As many of you here have years of collecting experience, I would love to hear how you catalogue your collection.
I'm a newbie and have very few pieces, but realize that some jewellery are not just objects of beauty and art, but include complex layers of information. I would like to get started on organizing this information for easy retrieval, and would like to hear your experiences in cataloguing.
What sort of information do you include in the catalogue? Do you use special software or a web service?
Looking forward to reading about your adventures in cataloguing :)
Replies
Thanks Toya, Stefany, Sigrid and Sarah! Your suggestions are very much appreciated. There are a number of info fields in Stefany's list that hadn't even occurred to me, but make a lot of sense. I will try the museum-lite software but like Sigrid use a mac for work and at home - will have to see how that goes. Well, this should keep me busy this winter :)
http://www.adlibsoft.com/products/adlib-museum-lite
Hi Preethi!
I use Adlib Museum Lite, a free version of a professional cataloguing programme for museums that allows you to input photographs, and make notes on all sorts of things like physical description, materials used, date, characteristic elements, production details, purchase amount, insurance amount etc. My main problem with it is that it runs on Microsoft, and allmost all my computers are Apple, so I have an enormous backlog...for the moment I have pictures of everything in iPhoto and add the main info there in the information field, but it is less than perfect. Like Toya I also use the info provided by the seller if I buy through Internet.
If you really want to catalogue your bead collection then here is a list of the amount of information that i reckon should be gathered if possible. However there are always pieces of information missing, and you may also need to learn the specialist terminology.
Beads Cataloguing list
1) Colour
2) Form
3) Material description
4) Dimensions,
5) Hole
6) Condition
7) Date/age
8) Artist's name, Country of origin
9) Technique
Provenance:
10) country of trade/use
11) found or threaded with
12) Acquired by me from...
13) documentation, references, museums with similar..
14) Rarity
15) Likely value when made
16) perceived value now
17) resemblance, intentional or otherwise
18) General significance
19) Amuletic Meaning
20) How worn, anecdotes
21) name when made
22) name where used
23) traders name
24) collectors name.
I have a very simple process I use to catalogue my small collection. I photograph the piece and put as much information as possible in the title box of the photo. I include the price I paid for the item and any provenance or other information. I store these photos in a computer documents file. If I buy the piece off the internet then I will simply capture and use the photo that the seller provided and add my title information to that. That saves time. This system is quick and it works for me.