"Box by Box"

For 89% of the objects in our collection, we know the name of the person who provided them to the museum. But for only 6% do we know the name of the person who made them. Why have some names been carefully recorded, while others are absent?

The data visualisation "Box by Box" is the output of a one-year research project that seeks to provide a rapid appraisal of the museum collection and its provenance. Our collection currently contains 61,889 objects, and we plan to make the entire collection database accessible online by 2028. In "Box by Box", you can for the time being explore the collection according to where objects came from, when they entered the museum, what we know about their provenance, and the people connected to them.

Much of the collection was acquired during the 19th and 20th centuries, often in colonial contexts. Over the course of almost 150 years, museum staff recorded information about the objects – first in handwritten inventory books, later on index cards, and most recently in a digital database. But these records are not neutral. "Box by Box" exposes patterns in our museum documentation: It reveals gaps, and illustrates how colonial collections left essential individuals and narratives undocumented.

This research project aims to provide an overview of the collection to concerned communities and research partners.

Duration:
September 2025 – September 2026

Support:
Federal Office of Culture

Project team at the museum:
Marina Berazategui (project lead)
Joris Burla
Melissa Caflisch
Maylawi Herbas
Alice Hertzog
Amir Mommartz
Andrea Staub
Rebekka Sutter
Daniela Zurbrügg (point of contact)

Design: Melanie Imfeld

Programming:Lucid