Announcing a New Online Catalog of Gems from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Publication Features Navigable High-Resolution Images

June 1, 2002

The Perseus Digital Library and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston are pleased to announce the third illustrated Web catalog of ancient art from the MFA. A collection of 140 ancient gems currently held by the MFA now appears in the Perseus Gem Catalog. The gems originate within various Mediterranean cultures and at various dates. The majority of the cataloged gems were crafted in Greece between 560 and 100 B.C.

The Perseus Gem Catalog features 323 navigable high-resolution photographs of the gems and their casts. The illustrations are available in three dimensions: small (600x400 pixels), medium (1530x1018 pixels), and large (3060x2036 pixels). Small illustrations depict the gems in full; medium and large illustrations display magnified areas of the gems and allow the inspection of fine details.

The Perseus Digital Library extends its thanks to John Herrmann, Mary Comstock, and Nancy Allen of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, for making Web publication of these materials possible. This catalog of ancient gems represents a third phase of collaboration between curatorial staff at the MFA and the Perseus Digital Library. Previously the MFA and Perseus have collaborated on the Perseus Sculpture Catalog and the Perseus Coin Catalog. Funding has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. We welcome your feedback and comments on this new resource.

Please report any problems to the Perseus webmaster.

Document last updated 6-May-2002, TLM