Dataset to: Harzhauser et al. (2023): "'aus einem Trümmerhaufen des ausgebombten Hauses Wien III' – one century provenance context of the geological-paleontological collections in the Natural History Museum Vienna (1919 to 2019)"

DOI: https://doi.org/10.57756/m884e2
Creator(s):
Publication date: 15 Dec 2022
Publisher: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (NHMW)
Collections: Geology & Palaeontology
Resource type: Text
License: CC BY
CC BY 4.0 International
Tags: Citizen scientists Historical inventory Interwar period Naturhistorisches museum wien Palaeontological collections Provenance Restitution World war ii
Countries: Austria
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Abstract

We present an exhaustive survey of the geological-paleontological collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna (Austria) based on 353,704 objects acquired from 1919 to 2019. The data encompass information on geographic origin, provenance, stakeholders and mode of acquisition. Special focus is laid on the interwar period from 1919 to 1938, the Nazi regime and World War II until 1945, and on the recovery during the postwar phase until the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The illegitimate acquisitions during the Nazi regime are documented, referring to the published documents of the Art Restitution Advisory Board. For the first time, all objects sent to the department by soldiers during World War II are reported. A strong increase in acquisitions from Austria took place during the 20th century, whilst international relations appear curbed. A boom phase during the 21st century is related to changing science policy and integration of citizen scientists.

Publications

Harzhauser, M., Göhlich, U.B., Kroh, A., Lukeneder, A., Mandic, O., Nichterl, T., Weinmann, A.E. & Krenn, M. (2023): "aus einem Trümmerhaufen des ausgebombten Hauses Wien III” – one century provenance context of the geological-paleontological collections in the Natural History Museum Vienna (1919 to 2019). - Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, 124: 101-124.

Downloads

File Description Size
ANA-124-8_Harzhauser-et-al-supplementary.csv List of acquisitions of the Geological-Paleontological Department of the Natural History Museum Vienna from 1919 to 2019 (CSV format) 0.37 MB
ANA-124-8_Harzhauser-et-al-supplementary.xlsx List of acquisitions of the Geological-Paleontological Department of the Natural History Museum Vienna from 1919 to 2019 (MS Excel format) 0.24 MB