Hi Susanne,

At Chihuly Studio we use a numbering system based on the year the work was
produced, an identifying number, and a series identifier followed the
number of parts. An example would be:

97.351.p35

This would indicate the 351st piece produced in 1997 which is a persian
set consisting of 35 pieces.

The biggest problem we have with this system is that in some cases the
number of parts to a particular installation is variable and each time the
work is installed, parts are substituted and replaced.  This is most
common with our chandeliers which are made up of hundreds of parts.  It
would not be pratical to try and specifically identify and catalog each
individual part.  We track these pieces according to a parts count and box
number system.  I have been involved in trying to develop this system
farther so that the part count is tracked as parts are used, broken and
replaced as well as developing an installation history for each piece.
Ultimately, I hope to record this installation history in a drop down list
which will be part of our existing database.  In this way, the needed
information concerning multi-part works will be available as a subset of
the main database where the work is cataloged by its unique identifing
number.

It seems from what you are describing, that a similar system could be in
order for you.  Since our system is still under development, I would
certainly be interested in any ideas or innovations on your end.


Don Hudgins
Registrar
Dale Chihuly Studio