When the Object Caption Has to Carry the Room
Sometimes the smallest caption in the gallery does the heaviest work. A visitor walks past the introductory panel, ignores the timeline, and stops dead in front of a single dented pewter tankard because it reminds them of something—or because the light happens to catch the hinge.
At that moment, fifty words on a card are the entire museum. Give the reader one solid handle—material, use, repair, or the hand that made it—and trust the object to finish the conversation.