A week or so ago, there was a thread going for those of you who made individual records for non-art components of a work of art (frame, crate, pedestal, mount, etc.). 

I am leaning towards starting a global policy here whereby EVERY frame in our museum would have a unique record in TMS, whether it lived on its work of art or not.  The frame would be linked to the object, and if a frame was used over and over again, could be linked to multiple objects, creating a history of use for the frame.

It seems to me that if EVERY frame were not entered separately—even those frames that are never removed from a painting—people who move the objects would easily get confused as to knowing when to do a location change for a frame and when not to.  If the frames are linked to the object, an art handler who moves a painting with a frame can easily toggle over to the record for the frame and make that location change as well.

BUT how do you handle moving entire groups of objects, like moving an entire exhibition or object package worth of objects if whoever made the exhibition record or object package didn’t add the frame records?  Is there a way of calling for all of the “related” objects for ALL of the records in a group?

Am I nuts for thinking this is a good idea?

Thanks in advance for your wisdom and insight…

David

David Aylsworth

Collections Registar

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

tel:  713-639-7824

fax: 713-639-7780

Presenting North Looks South: Building the Latin American Art Collection

on view June 7 – September 27, 2009