Launched by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Centre for the Study of the Domestic Interior (CSDI), the database found at www.rca.ac.uk/csdi/didb includes more than 3000 images and texts, many available for the first time.
Images include Renaissance paintings from the 18th century, popular magazines from the 19th century, and photographs from the 20th century, while the content comes from a range of sources, such as novels, diaries and advertisements.
The domestic interiors cover everything from palaces to apartments, and the issues explored range from changing appearances and layouts of rooms to the different ways people have used and thought about space and furnishings over time.
Antiques dealers, collectors, interior designers, students and curators are just some of those expected to benefit from this study resource.
It is the second major development from the AHRC in five years, following the publication Imagined Interiors, Representing the Domestic Interior Since the Renaissance, a compilation of ten essays and 22 feature spreads written by CSDI staff and contributing scholars, published in March.
By Stephanie Harris
