By accessing the Birmingham Museum of Art’s website and image gallery, you agree to the Museum’s Terms of Use and any additional terms listed below.

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.

Works With Restrictions

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.

When the owner of a work is impossible to determine or contact, the work is deemed an orphan work. The Museum will make thumbnails of orphan works available. If you are the representative or rights holder of an orphan work, please contact Rights and Reproductions.

Credit/Citations

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.

Although there are no restrictions or conditions of the use of an Open Content image, the BMA would appreciate a gratis copy of any scholarly publication(s) in which the images are reproduced in order to maintain collection bibliography. Copies may be sent to the attention of:

Open Content Program
Digital Media Department
The Birmingham Museum of Art
2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd
Birmingham, AL 35203

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.
  • Request Images: If an image of a work is not available online or is under copyright, you may submit a request through our online request form. You may also request files in additional sizes or formats. A fee will be charged for this service.
  • Our determination of public domain is made in good faith.
  • Electronic records are based on historical information and may not be the Museum’s complete or current knowledge about an object. Research is ongoing.
  • The ‘On View’ status may be delayed on the website by 24 hours. Please check with our Rights and Registration Office to confirm that a work of art will be on view before traveling to the Museum.
  • For additional details and additional terms of use, please see the Birmingham Museum of Art’s Terms of Use Page
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Paperweight

Bust after a model by Leonhard Posch, After the original by Christian Daniel Rauch, Royal Prussian Iron Foundries , Berlin or Gleiwitz

About 1830

See More of the Collection

Plaster cast of the New Year's card with a view of the Monastery St. Geron in Cologne.
Small round medallion of white jasper with dark blue dip and white jasper bas relief decoration of a crab representing "Cancer" from the "Signs of the Zodiac" series, mounted as a brooch in a simple silver setting.
Group of a happy Harlequin family consisting of Columbine wearing a turquoise and black bodice over white ruffled shirt, with white apron and red and white striped skirt, her left arm is raised and she holds a pince nez to Harlequin's face, in her right arm she holds a child Harlequin wearing a checkered costume in shades of yellow, black, red, and white, a red hat, which he holds on his head with his left hand, his right hand reaches out to grasp a potato or roll that his father is offering him; the grinning adult Harlequin wears a checkered costume, the trousers in alternating yellow, red, white, and turquoise, his tunic in red, yellow, and white with turquoise bows down the front and ruffled collar and cuffs, he also wears a red, plumed hat with large turquoise bow, his right arm in around the back of Columbine, in his left hand the potato or roll, the base encrusted with green leaves and large colorful flowers
Small cast-iron cross pendant, each of the arms three-part, in the form of Gothic tracery motifs, the central medallion is in the form of a gold-mounted rosette.