The Collection

The Swedish Museum of Performing Arts has a collection of almost 50 000 objects and has been built up over the course of more than 100 years.The collection includes such as muscial instruments, set design and costume sketches, stage costumes, graphic art and paintings, marionettes, masks, an extensive commedia dell'arte collection and a number of curios.

The Instrument Collection

European art music instruments and folk music instruments from the Nordic countries dominate the collection, but there is also a relatively large collection of instruments from outside of Europe. A number of items can be seen at the museum but the vast majority are stored in spaces that can be visited by requested appointment (samling@scenkonstmuseet.se).

From 2009 to 2011, the museum took part in the EU project MIMO (Musical Instrument Museums Online).

To the instruments

Purchasing and Lending

The museum's policy for the collection entails a focus on objects linked to the Swedish dance, music and theatre cultural heritage. New objects are acquired by means of purchases and donations.

Objects are only lent to other museums.

The Swedish Museum of Performing Art does not offer valuation services.

Questions about instruments or objects are sent to:
samling@scenkonstmuseet.se

A 100 years of collecting

The Swedish Museum of Performing Arts' objects have been collected by former Drottningholm's Theatre Museum, the Swedish Theatre museum, Stockholm Music Museum and The Marionette Museum. The large collection of objects include such as set design and costume sketches, marionettes, stage costumes, graphic art, paintings, caricatures, busts, masks, an extensive commedia dell'arte collection and a number of curios.

To the objects

Collections at different loctions

Since 2010, parts of the museum's collection have been reorganised. Responsibility for museum's archive and photographic collection is now assigned to the Music and Theatre Library of Sweden.

Folkmusikkommissionen's (the Traditional Music Commission) collection of sheet music and the museum's collection of music books are digitalised and are searchable online.