HOW TO READ A LABEL

You can learn a lot about a work of art by reading its identifying label. Here are a few hints. Let's take the label for this work by Rachel Ruysch as an example.


Rachel Ruysch
Dutch, 1664/1665 - 1750
 
Floral Still Life, 1686
Dutch Painting
Oil on canvas
45 1/8 in. x 34 3/8 in. (114.62 cm x 87.31 cm) (without frame)

Acquired with contributions made in memory of Brenda Rowntree by her friends, through the Acquisition Fund of the Women's Council, and the Marion Stratton Gould Fund, 82.9

Rachel Ruysch

Artist's name

Dutch, 1664/1665-1750

Artist's nationality, birth and death dates

Floral Still Life, 1686

Title and date artwork was made

Dutch Painting

Type of artwork

Oil on canvas

Medium, the materials the artist used

45 1/8 in. x 34 3/8 in. (114.62 cm x 87.31 cm)

Dimensions

Acquired with contributions made in memory of Brenda Rowntree by her friends, and through the Acquisition Fund of the Women's Council and the Marion Stratton Gould Fund.

The source of the artwork, which means the name or names of the people who gave it to the Gallery or the funds we used to buy it. This painting was bought with money from three sources.

82.9

Accession number. The first set of digits tell the year the artwork was acquired. The number following the period indicates the order it came into the collection that year. This was the 9th artwork acquired in 1982.
 
Accession numbers that begin with "EX" are on loan to the Gallery as part of a temporary exhibition, and are not part of the Gallery's permanent collection.




Unknown, Mycenaean
 
Krater, 1275 BCE-1225 BCE
Mycenaean Ceramics; Made in Cyprus
Terracotta, paint
18 1/2 in. (46.99 cm)
 
R.T. Miller Fund, 51.203

What do "BCE" and "CE" mean?

Some artworks have creation dates that include the terms "BCE" and/or "CE." BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era) refer to the same time periods as the more traditional BC (Before Christ) and AD ("Anno Domini," which means "The Year of our Lord").

In today's global society, constant interaction between people of all religious beliefs requires a shared, or common, way of reckoning time. Although the terms BCE and CE have their origins in the Christian calendar, they are now widely used by people of many faiths and cultures.

For this reason, the Memorial Art Gallery has adopted BCE and CE for use in its galleries.