Fish trap, Kepke artist (maker), mid-20th c, Liberia; National Museum of African Art Collection, US.
Images and other artifacts
Images and other artifacts are key primary sources for some of your projects. Primary sources are the original first-hand records of a particular culture, event, time period, or an original research study. These primary sources are curated in archives, libraries and museums. You can consult these via specialist subscription databases as well as publicly available online collections provided by museums, heritage sites and other cultural institutions.
The Library holds a large collection of printed materials that research and publish such sources. You can find these via Library Search. These include catalogues of artefacts and art objects.
Image databases
- Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window A searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month. The Vogue Archive preserves the work of the world's greatest fashion designers, stylists and photographers and is a unique record of American and international fashion, culture and society from the dawn of the modern era to the present day.
Museums, collections and heritage
For specific units, your resource lists direct you to the organisations, professional bodies and collections that are most relevant to your learning and professional development. Below are further resources that may inspire you in your discovery of digitised primary sources relevant for your research.
Selective collections and archives
Institutions produce digital reproductions of primary sources that can be searched for remotely in collections and archives. These include reproductions of images and other artifacts, landscapes and the built environment.
- Ashmolean Museum - Ceramics This link opens in a new window
Discover ceramics from around the world in the Ashmolean's online collection.
- British Museum, the - Explore the collection This link opens in a new window Get closer to the British Museum's collection and immerse yourself in two million years of history, across six continents. Collection online has been completely redeveloped, making it much easier to find what you want. It allows access to almost four and a half million objects in more than two million records.
- Pitt Rivers Museum Online Collections This link opens in a new window
Founded in 1884, the Pitt Rivers Museum houses more than 500,000 objects, photographs and manuscripts from all over the world, and from all periods of human existence. Within these are exceptional objects of ritual significance, and objects made for tourists or trade. You can browse the online collections of photographs, manuscripts and objects.
- Smithsonian, Department of Anthropology: Archives and Collections This link opens in a new window
The Smithsonian, Department of Anthropology maintains ethnographic, archaeological and human biological collections numbering over two million items from around the world and employs state-of-the-art collections management and care. Extensive holdings of fieldnotes, manuscripts, photographs, film, videos and sound recordings are housed in the National Anthropological Archives and Human Studies Film Archives. The John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology includes over 80,000 volumes.
- Europeana This link opens in a new window
Local collections and archives
These are located in Bristol and the south west region.
- University of Bristol Theatre Collection This link opens in a new window
Special Collections
The University of Bristol Special Collections contains a vast and diverse range of materials dating from the 11th century to the present day.