The study of a collection item begins with entering it into the inventory and establishing where it comes from (provenance). This evidence is of great significance for both academic and legal reasons. As a result of this academic processing, the object is classified in a context, thus enabling its inclusion in a themed presentation.
In addition to producing the exhibition catalogues, which are aimed at a wide audience, the staff at the State Collections of Antiquities and the Glyptothek study the collection inventory together with external academics. These studies are performed on individual objects and monument groups or deal with objects that are thematically interrelated.
Research of the State Collections of Antiquities
Bd. 1: Raimund Wünsche – Matthias Steinhart (Hrsg.), Sammlung James Loeb. James Loeb (1867-1933) – Antikensammler, Mäzen und Philanthrop (2009)
Bd. 2: Raimund Wünsche – Matthias Steinhart (Hrsg.), Zauber in edlem Stein. Antike Gemmen – Die Stiftung Helmut Hansmann (2010)
Bd. 3: Raimund Wünsche – Matthias Steinhart (Hrsg.), Schmuck der Antike. Ausgewählte Werke der Staatlichen Antikensammlungen München (2010)
Bd. 4: F. Knauß (Hrsg.), Das schönste Kaufbare (2018)
Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum (CVA)
The fine painted ceramics in public collections are studied and published on the basis of standard criteria defined by the international research project Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum (CVA) established in 1920. The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Munich is responsible for the → CVA Germany. As it is hardly possible any more for basic research on this scale to be performed by the individual collections, external resources from the Academy are usually recruited, while the museums provide the conservators, photographers and illustrators. 20 volumes on the unique vase collection of the State Collections of Antiquities in Munich have been published to date – more than for any other museum in Germany.
Inventory Catalogues
Further monument groups (sculptures, bronzes, terracotta and gems) have been promulgated in series of publications issued by the museum. The study of the bronzes in the State Collections of Antiquities is supported by the Ernst von Siemens art foundation.
Katalog der Skulpturen
Bd. 2: B. Vierneisel-Schlörb, Klassische Skulpturen des 5. und 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. (1979)
Bd. 3: B. Vierneisel-Schlörb, Klassische Grabdenkmäler und Votivreliefs (1988)
Bd. 6: M. Fuchs, Römische Idealplastik (1992)
Bd. 7: M. Fuchs, Römische Reliefwerke (2002)
Katalog der Bronzen
Bd. 1: U. Höckmann, Die Bronzen aus dem Fürstengrab von Castel San Mariano bei Perugia (1982)
Bd. 2: S. Pfisterer-Haas, Die Bronzegefäße der Staatlichen Antikensammlungen München (2019)
Katalog der Terrakotten
Bd. 1: F. W. Hamdorf, Die figürlichen Terrakotten der Staatlichen Antikensammlungen München (2014)
