Bard Graduate Center Study Collection is made up of over 3,000 objects in a variety of media that have been donated to us since the Collection’s founding in 2011. The purpose of the Study Collection is to support pedagogy by providing hands-on, close-up examination of objects as part of a classroom experience. Holdings include, but are not limited to, artifacts of glass, metal, ceramic, wood, plastic, textiles, and paper. Although many pieces come from Europe and the Americas dating from the eighteenth century to the present, there are also significant holdings from Asia and the Pacific Islands. Strong areas of the collection include modern ceramics, Indian and Southeast Asian textiles, silver, silver-plated flatware, jewelry, toys, and costume accessories. We also have a selection of ancient objects and examples of industrial design and studio craft. In addition, our collection includes nearly 200 French and European textile samples beginning in the late seventeenth century. The majority of the collection has been cataloged and photographed and is available on Jstor.

The Study Collection is open to the BGC community for object viewing and can be accessed most weekdays. Please contact barb.elam@bgc.bard.edu for an appointment. Appointments can also be made by contacting the library at library@bgc.bard.edu.