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Costume Institute Collection Database Available on Metropolitan Museum Website
11 November 2008
* Information on More than 29,000 Objects in Preeminent Costume Collection Available Online
From a fourth-century B.C.E. bronze pin to a 2006 Rodarte gown, The Costume Institute's vast holdings are now available to researchers, scholars, students, and fashion aficionados on The Metropolitan Museum of Art's website. Visit www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/the_costume_institute and select Collection Database to view the collection.
"Improving access to the collection has been a priority for the department since the inception of this project in 2000," said Harold Koda, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute. "Given the fragility of historical costume, we do not have a permanent exhibition space. In the past, researchers needed private appointments to reference the collection. Now anyone with an Internet connection can explore the vast majority of our holdings, making us one of the first major costume collections to offer such a comprehensive online resource."
Over the past eight years, information on 29,432 objects from the 31,000-piece costume collection has been formatted and digitized as part of a museum-wide effort to enhance access to the Met's encyclopedic collections. As a work in progress, most of The Costume Institute objects included in the database have images available for viewing, and more will be added on an ongoing basis. Many objects are currently shown in high resolution with zoom capability, with others to follow. As new acquisitions are accessioned, they will be entered into the database on a regular basis.
The addition of The Costume Institute's records to The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Collection Database is made possible in part by The John and Annamaria Phillips Foundation; Jane Hays Butler, Paul D. Schurgot Foundation; and by an anonymous donor.
