Maps are an essential tool for tracking the production of ceramics. This production was concentrated in cities that had access to clay, water, and kilns. Using two different mapping applications, I located some of these production centers and provided illustrations. With greater amounts of data (especially with the google application), these maps could be further developed as research tools to track stylistic differences and similarities and to consider trade and gift-giving in the sixteenth century.
Tag Archives: Lisa Boutin Vitela
CMS for Collections of Ceramics
The greatest benefit of omeka.net for my research project is its ability to organize collections and exhibitions. Because collections of ceramics that were originally commissioned or collected by a single family or patron were often later sold into numerous private and public collections, the omeka platform offers a means of reunifying those collections either for private research purposes or more public online exhibits. Loading items into an omeka site is straightforward, but in order to create a worthwhile exhibit, the narrative and organizational structure would need to be well thought out ahead of time. Within an exhibition, it would be useful to add videos and zoom functions, but I have not learned to add these features yet.
Digital Repositories for Renaissance Ceramics
A number of museum websites offer downloadable high-quality images for academic purposes in conjunction with thorough metadata. Sites with particular strengths in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ceramics are:
British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research.aspx
Victoria & Albert Museum: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/
Metropolitan Museum: http://metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online
Getty Museum: http://www.getty.edu/art/
The challenge for the researcher is that each database is different, thus making it difficult to archive images in a seamless way.
The Museo Correr in Venice also has an important collection. Much of it is now available online with color images and an improved search system (in Italian): http://correr.visitmuve.it/it/catalogo-opere/