Museum Module¶
User Guide¶
Catalog museum objects using Spectrum 5.0 and CCO standards for artifacts, artworks, specimens, and collections. Manage exhibitions, loans, provenance, and condition assessments.
Overview¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MUSEUM MODULE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 🏺 Objects 🎨 Exhibitions 📋 Loans │
│ │ │ │ │
│ ▼ ▼ ▼ │
│ Artifacts Temporary Loans In │
│ Furniture Permanent Loans Out │
│ Textiles Traveling Object Entry │
│ Online Object Exit │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
When to Use Museum Module¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ USE MUSEUM MODULE FOR: │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 🏺 Historical artifacts and antiquities │
│ 🎨 Fine art (paintings, sculptures, prints) │
│ 👗 Costumes and textiles │
│ 🪑 Furniture and decorative arts │
│ 🦴 Natural history specimens │
│ ⚱️ Archaeological finds │
│ 🔧 Tools and industrial objects │
│ 🎖️ Medals, coins, and numismatics │
│ 🖼️ Exhibition planning and management │
│ 📋 Loan tracking (incoming and outgoing) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
How to Access¶
Main Menu
│
├──▶ Manage ──▶ Exhibitions (exhibition management)
│
└──▶ GLAM/DAM
│
▼
Museum ─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
├──▶ Browse Objects (view collection) │
├──▶ Add Object (create new record) │
├──▶ Spectrum Procedures (loans, movements) │
├──▶ Condition Reports (assess condition) │
└──▶ CCO Dashboard (overview and stats) │
Exhibition Management (NEW)¶
Accessing Exhibitions¶
Go to Manage → Exhibitions or access the Museum Dashboard from the Central Dashboard.
Exhibition Dashboard¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ EXHIBITION DASHBOARD │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │
│ │ 12 │ │ 3 │ │ 2 │ │ 156 │ │
│ │ Total │ │ Open │ │Upcoming │ │ Objects │ │
│ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ │
│ │
│ Currently Open: │
│ • African Art Through the Ages (closes Mar 2026) │
│ • Industrial Heritage Collection (permanent) │
│ │
│ Upcoming: │
│ • Maritime History (opens Apr 2026) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Creating an Exhibition¶
- Click New Exhibition from the dashboard or list view
- Fill in the form:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ NEW EXHIBITION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ BASIC INFORMATION │
│ Title: [African Art Through the Ages ] │
│ Subtitle: [A Journey of Cultural Heritage ] │
│ Type: [Temporary ▼] │
│ • Permanent │
│ • Temporary ← │
│ • Traveling │
│ • Online/Virtual │
│ • Pop-up │
│ Theme: [African Art ] │
│ Description: [ ] │
│ │
│ DATES │
│ Opening Date: [2026-03-15 ] │
│ Closing Date: [2026-09-30 ] │
│ │
│ VENUE & TEAM │
│ Venue: [Main Gallery ▼] │
│ Curator: [Dr. Sarah Mbeki ] │
│ Organized By: [Collections Department ] │
│ │
│ BUDGET │
│ Amount: [150000.00 ] │
│ Currency: [ZAR ▼] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Exhibition Workflow States¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ EXHIBITION LIFECYCLE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Concept ──▶ Planning ──▶ Preparation ──▶ Installation │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ Archived ◀── Closed ◀── Closing ◀────── Open │
│ │
│ Status Colors: │
│ 🔘 Concept (gray) │
│ 🔵 Planning (blue) │
│ 🟡 Preparation (amber) │
│ 🟠 Installation (orange) │
│ 🟢 Open (green) │
│ 🟣 Closing (purple) │
│ ⚫ Closed (dark gray) │
│ 📁 Archived (light gray) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Adding Objects to an Exhibition¶
- Open the exhibition detail page
- Click Objects tab
- Click Add Object
- Search for objects in your collection
- Assign to a section and display location
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ADD OBJECT TO EXHIBITION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Search Objects: [ceremonial mask ] │
│ │
│ Search Results: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ MUS-2024-00234 - Ceremonial Mask (Zulu) │ │
│ │ MUS-2024-00456 - Ancestor Mask (Venda) │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Section: [Introduction ▼] │
│ Display Location:[Gallery A, Case 5 ] │
│ Display Notes: [Mount at eye level ] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Exhibition Sections¶
Organize your exhibition into logical sections:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SECTIONS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ 1. Introduction (12 objects) │ │
│ │ Gallery A - Welcome Hall │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ 2. Origins and Traditions (24 objects) │ │
│ │ Gallery B - East Wing │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ 3. Contemporary Expressions (18 objects) │ │
│ │ Gallery C - Modern Space │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ [+ Add Section] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Storylines and Narratives¶
Create guided tours and narrative journeys:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STORYLINES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Main Tour (12 stops, 45 min) │
│ Type: General | Audience: All visitors │
│ ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ 1. Welcome → 2. Origins → 3. Traditions → ... → 12. Exit │
│ │
│ Family Trail (8 stops, 30 min) │
│ Type: Educational | Audience: Families with Children │
│ ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Interactive stops with activities for children │
│ │
│ [+ Create Storyline] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Exhibition Events¶
Schedule events related to the exhibition:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ EVENTS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ March 2026 │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ 15 Opening Night 18:00-21:00 │ │
│ │ Private View | Registration Required | Free │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ 22 Curator's Talk 14:00-15:30 │ │
│ │ Talk/Lecture | Lecture Hall | R50 │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ [+ Add Event] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Checklists¶
Track tasks for each exhibition phase:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PLANNING CHECKLIST 75% │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ████████████████████░░░░░░░ │
│ │
│ ☑ Concept approved │
│ ☑ Budget allocated │
│ ☑ Curator assigned │
│ ☑ Venue confirmed │
│ ☑ Object selection complete │
│ ☑ Loan requests sent │
│ ☐ Insurance arranged Due: 2026-02-15 │
│ ☐ Marketing materials designed Due: 2026-02-28 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Object List Report¶
Generate printable object lists for exhibitions:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ EXHIBITION OBJECT LIST │
│ African Art Through the Ages │
│ Generated: 19 Jan 2026 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Section: Introduction (12 objects) │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ # Object Number Title Location Value │
│ 1 MUS-2024-00234 Ceremonial Mask Case 5 R45,000 │
│ 2 MUS-2024-00235 Beaded Necklace Case 5 R12,000 │
│ ... │
│ │
│ Section Total: R245,000 │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ GRAND TOTAL: R1,250,000 (54 objects) │
│ │
│ [Print] [Export CSV] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Adding a Museum Object¶
Step 1: Click Add Object¶
Go to GLAM/DAM → Museum → Add
Step 2: Choose Object Type¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SELECT OBJECT TYPE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ○ Artifact / Historical Object │
│ ○ Painting │
│ ○ Sculpture │
│ ○ Photograph │
│ ○ Print / Drawing │
│ ○ Textile / Costume │
│ ○ Furniture │
│ ○ Natural History Specimen │
│ ○ Archaeological Object │
│ ○ Numismatic (Coin/Medal) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Step 3: Fill in the Form¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ADD MUSEUM OBJECT │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ IDENTIFICATION │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Object Number: [MUS-2025-00156 ] │
│ Object Name: [Ceremonial headdress ] │
│ Other Names: [Isicholo ] │
│ Object Type: [Headwear ▼] │
│ │
│ DESCRIPTION │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Brief Description: │
│ [Traditional Zulu married woman's headdress made of ]│
│ [woven grass and ochre-dyed cotton, circa 1920 ]│
│ │
│ PRODUCTION │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Creator/Maker: [Unknown ] │
│ Culture: [Zulu ] │
│ Place Made: [KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa] │
│ Date Made: [circa 1920 ] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Key Fields Explained¶
Identification¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ FIELD │ WHAT TO ENTER │
├────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Object Number │ Unique accession number │
│ Object Name │ What the object is called │
│ Other Names │ Alternative or local names │
│ Object Type │ Category (furniture, textile, etc.) │
│ Classification │ Subject classification │
└────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────┘
Physical Description¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ DIMENSIONS │
│ Height: [25 ] cm │
│ Width: [30 ] cm │
│ Depth: [28 ] cm │
│ Weight: [0.5 ] kg │
│ │
│ MATERIALS │
│ Primary: [Woven grass ] │
│ Secondary: [Cotton, ochre pigment ] │
│ │
│ TECHNIQUES │
│ [Weaving, dyeing ] │
│ │
│ INSCRIPTIONS │
│ [None ] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Production and History¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PRODUCTION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Creator/Maker: [ ] │
│ Role: [Maker ▼] │
│ │
│ Culture/People: [Zulu ] │
│ Period: [Early 20th century ] │
│ │
│ Place Made: │
│ Country: [South Africa ] │
│ Region: [KwaZulu-Natal ] │
│ Locality: [ ] │
│ │
│ Date: [circa 1920 ] │
│ Date Type: [Made ▼] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Provenance (Ownership History)¶
Track the object's history of ownership with interactive visualization:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PROVENANCE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Previous Owners: │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ 1. Original owner unknown (before 1950) │ │
│ │ 2. Smith Family Collection (1950-1985) │ │
│ │ 3. Private collector, Cape Town (1985-2020) │ │
│ │ 4. Donated to museum (2020) │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ [+ Add Provenance Entry] [View Timeline] │
│ │
│ Acquisition: │
│ Method: [Donation ▼] │
│ Date: [15 March 2020 ] │
│ Source: [Estate of J. van der Berg] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The provenance module includes D3.js visualization for ownership chains.
Loans Management¶
Loans Out (Lending Objects)¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LOAN OUT │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Borrower: [National Gallery of Art ] │
│ Contact: [curator@gallery.org ] │
│ │
│ Objects: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ MUS-2024-00234 - Ceremonial Mask R45,000 │ │
│ │ MUS-2024-00456 - Ancestor Figure R120,000 │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ Total Insurance Value: R165,000 │
│ │
│ Loan Period: [2026-06-01] to [2026-12-31] │
│ Purpose: [Exhibition ▼] │
│ Exhibition: [African Heritage Show ] │
│ │
│ Conditions: │
│ ☑ Climate control required (18-22°C, 45-55% RH) │
│ ☑ Professional art handlers only │
│ ☑ No photography without permission │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Loans In (Borrowing Objects)¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LOAN IN │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Lender: [Private Collection Trust ] │
│ Contact: [trust@email.com ] │
│ │
│ Objects Being Borrowed: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ PC-001 - Gold Ceremonial Bowl R500,000 │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ For Exhibition: [Treasures of Africa ] │
│ Loan Period: [2026-03-01] to [2026-09-30] │
│ │
│ Our Responsibilities: │
│ ☑ Insurance coverage arranged │
│ ☑ Climate-controlled display case │
│ ☑ Security escort during transport │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Loan Workflow States¶
Location Tracking¶
Know where every object is:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LOCATION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Current Location: │
│ Building: [Main Museum ▼] │
│ Room: [Gallery 3 - African Art ▼] │
│ Unit: [Display Case 12 ▼] │
│ Shelf/Position: [Top shelf, center ] │
│ │
│ Location Status: [On Display ▼] │
│ • On Display │
│ • In Storage │
│ • On Loan │
│ • In Conservation │
│ • In Transit │
│ • Missing │
│ │
│ [View Movement History] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Condition Assessment¶
Record the object's physical state:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CONDITION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Overall Condition: [Good ▼] │
│ • Excellent │
│ • Good ← │
│ • Fair │
│ • Poor │
│ • Unacceptable │
│ │
│ Condition Notes: │
│ [Minor fading to ochre pigment on left side. ]│
│ [Small tear (2cm) at base, stable. ]│
│ │
│ Last Checked: [10 January 2026 ] │
│ Checked By: [M. Ndlovu ] │
│ │
│ [Add Full Condition Report] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Spectrum Procedures¶
Access collection management workflows:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SPECTRUM PROCEDURES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 📥 Object Entry - Record incoming objects │
│ 📤 Object Exit - Record outgoing objects │
│ 📍 Location Movement - Track object moves │
│ 📋 Loans In - Borrow from others │
│ 📋 Loans Out - Lend to others │
│ 🔍 Condition Check - Assess physical state │
│ 💰 Valuation - Record insurance values │
│ 📸 Documentation - Photography and records │
│ 🗑️ Deaccession - Remove from collection │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Valuation and Insurance¶
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ VALUATION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Current Value: │
│ Amount: [R 45,000.00 ] │
│ Currency: [ZAR ▼] │
│ Type: [Insurance Value ▼] │
│ Date: [01 January 2026 ] │
│ Valued By: [ABC Valuers (Pty) Ltd ] │
│ │
│ [View Valuation History] │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Getty Vocabulary Integration¶
The museum module integrates with Getty vocabularies for standardized terminology:
- AAT (Art & Architecture Thesaurus) - Object types, materials, techniques
- ULAN (Union List of Artist Names) - Creator/maker names
- TGN (Thesaurus of Geographic Names) - Place names
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MATERIAL (AAT Lookup) │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ [ivory ] │
│ │
│ Suggestions from AAT: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ ivory (animal material) - 300011857 │ │
│ │ ivory (color) - 300127906 │ │
│ │ vegetable ivory - 300012970 │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
CLI Commands¶
For administrators, the museum module provides CLI commands:
# List exhibitions
php symfony museum:exhibition --list
# Show exhibition details
php symfony museum:exhibition --show --id=5
# Get exhibition statistics
php symfony museum:exhibition --statistics
# Generate object list for exhibition
php symfony museum:exhibition --object-list --id=5
# Install exhibition schema (first time setup)
php symfony museum:exhibition --install-schema
Tips for Cataloging¶
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ✓ DO │ ✗ DON'T │
├────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│ Measure in metric │ Mix measurement units │
│ Use controlled vocabularies │ Make up terminology │
│ Document provenance fully │ Skip ownership history │
│ Photograph all sides │ Only capture one view │
│ Note condition issues │ Ignore damage │
│ Update location when moved │ Forget to track moves │
│ Record cultural context │ Strip cultural meaning │
│ Plan exhibitions in advance │ Rush exhibition setup │
│ Use checklists for phases │ Skip quality checks │
└────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────┘
Optional Features¶
Some menu items and sections only appear when the corresponding plugins are enabled. If you don't see a feature listed below, ask your administrator to enable the plugin.
| Feature | Requires Plugin |
|---|---|
| SPECTRUM Procedures | ahgSpectrumPlugin |
| Condition Reports (Add link) | ahgSpectrumPlugin |
| Heritage Accounting (GRAP) section | ahgHeritageAccountingPlugin |
| Provenance (CCO) | ahgProvenancePlugin |
Need Help?¶
Contact your system administrator or collections manager if you need assistance.
Part of the AtoM AHG Framework - Museum Module v1.2 Last updated: February 2026