Collections and donations
Collections
Forum Marinum has acquired items to its own artefact collection since the year 1999, but the museum also showcases plenty of material accumulated much earlier. For example, the collections of Finland’s oldest maritime history museum, the Maritime Museum at Åbo Akademi University, are deposited at Forum Marinum. These collections were acquired between the years 1936 and 1999.
The collections of the Finnish Navy Museum are owned by the Military Museum. Forum Marinum is responsible for their maintenance and makes propositions on additions to the collection. Forum Marinum also houses some special collections, such as the model collection of the Bore Shipping Company.
Some parts of our collections are available online in Finna search service, and we are continuously improving the digital availability of the collections.
If you are looking for a certain type of material, please contact our staff for further inquiries.
As a rule, the Forum Marinum collections are available for everyone, unless specific limitations are imposed on their use. The materials included in the collections are available upon request to be studied in the museum premises. For security reasons, only the museum personnel is allowed in the storage and processing areas of the collections. When possible, items from the collections can be loaned to other museums for exhibitions, for example. The decisions concerning exhibition loans are made on a case-by-case basis. Items are not loaned to private individuals.
Donations
What do we accept?
Each object is evaluated separately and the decision of its acceptance made according to how well it matches our area of preservation and what we already have in our collections. Usually only a single example of identical or similar objects is preserved in the collections. When deciding whether a donation is to be accepted, the preference is given to those objects whose provenance is well-known. We also preserve modern day – an object does not need to be old to have a place in a museum!
Who can donate?
The donor must be the owner of the object. When accepting an object, a reception form is filled or a deed of donation created, transferring all rights of ownership and possession to the Forum Marinum Foundation. We accept items under any other conditions only in special instances.
How can I make a donation?
If you own material you would like to donate to the collections of Forum Marinum, contact us to make an appointment.
What happens to donations?
The materials are added to Forum Marinum’s item or photo collections to be used in exhibitions and research, for example. Books are added to the reference library of the Maritime Centre. Forum Marinum works in close collaboration with the Institute of Maritime History at Åbo Akademi University. As a rule, photos and documents are deposited at the Institute’s archives for researcher use. If, for some reason, we are unable to accept a donation, we will advise the donor to contact another suitable museum.
Other information
The museum rarely has an opportunity to purchase items for their collections, and we do not appraise objects. Most often, the monetary value of the object is not of primary importance when deciding on whether it is accepted. Even small or new objects can have interesting background stories! Objects are allowed to show signs of use, but it is important to let the museum take care of any cleaning or repair work required.
