Search Help
The overall aim of the website was to make searching the collection as easy as possible.
The search facility is broken into two distinct sections.
· The selection of a Collection Category in which to search.
· The search criteria
o What – Object names, Classified names, Events etc.
o When – Periods in time (i.e. Victorian) or dates
o Where – Place names, Site names, Countries
o Who – People, Artists, Makers, Companies etc.
When you begin your search you will see a list of Collection Categories on the left-hand side of the page, there will also be a random selection of records from the on-line database.
At this point you can either choose to select a random object or choose a category.
If you choose a category, you will that be shown a list of search terms that are appropriate to this category.
Choose from the Who, What, Where or When terms by selecting the relevant checkbox, this will change the search terms shown below.
If there are more than 250 search terms you can opt to return only terms beginning with one of the alphabet buttons above.
There is also a further random selection to choose from.
Once a search term has been selected you can choose to refine the search by selecting further search terms in the same manner with the exception that you may choose to exclude a term from your current results by selecting the exclude checkbox.
Tees Valley Categories Definitions - Help
natural world
These categories include traditional natural history collections including casts and models. They do not include costume, ethnography, archaeology or social history items that incorporate parts of natural history specimens or visual representations of natural history that are not scientific drawings.
animals
This category includes all the animal specimens which can be searched under separate categories and also specimens that do not fit into the other groups eg. land worms.
birds
This group will include taxidermy specimens, dioramas, parts of birds eg. feathers, eggs and nests.
mammals
This group includes taxidermy specimens, bones, antlers and horns, monotremes eggs, tusks, teeth, claws etc. Whale and dolphin specimens are included in this group.
reptiles
This group includes taxidermy specimens, shells, eggs, nests, teeth, bones, claws, skins etc. but not costume items made from these animals.
insects
This group includes pinned specimens, arachnids, specimens in preservative liquid, slide specimens etc. but not decorative art pieces made from insects.
freshwater and marine life
This group does not include any mammal and reptile life forms that live in a water environment. However, it does include amphibians, molluscs, shellfish, crustaceans, snails, corals, fish etc.
North East & animals
North East & birds
North East & mammals
North East & reptiles
North East & insects
North East & freshwater and marine life
These categories are used for specimens found in the North East even if they are not an indigenous species eg. a bird blown off course or a beached whale.
plants
North East & plants
These categories include pressed specimens, seeds, nuts, leaves, bark, resin, funghi etc.
earth history
This category is used for geological specimens and includes fossils, minerals and rocks.
fossils
This group includes all the preserved remains of long dead plants and animals including the organism itself, an impression of it and marks made by it in life eg. dinosaur footprints.
minerals
Minerals are defined as native elements or elemental compounds formed in rock. Specimens can be extracted examples, fragments in rock and crystal formations, including polished specimens, worked gemstones etc.
rocks
This category covers all natural rock samples, including borehole samples, slide specimens, polished rocks and thin sections.
North East & earth history
North East & earth history & fossils
North East & earth history & minerals
North East & earth history & rocks
These categories are used for specimens extracted or found in the North East area.
archaeology
Archaeology is the study of buildings, graves, tools and other objects which belonged to people who lived in the past. This category will also include items from recent history that have been excavated as part of an archaeological dig. Animal bones, plant specimens and minerals are included if they have been found in conjunction with evidence of human activity
archaeology & North East
Items which have been excavated in the North East region, wherever they may have originated from.
arts and crafts
decorative arts
This category covers pieces which may have been mass produced and have a functional purpose but were primarily made for decoration or fit within a recognised style or movement eg. Clarice Cliff teacups or Christopher Dresser toast racks.
North East & decorative arts
This category covers any pieces manufactured in the North East region.
applied arts
This category covers functional objects which have had a decoration or embellishment added eg. embroidery on textiles. They tend to be one-off pieces made by a craftsperson who specialises in that field.
North East & applied arts
This will include items made by craftspeople from the North East region.
fine art
This category covers works of art created for purely aesthetic expression. This would include visual arts in a variety of mediums.
North East & fine art
This category includes works of art with a North East subject.
Search under People & North East & artists for local born artists.
buildings
exploration
industry
maritime
natural world
people
religion
events
sport and leisure
transport
views
world cultures
North East & fine art & buildings
North East & fine art & exploration
North East & fine art & industry
North East & fine art & maritime
North East & fine art & natural world
North East & fine art & people
North East & fine art & religion
North East & fine art & events
North East & fine art & sport and leisure
North East & fine art & transport
North East & fine art & views
North East & fine art & world cultures
people
This category is for individuals of great significance and include all items relating to that individual in different collections eg. famous personalities or important local artists.
artists
actors
designers
explorers
inventors and innovators
makers
personalities
North East & artists
North East & actors
North East & designers
North East & explorers
North East & inventors and innovators
North East & makers
North East & personalities
collectors and benefactors
North East & collectors and benefactors
This category includes significant donors who have given objects that fit within different collections eg. Colonel Thomlinson at Hartlepool, and may span different subject areas eg. natural world, world cultures and archaeology.
photographs
Items in this category include any photographic material such as lantern slides, glass plate and celluloid negatives, daguerreotypes, digital images, postcards and carte de visites. They have been split into groups according to the content of the image and whether they relate to the North East.
world cultures
This category includes objects collected in the past to represent different world cultures including European folk art. This now includes items collected to represent the multi-cultural and multi-faith background of people living in the Tees Valley which have been categorised according to their country of origin.
Africa
Americas
Asia
Middle East
This category covers Persia, Iran, Iraq, Mesopotamia, Israel, Jordan, Syria etc.
Australasia
This covers Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania and neighbouring islands under Australian administrative rule.
Europe
This would include items from cultures in European colonies eg. Canary Islands, Azores etc.
Oceania
This covers Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean and also includes Hawaii.
Arctic
Inuit cultural objects from the Arctic region regardless of country.
Social Industrial History
sih
This category includes all social industrial history items that have been collected to represent the home and working lives of people in Britain.
maritime
North East & maritime
These categories includes items relating to shipbuilding, fishing and water based leisure activities.
living
This category includes objects that represent the life experiences of people in Britain such as domestic furniture, what they wore, personal effects and tools used in their job.
made
This category includes social and industrial items which were mass produced but do not directly relate to the personal lives of individuals such as coins and tokens, tools related to a specific craft, ground breaking technologies and weapons of war.