Property and Found in Collection Processing

Unsolicited gifts and bequests

Objects which are unsolicited by Blanton staff and have been delivered by any method to Blanton property. These may have been legally bequested, shipped without consent, or arrived by unknown means, but with clear communication from a donor or their representative of the intention to donate to the Blanton.

These objects should be handled as proposed acquisitions, until a determination about whether to accept as property or acquisition into the permanent collection. Use same convention for solicited gifts and purchases: PA.YYYY.# (year object was received, or earliest date associated to donor communication)

(Dept: Permanent Collection, Object Status: Proposed Acquisition, Accession method: gift or bequest)

Long-term unresolved gifts and bequests

These objects are not accessioned, are known prior gift offers, transfers from other institutions, or have some indication of provenance known to Blanton staff, but without a determination regarding collection status by staff. Historically these objects were not inventoried and tracked throughout Blanton storage with the same thoroughness of accessioned objects. When inventoried by current staff, they should be assigned status as pending acquisitions for review. These are numbered with the same convention as new unsolicited gifts (above).

Found in Collection

These objects are discovered on Blanton property and with no inventory label identifying status, source, or ownership. These items are recorded and investigated as potential lost collection works, abandoned property, or languishing gift or bequest.*

New found in collection items are labeled FIC.YYYY.# (year object is “found”)

(Dept: Non-Collection, Object Status: Found in Collection, Accession method: Undetermined)

*When more information is discovered about a found in collection item, it should be updated accordingly and labeled as a pending acquisition to the collection or as non-collection property.