Portuguese Museums Research Articles

Transforming museum management through ICT adoption: an analysis of the Portuguese context during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This study aims at analysing the development of digital co-creative strategies adopted by museums during the COVID-19 pandemic and the transformative potential of co-creative experiences with the help of digital tools to redefine the relationship between the museum and its audiences. This is exploratory research using online qualitative surveys applied to Portuguese museums during the COVID-19 pandemic for participation of virtual audiences for data collection and analysis. Results from this study contribute to managers’ awareness of museum digital transformation around the world sharing similar contexts and that may want to develop the participatory approach with the support of digital technologies. Results show new avenues for the adoption and implementation of digital strategies in museum management. To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to explore the participatory museum framework combined with the development of digital strategies applied to museums following COVID-19.

Addressing Sustainability in Portuguese Museums and Heritage: The Role of Cultural Policies

The Future Museums Project Group was created under the Portuguese Ministry of Culture with the mission of proposing recommendations for a 10-year public policy for museums, palaces, and monuments, considering sustainability, accessibility, and innovation issues and their relevance in society. Against this background, museums were understood as agents of change with a role to play in achieving a more sustainable future, and culture as a fundamental pillar for democracy and sustainable development. This study discusses the findings of the project, focusing on three features that highlight the approach adopted to sustainability, which included collections management, participation, and mediation. Drawn from empirical research, a series of concrete recommendations, both for policy makers and museums, are discussed. The study concludes by arguing that cultural policies must place sustainability at the core of their strategy in order to function as a framework to drive and implement sustainable development practices in museums and heritage. Furthermore, within the scope of post-pandemic recovery plans, climate emergency, and the energy crisis, it is even more pressing that cultural policies provide support for museums and heritage and ensure that they have the conditions and resources to be able to move forward in a more integrated manner, thus contributing to a sustainable future.

Augmented Reality in Portuguese Museums: A Grounded Theory Study on the Museum Professionals’ Perspectives

Augmented Reality (AR) is increasingly present in several fields, including the museological space, where the challenges of presenting objects interactively and attractively are constant, especially with the sociocultural changes of recent decades. Although there are numerous studies on AR in museums, the perspective of museum professionals on the technology still needs to be explored. Thus, in this study, we use a qualitative design and conduct in-depth interviews with professionals from 10 Portuguese museums involved in creating or applying AR within these environments. Applying the grounded theory, the researchers propose a framework to understand Portuguese museum professionals’ practices, perceptions, and experiences with AR in museum environments. The findings allow the creation of a theoretical framework divided into four levels, namely the perceptions of museum professionals on the role and use of AR, the understanding of departments, museum teams, and digital strategies, the perceived challenges, limitations, and advantages in the use of augmented reality technologies, and the future perspectives of AR in museums. The theory resulting from this study may also contribute suggestions for the design and implementation of AR in museums, which both museum professionals and designers can use.

MuSEAum – Branding the Sea Museums of Portugal Research findings and perspectives of an innovation journey

The presence of the sea in Portuguese museums, monuments and sites is formidable, a multifaceted heritage providing experiences transposing history, exploration, industry, commerce, lifestyles, technologies, architecture, popular and fine arts. muSEAum focused on management competencies for the competitive exploration of museums’ characteristics, environment, and collection. The co-innovation project with a nationwide sample of sea-themed museological institutions – not just maritime or marine museums -- addressed the definition, management and communication of the museum brand, the benefits of a Sea Museum of Portugal collective brand, visitor experience technologies, national and international reach and awareness, spirit of belonging, new learning partnerships, and local tourism. Research on audiences and management practices provided a solid evaluation basis. Notwithstanding some noteworthy, good practices, most institutions suffer from insufficient funding and administrative autonomy. Promotional efforts are geared towards local constituencies leading to residual national and international visibility, affecting particularly those off tourist circuits. Incipient or inexistant brands, inefficient or non-existent websites, inconspicuous SEO and digital marketing activities, own domain names a rarity keep many museums absconded in the internet maelstrom.

Choreographies of participation - Typologies and potentialities of youth programmes in five cultural institutions in Greater Lisbon

Youth programmes are nowadays central to the education programmes of many international museums, in particular contemporary art museums in North America and the United Kingdom. In line with the specific characteristics of these age group, as an independent audience, these programmes can be grouped in three main types – one-off, short-term and long-term initiatives. The variation of their temporality is grounded on specific goals and strategies that aim to offer young people different ways to access and participate in museums, defining what is called a tier-based programme. Looking into Portuguese museums, the investment on youth, beyond formal education, is a recent but growing phenomenon. Based on the analysis of the youth programmes of five cultural institutions in Lisbon: the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), BoCA – Biennial of Contemporary Art, Casa da Cerca – Contemporary Art Centre, the Municipal Galleries and LU.CA – Luís de Camões Theater, this paper discusses the potential of an interinstitutional tier-based youth programme. Palavras-chave: jovens; participação; programação cultural; educação artística

Victor Bandeira and the collections of the National Museum of Ethnology: notes from fieldwork

Decolonisation has become a significant topic in contemporary museum and heritage studies. The research project “Representational Politics of Guinean Heritage in Portuguese Museums in the Transition from Colonial to Postcolonial Period: Histories, Transits and Discourses” discusses the meaning and value of the Guinea-Bissau heritage collected during the colonial era that is part of Portuguese museum collections. This essay focus on a documentary about Victor Bandeira (1931-), as part of the PhD research project. Bandeira is a collector that established an informal relationship with the National Museum of Ethnology (former Overseas Museum of Ethnology), in Lisbon, from the mid-1960s onwards, collecting a representative part of the museum’s non-European collections. He remains a living witness to this museum’s beginning years and can be considered a vital component of the museum’s history. Bandeira has been an object of enquiry in previous studies. However, there was missing an audio-visual perspective or, as the anthropologist Sarah Pink describes – a visual and sensorial ethnographic approach. This short article explores, from fieldwork observations, the relationship between two interdependent biographies: Victor Bandeira and the National Museum of Ethnography, reflecting on the data gathered and the experience of interviewing Bandeira, contributing to review past collecting practices and the museum’s history.

Analytical Study of Overlooked Bronze Age and Iron Age Goldwork from Northwest Portugal

To gain further insight into the use of native gold and intentional gold alloys during the Bronze Age in Northwest Portugal, jewellery in the collections of three Portuguese museums was studied using an in-house built portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Among the analysed objects are the Late Bronze Age bracelet from Monte Airoso (Viseu) and the Iron Age tubular bracelet from Regoufe (Aveiro). To shed more light on the manufacture of gold bracelets, have also been analysed all the components (bracelets, wires and bands) of the hoard of Arnozela (Braga), so far incompletely studied. The results obtained show that from the Middle Bronze Age onwards gold containing 8-11 wt.% silver is used, to which gradually increasing amounts of copper seem to have been added over time. These results support a heterogeneous chronology for the components of the hoard of Arnozela and show that the bracelet from Monte Airoso is made from an intentional gold alloy used in the Portuguese area during the Late Bronze Age. On the contrary, the bracelet from Regoufe is made from native gold without addition of copper. This could indicate that at least during a certain period the goldsmiths used both native gold as found and intentional alloys.Two other objects, discussed on the light of the data obtained for the bracelets, complete the study. One of them is one of the two Portuguese Early Bronze Age gold sheet ornaments with cut parallel bands (so-called gargantilha de tiras), found in Braga. Without obvious signs of use-wear like other ornaments of the same type, and made, as expected, with gold hammered into sheet, this ornament is made from an alloy that seems to correspond to a later period using gold from another origin. Finally, the composition of some of the components of the Late Bronze Age-Iron Age string from Malhada (Vila Real), a set of gold decorated plaques made from punched gold sheet by using different and asymmetrical punches, supports the addition of small amounts of copper to gold to produce intentional alloys.

A Multi-Analytical Study of Egyptian Funerary Artifacts from Three Portuguese Museum Collections

A diachronic, multi-analytical approach combining EDXRF, µFTIR, µRaman, SEM-EDS, and Py-GC/MS has been adopted with the aim to study for the first time the painting materials used to decorate Egyptian funerary masks and sarcophagi ranging from the Late Period to the Roman Period and stored in the Archaeological National Museum (MNA) and the Carmo Archaeological Museum (MAC) of Lisbon and the Natural History Museum of the University in Oporto (MNH-FCUP). Results indicate that yellow and red ochres, realgar, cinnabar, Egyptian blue, and Egyptian green were used as pigments while chalk served as the preparatory layer. Over the 1000-year timeline of the studied artifacts, the palette remained remarkably consistent with previous findings as exemplified by cinnabar being used for red pigments in samples only dated after the Ptolemaic period. The presence of Sn in Egyptian blue and Egyptian green pigments used in one sample suggests the use of recycled bronze scraps during pigment production. Black pigments in two Late Period masks were found to be produced by mixing Egyptian blue with red ochre suggesting either a hitherto unknown method for production of purple pigments in the Egyptian palette or, alternatively, an attempt to create a specific hue or shade of dark brown or black. The results of this study contribute to further expand the database of Ancient Egyptian painting materials while at the same time helping to valorize three important Egyptian collections in Portugal.

Visiting Museums from the Perspective of Visually Impaired Visitors: Experiences and Accessibility Resources in Portuguese Museums

Visiting Museums from the Perspective of Visually Impaired Visitors: Experiences and Accessibility Resources in Portuguese Museums

The Art of Feminist-Queering the Museum: Gate-leaking

This paper takes part in the ongoing debate around how museums have begun to address LGBTQI+ and feminist issues in the 21st century. While Portugal is a particularly interesting country to consider, given that it has passed some of the most advanced legislation on LGBTQI+ rights in Europe (Santos 2012), this progressivism is not reflected in Portuguese museum practices, given that gender museology has been slow to emerge (Vaquinhas 2014). After briefly contextualising initiatives addressing gender in Portuguese art museums, we present as a case study Trazer a margem para o centro (Bringing the Margin to the Centre), a series of three talks hosted by the Berardo Collection Museum, which is considered Portugal’s primary modern and contemporary art museum. Unlike previous initiatives in art museums, which were museum-led, the series of talks was led by the small intersectional feminist collective FACA. A sociologist (Rita Grácio) and the three members of FACA (Andreia Coutinho, Laura Falé and Maribel Sobreira) designed and conducted the three talks that constitute the initiative Bringing the Margin to the Centre. Grácio designed and conducted the qualitative study of the audiences that attended Bringing the Margin to the Centre. This study consisted of participant observation at the event series, at which an adapted version of the Personal Meaning Mapping technique (Falk and Storksdieck 2005) was applied; semi-structured phone interviews with participants were then conducted after the event (Falk and Dierking 2011). The main findings show this event raised awareness among cisgender visitors with heteronormative perspectives and provided a space for counter-narratives of the queer community, showing the role of collective curatorial activism and museums in promoting gender equality and inclusiveness, if acting as gate-leakers, rather than as gatekeepers. Hence, museums can provide lessons to other organisations interested in promoting diversity and inclusion.

Reproducing crystal glass from three 18th‐20th centuries Portuguese glass arcana

AbstractThe present work aims to study the glasses commonly named crystal glass produced in Portuguese factories from the 18th to the 20th centuries through their arcana or batch books. Recipes for colorless crystal glasses were selected, analyzed, and reproduced in the laboratory. Five recipes were chosen from the Marinha Grande arcanum, five recipes from the Gaivotas’ Factory arcanum, and three recipes from the Castro and Oliveira Guerra arcanum. To characterize the composition and thermal‐physical properties of reproduced glasses, different analytical techniques were used such as micro‐energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence, µ‐ Raman spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, dilatometry, Vickers hardness, optical microscopy, and UV‐Vis absorbance spectroscopy. The selected recipes were proven viable for reproduction and the obtained glasses presented good thermal properties that allow the workability and creation of objects. It was also proven that there is a similarity in terms of chemical composition to some of the historical glasses attributed to Portuguese production in Portuguese museums.

Conhecendo os Acervos de Ciência e Tecnologia na Rede Portuguesa de Museus

Dentro da vasta categoria do Patrimônio Cultural de Ciência e Tecnologia (PCC&T), os objetos de C&T merecem uma atenção especial neste artigo e, mais especificamente, as coleções que vêm sendo estudadas a partir do levantamento realizado pelo projeto "Patrimônio Cultural Luso-brasileiro de Ciência e Tecnologia: pesquisa, análise e acessibilidade", iniciativa do Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins (MAST). O objetivo principal deste estudo do PCC&T existente no Brasil e em Portugal é estabelecer análises comparativas relativas aos critérios utilizados em levantamentos nacionais do gênero; à s tipologias similares de patrimônio e aos critérios de seleção. O recorte que define o universo pesquisado inclui todos os objetos produzidos até o final de 1960, vinculados à s ciências exatas, da Terra e à s engenharias. A metodologia adotada consiste na busca e análise de fontes secundárias e no contato virtual e por telefone com as instituições, para obter os dados de interesse. Uma vez coletadas, são cruzadas as informações, preenchidas as fichas de registro e são elaboradas análises para produção de conhecimento. O exame de cerca de 950 instituições portuguesas que mostraram indícios de acolher objetos de C&T dentro do recorte estabelecido, possibilitou que a pesquisa fizesse a seleção de 106 as quais permitiram a geração das fichas de registro relativas à s suas coleções, sendo que 56 referentes a museus. Até então, os dados extensivos indicavam um total aproximado de 65 mil itens de PCC&T em salvaguarda em instituições lusitanas. Esta abordagem do que pode atualmente constituir, em parte, estes vestígios da cultura científica material em Portugal também pretende tangenciar aspectos da musealização dos acervos sob tutela direta de catorze museus membros da Rede Portuguesa de Museus (RPM). A partir dos resultados obtidos no projeto científico, coloca-se a questão da necessidade da produção de inventários dos itens dos acervos e a disponibilização de dados concernentes em bases de dados localizadas na internet, visando o público em geral.

The rose chafers (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) of Angola: a descriptive checklist with new records and synonymic notes.

An annotated checklist of the species and subspecies of rose chafers (Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) hitherto known from Angola is given. This list includes species records from recent entomological trips in that country (2014, 2015 and 2017) and from Portuguese museums and private collections. A total of 177 species and 31 subspecies are recorded for Angola, including 32 endemic species/subspecies (15.4%). Some species are represented by only the holotype specimen (some without locality) or the type series. Others were recorded based on a single specimen. Records for four genera, one subgenus, twenty nine species and four subspecies previously unknown from Angola are given. A new synonymy is established: Ruteroides Gomes Alves, 1973 is proposed as a junior synonym of Pseudinca Kraatz, 1880. Consequently, Ruteroides fradei Gomes Alves, 1973 is transferred to Pseudinca. A brief historical review, as well as some considerations on the distribution and conservation status of these beetles in Angola is also presented.

Dental pathology of the wild Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus): The study of a 20th century Portuguese museum collection

For some wild canids, such as the Iberian wolf, there is a lack of in-depth knowledge about dental pathology. We aimed to evaluate it, in a standardized manner, in specimens from a Portuguese museum collection.Sixty-five deceased specimens of wild Iberian wolves, 61 complete skulls and 4 mandibles, collected in Portugal between 1977 and 1995, were analyzed. Sample comprised 18 females, 24 males and 23 individuals of undetermined sex. Teeth were evaluated by visual observation and dental radiography for tooth wear, periodontitis, fractures and other dental lesions.We have found several causes for teeth absence: artefactual, secondary to periodontitis and agenesia. About 30% of the teeth showed signs of wear. Only a small (<13%) fraction of maxillary and mandibular teeth did not show periodontitis. The tooth 308 showed periodontitis in all males (p = 0.017) and the tooth 104 was significantly affected by this condition in females (p = 0.020). A significant relationship was found between females and tooth wear in three teeth. Periodontitis showed a significant association with tooth wear (p < 0.001) and fractures (p = 0.027). Tooth fractures were more frequent in the maxilla than in the mandible. Seven periapical lesions, seven root fusions and three specimens with malocclusion were identified in the collection. Results are discussed integrating information from diet, habitat, genetic and spatial behavior.Dental radiography is here proposed as an approach for the age estimation in archaeological canids. This research contributes to the knowledge of the dental disease in the largest wolf population in Western Europe, a target subspecies of multiple conservation measures.

Chronological assessment of della Robbia sculptures by using PIXE, neutrons and luminescence techniques

Portuguese museums and private collectors gather a variety of Italian glazed terracotta sculptures attributed to the della Robbia workshop, particularly active between the 15th and 16th centuries. Compositional studies of the paste using INAA, PGAA and XRD and enamel using PIXE, and luminescence protocols, were used as a tool to ascertain the attribution of the sculptures to della Robbia workshop. Geochemical and mineralogical patterns were defined enabling to express the production recipe. The luminescence ages were found to be between 1380 and 1640 in some cases with high uncertainties. The compositions of the blue glazes were proved to be similar to other measured on della Robbia sculptures from French and Italian collections based on cobalt pigments. Arsenic behaviour, which is associated to cobalt in most cobalt-minerals, is rather peculiar, as it was already found in other della Robbia sculptures enabling a chronological framework, pointing to a production after 1520. Based on the results, most of the analysed sculptures implies a della Robbia production, and only a few point to a composition and chronology not related with that workshop.

Degradation processes of historic metal threads used in some Spanish and Portuguese ornamentation pieces

Abstract The degradation processes that occurred on metal threads applied in the embroidery used for clothing and in the ornamentation of sculptures, the Sevillian Holy Week processions, and Portuguese and Spanish palace and museum are thoroughly analyzed. Some threads from the 14th and 18–19th centuries were considered. In the metal threads, sulphur- and chlorine-based compounds were detected either individually or together, depending on the degradation process. Basic silver carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and copper-based compounds were also observed. The different degradation processes were attributed to different factors, such as environmental contamination, degradation of the fibrous cores, and inadequate cleaning and/or mechanical treatments.

Nuclear techniques applied to provenance and technological studies of Renaissance majolica roundels from Portuguese museums attributed to della Robbia Italian workshop

Artistic and historical examination of high-quality glazed terracotta sculptures displayed in various Portuguese museums point to their production in della Robbia workshop of Florence (Italy). A multitechnique analytical approach is applied for the first time to these sculptures, aiming to confirm their origin. Materials were analyzed using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis and X-ray Diffraction. The compositional results are similar to other della Robbia sculptures, suggesting a common origin for the raw material that was identified as carbonate rich marine origin marly clay. The applied firing temperatures was proved to be around 900 °C. The differences found within each sculpture are explained by the production technique of assembling separate parts to produce these huge sculptures, and the clay pit heterogeneity.

‘What’s in Lisbon?’ Portuguese Sources in Nazi-era Provenance Research

Research on the circulation of artworks between Europe and the Americas superficially examined the role played by Portugal-based individuals in the trade of looted art in the immediate postwar period. Since then, however, cultural studies have ignored the interactions between Portuguese museums and collectors, and refugees and expatriates involved in the trade, as well as the role played by Portugal in the transatlantic circulation of artworks. This article has two goals: first, to examine the lack of academic engagement in the study of the transactions and provenance of artworks in Portugal between 1933 and 1945; second, to ascertain the existence and demonstrate the utility of Portuguese sources in conducting this study, by focusing on what they reveal about art dealer Karl Buchholz. Through an outline of the main areas of research, this article discusses Portuguese academic practice and museum practice. It identifies and contextualizes biases and opens the door for academic attention to Nazi-era provenance research. Portuguese sources illustrating the activity of Karl Buchholz in Portugal between 1943–5 enable a reconstruction of the chronology of his exhibitions in Lisbon and a partial identification of the artworks exhibited.

Simplified Chinese lacquer techniques and Nanban style decoration on Luso-Asian objects from the late sixteenth or early seventeenth centuries

The meeting of multiple cultures and their mutual influence during the Portuguese expansion in Asia led to the emergence of different types of fusion styles in objects commissioned by the settlers, merchants, and religious orders present in Portuguese India. The east-Asian lacquer coatings of modestly sized wooden objects of various types dating from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries have been analyzed as part of the research for a doctoral thesis that aims to establish their cultural and geographical attribution within the context of the Getty Conservation Institute's lacquer research project. Among the objects were three seventeenth-century lacquered trays from Portuguese museums and private collections that had previously been classified as Japanese Nanban, Chinese or Ryukyuan lacquers or even as Indo-Portuguese artifacts. The materials and techniques that were identified show close similarities with Chinese techniques mentioned in historic accounts — the only existing Ming Chinese Treatise on lacquering Xiushi lu and the eighteenth-century memoirs of the Jesuit priest d'Incarville. These nearly 400-year-old artifacts are among the first lacquered objects commissioned by Europeans and probably the first of Chinese origin. Their detailed technical study contributes to international lacquer research and complements existing knowledge and perceptions of the lacquering processes that were applied in response to an early European demand for exotic items.

Redefining Access: Embracing multimodality, memorability and shared experience in Museums

AbstractThe authors discuss the principles of “access for all” in museums, both physical and intellectual access. They explore this question of multisensory processing in neurologically typical individuals, and case studies of two Portuguese museums that experimented with implementation of an “access for all” approach to the presentation of their permanent collections. The study was designed with three phases: addressing architectural barriers to access, preparation of accessible information about space and objects, and testing of alternative formats to convey this information to learn how to meet diverse needs in different ways. Set in the context of research on multisensory learning, this article discusses why an access for all principle is a majority issue as well as a moral and legal concept. It discusses two case studies where an “access for all” museological approach has been applied to access to the collections, with differing success. The discussion focuses on how an “access for all” approach could enhance learning, long‐term memorability and the ‘cultural value’ of a museum experience for all visitors.