Research at the JMW

Apart from collection, conservation, and communication, one of the main tasks of a museum is investigation and research.

The research work at the Jewish Museum Vienna has four aspects.

• Research into the collection

• Provenance research

• Research within and in connection with exhibition projects

• Museological reflection

Research into the collection

The investigation and research into the collection is the main focus of the Museum’s work. The Jewish Museum object database contains round 20,000 datasets.

The datasets covering the following:

• the Jewish Community (IKG) collection on permanent loan

• the municipal collections:

  • Collection Berger

  • Collection Schlaff

  • Collection Stern

• The Sussmann Foundation on permanent loan.

This was supplemented in 2010 by the Berger legacy, which is now the focus of research.
 

Provenance research

Provenance research is an important part of the Museum’s research work and involves investigation of the provenance of the objects in its collection and identification of possible legal successors of the former owners.
 

Research within and in connection with exhibition projects

Ideally exhibition projects provide an opportunity not only for communication but also for basic research. Exhibitions focusing on cultural or social history in particular have repeatedly given rise to constructive research projects, whose findings are permanently available in the exhibition catalogs even after the exhibition has closed.

Museological reflection

The Museum and its researchers conduct regular museological investigations on various topics, which can also involve consideration of the museum itself as an institution.