Museums & Deaccessioning in Europe
This website gives an overview of the (legal) possibilities of deaccessioning and disposal of museum object within the European Union. It is one of the outcomes of the research Deaccessioning and Disposal in Europe 2008-2017, executed by Dieuwertje Wijsmuller in 2016-2017.
Please let all information serve as inspiration for your country or institute if you want to develop or change your (existing) policies, or as basis for further research.
How to use this website
You can check per country or per parameter what the different possibilities are. The news feed will try to be as actual as possible. Don’t forget to scroll down!
This website is one of the outcomes of the research museologist did in 2016-2017 on the possibilities and opinions on deaccessioning in Europe. Read more about the research.
Please be aware that although all efforts have been made to let the information be as accurate as possible, errors may have occurred. If you see false information, please contact me at dieuwertje@ccc.co.nl, so it may be adjusted.
Countries
Deaccessioning parameters
NEWS
Museums have to bid for parliamentary furniture
September 2017: The online auction with decommissioned parliamentary furniture ends on Tuesday. Interested museums must join in, as the parliamentary administration wanted to avoid "unequal treatment" [...]
Câmara do Porto will pay for maintenance and insurance of the collection Juan Miró
December 2017: The City Council of Porto will pay for the maintenance and insurance of the collection of the Catalan artist Juan Miró, after the government chose the city to welcome it permanently, an [...]
Debt-Ridden Portugal Will Keep Trove of Joan Miró Paintings Inside the Country
September 2016: The fate of the Portuguese government’s collection of 85 Joan Miró paintings, which was on the verge of being auctioned off in 2014, has finally been determined. On Monday, Prime Minis [...]
A Painting Withdrawn from Auction Thanks to the French Ministry of Culture
April 2014: The Conseil Général de Côte-d’Or was about to sell a 19th century painting for a modest estimate between 2 to 3,000€ on 6 April in Dijon at Sadde auctioneers. The work used to hang on the [...]
Northampton borough council sells Egyptian statue for almost £16m
July 2014: Sale of 4,000-year-old Sekhemka limestone figure will help pay for extension of Northampton museum and art gallery An Egyptian statue controversially put up for auction by Northampton borou [...]
National Railway Museum in Disposal Controversy
Former director questions transfer of T3 engine to Swanage Railway. The National Railway Museum (NRM) defended its decision to deaccession its William Adams-designed T3 class locomotive No. 563, which [...]