"Provenance Hacks" – Increased Transparency in the Collections
A project insight for Provenance Research Day
Around 60,000 objects from all over the world are held here at the museum. As part of the "Provenance Hacks" project, we are developing an interactive data visualisation that brings these collections – and in particular their provenance – to life.
The project centres on the following questions: Where do the objects come from? When did they arrive at the museum? Through whose hands have they passed? What do we know about their history – and what do we not know? The visualisation maps this information quantitatively, thereby also revealing gaps in the data. The view can be altered using four filters: region, year, provenance status and actor.
In processing the data, a particularly striking gap has become apparent: we often do not know who made an object, and under what circumstances that person passed it on.
The programming and design are currently being finalised; we expect it to be available on our website from June 2026. The increased transparency will facilitate future collaborative provenance research.
The project team at the museum:
Marina Berazategui
Joris Burla
Alice Hertzog
Amir Mommartz
Rebekka Sutter
Daniela Zurbrügg
Design: Melanie Imfeld
Programming: Jonas Scheiwiller, wearelucid
In a further step, online access to individual objects is also planned. "Provenance Hacks" lays the foundation for this; digitisation of all collections will keep us busy until 2028.
Ethnographic Museum UZH