Collections Portal
Online databases and documentation
The collections portal presents a sample of the heritage collections held at the Natural History Museum, as well as personalities linked to the museum and thematic groupings.
The collections are divided into two databases: one for the natural sciences, the other for the humanities and social sciences, the arts, publishing and the history of science.
The portal also offers thematic groupings and biographies of personalities linked to the museum and collections, which, like the catalogues, are regularly updated.
Although regularly expanded and updated, these databases do not necessarily reflect the current state of knowledge.
Furthermore, as museum collections have been built up over the course of world history (wars, colonial conquest, looting, globalization, regulations on hunting, excavations and collecting, trafficking, etc.), the collections may contain items that are considered “sensitive” (culturally, spiritually, or ethically) and may offend certain audiences.
Therefore, while the original titles, archives, and old labels that accompany them are essential for documentation purposes, they may sometimes contain offensive and reprehensible vocabulary that is now considered racist and should be understood as historical evidence and material, and in no way as a vehicle for discourse. With ongoing discussions at the national level for institutions that hold “sensitive collections” (owned by the state and local authorities) concerning how to disseminate—or not—these collections, the museum remains attentive to feedback from the public.
The essential research work (historical, scientific analysis and studies, surveys, etc.) carried out on the collections aims in particular to contextualize as accurately as possible the history of objects that were sometimes stolen in violent circumstances and to provide documentation that is as comprehensive and accurate as possible for all audiences.
