Calendar
Information
Institute
People
Research projects
Publications
Library
Photo library
Patrons
Applications
General information
Construction Work
Catalogues
New Acquisitions
Digital Library
Projects
Bequests
     
                 
Go to Homepage
 
STEMMARIO - Coats of Arms of the Florentine families, churches, confraternities and hospitals

Jan Simane, Ute Dercks, Ingeborg Bähr, Monika Butzek, Lisa Hanstein, Harald Drös, Charlotte Niemann, Laura Cirri in cooperation with Fabrizio Falchi, Fausto Rabitti

The Kunsthistorisches Institut has been in possession of a catalogue containing sketches of more than 2,800 coats of arms, predominantly belonging to Florentine families, since 1909. This unique, extensive and painstakingly detailed collection, which was evidently compiled by a single, anonymous late 19th-century copyist, has become a popular tool used for the identification of coats of arms located on diverse structures such as palace façades, tombs and altarpieces.

“Stemmario” is part of the digitization project, “Selected Sources of Art History and the Topography of Florence”, developed in collaboration with the Institute’s photographic library. The initial phase of the project, which began in 2005, comprises the digitization of the collection of coats of arms sketches, in addition to the creation of codified descriptions of the escutcheons that conform to international heraldry standards (blazons). Descriptions generated in this manner will be added to the surnames, along with other information, and registered in a database designed to facilitate related research.

A tool that surpasses the scope of previous navigation possibilities within image databases is currently being developed in collaboration with the Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologia dell’Informazione (ISTI) of the Consiglio Nazionale di Ricerca (CNR) in Pisa: namely, computer-assisted image recognition as a search option. In addition to verbal indexing, which guarantees the coat of arms’ location in the database by registering them under diverse content-related categories, an image recognition software is being developed specifically for the coat of arms project. Here, the digitized images are automatically deconstructed into discrete sections, which are then aligned with similar areas in other images with the aid of an algorithm. The search results include images that display the highest levels of similarity. The Kunsthistorisches Institut will use this new form of visual image analysis as a basis for its own research in other relevant areas, and will even be in a position to develop new research fields as a result.

At present, a multilingual search interface is under construction. The development of an ontological structure for item entries is also planned. These interfaces will enable collaboration with institutions that digitize other compilations of coats of arms compatible with “Stemmario” in other languages. The first consultations with archives and libraries in Florence have already occurred.

This project is carried out in collaboration with the institute's Photo library.
 
 



Study days "L'arme segreta. Araldica e storia dell'arte nel Medioevo (secoli XIII-XV)" (Firenze/Pisa, 25 -26 November 2011)
 
Print this page 		 
Go to MPG Homepage