Workshop „The secret life of symbols and numerals: Deciphering the art trade's annotations and codes“

They stand out: Sequences of numbers, ciphers, abbreviations and letter codes on the backs of paintings, works on paper, sculptures or picture frames. But the seemingly random sequences of numbers and letters are not only a mystery on the objects themselves - they also regularly appear in historical sources on the art trade. When and for what purpose were they written down? Do they follow certain patterns? What significance do they have for provenance research? Can they be deciphered to restore original collection or classification contexts? Can ciphers in the sources and on the objects be brought together in perspective?

Since the start of the "Helbing Art Research Project" in March 2022, the project participants have received many inquiries from researchers and dealers regarding the interpretation of numbers, abbreviations or ciphers in annotated auction catalogs, the so-called hand copies of the Helbing company (https://www.arthistoricum.net/themen/portale/ ...). With the successive digitization and publication of historical source material on the art market, it is becoming increasingly clear that auction houses and art dealers worked with sometimes very complex annotation and numbering systems, which - especially retrospectively - are very difficult to penetrate.

A rough distinction can be made between:

• Numbering for (accounting) organization systems and internal inventory (stock or receipt books, card index systems, etc.)
• Internal labeling of external and commission goods as well as own property in the warehouse
• Internal number assignment for the identification of consignors, buyers or clients
• Anonymization of consignors or clients in (also published) consignment lists using initials or codes
• Abbreviations to identify different transactions and processes in the context of purchases and sales
• Abbreviation/anonymization of the parties involved in transactions (employees, transport companies, restorers, etc.)
• Identification of participations and shares (e.g. "á meta")
• Coding of (estimated) prices, limits or costs (e.g. for restoration, framing)

   

The points mentioned are based on many years of experience within the project group with various sources and estates. At the same time, this list is deliberately incomplete, as it is primarily intended to encourage the compilation and discussion of a variety of findings on codes and abbreviations in art trade sources. The focus here will be on the various approaches to "deciphering" them - because although a few institutions have already developed models for documenting reverse side and provenance features on objects, there is still a lack of viable platforms for documenting the predominantly handwritten notes in art trade sources. Although the information system for consignment abbreviations at arthistoricum.net (https://www.arthistoricum.net/themen/portale/ ...) and the glossary "Historisches Auktionsvokabular" (https://www.arthistoricum.net/themen/portale/ ...), also available there and specially developed for Hugo Helbing's hand copies, offer initial methodological approaches to this, these welcome aids do not provide any cross-source or cross-institutional structures for indexing, probing and analyzing the aforementioned phenomena.

Based on concise and precise case studies from research practice, the following questions will be discussed in this workshop: Which abbreviations and ciphers in sources as well as on (possibly corresponding) objects can already be resolved today, and how? Where do existing research methods reach their limits? Where does the resolution fail and why? Can patterns be identified and solutions developed? Which tools and documentation platforms would be conceivable for this?

The results-oriented workshop aims to bundle and document findings for the first time in the context of these questions. The short presentations on the individual case studies should last no longer than 10 minutes and form the basis for an expert discussion immediately following. We therefore expressly invite you to present problem constellations, work in progress or best practice approaches that have already been developed and to present and discuss repeatedly occurring groups of numbers or letters, abbreviations or other "codes". This interdisciplinary workshop is also deliberately open to new approache.

Concept and organisation:
Meike Hopp (TU Berlin)
Jan Thomas Köhler (Helbing Project)
Anja Matsuda (Helbing Project)
Johannes Nathan (Helbing Project)

Contact: research@hugohelbing.org