Counting when, who and how: visualizing the British Museum’s history of acquisition through collection data, 1753–2019

Resource type
Journal article
Creator (person)
MacDonald, Isobel
Date published
July 23, 2022
Abstract
This paper critically examines the possibilities of using the British Museum’s collection database as a research tool to examine acquisition history. It publishes initial findings from the author’s research into the history of the collection through a quantitative analysis of collection data. Rather than focusing on individual collectors, collections or areas of the collection, it takes a high-level comprehensive view of the current body of material, across time, departments and material. The paper asks three questions of the database: when did objects enter the museum’s collection, from whom and how? Through a numerical analysis, acquisition patterns are revealed which both challenge and augment our understanding of the history of the collection.
Funder
Funder nameAwards
Townley Group of the British Museum Friends
Journal title
Journal of the History of Collections
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
ISSN
0954-6650
eISSN
1477-8564
Official URL
Rights statement
In Copyright
DOI
Keywords