THE OBJECT BIOGRAPHY

Six stages. No seamless story.

Follow evidence across ancient use and modern museum life. Gaps remain visible, because an honest passage is stronger than a complete invention.

01PLACE

An object begins in a relationship

Findspot, architecture, neighbouring material and use give an object meanings that a case cannot carry alone.

Follow this stage →02RECOVERY

Discovery is a documented event

Field methods, recording choices and later archive work shape what can be known after an object leaves the ground.

Follow this stage →03IDENTITY

The inventory number is a bridge

Names change, attributions are revised and objects move; a stable identifier keeps records connected.

Follow this stage →04CARE

Survival is an active process

Cleaning, support, controlled light and rotation shape access while slowing further change.

Follow this stage →05CASE

Display creates a new context

Sequence, height, light, labels and neighbouring objects form a modern argument around ancient material.

Follow this stage →06RETURN

Research sends the object back into motion

Imaging, joins, translations and new comparisons can revise an identity long after an object enters a museum.

Follow this stage →

Move in both directions

A current display can lead back through inventory, treatment and excavation records. A field number can lead forward into conservation images, gallery labels and new research. No single source holds the whole biography.

Use identifiers as hinges

Inventory and field numbers keep images, publications and revisions attached to the correct object. Copy punctuation and prefixes exactly, then date every online record.

Preserve the missing stage

Unknown provenance, undocumented treatment or absent publication should remain explicit. Do not fill an evidential gap with a visually convincing scene.