The Origin of Museums: Definitions, Features and Functions

A. A Brief History of its Evolution

• The original meaning of the word museum was ‘a place of contemplation’, a philosophical institution, or a ‘temple of the Muses’.
• They are a method of communication, transmitting from one generation to the next that which is considered of importance to the
culture in which the museum exists. This is not necessarily a narrow, xenophobic aim, for many museums contain items from cultures
other than the one in which they exist. Therefore, museums do express a desire to understand cultures other than one’s own.
• It is the earliest cities that led to the earliest known museums. What appears to be a museum, for example, has been discovered in
the precincts of the temple at Ur. During the sixth century BC there was a school attached to the temple in which two rooms
contained a number of objects that pre-dated the school by as many as sixteen hundred years. In classical Greece, many collections
of works of art were formed from votive offerings to particular deities. These were catalogued and conserved, and could be viewed by
visitors (devout and tourist alike) on payment of a small charge. The Acropolis in Athens had areas devoted to the display of
examples of paintings by different artists. The Far East also saw collections being made through the centuries but these, again, were
made by the rich and were for the benefit of the rich. Collectors did act as patrons, however, and much fine work was produced as a
result. In the sixth century AD, Islam was responsible for a surge in North Africa and the Middle East in the collecting of objects,
mostly associated with the tombs of Muslim martyrs. Islam was also responsible for the formulation of al-waqf which involved giving,
in perpetuity, property for the public good and religious benefit.
• It was not until the Renaissance, however, that current patterns of collection and preservation began. The economic power of certain
individuals and families meant that by the fifteenth century there were a number of fine collections in existence. Lorenzo the
Magnificent, for example, inherited a collection developed by his Medici forebears that included books, intaglios, precious stones,
tapestries, paintings, sculptures and a variety of curios including the ‘horn of a unicorn’, for which an incredible 6,000 florins
were paid. These collections were often housed in specially built rooms and buildings, many of which were open to those members of
the public able to afford the entrance charge.
• Scientific collections were also made as the interest in science spread to the wealthier strata of society. Natural history collections were
also extremely popular, particularly those that could show creatures from other parts of the world, becoming available to collectors because
of the great voyages of exploration being undertaken by Europeans. Ashmolean was the first museum to open to the public in 1682,
consisting of the collections of John Tradescant, bought by Elias Ashmole, and donated to the Oxford University.

• Despite all this, it was not until the beginning of the nineteenth century that museums were overtly cast in the role of contributor to
national and cultural consciousness. They had in fact been evolving towards this all along, but once they gained a degree of autonomy and
became self-aware of their evolution, much more importance was placed upon their role in the education of the people of the region or
culture in which they existed. By the early years of the twentieth century, much had changed in the museum world. Urbanisation saw
many new museums emerging, some state run, others under the patronage of local government, independent organisations and
individuals.

• There was also a move towards areas of interest other than high art as recognition grew of the importance of folk culture. And as
the scope of museums broadened, so too did their approach to display. It was no longer sufficient simply to place objects in glass fronted
cases with a label to identify them. Whole environments have now been re-created as the originals have disappeared.

• Given that there are now many kinds of museum, it would be pertinent at this point to consider just who is paying for them.
1. National museums (which house collections of national and international importance) – funded by national government.
2. Provincial museums (which house collections of regional or local importance) – funded by local government.
3. University museums (which house teaching collections) – supported by their parent university.
4. Independent museums (of many sizes and degrees of importance) – financed through charitable trusts.
5. Private museums (of many sizes and degrees of importance but mostly small) – kept running with money from the pocket of the
individual who owns them.

• In effect, the first three rely heavily on money derived from taxation. All of them supplement their incomes by charging for various
things including entrance to the museum and professional services, running commercial ventures such as shops and refreshment centres,
business sponsorship, applying for grants from various bodies and accepting donations.

• If, as all this implies, museums act as the collective memory of people (a person is shaped by their memories; a culture is shaped by its
past), then it is essential that people have access to their museums just as it is essential they have access to their own memories. Without
access, memory is worthless. All museums are concerned with artefacts of aesthetic, archaeological, cultural, historical, scientific, social and
spiritual interest.
B. Features of a Museum

1. To begin with, and most important of all, a museum must be a genuine artefact or a collection of genuine artefacts of aesthetic,
archaeological, cultural, historical, social or spiritual importance and interest within a dedicated space. The actual subject matter or
content is irrelevant except that it be original.

2. A museum must be concerned with the preservation and conservation of artefacts.

3. Museums are organic. That is, they have an organised structure composed of distinctly functioning parts dedicated to the overall survival
of the structure. They grow, develop and they evolve.

4. Museums should be concerned with space as much as with time. That is, they should be concerned with satisfying our curiosity about
other cultures (past and present) as well as our own culture (past and present). In order to achieve this, artefacts should be displayed in
some defined context.

5. Museums should be sensitive to the spiritual and cultural worth of artefacts to the culture from which they derive. In preserving,
conserving and keeping artefacts in dedicated places, museums act as a means of storing national, cultural and collective memories,
which can then be passed from generation to generation.

6. In order to be effective transmitters of memory, museums must be open to all people. Anyone who wishes to enter them should feel
comfortable about doing so.

7. Museums should inform. Artefacts need interpretation if people are to make sense of what they see. Information needs to be sensitive to
popular and academic need.

8. As well as informing people, museums should allow them the freedom to explore for themselves, not just physically but also
intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.

9. A museum should be a place of learning, serving its own needs and the needs of others.

10. Museums should be places of enjoyment. Visiting a museum should be pleasurable.

Thus, to arrive at a working definition of a museum from these features...

A museum is an organic institution or dedicated space open to all wherein an event occurred or a genuine artefact
or a collection of genuine artefacts of aesthetic, archaeological, cultural, historical, social or spiritual importance and
interest is preserved, conserved and displayed in a manner in keeping with its intrinsic and endued worth. As such, it
is an informative means of storing national, cultural and collective memories, where people can explore,
interact, contemplate, be inspired by, learn about and enjoy their own and others’ cultural heritage.

C. Functions/Purposes of a Museum

So to sum up from the aforementioned discussion on the definition and scope of a museum, what purposes are served by
museums? Or, to put it another way, what jobs take place within them?

a. Collecting: Finance permitting, museums actively collect artefacts that fall within the remit of their collecting policies.
There are many sources for objects from the open market to donations and bequests. Some museums have wider collecting
policies than others. A national museum will collect across a broad range. A museum in a house that was the residence of a
famous person will only be interested in artefacts to do with that person (and then, perhaps, only from the period in which they
lived there).

b. Care of the collection: Once an artefact is in a museum it must be cared for. Whether it goes into a reserve collection or is
on display, its environment must be carefully controlled to mitigate the effects of the atmosphere, temperature, humidity, light
and so on.

c. Conservation: Some artefacts need more than simple care. They are, perhaps, so badly damaged or decayed they need active
conservation to prevent further deterioration and to make them secure for storage or presentable for display.

d. Research: Finding out about artefacts is also of importance. They are, after all, collected partly with the intention of
improving understanding about them and their history.
e. Display of artefacts: Museums are for the public, so artefacts have to be displayed in ways that allow best access to the artefact consistent with
its safety, care and conservation. Curatorial and educational decisions have to be made about what should be displayed along with conservation and
artistic decisions about how the artefact should be displayed.

f. Interpretation: When artefacts are displayed there has to be some degree of interpretation so that visitors can make sense of what they see.
Even if there is no obvious interpretation, the artefacts exist in a context that affects the way they are viewed. No form of interpretation is neutral
and decisions have to be made about what a display is intended to convey.

g. Public access: There is much more to this than just opening the doors. Revenue has to be balanced against costs such as heating, lighting,
environmental control, wear and tear and so on. Other factors such as security and visitor flow need to be considered along with providing facilities
such as toilets, refreshments and interpretation.

9. Education: Museums are educational resources of great importance for pupils and students at all levels of study, and not just for the most
obvious reasons. Learning and education are inherent in their very existence.

10. Social function: Museums are part of the community in which they exist even if they are not museums relating specifically or solely to that
locale. They may well have regular visitors, friends’ organisations and so on as well as offering a secular opportunity for solace and contemplation.

11. Economic function: Not only are museums employers, they attract visitors to the area in which they are situated, generating income for
themselves and their locale.

12. Custodianship of heritage: There is an active role that museums can play beyond their own four walls in that, having the expertise, they can
help in making decisions about what is worth preserving and how to go about it. They also have a role as protectors, lobbying when others fail to
do so.

13. Administration: All of the above has to be administered. Catalogues have to be made and kept up to date, information has to be processed,
research has to be published, materials have to be produced for visitors, staff have to be paid and trained and so on.

That is part of what museums find to do all day. Of course, the above list is the product of contemporary thinking. Our concerns are not
those of our forebears. We are much concerned (some would say obsessed) with preserving the past and recording our own times in the minutest
detail for posterity. Actually working to produce a viable future in which our passion for preservation can be appreciated seems, at times, to have a
much lower priority.