The Hunt Museum :: Introduction

		The Hunt Museum Limerick Ireland The Online Catalogue
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Introduction
New technologies provide excellent opportunities to present museum collections and research to broader audiences. Traditional efforts to cultivate viewers beyond the boundaries of the Museum took the form of published catalogues in paper format. The first publication 50 Treasures of the Hunt Collection was produced in 1993. This book provided a rich visual record of fifty objects from the collection, complete with a commentary. In 2002 The Essential Guide was produced comprising detailed descriptions of 206 objects from the collection.

By building on this existing work and using emerging digital media, a new electronic resource has been developed which records the contents of the complete collection managed by The Hunt Museum. This resource gives a comprehensive, but general, overview of the Museum’s holdings. Users must bear in mind that the database is very much a working document and amendments to enhance accuracy will be made as research on the collection evolves. However, the Museum wants to make accessible available information about the collection to the widest audience as immediately as possible. It is our aspiration to make the database complete and accurate, however, it is fully accepted here that errors will become evident in our work to date. In this context, we encourage any feedback (director@huntmuseum.com) which will enhance the accuracy and quality of what we are ultimately aiming to achieve. With a project such as this it is difficult to anticipate the amount of feedback we will receive, but it is our intention to try and respond to all reasonable requests and observations.

The development of this online catalogue has taken considerable time, expertise and energy to reach this stage. The initial database which forms the basis for the searchable online catalogue was prepared by Museum staff when the collection was transferred from its previous home at the University of Limerick to the Customs House in 1996/97. In 2005 the database was expanded and developed into a more comprehensive relational structure. This work was out-sourced to a consultant. Part of the brief of the consultant included a field by field analysis of the record for each individual object and to amend them as necessary. For two fields, Object Name and Materials, the respective British Museum Thesaurus has been used to standardize the field contents. Other technical and descriptive details were clarified, gaps in information were completed. While images of a large number of objects in the Museum existed, about a quarter of objects had no digital image. The photography was carried out in August 2005 by a professional photographer. All objects in the database (except for a few which were not available for photography) now have digital images. Arising from this recent work, the Museum now has developed a comprehensive catalogue recording details of the objects in its care. The achievement of this milestone is significant for The Hunt Museum, in particular I wish to acknowledge the expertise of Margaret Lantry, Information Consultant, who completed the work in 2005, Paul O'Connor ONS Systems, generously provided valuable IT assistance, frequently at short notice, Internet Ireland kindly sponsored the site through the provision of hosting services, ESAT BT have generously provided broadband access to the Museum, without which this work would have been impossible. The work of Fiona Davern, Registrar, and Michael Holland, former Registrar was instrumental in the formation of this resource. The wonderful support provided by Dorothy Redmond as a member of the team working on this project and related work on the collection is greatly appreciated, as is the contribution and support of all the docents. Finally, the collective support of both the staff and Board of the Museum is appreciated, especially over the duration of this project.

The database comprises 1947 entries. It includes all processed objects managed by The Hunt Museum Ltd (the management company which oversees the care of the objects housed at the Customs House). Most of these objects were previously owned by members of the Hunt family, now owned by The Hunt Museums Trust, there are also included a small number of other objects acquired (either by purchase or gift) by The Hunt Museum Ltd in recent years together with items on loan to the Museum from private owners.

With the help of many individuals, institutions, colleagues and friends The Hunt Museum continues to enjoy a role in providing access to art and antiquities of international standing. Our growing role as an educational and research centre for those interested in antiquities, fine and decorative arts is an exciting new phase for the Museum. The internet provides new horizons for us to expand our work and relevance to our existing and new international audiences which we are delighted to support.

Virginia Teehan
Director
The Hunt Museum

Margaret Lantry, Information Consultancy

Introduction
New technologies provide excellent opportunities to present museum collections and research to broader audiences. Traditional efforts to cultivate viewers beyond the boundaries of the Museum took the form of published catalogues in paper format. The first publication 50 Treasures of the Hunt Collection was produced in 1993. This book provided a rich visual record of fifty objects from the collection, complete with a commentary. In 2002 The Essential Guide was produced comprising detailed descriptions of 206 objects from the collection. By building on this existing work and using emerging digital media, a new electronic resource has been developed which records the contents of the complete collection managed by The Hunt Museum. This resource gives a comprehensive, but general, overview of the Museum’s holdings. Users must bear in mind that the database is very much a working document and amendments to enhance accuracy will be made as research on the collection evolves. However, the Museum wants to make accessible available information about the collection to the widest audience as immediately as possible. It is our aspiration to make the database complete and accurate, however, it is fully accepted here that errors will become evident in our work to date. In this context, we encourage any feedback (director@huntmuseum.com) which will enhance the accuracy and quality of what we are ultimately aiming to achieve. With a project such as this it is difficult to anticipate the amount of feedback we will receive, but it is our intention to try and respond to all reasonable requests and observations. The development of this online catalogue has taken considerable time, expertise and energy to reach this stage. The initial database which forms the basis for the searchable online catalogue was prepared by Museum staff when the collection was transferred from its previous home at the University of Limerick to the Customs House in 1996/97. In 2005 the database was expanded and developed into a more comprehensive relational structure. This work was out-sourced to a consultant. Part of the brief of the consultant included a field by field analysis of the record for each individual object and to amend them as necessary. For two fields, Object Name and Materials, the respective British Museum Thesaurus has been used to standardize the field contents. Other technical and descriptive details were clarified, gaps in information were completed. While images of a large number of objects in the Museum existed, about a quarter of objects had no digital image. The photography was carried out in August 2005 by a professional photographer. All objects in the database (except for a few which were not available for photography) now have digital images. Arising from this recent work, the Museum now has developed a comprehensive catalogue recording details of the objects in its care. The achievement of this milestone is significant for The Hunt Museum, in particular I wish to acknowledge the expertise of Margaret Lantry, Information Consultant, who completed the work in 2005, Paul O'Connor ONS Systems, generously provided valuable IT assistance, frequently at short notice, Internet Ireland kindly sponsored the site through the provision of hosting services, ESAT BT have generously provided broadband access to the Museum, without which this work would have been impossible. The work of Fiona Davern, Registrar, and Michael Holland, former Registrar was instrumental in the formation of this resource. The wonderful support provided by Dorothy Redmond as a member of the team working on this project and related work on the collection is greatly appreciated, as is the contribution and support of all the docents. Finally, the collective support of both the staff and Board of the Museum is appreciated, especially over the duration of this project. The database comprises 1947 entries. It includes all processed objects managed by The Hunt Museum Ltd (the management company which oversees the care of the objects housed at the Customs House). Most of these objects were previously owned by members of the Hunt family, now owned by The Hunt Museums Trust, there are also included a small number of other objects acquired (either by purchase or gift) by The Hunt Museum Ltd in recent years together with items on loan to the Museum from private owners. With the help of many individuals, institutions, colleagues and friends The Hunt Museum continues to enjoy a role in providing access to art and antiquities of international standing. Our growing role as an educational and research centre for those interested in antiquities, fine and decorative arts is an exciting new phase for the Museum. The internet provides new horizons for us to expand our work and relevance to our existing and new international audiences which we are delighted to support.
Virginia Teehan Director The Hunt Museum