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+ Tracking Objets d'art in Time through the Art Market
+ Historical data on auctions in the modern era (1750-1950), ready to explore and reuse
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+ Objets d'art (or decorative arts) are challenging to research as they include a vast array of objects, encompassing ceramics, + furniture, glass, metalwork, and textiles, all with distinctive forms, functions and materials, and their creators are often unknown. + Under-represented in cultural economics and heritage studies, the absence of a comprehensive dataset is an obstacle to study and track pieces across time. +
++ This project aims to create a database on objets d'art auction sales (from 1750s until 1950s) by working from a consistent source: the auction catalogue. +
++ From the mid-18th century auctions have been organised, mainly in Paris and London, to sell and disperse objects, + increasing greatly in the first half of the 19th century to reach a rhythm of several thousand sales per decade. + Individual auctions have always both combined and dispersed a great diversity of fine objects, from a multitude of origins. + The catalogue is a crucial record. In many cases annotated catalogues exist (with hammer prices and buyers) and others can be cross-referenced + with auctioneers' archives. The core of the dataset will be built up from the selection of a vast corpus of auction catalogues for the decorative arts. + These catalogues will be interrogated through digital methods (extraction, processing and machine learning) and Geovistory will be used to + integrate and structure various data collections. The database will offer a new tool for identification and provenance research but will also + focus on the individuals and institutions involved (sellers/buyers), allowing for a study of the networks and characteristics of this market over a long period. +
++ + From September 2023 to 2025 this project benefits from an ANR/Access ERC funding, + to explore the corpus, map the project planning and test the methods with the input of the LARHRA engineers. + +
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