Collection online

Includes place names in several contexts: place of production, findspot or place of excavation and associations such as topography (views of places), emblems, etc. This thesaurus includes places over time, many of which no longer exist, or which have changed their names, or boundaries, so many archaic place names are also included. In some cases, these are place terms in their own right linked to their modern equivalents as Broad terms or Narrow terms, in other cases, they are recorded as non-preferred terms - they can be searched for but only found in relation to their modern equivalent. Please note: Place of Production is often not known for Western prints and drawings. See also School/style below.

This covers subjects depicted on objects, or in the case of certain types of three-dimensional objects, notably figures, conveyed by the shape. It includes conceptual terms as well as those reflecting people and nature, and is generally used for higher level terms such as 'architecture' or 'fish', for example. For more specific terms use a basic search. Please note: named people and places should be searched for under People and organisations and Places. Named events or titles of works related to objects as subjects should be searched for in the basic search.

This refers to an art-historical stylistic affiliation rather than any geographical or chronological origin. Eastern schools and styles are categorised traditionally according to the artistic style in which the works are made, for example, 'Persian' or 'South and South East Asian'. For Western art, the schools recorded here are usually those of the modern states: 'Italian', 'French', 'German', 'British' and so on. 'British' is not sub-divided into 'English', 'Scottish', 'Welsh', or 'Irish' (though since Irish independence artists are categorised as Irish). 'Netherlandish' becomes 'Dutch' or 'Flemish' in the late sixteenth century. For works dated since 1830 'Belgian' becomes a school. Italian artists (uniquely) are sub-divided into Venetian, Florentine and so on.

This covers the type of ceramics used to make an object, such as 'Arita ware' or 'Agano ware'.

Precise references in a publication. For example, one of the most commonly used print catalogues - by Adam Bartsch - should be entered as Bartsch, and then the citation number added in the form XIV.168.207. Wild cards (*) are strongly recommended for this field to capture sub-numbers or, in the case of print catalogues, states which are indicated by Roman numerals, e.g. to find 77.IV, enter 77*.