NGA - Medieval Metalwork and Enamels

NGA - Medieval Metalwork and Enamels

Collection Principles: This online exhibition is one of the National Gallery's online tours, and the objects in it are classified as decorative arts. The idea here seems to be to bring together some of the finest examples of the decorative arts from each of the collections housed at the National Gallery, and to put images of them online so that they are more widely accessible. The "selected online tours" consist, as the label suggests, of only a selection of objects from within the whole collection. The Medieval Metalwork and Enamels tour is a selected tour.

Object Characteristics: The format of the digital versions of these objects does not differ much from the physical objects themselves. The view is provided with a digital image of the physical object, and the option to view what is called a "full screen" image, but which is really just a slightly larger image without all the text surrounding it. There is no zoom capability. However, the link to "detail images" provides larger images of parts of the physical objects.

Metadata: Each digital image is accompanied by a citation related to what the physical object itself is. For example, the citation of the first object on the Medieval Metalwork and Enamels tour is "French 12th Century (cup Alexandrian 2nd/1st Century B.C.)
French 12th Century
French
Chalice of the Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis, 2nd/1st century B.C. (cup); 1137-1140 (mounting)
sardonyx cup with heavily gilded silver mounting, adorned with filigrees set with stones, pearls, glass insets, and opaque white glass pearls, height: 18.4 cm (7 1/4 in.)
diam. at top: 12.4 cm (4 7/8 in.)
diam. at base: 11.7 cm (4 5/8 in.)
Widener Collection
1942.9.277"
There is a lso a brief description of each object's significance and importance. One also has the option to view information by clicking on the following links: bibliography, conservation notes, detail images, exhibition history, location, and provenance. Metadata about the digital image is not made available, nor or there any statements regarding the terms of use of the digital images.

Intended Audience: My impression is that the intended audience for this online tour is the general public. I do not think that any of these tours were designed to aid scholars in research, since the information provided about the physical objects is introductory in nature and the images do not allow for examination of the physical objects in great detail. This is not to say, however, that these digital images would not be of use to scholars; but this segment of the viewing population does not seem to be the primary target audience.