The British Museum (London Museum #9)

The British Museum(a museum of the world, for the world) celebrated its 255th anniversary last week so I thought it would be appropriate to take you on a quick tour.

The National Museums in the UK are free and are all worth a visit but if you are only here for a short time that can be difficult.There are free 30 - 40 minute daily tours in different rooms of the British Museum but for those of you unlikely to be able to visit, here is a little peek at some of the exhibits.

Mummies lying around in the Egyptian room

The Royal Game of Ur: A popular game played in  the Ancient world for about 3000 years.
In  at least 6 graves in the Royal Cemetery  wooden game boards inlaid with shell, red limestone and lapiz lazuli were found. This game was found in grave PG 513, Ur.

Glazed brick panel showing a roaring lion. This was from the reign of NebuchadnezzarII (605-562BC) and was found in Babylon, Southern Iraq.

The Portland Vase - cameo glass possibly made in Rome 15 BC-AD 25. Cameo glass means it is made from two layers of glass where the outer layer is white and is carved away to reveal the inner blue layer. This piece is one of the finest surviving pieces of Roman glass. It is said that this was the inspiration for Wedgewood pottery made in Britain from the mid 18th cent.

Black figured Panathenaic amphora showing a boxing contest made in Athens for the Panathenaic festival of 336BC

Wine jug dating back to 420-400BC showing a two horse chariot race. My favourite piece of Greek art is the sculpture of the discus thrower but that is on loan to Glasgow, Scotland at the moment for an exhibition to celebrate the Commonwealth Games

The Lewis Chessmen.
 These chess pieces are made from carved walrus ivory and were discovered on the Isle of Lewis, Western Isles, Scotland in 1831.

Altogether they found 93 medieval  chess pieces , some of which are here and the rest are in the National Museum of Scotland.

Samurai Armour and helmet.
This display has been put together from a collection of different pieces of armour made between 1500 and 1800. Originally the armour was used as a protection against arrows but in the 1500s the Portuguese used guns as weapons and the Japanese added a  thick metal bullet proof chest plate.

Amitabha Buddha (AD581-618). This giant marble figure represents the Buddha of Infinite Light. It was presented to the Museum by the Chinese Government in 1938.

Cloisonne jar with dragons. This was made for a Ming Dynasty Emperor AD1426-35

Island statue  Hoa Hakanana circa 1400. This statue was donated to the Museum by Queen Victoria in 1869.

Throne of weapons.
Made in Mozambique, 2001
During the Mozambique civil war seven million guns found their way into the country. After the war the people were encouraged to exchange weapons for tools and machinery. Artists then turned the decommissioned weapons into sculptures

The Rosetta Stone.
This was the key to deciphering hieroglyphs

The Rosetta Stone carries an inscription in different languages which helped decipher the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic  script. At the top of the stone the decree is written in hieroglyphics, the middle the same decree was written in Demotic, the everyday langusge of the Egyptians and at the bottom the same decree was written in Greek.

These reliefs are from Assyria and show the Royal Lion Hunts. They were carved about 645-635 BC

This room was built especially to hold the marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens. The Parthenon was built between 447 and 438 BC and was dedicated to the goddess Athena

During 1687 the Parthenon was being used as a Turkish Garrison and it was reduced to ruins when gunpowder that was stored there exploded. At the beginning of the 19th cent Lord Elgin had the sculptures removed from the ruins and brought them back to England. An act of Parliament gave them to the British Museum in 1816. Other sculptures from the Parthenon can be seen in the museums of Athens, Paris and Copenhagen. The sculptures are commonly referred to as the 'Elgin Marbles' and are a source of controversy as to whether they should be on display here or be returned to Greece.

I hope you've enjoyed this short tour. The British Museum owns approx 6,000,000 artifacts of which only a small percentage are on display at any one time. Many are loaned to Museums throughout the world whilst others may never see the light of day. The artifacts are used to tell us about the history of the world in which we live and the stories they can tell are fascinating. I have only shown you a handful of some of my favourites. Maybe one day you'll be able to visit and choose your own special pieces.

Linking with Our World Tuesday