ICOM International Council of Museums - International Institute for ...

THE MUSEUM OBJECT AS HISTORICAL SOURCE ANDDOCUMENTIvo Maroević - University of Zagreb, Faculty of Philosophy, Chair ofMuseology - CroatiaAbstractMuseum object is the object of any reality, collected and preserved in the museologicalcontext to be the document of that reality. Museum is the institution in which weactualize and communicate the past using museum objects. In aim to realize thismission and to develop the understanding of a historical diversity, we constantlyresearch the historic identity of museum objects and develop the ways and methods ofinterpreting their meanings.There are three main dimensions of interpreting and communicating the history inmuseums: the time, the space and the society. Concerning time, we try to understandany time of the museum's object life, searching for the important points in which theobject participated in historical events. The space is a horizontal scope of any timeperiod. Every time has different spatial frameworks as: urban, rural, natural, political orany other scope to be identified. The objects reflect the relations of their life inside oroutside the building. The society denotes relationships among people or groups ofpeople and the role of objects within any of the social environment. Its characteristicshave been changed concerning time and space, as well as the social development.Museum objects participate in every of these dimensions or their interrelations. Usingtheir basic characteristics: material, form and meaning, we can understand thesignificance of the object. The material has been changing through the time,documenting it simultaneously. The form is a part of the space, outer or indoors, withthe function to participate as a tool, furniture, decoration etc. of various historicenvironments. The meaning or the importance has the direct relationship with society inany of its forms: from a family to the nation or the race.So, the museum object is always a certain historical source and a document of life,events or any human actions. Any object can be historic document, concerning itshistorical and social identity. The classification on: artefacts, objects of art,archaeological, natural or any other kind of objects is not relevant, if we want tointerpret the history in museums. The most important is their historical evidence, andtheir ability to be the witnesses of a historical event, process or time concerned.IntroductionThe museum object is a basic component of the museum objects’ collective fund,irrespective in which collection it is located, kept and explored. Its basic definition isthat it is taken out of, transferred, from the primary or the archaeological into themuseological context (van Mensch, 1992:135), in which new context it no longer haseither its basic or secondary use function, does not serve the purpose for which it wasmade, but has adopted the information or communication function characteristics of themuseological context. In other words, the item that is musealised starts to be looked atand studied in a different way, leading to a rise in its field of museal definiteness, adecline in its field of museal indefiniteness. This means that the object takes on certainnew, museological, functions, its origin, appearance and state of preservation beingjust some of the input parameters for the definition of its significance.332