Establishing insurance values for archaeological and ethnographic
collections can be a very difficult thing.   There is no one source of
information and often is there is just no source of information.  Some of
the auction catalogues will provide information about the higher end
objects, but most archaeological or ethnographic objects are either not of
high enough value for the main auction houses or just do not come up for
sale.  Sometimes it is possible to find comparable pieces at more regional
or local auctions, but again not everything sells that way (if at all).

You may want to rethink the way you are setting the value of your collection
for insurance.  Many museums set a Maximum Probable Loss amount (how much
you estimate would be lost in a single theft or fire) that depends not only
on the value of the objects but also on various other risk management
factors (fire zones, sprinklers, alarm systems).

Given all this I have a few suggestions.  One, if you can, attend the
Registrars Committee's preconference workshop at the AAM meeting in Dallas
this May on insurance bidding.  The other is to contact one of the fine arts
insurance providers who work regularly with museums and ask if they can help
you figure out your alternatives.   Finally, read the chapters in The New
Museum Registration Methods on risk management.

Good luck!  I've been at this for over 20 years and three museums and it
really hasn't gotten any easier.

Janice Klein
Director
Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Kendall College
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-----Original Message-----
From: Karen L O'Brien <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, January 25, 2002 9:59 AM
Subject: collection insurance?


>Hello,
>
>Our museum is looking into getting insurance for its collection. We mostly
>have ethnographic and archaeological materials. Currently, we are flipping
>through auction house catalogues to see if similar collections have been
>sold recently (in the last 10 years) to get an approximation for an
>insurance value (we can not afford to get appraisals for everything). How
>do other museums tackle insurance values? Is there a better way of doing
>this? I have heard about a CD-ROM that has a compilation of catalogues on
>it for rare books that helps to establish prices. Is there something
>similar for ethnographic or archaeological collections.
>
>Thanks in advance for any help.
>
>Karen
>Karen O'Brien
>Collections Manager
>University of Michigan
>Museum of Anthropology
>734.764.6299
>[log in to unmask]
>
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