The geological-paleontological collections of the Natural History Museum Vienna. An exhaustive evaluation of provenance context (1807 to 1918)

We present an exhaustive survey of the geological-paleontological collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna (Austria) based on 268,755 objects acquired from 1807 to 1918. The database encompasses information on geographic origin, provenance, stakeholders, and mode of acquisition. The resulting patterns record boom phases and periods of declining acquisitions, which are discussed in context of political and economical developments of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The role and dimension of Habsburg colonialism within the borders of the Austrian- Hungarian Empire can be deciphered and defined in absolute numbers. Although the Austrian-Hungarian Empire did not have colonies on its own, we trace several cases of scientific and economic contacts with colonial powers, which led to the acquisition of objects from various colonies in America, Africa, and Asia. Thus, we present the first complete census of geological-paleontological objects with colonial context in a state collection of a ‘non-colonial’ power.