MORE LEADS

Interactive Investigations

Is that Ming Vase real - or a reproduction? Here's your chance to learn how art detectives figure it out. The first case is a guided investigation, using Petrography to authenticate provenance. But the second case is all yours. Will you know how to handle it?

The Hengistbury Head
Ceramic Provenance Studies, British Museum
A clear, interactive example of petrography applied to the provenance of ceramics.

Date the Dish
NOVA: Sultan's Lost Treasure
A dish went down with the Sultan's ship. But was it new? Was it old? From where? The clues are there, if you know how to look.

Visit a museum to learn more!

The ceramics are lovely, but most of these museums have private labs for research, provenance and conservation. Look for 'Publications' or 'Research' navigation aids, and get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Petrography in action.

The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art
Smithsonian Institution
More than a thousand objects and artifacts online.

The Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art
Nearly 8,000 ceramic and glass objects, ranging from ancient civilizations, to the cutting edge of ceramic technology.

National Gallery of Art, Decorative Arts Collection
Chinese porcelains, French Renaissance ceramics, Italian Renaissance ceramics and more.

National Gallery of Art, Pottery from the Index of American Design
An online tour of pottery from America's 18th to 20th centuries.

PotWeb: Ceramics online @ The Ashmolean
One of the world's finest ceramics collections, and the museum is now making the entire catalogue available online.

Decorative Objects: Bottles & Pots
The Getty
From Ancient Greek amphorae to Italian Renaissance drug jars, and many unusual individual items.