Paper short abstract:

By tracing the history and evolution of a museum dedicated to the composer Leopold Mozart, one aim of the paper is to discuss possible changes in the importance of all kinds of objects - and their fate. At the same time, it wants to point at the difficulties of such a research process.

Paper long abstract:

The paper attempts to sketch the history and evolution of a museum dedicated to Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) which is situated in the birthplace of that composer in Augsburg. During the roughly eight decades of its existence, not only the size, scope, and design of the permanent presentations varied, but also the affiliation of the museum to various municipal institutions. The paper tries to answer the following questions: What has been documented? To which extent is it possible to “reconstruct” past presentations? Which objects (original - period - pieces and replicas) have been on display? Which “props” have been used (display cases, museum banners, technical equipment, elements of exhibition design)? What happened to the objects on display and the “props” in the course of the years?

By posing these questions, the paper tries to outline the changing importance of objects which, of course, can be related to questions of scope, aesthetics, and didactics - from memorial space to a house museum equipped with period furniture and other goods, and, ultimately, to a museum that tries to illustrate the life and work of Leopold Mozart through different media, with an emphasis on his compositions. Yet, the information available is by no means sufficient to allow for a complete reconstruction of the various presentations. In fact, the case study wants to shed light on the challenges one may face during such research-processes in smaller museums without an archive or storeroom. In the end, researching past museum presentations is an exploration of the uncertain.