Cultural Heritage MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to European cultural heritage collections and artworks.

Features

• Search cultural heritage items by artist, title, type, or description

• Get detailed information about specific artworks

• Browse collections by cultural institution

• AI-powered recommendations based on user interests

• Access to famous artworks from major European museums

Related MCP server: open-museum-mcp

Available Tools

search_cultural_heritage(query: str, limit: int = 5)

Search for cultural heritage items from European institutions.

Parameters:

• query: Search term (artist name, artwork title, type, etc.)

• limit: Maximum number of results to return (default: 5)

Returns:

• Formatted list of cultural heritage items with details

get_artwork_details(artwork_id: str)

Get detailed information about a specific artwork.

Parameters:

• artwork_id: Unique identifier of the artwork

Returns:

• Detailed artwork information including description, provenance, and technical details

get_collections_by_institution(institution_name: str)

Get artworks from a specific museum or cultural institution.

Parameters:

• institution_name: Name of the cultural institution (e.g., "Louvre", "British Museum")

Returns:

• List of cultural items from the specified institution

get_cultural_recommendations(user_interest: str)

Get AI-powered recommendations based on user interests.

Parameters:

• user_interest: User's cultural interests (e.g., "modern art", "renaissance", "impressionist")

Returns:

• Personalized recommendations for cultural heritage exploration

Sample Data

The server includes famous artworks from major institutions:

• The Starry Night (Van Gogh) - Museum of Modern Art

• Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci) - Louvre Museum

• The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Hokusai) - British Museum

• Girl with a Pearl Earring (Vermeer) - Mauritshuis

• The Persistence of Memory (Dalí) - Museum of Modern Art

• The Birth of Venus (Botticelli) - Uffizi Gallery

Installation

1. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Run the server:

python server.py

Usage Examples

• Search: "Van Gogh", "painting", "renaissance"

• Get details: artwork ID "1", "2", etc.

• Institution: "Louvre", "Museum of Modern Art"

• Recommendations: "modern art", "classical paintings"

API Integration

This MCP server can be extended to integrate with:

• Europeana API (European cultural heritage)

• Museum APIs (Rijksmuseum, Met Museum, etc.)

• Digital library collections

• Archaeological databases