Auckland Museum provides open access to more than 300,000 collection images — plus an on-demand service, incorporating our cultural-permissions processes, for objects not yet digitised.
Our Collections Online database holds a wealth of images taken of objects within our collections. Much of this material is available to be downloaded and reused for both commercial and non-commercial purposes, free of charge. See the guidelines below for more information.
For those objects not yet digitised, or for objects subject to our cultural-permissions processes, we offer an image order service.
Image: Lithograph image from A Book About Roses: How to Grow and Show Them, by S. Reynolds Hole. 7th rev. ed. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1880. SB411 HOL. ID 13033.
Image Reuse Guidelines
Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Collections Online holds a wealth of images taken of objects within our collections. Much of this material is available to be downloaded and reused for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. Rights statements indicate the copyright status of each image.
![Heteralocha acutirostris, LB4199]()
Heteralocha acutirostris, LB4199
© Auckland Museum CC BY
Images of objects in the Museum’s collection fall into two categories:
1. Reusable Images: Images of objects that the Museum believes to be in the public domain, or those for which the Museum owns copyright but assigns permission in advance for reuse.
2. Restricted Images: Images of objects the Museum knows to be in copyright, or images that have other restrictions placed on them.
Reusable Images
© Auckland Museum CC BY
Images that have been assigned this rights statement are available to be downloaded via a download button through the image viewer. The Museum uses a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0) for images of objects in which there is no copyright in the object or where the Museum is the sole copyright owner. This licence is also used on images of works in which copyright has expired. This licence allows reuse, sharing and commercial use for any purpose, provided that the Museum is attributed.
We encourage you to search and download openly accessible images using our “Downloadable images” button on our Collections Online search bar.
To identify these images look for the Creative Commons CC BY icon directly below the image:
No Known Copyright Restrictions
This statement means that, to the best of the Museum's knowledge, the Museum is unaware of any copyright restrictions on this work. This can be because the copyright term for this work may have expired. This term predominantly applies to reproductions of two-dimensional works, e.g: paintings, photographs, posters, that are out of copyright under the New Zealand Copyright Act 1994. This statement allows reuse, sharing and commercial use for any purpose, all we ask is that the Museum is attributed.
Attributing Reusable Images
You must include the caption information and attribute Auckland Museum as the image source when using Auckland Museum's downloadable images. Below are a few examples of attribution that Auckland Museum prefers:
Scientific Specimen example:
Nestor notabilis, LB4352, © Auckland Museum CC BY
Library / Pictorial example:
Crombie, J. N. (ca. 1868) [Gustav Von Tempsky]. Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira. PH-1961-2-52.
Object / Artefact example:
Mug, Crown Lynn Potteries Ltd, 1980s, Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira. 2014.19.67. © Auckland Museum CC BY
Restricted Images
All Rights Reserved
This statement means that the work is subject to copyright. It means that the work may not be copied, reproduced, or communicated without the copyright owner’s permission, except for purposes related to fair dealing, as defined by the New Zealand Copyright Act 1994 such as personal research or private study only.
Cultural Permissions Apply
Auckland Museum provides images of Māori and Pacific objects and associated information for personal research and private study only. If you wish to use images of Māori or Pacific objects for another purpose please read our Requesting Pacific Images or Requesting Māori Images guides and contact us for further information.
Copyright undetermined – untraced rights owner
This statement applies to works that are considered orphan works. This means the Museum has reproduced the work after a reasonable and documented effort to trace the copyright owner. Where the copyright in any material belongs to a third party, reasonable effort has been taken to identify the copyright owner.
If you are the owner of copyright material which you believe is available on this website in a way that constitutes an infringement of that copyright or a breach of an agreed licence or contract, please notify [email protected].