The identifier anchors every claim
Museum name, inventory number, object title, date, material and dimensions create the minimum stable record.
An object dossier becomes reliable when each claim keeps its identifier, source, date and level of uncertainty instead of disappearing into a seamless narrative.
Start with institution and number
Write the responsible institution and exact inventory or accession number before a familiar object name. Numbers are not glamorous, but they separate similar titles, fragments and older catalogue traditions. Preserve punctuation and prefixes. If no identifier is visible, record the room, case and label wording without inventing one from an image search or nearby object.
Copy the title as a title
A museum title may be descriptive, conventional, translated or historically inherited. Put it in quotation marks or a dedicated field rather than treating every word as a proven ancient designation. If the web record uses different wording, date both sources. The stable identifier allows readers to follow revisions without collapsing them into one smooth but inaccurate name.
Keep maker and subject distinct
The represented person, named owner, workshop, excavator and modern author of a record are different roles. Copy the institution’s attribution and its uncertainty. Do not create an ancient artist from a modern catalogue credit or treat the depicted figure as the maker. Where authorship is unknown, unknown is a complete and responsible field.
Preserve date ranges
Copy dynasties, reigns, centuries, circa and question marks exactly. A range is evidence of scholarly limits, not a formatting inconvenience. Do not choose the midpoint as a precise year or make the museum display sequence supply chronology. If later publications revise a date, record source and access date so the dossier shows a history of interpretation.
Use material language modestly
List every material the institution names and keep broad terms broad. Stone, wood, metal, pigment and textile may be the only supported level. Visual color cannot independently identify quarry, species, alloy or dye. When a technical publication adds specificity, cite it as a separate analytical field rather than silently rewriting what the gallery label said.
Record dimensions with orientation
Copy height, width, depth, diameter or sheet measurements with units and source. Do not estimate hidden depth or convert a cropped photograph into scale. Note whether dimensions include a modern mount only when the institution explains it. A small object enlarged on screen and a monumental object seen from afar both require dimensions to restore proportion.
Separate provenance from location
Current museum, gallery and case describe present custody and display. Findspot, original context and later collection history require separate fields. Do not infer ancient origin from the city where an object is displayed. Even a strong local association must come from the museum record, excavation publication or another responsible source connected to the identifier.
Add one complete image
Keep a whole-object view showing current support and scale before any crop. Caption museum, identifier and image date. A cropped face, inscription or surface can circulate without enough information to recover the object. The complete view does not solve every question, but it keeps the detail attached to a checkable record and visible display condition.
Resolve duplicate names
When search results return several objects with the same ruler, deity, object type or owner, compare inventory number, material, dimensions, provenance and view. Do not choose by resemblance alone. Save the URL of the matching official record and note why it matches. This small audit prevents biographies and technical data from migrating between visually similar museum objects.
Write the identity block
Combine institution, inventory number, displayed title, attributed maker or subject, date, materials, dimensions, current location and official URL. Mark absent fields rather than filling them. The identity block should be reusable at the top of every later note about findspot, condition, reconstruction or display, keeping one evidence chain intact across the dossier.
Do not infer provenance, ownership, treatment or current stability from appearance. Use responsible institutional and scholarly sources connected to the exact object.