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Open Content Program

The Birmingham Museum of art makes available digital images of works in the Museum’s collection believed to be in the public domain. Images are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial. Users do not need to contact the Museum for authorization to use these images. They are available through the Online Collection at artsbma.org/collection. See detailed instructions for specific work types below.

Identifying Open Content Images

The mission of the Birmingham Museum of Art is to spark the creativity, imagination, and liveliness of Birmingham by connecting all its citizens to the experience, meaning, and joy of art. The Museum understands that by sharing images of works online without restrictions, the BMA collection becomes more accessible to a larger audience.

For objects with images the rights status is displayed in the “credit line” section of the object information. The rights status or rights holder will be indicated. If the work is in the public domain and/or the image may be downloaded, the download icon will appear in the bottom right corner of the image area. To search the collection click here.

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For copyright-protected images that have been approved by copyright holders, a presentation-sized image is available, but can not be downloaded. A copyright statement clearly listing the name of the copyright holder is visible in the credit line area when the image is displayed. Thumbnail-sized images of copyrighted works are displayed under fair use.

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Please use the following source credit when reproducing an Open Content image: Courtesy Birmingham Museum of Art, followed by the credit line provided in the object description.

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Open Content Program
Digital Media Department
The Birmingham Museum of Art
2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd
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Disclaimer

  • If an image is not available under Open Content it may be because the work is still under copyright, the work is not owned by the museum, or the work has not yet been photographed to BMA standards.
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Klemens Wenzel Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg (1773-1859), Austrian Statesman, 1803-06 Austrian Envoy to Berlin

Modeled by Leopold Heuberger, Royal Prussian Iron Foundry, Gleiwitz

About 1814/15

See More of the Collection

Cast-iron buckle heavily decorated with rosettes and acanthus leaves, the prongs gold.
One of a pair of tall cream-colored, pearlware vases decorated in enamel colors and partially gilt, the gold a dark, brownish color, the small square base with a row of stylized anthemion motifs highlighted in gold, the foot with a border in a modified egg-and-dart pattern likewise picked out in gold, and the lower body of the urn-shaped vase with stylized, individually molded acanthus leaves outlined in gold; the main body of each vase is painted in the round with different delicate and very detailed seascapes that both show a gray and blue cloudy--almost stormy--sky over a choppy turquoise-blue sea, each scene includes a variety of ships with billowing sails, as well as groups of sailors in small row boats attempting to land ashore through rough, foamy waves, the sea also includes debris from the ships floating in the water, above each central scene is a band of overlapping leaves highlighted in gold, and the slender neck includes stylized foliate motifs outlined in gold and a band of beading around the lip; on each vase the two tall, slender, partially-gilt, scrolled handles has a slithery gold snake coiled around it, the snakes' heads rest on the shoulder of the vase.
Oval green jasper plaque with white relief figure of a young boy playing the flute
Hollow lamp or candelabrum drum of white jasper with dark blue jasper dip and white relief decoration of four small scenes including the Three Graces, Apollo, Nike or Nemesis at an altar, and an unidentified scene of a seated woman on a pedestal with a man making an offering, at the top a double band of oak leaves.