About the Collection database online
Welcome to the British Museum collection database online. When
complete, it will contain a record of every object in the Museum
collection.
Currently it includes records for the Museum’s collections of
objects from Africa; the Americas; central, east, south and
southeast Asia; ancient Egypt and Sudan; Europe, ancient Greece and
Rome; Oceania; prehistory, and prints, drawings and other
works of flat art from all over the world. New records and images
are being added every week as work on the database continues.
The information in the records on the database is made available
here in its entirety, along with its associated files of controlled
terms (the thesauri and authority files such as for materials,
techniques and place-names). Only fields giving prices paid and
personal addresses have been withheld.
It has been designed to support curatorial and research work and
much of the text is specialised in nature and terminology.
The entire database contains records for more than 1,500,000
objects. It is still in its early stages, and work is continuing to
improve the information recorded in it. In many cases it does not
represent the best available knowledge about the objects. This is
being added as fast as possible, but will take many years.
Information held on this database therefore needs to be read
with great care, as there will be mistakes and omissions. In some
cases British Museum curators may not yet have checked an entry and
in many cases they will have more information that they will add in
the future.
Numerous staff and volunteers have worked on this project over
many years and their work has been supported by funding from many
donors, to all of whom we express our thanks.
Image: Michelangelo, a nude young
man, to front, looking to right., beckoning