A cabinet card separates what the visitor can see from what the responsible record identifies and what remains unresolved.
Find the identifier
Search the label for accession, inventory, JE, CG, SR or another museum identifier. Copy every letter, digit, slash and hyphen carefully. A single transcription error can lead to a different object, so photograph the full label where rules permit and verify it against an official database.
Do not confuse systems
An excavation number, collection number, display number and publication figure can coexist. They are not interchangeable. Record the label field and source for each identifier, then state which one you use as the primary key in your own image manifest.
Link the whole and the detail
Every close image should point back to one context frame, one label and one source URL. Use filenames that carry the identifier or a stable slug, never only a descriptive word such as statue. Detached details are attractive but difficult to audit.
Treat unreadability as data
Glare, distance, low resolution and script can make one character uncertain. Mark the uncertain position and seek the responsible record. Do not infer a missing number from a neighboring object or a search result whose photograph looks similar.
Record changes
An object may receive a revised number, transliteration or catalogue link. Preserve the earlier identifier with a dated note and explain the relationship. Silent replacement makes a family archive or editorial page look precise while erasing how the record changed.
Check the object boundary
A single label can describe a group, case, fragment or reconstructed ensemble. Make sure the identifier belongs to the exact thing in your frame. Include base, lid, fragment joins and associated figures when they determine what the museum considers one record.
Use numbers in captions
A public caption can include a concise identifier when the museum makes it visible. Avoid publishing private or speculative numbers. Link to the exact official record and keep the source date, creator and license in the image credits.
Make the number portable
Store museum, collection, identifier, displayed title, source URL, capture date, filenames and missing views together. A number is useful only when another reader can follow it from image to label to accountable record.
Triangulate image and record
Use three checkpoints before publishing: the full display image confirms which object and label were together, the exact identifier connects that encounter to the collection record, and a responsible deeper source supports any interpretation beyond the label. If one checkpoint is missing, narrow the claim. Visual resemblance, a search snippet or a neighboring case cannot substitute for the broken link.
Set the comparison boundary
When another object helps clarify a field, state exactly what is being compared: title structure, identifier system, material wording, provenance stage, date convention or label design. Match source quality and object type. Similar appearance can generate a question, but it cannot transfer identity, origin, chronology or technical findings from one record to another.
Audit the published page
Open the note at phone and desktop widths and make sure the object, label relation, case edge or contextual detail that carries the argument remains visible. Check alt text, creator, license, source URL and date together. A responsive copy should preserve the record’s evidence, not turn it into a context-free decorative crop.
Keep a correction path
When a museum changes terminology, attribution, date or display location, add a dated correction linked to the responsible source. Distinguish a changed record from a changed installation and from an earlier editorial mistake. A cabinet note earns trust by making revision visible rather than pretending it was always complete.
A photograph and label can document a current encounter. They cannot alone prove original context, complete provenance, material composition, exact date, attribution or permanent location.