U.C. Berkeley Library Web

Guide to
Census of Antique Works of Art and Architecture Known to the Renaissance

This very elaborate multi-tiered database has more than 20,000 Renaissance Documents (inventories, guide books, lives of artists, archival documents, etc.) related to more than 10,000 Antique Monuments (sculptures, architecture, vases, etc.) that are accompanied by 30,000 photographs or illustrations.  The collection of images includes: drawings, sketchbooks, paintings, engravings, sculpture, medals, applied arts, etc.  The database can be utilized for its collection of images, but more extensive information is provided in the database.  Monuments, their preservation history, provenance history, and other relevant information are accompanied by bibliographic citations. 
    The Census began in 1946 at the Warburg Institute in London on index cards.  To make the information more accessible the information was transferred to an electronic database in the 1980s.  Presently, the board of the Census consists of the Directors of the Warburg Institute, the Bibliotheka Hertziana (Max-Plank-Institute), the Getty Information Institute and the Getty Center, and the Warburg-Haus. 

There are four ways to search the database:

Predefined Search
Tree of Subject Headings
String in Title and Comment and
Subject Unspecified

These choices appear in the square boxes on the left side of the screen. Simply click on the desired search method to begin.  Predefined search is the default search that opens automatically.
 
 Searches are performed most easily with the PREDEFINED SEARCH. 
-In the drop down menu box the categories include a search by
Antique Monuments- has subcategories: Name, Date, Type, and Style of monument.    
Renaissance Documents- the subcategories are: Name/Invoice Number, Monument name, Date, and Person
Inscription
Person
Location
Time Period
Bibliography 

The following examples demonstrate the pattern for searching the database:
1.   To begin simply select a category in the drop down menu box on the left.
2.   Enter a keyword into small box on the right and click on start. 
For example, select Antique Monuments (names) and type in the name Torso Belvedere or just Torso.
N.B. This database is extremely case sensitive.  Instead of typing the entire name, a letter or a few letters can also be used to pull up a keyword list of subjects. 
3.   Click on Torso Belvedere from the Keyword List. 
4.   The upper window that pops up includes:
Type of monument-  “Statue”
Location of the monument- “Roma, Musei Vaticani, Sala della
Muse, Vestibolo Quadrato no. 3”
Where it is published-“(Amelung 1908)”
Provenance- “Collection of Cardinal Prospero Colonna (1432-1435)” 

In this example the “images” are displayed below.  In the center, there is a new drop down menu box titled “Data Sheets.”  Additional information can be located by selecting:

Images
Monument Description
Monument History
Provenance History
Relationships
Monument Bibliography
Comment
Renaissance Condition and
Preservation History 
Subjects
Hierarchy Parents

        N.B. On some Macs these choices only display as a dash.  Menu choices do not appear if there is no pertinent data.

5. Select Monument Description
In the lower window the first header “Name/Inv.” is a list of possible names of who could be represented or an alternative nickname for the object.  Followed is the Class (“sculpture”), Type (“statue”), Material (“marble”), Original (whether it is original), Number (if there are multiples) and finally a list of Descriptive words (such as “nude,” “lion skin,” “turning right.”)

6. Select Monument History
In the lower box information regarding the “Location, Specific Place/Inventory Number, Creation Date, Style, Artist, Current State or Condition, and the Renaissance Attribution” of the statue.
-Click on “Apollios of Athens” (it’s in blue and therefore
a link).
The upper and lower windows will appear with new information including: the various names of the artist, birth and death dates of the artist, a bibliographic citation, the birthplace of the artist, etc.         

7. After this point, to go back click on Zuruck zu or click “Torso Belvedere” in the Navigation (History) or the Results/Size windows on the right. By clicking on either one, it will take you back to the initial results of the search.  If you wanted to explore more information under Monument History you would need to start again from the main window.
N.B.  Usually there is no “back button;” its presence depends on your
viewer and its version.  Mac users may be able to force a back and forward browser button by clicking on “View” on the upper tool bar and then “Buttons.”
 
For instance, select Monument History in the menu box.
-Click on “Late Hellenistic Period”-A selection of other
monuments of the Late Hellenistic Period known in
the Renaissance is listed.
 -Click Zuruck zu or return to the main Torso Belvedere window.
-Select Monument History
-Click on “Roma, Musei Vaticani, Salle del Museo”-In the
lower window will be a list of all the monuments in that same hall in the museum.
 -Click Zuruck zu…

8. In the drop down menu box select Provenance History 
-Click on the collector Andrea Bregno (“post 1496-ante 1503, Roma Collection of Andrea Bregno”)
Included under the header “Document” is a list and images of all the known Renaissance sources documenting the Torso Belvedere in the collection of Andrea Bregno between 1496 and 1503.
N.B.  If images are available this is indicated by the ■ and they will appear
as you mouse over the entry.
-Click Zuruck zu…

9. In the drop down menu box again select Relationships category.                                                                  
This includes a collection of documents, images, etc. relating to the statue.  Again, by moving the cursor over a listing of a document an image may pop up. 
-Click Zuruck zu…
       
10.In the drop down menu box select Monument Bibliography
-Click on any entry for which you would want to see the complete citation. The citation will appear in the upper box 
       
11. Select Renaissance Condition
-After the description of its state in the Renaissance is a list
of documents testifying to this, some with pop up images.
-Click on “Calenzano, Collection L. Bertini…”
You can then click on the image in the lower box to enlarge and print.  
-By clicking on any of the entries different information will
appear.  Furthermore, the drop down menu box will change again to provide yet more information. 
-Click Zuruck zu…
 
12. Select Preservation History
-Click on event to obtain specific information regarding its
condition, cleaning, repair, breakage, etc.
-To see the extent of this database
-Click on “damaged (ante 1498)”
-In the “person resp” field click on unknown
every object that was damaged by an unknown person is given.  You can further click, etc.

This basically completes a navigation through one monument using a Predefined Search.  We have left the data sheets or main window to go to other windows, but we have always returned to the same monument.

IMAGES

This database has a wealth of images.  There are two places images appear, in the lower window and in pop up boxes, which appears as your cursor moves over entries.  N.B. Mac users may have to move very slowly over entries to pop up images. You can click on and enlarge the images in the bottom data sheet, but not in a pop up box.  The images may appear small and fuzzy in their shrunken form, but they print large and crisp.

For certain images, there is a “store” icon located below the image.  One can store images
in the lightbox (window at the lower right of the screen) for comparison or print the images at a later time. 
N.B. This feature does not always work.

-Click “store”
-Enter any file name for personal area and click “start.”
-There is option to “only store” or “place in viewer”
-Place in “only store” if you want to print the images at full size.  You can
also compare the images from here.
-Click “only store”
-A prompt appears and click “start.”
-A new box pops up with a drop down menu that says
“new result name”
-Click only “store.”
-Enter any result name.
-After storing the image, click in the light box on the search name
to bring up the image/s.

    or

-“Place in viewer” to compare images.  You cannot right click and print  
from this area, instead you must ctrl + P, but only the small image as
appears will print.
-Click on “place in viewer”
-Click on a space to insert the image

If you cannot store because this feature is not working, you can ctrl + P, but the image will print in the small size.

TREE OF SUBJECT HEADINGS

A complete listing of these subject headings is attached.  This alternative way of retrieving data is not as easy and useful as other searches.

Go down the subject tree by clicking on the Black Crosses. 
To move backwards up the subject tree, click on the minus symbol before the heading.
To choose all the entries for all the subheadings of a subject, click on [all sub].
Some subject terms offer a pre-determined list of appropriate sub-terms in a pull down box, which you reach by beginning to type an appropriate term.

STRING SEARCHING (= precise string, any part of the title)

Choose “Exact string”, “Ignore capitals” or “Ignore capitals & accent,” and then type in your string. Anything related to the search word will come up.
For example, since there is nothing in the Predefined Search that leads you to search for a collector, but you want to find out what objects were in the collection of Giovanni Ciampolini you can type in “Ciampolini” and 21 headings in which the word Ciampolini is found in a data sheet will appear.

UNSPECIFIED SUBJECT SEARCHING

Words from all parts of the database that includes: subject, places, inventory numbers, authors, collection names, monuments, etc. can be entered in the box, taking care to capitalize correctly.

“RESULT, EXPORT PRINT” Button

COMBINE SETS

Select the result sets and the operator from the pull down menu boxes.
Type in a name for the new result set and then click on “combine”. 

PRINT  / EXPORT

Select your result set from the pull down menu and click on “Export/print.”
At the top of the next window that appears choose either Print or E-Mail to send or print the entire list.
You can also print one record at a time by typing Control-P. (Click first on the window you want to print!)

                Marnie Leist and Jean Susorney Wellington   
                University of Cincinnati, Classics Library
                May 2003

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