The British Museum
Rembrandt's depictions of women I Curator's Corner season 3 episode 5
Curator Olenka Horbatsch explains how Rembrandt's naturalistic depictions of women caused controversy in the 17th century. To find out more visit the British Museum blog: https://goo.gl/UYWbZ5 #CuratorsCorner #womeninart
The British Museum
Rock Art in the Green Sahara
The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert, spanning the entire northern part of Africa. Yet it hasn't always been dry -- archaeological and geological research shows that it has undergone major climatic changes over thousands of...
The British Museum
Living with gods: Inner voices
Professor Charles Fernyhough tells us about how examining the life 15th-century mystic, Margery Kempe can inform what we think about our own inner voices today. Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond 2 November 2017 – 8...
The British Museum
Living with gods: exhibition tour
Curator Jill Cook and John Studzinski CBE tour the Living with gods exhibition touching on some of the intriguing stories behind these fascinating objects. Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond 2 November 2017 – 8 April...
The British Museum
A sitar performance by Anoushka Shankar
One of Ravi Shankar’s sitars was donated to the British Museum and is now on display in the Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia. In this video, Shankar’s daughter Anoushka Shankar plays extracts from two compositions on the...
The British Museum
Living with gods: a secular icon from the Soviet era
Jill Cook decodes this huge, beautiful painting, created in the style of a renaissance icon in the 1980s the USSR. Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond 2 November 2017 – 8 April 2018 To find out more and book tickets,...
The British Museum
Living with gods: water serpents
Dragons, snakes and serpents appear connected with water across world belief and mythology. Professor Veronica Strang, Durham University, discusses the importance and prevalence of these beasts. Living with gods: peoples, places and...
The British Museum
Living with gods: coming to terms with death
Jill Cook discusses ways in which humans can express their fear of the unknown and their anxieties about death. Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond 2 November 2017 – 8 April 2018 To find out more and book tickets, visit:...
The British Museum
Living with gods: Siberian spirit of the hunt
In Siberia people did not worship in buildings instead they took their spirits with them on the hunt. Jill Cook, curator, shows us the Siberian spirit fo the hunt with his dog. Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond 2...
The British Museum
Making beauty: Hosono Hitomi
This series celebrates the work of living Japanese artists and craftspeople. Hosono Hitomi makes extraordinary, beautiful ceramic works and her ‘Large Feather Leaves Bowl’ is a highlight of the Museum’s Japanese collection. She...
The British Museum
Living with gods: the 40,000-year-old Lion Man
Curator Jill Cook introduces the 40,000-year-old sculpture of lion man. A figure made of mammoth ivory with the body of a man and the head of a cave lion. Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond 2 November 2017 – 8 April 2018...
The British Museum
Living with gods: the tale of Raven
Discover the story of Raven, who has always been, as he brings light to the world. Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond 2 November 2017 – 8 April 2018 To find out more and book tickets, visit: https://goo.gl/LFbJD3...
The British Museum
The Iraq Scheme update: digs and discoveries
The Iraq Emergency Heritage Management Training Scheme is a programme funded by the UK government. The training consists of two months based in London at the British Museum, followed by two months of hands-on training at sites in Iraq....
The British Museum
Living with gods: Shiva lord of the dance
Curator Jill Cook decodes this beautiful sculpture of Shiva. Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond 2 November 2017 – 8 April 2018 To find out more and book tickets, visit: https://goo.gl/MWkNGD Supported by the Genesis...
The British Museum
How to perform necromancy with Irving Finkel
Ever wanted to know how to summon an ancient Mesopotamian ghost? Curator Irving Finkel can show you how by revealing his favourite magic ritual from over 2,700 years ago. You can find this cuneiform tablet featuring necromancy on the...
The British Museum
Living with gods
For thousands of years people have believed... Beliefs in spiritual beings and worlds beyond nature are characteristic of all human societies. By looking at how people believe this special exhibition provides a perspective on what makes...
The British Museum
Portraits and propaganda of Queen Elizabeth I of England | Curator's Corner Season 2 Episode 8
Dora Thornton, Curator of Renaissance Europe, details how Queen Elizabeth I used her portrait to manipulate her public and private image. To find out more you can read Dora's blog about Elizabeth I here: https://goo.gl/dndyuJ
The British Museum
Conserving Vulture Peak | Episode 10: Stitching the support fabric
In this episode Hannah describes how they go about stitching the support fabric to the front of the embroidery to keep things in place. The embroidery dates from China’s Tang dynasty (AD 618–907). It depicts the Buddha preaching at...
The British Museum
Conserving Vulture Peak | Episode 9: Turning the Embroidery
In this week's episode, Hannah and colleagues from the rest of the conservation team flip the embroidery so that we can see the right side up again. The embroidery dates from China’s Tang dynasty (AD 618–907). It depicts the Buddha...
The British Museum
Conserving Vulture Peak | Episode 5: Surface cleaning
In this week's episode, Hannah starts the painstaking task of dry cleaning the embroidery to remove any particulate soiling from the object. The embroidery dates from China’s Tang dynasty (AD 618–907). It depicts the Buddha preaching at...
The British Museum
Conserving Vulture Peak | Episode 6: Backing fabric
This week conservators Hannah and Monique choose and prepare the new backing fabric for the Vulture Peak embroidery. The embroidery dates from China’s Tang dynasty (AD 618–907). It depicts the Buddha preaching at Vulture Peak – in...
The British Museum
Conserving Vulture Peak | Episode 7: Removing the old restoration
In this week's episode, Hannah and Monique remove the old restoration fabric from the back of the embroidery. In doing so they're revealing the back of the embroidery. The embroidery dates from China’s Tang dynasty (AD 618–907). It...
The British Museum
Conserving Vulture Peak | Episode 8: Examining the back of the embroidery
This week, Hannah investigates the back of the embroidery. Using a UV lamp she can further investigate the different dyes used in the embroidery as well as the stitches used to construct the embroidery. The embroidery dates from China’s...
The British Museum
How Aldwych Station saved British Museum objects from the Blitz
On 23 August 1939 it was announced in the press that the Anglo-Saxon treasures recently excavated at Sutton Hoo had been given to the British Museum. These amazing objects would be displayed in their entirety, for anyone to see, free of...