Understanding Accession Numbers

When you read a museum label, you may notice the string of numbers that appears beneath an object’s title, date, maker and description. This string—called an accession number—uniquely identifies the object within a museum’s collection. Accession numbers typically begin with the calendar year the museum acquired the artwork and then, after a decimal point, a coded series of numbers that identify it as a museum's first or tenth or hundredth acquisition that year. Sometimes letters are added for a work such as a tea set that has multiple components. As registrar and collections manager, I assign an accession number once a newly acquired artwork has moved through the accessions process outlined by the Taft’s Collections Management Policy.  

Museum professionals use accession numbers in multiple ways, including tracking an object from the moment it enters a collection. A hardcopy file labeled with the accession number is created to house information about the object, including provenance (the object's life history), property transfer documentation, and research. Accession numbers are also important because they confirm exactly which museum objects are being stored, displayed, loaned, or shipped. 

After being accessioned into the museum collection, artwork needs to be cataloged. Much of the hardcopy file information is entered into a collection management database; digital images are uploaded there as well. These steps were part and parcel of the Taft’s recent collections accessibility project, funded in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Beginning in 2022, this three-year grant award involved multiple staff members and enabled images and information for the entire collection—some 800 objects—to be made available online through the museum’s website. Visitors to the website can now search for Taft collection database information using search terms or accession numbers. 

The collections accessibility project encompassed a variety of stewardship responsibilities, including shoring up the museum’s digital preservation practices, renewing provenance research, and increasing virtual access to the collections. During the first year of the award, curatorial and collections staff, using accession numbers, identified which objects needed higher resolution photography or shots from multiple perspectives and hired professionals to move and photograph them. Following photography, the Taft team edited and uploaded the objects’ digital images to the collection database and prepared the catalog records for digital publication. 

It was exciting to be a part of this project. We all learned more about the collection and were able to share the additional information with the public online—including those important accession numbers! Even though most stewardship work typically occurs behind the scenes, the collections staff enjoys the opportunity to showcase how our work contributes to the Taft’s mission of connecting people with great art. 

So, next time you look up a work of art . . . check out the accession numbers!