The object in context
The Royal Museums’ 2016 selection identifies this work by Marcel Broodthaers: painted metal and mussel shells, inventory 11099, dated 1965. Its inventory number distinguishes the Brussels object from versions or reproductions elsewhere. The old list records a collection location in 2016, not a guarantee of display today.
Try this when you look
Make an inventory of what the object is made from before asking what it means. Compare the pot’s practical function with the accumulated shells. Write two labels: one for a kitchen cupboard and one for a museum. Which words change, and which describe the same physical evidence?
Before you visit
Use the inventory number when checking the museum’s current collection information. Modern works in this selection were not all part of the same permanent gallery: five featured in a specific 2016 Patio presentation. Plan around confirmed display, not an archived room number.
- The object in context: The Royal Museums’ 2016 selection identifies this work by Marcel Broodthaers: painted metal and mussel shells, inventory 11099, dated 1965.
- Try this when you look: Make an inventory of what the object is made from before asking what it means.
- Before you visit: Use the inventory number when checking the museum’s current collection information.