National Museum of Denmark (institutional record)

The National Museum of Denmark's own custodial record is the institution's account of an object it holds, most often a bog find recovered under Danish treasure trove law, danefæ, which since the Middle Ages has required archaeological finds of precious metal or historical significance to be reported to the crown rather than kept or sold privately. Its strength is direct custodial standing, the museum holding the object is best placed to state how and when it was acquired, its accession history and its present conservation status, and Denmark's treasure trove tradition gives an unusually long and well documented chain of custody compared to finds recovered elsewhere. Its limit is that a holding institution's record establishes where an object is and how it came to the museum rather than settling its original ritual or religious meaning, so a claim about what a bog deposit signified to the people who placed it needs the archaeological and historical scholarship on Iron Age votive practice, with this record cited for custody rather than interpretation.