Dear Colleagues,

What’s happening?

• A new and unprecedented online database featuring the Gothic carvings displayed in the exhibition Small Wonders: Gothic Boxwood Miniatures launches today.
• The AGO has the largest collection of these works of art in the world, and this database will invite people across the globe to engage with our collection and study it alongside similar objects.
• The Boxwood Project offers in-depth information on this collection for scholars, teachers or any of our visitors who enjoyed the exhibition and want to know more.

What is significant about this project?

• The tool’s database represents all known boxwood objects in existence with high resolution photographs and scientific images from public and private collections worldwide, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands.
• The site allows users to study these objects up close thanks to an unparalleled digital photography campaign led by AGO photographers Ian Lefebvre and Craig Boyko.
• The database also functions as a magnifying glass for visitors who can zoom in on the photographs while they look at the objects in person.
• The site brings these intricate objects together for the first time, and will enable users to create collections of their favourite objects to share with the public and compare objects.

Who put the online tool together?

• This tool is the product of a cross-functional team comprising Curatorial Affairs, Conservation, Publications, Digital Services, Information Technology, Collections Management and Public Programming and Learning.

What are the next steps?

• The Boxwood Project is a prototype for the AGO’s online collection. This technology can be scaled to power our collection of 90,000+ objects and create new tools to support other special collections.
• We will continue to expand functionality in the coming weeks, adding visitors’ online catalogues and other features to enhance the user experience.

Many thanks,

Mark McKay

Director, Digital