London - British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history together with civilization inwards London. Its collections, which number to a greater extent than than 7 ane chiliad k objects, are amongst the largest together with most comprehensive inwards the globe together with originate from all continents, illustrating together with documenting the story of human civilization from its beginnings to the present.

The centre of the museum was redeveloped inwards 2001 to boot the bucket the Great Court, surrounding the original Reading Room

The British Museum was established inwards 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician together with scientist Sir Hans Sloane. The museum firstly opened to earth on fifteen Jan 1759 inwards Montagu House inwards Bloomsbury, on the site of the electrical current museum building. Its expansion over the next ii together with a one-half centuries was largely a number of an expanding British colonial footprint together with has resulted inwards the creation of several branch institutions, the firstly existence the British Museum (Natural History) inwards South Kensington inwards 1887. Some objects inwards the collection, most notably the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, are the objects of intense tilt together with of calls for restitution to their countries of origin.

The re-opened Duveen Gallery, (1980)

Until 1997, when the British Library (previously centred on the Round Reading Room) moved to a novel site, the British Museum was unique inwards that it housed both a national museum of antiquities together with a national library inwards the same building. The museum is a non-departmental world trunk sponsored past times the Department for Culture, Media together with Sport, together with every bit with all other national museums inwards the UK of Britain together with Northern Republic of Ireland it charges no admission fee. Since 2002 the managing director of the museum has been Neil MacGregor.

African Garden - The British Museum Facade - created past times BBC TV programme Ground Force

 The entrance to the museum

Departments

Department of Ancient Arab Republic of Egypt together with Sudan

The British Museum houses the world's largest together with most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities exterior the Egyptian Museum inwards Cairo. H5N1 collection of immense importance for its hit together with quality, it includes objects of all periods from virtually every site of importance inwards Arab Republic of Egypt together with the Sudan. Together they illustrate every human face of the cultures of the Nile Valley (including Nubia), from the Predynastic Neolithic flow (c. 10,000 BC) through to the Coptic (Christian) times (12th century AD), a time-span over 11,000 years.

 The King's Library

Egyptian antiquities bring formed business office of the British Museum collection always since its foundation inwards 1753 after receiving 160 Egyptian objects from Sir Hans Sloane. After the defeat of the French forces nether Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile inwards 1801, the Egyptian antiquities collected were confiscated past times the British regular army together with presented to the British Museum inwards 1803. These works, which included the famed Rosetta Stone, were the firstly of import grouping of large sculptures to survive acquired past times the Museum. Thereafter, the UK appointed Henry Salt every bit consul inwards Arab Republic of Egypt who amassed a huge collection of antiquities. Most of the antiquities Salt collected were purchased past times the British Museum together with the Musée du Louvre. By 1866 the collection consisted of some 10,000 objects. Antiquities from excavations started to come upward to the Museum inwards the afterward 19th century every bit a number of the move of the Arab Republic of Egypt Exploration Fund nether the efforts of E.A. Wallis Budge. The collection stood at 57,000 objects past times 1924. Active back upward past times the Museum for excavations inwards Arab Republic of Egypt continued to number inwards useful acquisitions throughout the 20th century until changes inwards antiquities laws inwards Arab Republic of Egypt led to the intermission of policies allowing finds to survive exported. The size of the Egyptian collections forthwith stands at over 110,000 objects.

The British Museum, Great Court

In tumble 2001 the 8 ane chiliad k objects forming the Museum's permanent collection were farther expanded past times the add-on of vi ane chiliad k objects from the Wendorf Collection of Egyptian together with Sudanese Prehistory. These were donated past times Professor Fred Wendorf of Southern Methodist University inwards Texas, together with comprise the entire collection of artefacts together with environmental remains from his excavations betwixt 1963 together with 1997. They are inwards the attention of the Department of Ancient Arab Republic of Egypt together with Sudan.

The British Museum, Room iv - Colossal cherry granite statue of Amenhotep III (1350 BC)

The 7 permanent Egyptian galleries at the British Museum, which include its largest exhibition infinite (Room 4, for monumental sculpture), tin display solely 4% of its Egyptian holdings. The second-floor galleries bring a pick of the Museum's collection of 140 mummies together with coffins, the largest exterior Cairo.

Room iv - Egyptian Sculpture

A high proportion of the collection comes from tombs or contexts associated with the cult of the dead, together with it is these pieces, inwards detail the mummies, that stay amongst the most eagerly sought after exhibits past times visitors to the Museum.

Perennial favourites; a grouping of coffins for mummies

Key highlights of the collections include:

• The Rosetta Stone (196 BC)
• The Battlefield Palette, (circa 3500 to 3000 BC).
• Limestone statue of a married adult man together with married adult woman (1300 BC)
• Colossal bust of Ramesses II, the "Younger Memnon" (1250 BC)
• Colossal cherry granite statue of Amenhotep III (1350 BC)
• Colossal caput from a statue of Amenhotep III (1350 BC)

• Colossal limestone bust of Amenhotep III (1350 BC)
• Saite Sarcophagus of Satsobek
• Mummy of 'Ginger' which dates to virtually 3300 BC
• List of the kings of Arab Republic of Egypt from the Temple of Ramesses II (1250 BC)
• Limestone faux door of Ptahshepses (2380 BC)
• Granite statue of Senwosret III (1850 BC)
• Mummy of Cleopatra from Thebes (100 AD)
• Amarna tablets (Collection of 95 out of 382 tablets found, minute greatest inwards the globe after the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin (203 tablets) (1350 BC)[49]
• Obelisk of Pharaoh Nectanebo II (360–343 BC)
• Gayer-Anderson cat

The British Museum, Room 83 - Roman Sculpture

Department of Greek together with Roman Antiquities

The Department of Greek together with Roman Antiquities of the British Museum has ane of the world's largest together with most comprehensive collections of antiquities from the Classical world, with over 100,000 objects. These generally hit inwards appointment from the commencement of the Greek Bronze Age (about 3200BC) to the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine I inwards the fourth century AD, with some infidel survivals.[citation needed]

The British Museum, Room 21 - Mausoleum of Halikarnassos

The Cycladic, Minoan together with Mycenaean cultures are represented, together with the Greek collection includes of import sculpture from the Parthenon inwards Athens, every bit good every bit elements of ii of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos together with the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos.

The British Museum, Room 10 - Human Headed Winged Bulls from Khorsabad, companion pieces inwards the Musée du Louvre

The Department also houses ane of the widest-ranging collections of Italic together with Etruscan antiquities together with extensive groups of cloth from Cyprus. The collections of ancient jewellery together with bronzes, Greek vases together with Roman drinking glass together with silverish are especially important.

Key highlights of the collections include:

Cyrus Cylinder; is regarded past times many every bit the world’s firstly documented charter of human rights

Athenian Akropolis

The Parthenon Gallery (Elgin Marbles)

Erechtheion

One of vi remaining Caryatids

Surviving Column

Athena Nike

Surviving Frieze Slabs

Bassae Sculptures

Twenty 3 surviving blocks of the frieze from the interior of the temple are exhibited on an upper level.

Room iv - Egyptian Sculpture

The British Museum, Room 21 - Mausoleum of HalikarnassosMausoleum of Halikarnassos

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Two colossal free-standing figures identified every bit Maussollos together with his married adult woman Artemisia.

Part of an impressive Equus caballus from the chariot grouping adorning the summit of the Mausoleum

The Amazonomachy frieze - H5N1 long subdivision of relief frieze showing the battle betwixt Greeks together with Amazons

Temple of Artemis at Ephesos

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Room 10 - Khorsabad Palace Reliefs

Asia Minor

Nereid Monument

Partial reconstruction of the Monument, a large together with elaborate Lykian tomb from the site of Xanthos inwards south-west Turkey

Payava Tomb from Xanthos inwards southward due west Turkey

Wider Museum Collection

Material from the Palace of Knossos

Portland Vase

The Warren Cup

Discus-thrower (Discobolos)

Towneley Sculptures

The British Museum, Room 6 - Assyrian Sculpture

Department of the Middle East

Formerly the Department of the Ancient Near East, the Department recently[when?] became the Department of the Middle East when the collections from the Islamic globe were moved from the Department of Asia into this department.

Room nine - Nineveh Palace Reliefs

With unopen to 330,000 objectsin the collection, the British Museum has the greatest collection of Mesopotamian antiquities exterior Iraq. The holdings of Assyrian, Babylonian together with Sumerian antiquities are amongst the most comprehensive inwards the world.

The British Museum, Room 6 - Pair of Human Headed Winged Lions together with Reliefs from Nimrud with The Gates of Balawat

The collections stand upward for the civilisations of the ancient Near East together with its next areas. These include Mesopotamia, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula, Anatolia, the Caucasus, parts of Central Asia, Syria, Palestine together with Phoenician settlements inwards the western Mediterranean from the prehistoric flow until the commencement of Islam inwards the seventh century.

Room 10 - Nineveh, The Royal Lion Hunt

The collection includes vi iconic winged human-headed statues from Nimrud together with Khorsabad. Stone bas-reliefs, including the famous Royal Lion Hunt relief's (Room 10), that were found inwards the palaces of the Assyrian kings at Nimrud together with Nineveh. The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh together with Sumerian treasures found inwards Royal Cemetery's at Ur of the Chaldees.

Room 89 - Nimrud & Nineveh Palace Reliefs

The earliest Mesopotamian objects to come inwards collections purchased past times the British Museum inwards 1772 from Sir William Hamilton. The Museum also acquired at this early on appointment a number of sculptures from Persepolis. The next pregnant add-on (in 1825) was from the collection of Claudius James Rich. The collection was dramatically enlarged past times the excavations of A. H. Layard at the Assyrian sites of Nimrud together with Nineveh betwixt 1845–1851.

The British Museum, Room 55 - Cuneiform Collection, including the Epic of Gilgamesh

At Nimrud, Layard discovered the North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, every bit good every bit 3 other palaces together with various temples. He also opened inwards the Palace of Sennacherib at Nineveh with 'no less than seventy-one halls'. As a number a large numbers of Lamassu's, bas-reliefs, stelae, including the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III were brought to the British Museum.

Room eighteen - Parthenon Freize

Layard's move was continued past times his assistant, Hormuzd Rassam together with inwards 1852–1854 he went on to uncovering the North Palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh with many magnificent reliefs, including the famous Royal Lion Hunt scenes. He also discovered the Royal Library of Ashurbanipal, a large collection of cuneiform tablets of enormous importance.

W. K. Loftus excavated inwards Nimrud betwixt 1850–1855 together with found a remarkable hoard of ivories inwards the Burnt Palace. Between 1878–1882 Rassam greatly improved the Museum's holdings with exquisite objects including the Cyrus Cylinder from Babylon, the bronze gates from Balawat, together with a fine collection of Urartian bronzes. Rassam collected thousands of cuneiform tablets, today with the acquisition of farther tablets inwards the 20th century, the collection forthwith numbers around 130,000 pieces.

Room eighteen - Ancient Greece

In the 20th century excavations were carried out at Carchemish, Turkey, betwixt 1911–1914 together with inwards 1920 past times D. G. Hogarth together with Leonard Woolley, the latter assisted past times T. E. Lawrence. The Mesopotamian collections were greatly augmented past times excavations inwards southern Republic of Iraq after the First World War. From Tell al-Ubaid inwards 1919 together with 1923–1924, directed past times H. R. Hall came the bronze furnishings of a Sumerian temple, including life-sized lions together with a panel featuring the lion-headed eagle Indugud. Woolley went onto to excavate Ur betwixt 1922–1934, discovering the 'Royal Cemeteries' of the third millennium BC. Some of the masterpieces include the 'Standard of Ur', the 'Ram inwards a Thicket', the 'Royal Game of Ur', together with ii bull-headed lyres.

Room 84 - Towneley Sculptures
Although the collections centre on Mesopotamia most of the surrounding areas are well-represented. The Achaemenid collection was enhanced with the add-on of the Oxus Treasure inwards 1897, past times acquisition from the German linguistic communication scholar Ernst Herzfeld, together with hence past times the move of Sir Aurel Stein. From Palmyra at that topographic point is a large collection of nearly 40 funerary busts, acquired inwards the 19th century.

Room xix - Athens, Erechtheion Sculptures from the Acropolis

 A grouping of rock reliefs from the excavations of Max von Oppenheim at Tell Halaf, purchased inwards 1920. More excavated cloth from the excavations of Max Mallowan at Chagar Bazar together with Tell Brak inwards 1935–1938, together with from Woolley at Alalakh inwards the years only earlier together with after the Second World War. The collection of Palestinian cloth was strengthened with the acquisition inwards 1980 of around 17,000 objects found at Lachish past times the Wellcome-Marston expedition of 1932–1938.

Amravati Gallery

A representative selection, including the most of import pieces, are on display inwards thirteen galleries together with total some 4500 objects. The residue cast the report collection which ranges inwards size from beads to large sculptures. They include unopen to 130,000 cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia.

Painting past times Chinese creative individual Gu Kaizhi, c. 380 AD.

The museum's collection of Islamic art, including archaeological material, numbers virtually 40,000 objects, ane of the largest of its form inwards the world. As such, it contains a broad hit of Islamic pottery, paintings, tiles, metalwork, glass, seals, together with inscriptions.

Key highlights of the collections include: Nimrud:

Alabaster bas-reliefs from:

The North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II

Central- Palace of Tiglath-Pileser III

South-West Palace of Esarhaddon

Palace of Adad-Nirari III

South-East Palace ('Burnt Palace')

The Nabu Temple (Ezida)

The Sharrat-Niphi Temple

Temple of Ninurta

Room five - Exhibitions Panorama

 Sculptures:

Pair of Human Headed 'Lamassu' Lions (883-859 BC)

Human Headed 'Lamassu' Bull (883-859 BC), sis slice inwards The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Human Headed 'Lamassu' Lion (883-859 BC), sis slice inwards The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Colossal Statue of a Lion (883-859 BC)

Rare Head of Human Headed 'Lamassu', recovered from the South-West Palace of Esarhaddon

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (858-824 BC)

 

Room five - The Persepolis Casts

Nineveh:

Alabaster bas-reliefs from:

North-Palace of Ashurbanipal

Royal Lion Hunt Scenes

The 'Dying Lion', long been acclaimed every bit a masterpiece

The 'Garden Party' Relief

South-West Palace of Sennacherib

 Royal Library of Ashurbanipal:

A large collection of cuneiform tablets of enormous importance unopen to 22,000 inscribed clay tablets

The Flood Tablet, relating business office of the famous Epic of Gilgamesh

Khorsabad:

Alabaster bas-reliefs from the Palace of Sargon II

Pair of Human Headed Winged 'Lamassu' Bulls

 Wider Collection:

Cyrus Cylinder, from Babylon

The Balawat Gates of Shalmaneser III

A fine collection of Urartian bronzes, which forthwith cast the gist of the Anatolian collection

The Oxus Treasure

The Standard of Ur

The 'Ram inwards a Thicket'

The Royal Game of Ur

Queen's Lyre

 Painting past times Chinese creative individual Gu Kaizhi, c. 380 AD.

Department of Prints together with Drawings

The British Museum, Room ninety - Michelangelo's Epifania - his solely surviving large scale cartoon.The Department of Prints together with Drawings holds the national collection of Western Prints together with Drawings. It ranks every bit ane of the largest together with best impress room collections inwards existence amongst the Albertina inwards Vienna, the Paris collections together with the Hermitage. The holdings are easily accessible to the full general world inwards the Study Room, dissimilar many such collections. The Department also has its ain exhibition gallery inwards Room 90, where the displays together with exhibitions alter several times a year.

Portrait of Ibrâhîm 'Âdil Shâh II (1580–1626), Mughal Empire of India, 1615 AD

Since its foundation inwards 1808 the Prints together with Drawings collection has grown to international renown every bit ane of the richest together with most representative collections inwards the world. There are unopen to 50,000 drawings together with over ii ane chiliad k prints.

Room five - Exhibitions Relics

The collection of drawings covers the flow from the 14th century to the present, together with includes many plant of the highest character past times the leading artists of the European schools. The collection of prints covers the tradition of fine printmaking from its beginnings inwards the 15th century upward to the present, with close consummate holdings of most of the bully names earlier the 19th century.

A Hamsa sacred swan vessel made of crystal, from Gandhara, 1st century AD.

There are magnificent groups of drawings past times Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, (including his solely surviving full-scale cartoon), Dürer (a collection of 138 drawings is ane of the finest inwards existence), Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Claude together with Watteau, together with largely consummate collections of the plant of all the bully printmakers including Dürer (99 engravings, 6 etchings together with most of his 346 woodcuts), Rembrandt together with Goya. More than 30,000 British drawings together with watercolours include of import examples of move past times Hogarth, Sandby, Turner, Girtin, Constable, Cotman, Cox, Gillray, Rowlandson together with Cruikshank, every bit good every bit all the bully Victorians. There are virtually a ane chiliad k British prints including to a greater extent than than 20,000 satires together with outstanding collections of plant past times William Blake together with Thomas Bewick.

Otobo masquerade

Department of Asia 

The range of the Department of Asia is extremely broad, its collections of over 75,000 objects covers the cloth civilization of the whole Asian continent (from East, South, Central together with South-East Asia) together with from the Neolithic upward to the acquaint day.

Key highlights of the collections include:

The most comprehensive collection of sculpture from the Indian subcontinent inwards the world, including the celebrated Buddhist limestone reliefs from Amaravati[61]

An outstanding collection of Chinese antiquities, paintings, together with porcelain, lacquer, bronze, jade, together with other applied arts

A fine collection of Buddhist paintings from Dunhuang together with the Admonitions Scroll past times Chinese creative individual Gu Kaizhi (344–406 AD)

The most comprehensive collection of Japanese pre-20th century fine art inwards the Western world.

The Royal Gold Cup, French, c. 1390 inwards gold, jewels together with enamel. Saint Agnes appears to her friends inwards a vision

Department of Africa

The British Museum houses ane of the world's greatest together with most comprehensive collections of Ethnographic cloth from Africa, Oceania together with the Americas, representing the cultures of indigenous peoples throughout the world. Over 350,000 objects spanning ii ane chiliad k years tells the story of the history of man, from 3 major continents together with many rich together with various cultures.[citation needed]

Main Staircase, Discobolus of Myron (the Discus-Thrower)

The Sainsbury African Galleries display 600 objects from the greatest permanent collection of African arts together with civilization inwards the world. The 3 permanent galleries supply a substantial exhibition infinite for the Museum's African collection comprising over 200,000 objects. H5N1 curatorial range that encompasses both archaeological together with contemporary material, including both unique masterpieces of artistry together with objects of everyday life.

A few of the Elgin Marbles (also known every bit the Parthenon Marbles) from the East Pediment of the Parthenon

The British Museum, Room 24 - The Wellcome Trust Gallery with Hoa Hakananai'a inwards the centre