measurements: 10 cm height 8 cm width
Condition: New
History of Artifact: This item was a gift


Artifact Number 2009.01.1
Name: Snow Globe of Labrador Puppy
Measurements: 10cm height 7 cm width
Condition: Damaged
History of Artifact: Christmas Gift


Artifact Number 2009.02.1
Name: Snow Globe of Ducks in Nature
Measurements: 14 cm height by 10 cm width
Condition: New
History of Artifact: This item was bought on sale at Wal-Mart in January 2009

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