About the Collection database online

Welcome to the British Museum collection database online. Search almost two million objects.

The Museum's entire digitised catalogue can be found here.

New records and images are being added every week, and ultimately this database will contain a record of every object in the Museum collection.

Improvements and corrections to existing records are also ongoing.

The information in the records is made available in its entirety, along with 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.

Curatorial and research needs

The database is an inventory of the Museum’s collection and aims to record what is known about it. It is primarily designed to support curatorial and research work, and much of the text is specialised in nature and terminology.

There are currently records for more than 1,835,000 objects. Although this represents more than 30 years of work, the database is still in its early stages, and we are continuing to improve the information recorded in it and add records for more objects.

In many cases it does not yet 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 care. 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.

Users are invited to use the feedback link on each record to help us improve the information.

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 offer our thanks.

Image: Michelangelo, a nude young man, to front, looking to right., beckoning