AAT Art & Architecture Thesaurus

Diffuse list of museum standards

It’s Purpose Standards list used by museums to classify and describe their collections in electronic form Relies on a structured vocabulary Polyheirarchical Currently contains over 125,000 terms Access two ways:  Using as implemented in a collection management system  Online database

Advantages of AAT Provides structure and classification schemes to document material culture Framework is not subject specific

History (1985) Thesaurus Artis Universitalis(TAU)  Multilingual art thesaurus  English, French, German, Italian, Spanish  Begun by CIHA-Intr’l Comm for the History of Art (1989) CIHA endorsed use of AAT as base language (1991) Project changes scope and nature  larger than imagined  Lost financial support as scope broadened

History Continued AAT has a strong network of partnerships with specialized institutions Institutions release staff for week-long residences Currently moving from American-English terminology to other CIHA languages

How it works Structure and classification scheme using: Concepts:  Guide terms  Hierarchy Names  Facets

The Concept Types Objects and architecture (e.g., drinking cups, cathedrals) Materials (e.g., bronze, stained glass) Styles and periods (e.g., art deco, Baroque) Types of people (e.g., potters, sculptors) Activities (e.g., museology, printmaking) Physical attributes (e.g., inlays, crazing) Associated concepts (e.g., realism, artistic concepts)

Terms Records serving as place savers to create a hierarchical level so that AAT can locate related concepts e.g.:

Hierarchy Name Refers to the top of a hierarchy. e.g.: Ornate Style Method of structuring and displaying a concept within its broader context

Example of the immediate hierarchical tree for Ornate Style in its Full Record display:

Concepts with Multiple Parents: The AAT is polyhierarchical. When a concept may be comfortably placed in more than one location within the logic of the AAT hierarchies, the concept may have multiple parents.

Facets The major subdivisions of the hierarchical structure Conceptually organized from abstract concepts of concrete physical artifacts

The Facets ASSOCIATED CONCEPTS FACET Hierarchy: Associated Concepts PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES FACET Hierarchies: Attributes and Properties, Conditions and Effects, Design Elements, Color STYLES AND PERIODS FACET Hierarchy: Styles and Periods AGENTS FACET Hierarchies: People, Organizations ACTIVITIES FACET Hierarchies: Disciplines, Functions, Events, Physical and Mental Activities, Processes and Techniques MATERIALS FACET Hierarchy: Materials OBJECTS FACET Hierarchies: Object Groupings and Systems, Object Genres, Components

AAT Record : Unique numeric ID Terms/Concepts Related Concepts Data Sources Notes

ID Number Example ID:

Terms Singular and plural forms Inverted order Spelling variants Various forms of speech Synonyms Descriptor (flagged as preferred term that maintains parent place in the hierarchy)

Preferred term Example: Preferred Term/Descriptor Controlled Vocabulary

Data Sources Institutions that contributed term Bibliographic sources of the terms

Scope Notes Defines concept meaning and how it differs from related concepts

Refer to handout: full record search results: coffee cups

How to use AAT online 1. ary/aat/help.html ary/aat/help.html 2. Search for a term e.g.: pens 3. Read the results, refine search if necessary