Some common questions about significance

Is significance a value judgement?

No. The purpose of using a standard assessment process and criteria is to substantiate and justify assessments as factually as possible. The judgements and assertions in the statement of significance are explained and supported by research, evidence, analysis and comparison with similar items. While there will always be an element of personal judgement and enthusiasm in the statement of significance, using a consistent process and criteria ensures that assessments are rigorous and well substantiated. At their best, statements of significance combine logic, passion and insight.

What happens when there are conflicting opinions about significance?

At times individuals, families or cultural groups may be at odds over the meaning and significance of particular items or collections. It is not necessary to resolve conflicting viewpoints, or determine which is right or wrong, especially where the parties have cultural or spiritual attachments to an item or collection. The statement of significance can reflect the nature and substance of multiple points of view.

Australia ICOMOS has acknowledged the special circumstances surrounding these conflicts and has produced a Code on the ethics of co-existence in conserving significant places (1998), which could be adapted by collecting organisations facing similar issues with items or collections.

Can significance be used for all types of collections?

Yes. Although the concept of managing according to significance was originally developed for heritage places, the assessment process and criteria are designed for use with all kinds of cultural and natural collections, including visual arts, natural history and scientific collections.

Is significance assessment the same as cataloguing?

No. Cataloguing traditionally describes the fabric, appearance and history of an item. Significance assessment goes further, building on the catalogue description with additional steps that establish the meaning and values of the item, drawing conclusions about its importance. The resulting statement of significance then forms a judgement, or argument about why an item is important and what it means. Significance assessment is readily incorporated into documentation procedures. The illustrated example demonstrates the difference between a catalogue description and a statement of significance (click HERE).

How long does significance assessment take?

This depends on the item or collection and how much is already known about it. A preliminary assessment may be made at the time of acquisition. A more thoroughly researched assessment may be done later, such as before conservation. If time is short, ensure that the item’s provenance and history are recorded, as this information may be difficult to obtain in the future.

What if there is no time to assess the significance of every item?

Collecting organisations have several options and may use the single item assessment method, assess particular themes or a section of a collection, or access the whole collection.

One option is to focus on the most important items in the collection. Scan the collection and identify significant items whose history and context has not been fully documented. Perhaps the donor or user of a particular item has more information about its use and context that has not yet been recorded, so this might be a priority. This information could be lost as those who remember it age and die.

Consider setting a goal to assess the significance of a certain number of items per year, focusing on the most important ones or those related to a forthcoming exhibition. Alternatively, assess the significance of a group of related or similar items that share a common theme, association or history.

Where relevant, incorporate significance assessment into acquisition, registration and cataloguing procedures so that all new acquisitions have a statement of significance. Or seek funding to undertake a whole of collection assessment.

Why can’t we just tick a box or give items a significance ranking?

Significance assessment is an argument about how and why an item or collection is important. The argument is justified by referring back to each step in the assessment process. Merely asserting that an item or collection is significant fails to properly explain or communicate why it is important. Ticking a box or giving a ranking misses the point of the process, which is to make a reasoned argument about how and why the item or collection is significant.

Does significance explain why an item or collection is acquired?

Yes, in part. With new acquisitions, significance assessment works in tandem with the organisation’s acquisition policies, with collection development priorities, and in light of the mission and purpose of the organisation.

The assessment process will reveal if the item is of limited significance, helping to explain the reasons for declining a donation. The high cost of collecting and storing items in perpetuity means that collecting organisations must carefully evaluate the merits of particular acquisitions, however generous an offer of donation may be. Significance assessment helps organisations to consider potential acquisitions more rigourously.

How does significance relate to the financial value of an object?

The monetary value of an object often reflects significance, and significance assessment is an essential tool in any valuation process. However, financial value is not a significance assessment criterion. An item may be significant and worthy of inclusion in a public collection, but still be of limited monetary value. Similarly, many valuable items are of limited significance for public collections.

How can families and private owners use significance?

Very easily. Families and collectors may find significance particularly useful in documenting their items and collections. Provenance is an important dimension of the value and meaning of items owned by families and collectors and it is a crucial part of significance. This information is easily lost when those who know about the item die. Make sure the story of the item is written down and kept with the item, so that the next generation understands its history and associations. This includes family memorabilia, photographs, furniture or any item cherished as part of a family’s history. Collectors should keep receipts and records of how and when an item was acquired. It is a good idea to keep a photograph of the item with these records so the two are easily matched.

Research and assess the significance of privately owned items and collections by following the significance assessment step-by-step method in Part 4.