Department of Egypt and Sudan 'Pond in a Garden' from the
Tomb of Nebamun, , key to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, 196 BC The British Museum houses a collection of over 100,000
Egyptian antiquities from all periods and many sites of importance in
Egypt and the
Sudan. Together, they illustrate every aspect of the cultures of the
Nile Valley (including
Nubia), from the
Predynastic Neolithic period () through
Coptic (Christian) times (12th century
AD), and up to the present day, a time-span over 11,000 years.
Egyptian antiquities have formed part of the British Museum collection ever since its foundation in 1753 after receiving 160 Egyptian objects from Sir
Hans Sloane. After the defeat of the
French forces under
Napoleon at the
Battle of the Nile in 1801, the Egyptian antiquities collected were confiscated by the
British army and presented to the British Museum in 1803. These works, which included the famed
Rosetta Stone, were the first important group of large sculptures to be acquired by the museum. Thereafter, the UK appointed
Henry Salt as
consul in Egypt who amassed a huge collection of antiquities, some of which were assembled and transported with great ingenuity by the famous Italian explorer
Giovanni Belzoni. Most of the antiquities Salt collected were purchased by the British Museum and the
Musée du Louvre. By 1866, the collection consisted of some 10,000 objects. Antiquities from excavations started to come to the museum in the latter part of the 19th century as a result of the work of the
Egypt Exploration Fund under the efforts of
E. A. Wallis Budge. Over the years more than 11,000 objects came from this source, including pieces from
Amarna,
Bubastis and
Deir el-Bahari. Other organisations and individuals also excavated and donated objects to the British Museum, including
Flinders Petrie's Egypt Research Account and the British School of Archaeology in Egypt, as well as the
University of Oxford Expedition to
Kawa and
Faras in Sudan. , 1350 BC Active support by the museum for excavations in Egypt continued to result in important acquisitions throughout the 20th century until changes in antiquities laws in Egypt led to the suspension of policies allowing finds to be exported, although divisions still continue in Sudan. The British Museum conducted its own excavations in Egypt where it received divisions of finds, including
Asyut (1907),
Mostagedda and Matmar (1920s),
Ashmunein (1980s) and sites in Sudan such as
Soba, Kawa and the Northern
Dongola Reach (1990s). The size of the Egyptian collections now stand at over 110,000 objects. In autumn 2001, the eight million objects forming the museum's permanent collection were further expanded by the addition of six million objects from the Wendorf Collection of
Egyptian and
Sudanese Prehistory. These were donated by Professor
Fred Wendorf of
Southern Methodist University in
Texas, and comprise the entire collection of artefacts and environmental remains from his excavations at Prehistoric sites in the
Sahara Desert between 1963 and 1997. Other fieldwork collections have recently come from Dietrich and Rosemarie Klemm (
University of Munich) and William Adams (
University of Kentucky). The seven permanent Egyptian galleries at the British Museum, which include its largest exhibition space (Room 4, for monumental sculpture), can display only 4% of its Egyptian holdings. The second-floor galleries have a selection of the museum's collection of 140
mummies and coffins, the largest outside
Cairo. A high proportion of the collection comes from tombs or contexts associated with the cult of the dead, and it is these pieces, in particular the mummies, that remain among the most eagerly sought-after exhibits by visitors to the museum. Highlights of the collections include:
Predynastic and Early Dynastic period () • Mummy of
Ginger and five other individuals from Gebelein () • Flint knife with an ivory handle (known as the
Pit-Rivers Knife), Sheikh Hamada, Egypt () • The
Battlefield Palette and
Hunters Palette, two cosmetic palettes with complex decorative schemes () • Ivory statuette of a king, from the early temple at
Abydos, Egypt () •
King Den's
sandal label from Abydos, mid-1st Dynasty () • Stela of King
Peribsen, Abydos ()
Old Kingdom (2690–2181 BC) • Artefacts from the tomb of King
Khasekhemwy from the 2nd Dynasty (2690 BC) • Granite statue of Ankhwa, the shipbuilder,
Saqqara, Egypt, 3rd Dynasty (c. 2650 BC) • Several of the original casing stones from the
Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (c. 2570 BC) • Small
dolerite ball and copper hook from the Queen's Chamber of the
Great Pyramid of Giza, 4th Dynasty (c. 2570 BC) • Limestone false door of
Ptahshepses, Saqqara (2440 BC) •
Abusir Papyri, some of the oldest papyri from ancient Egypt, Abusir (2400 BC) • Wooden tomb statue of Tjeti, 5th to 6th Dynasty (c. 2345–2181 BC) • Statue of
Nenkhefetkai from
Dishasha, 6th Dynasty (c. 2200 BC)
Middle Kingdom (2134–1690 BC) • Inner and outer coffin of Sebekhetepi,
Beni Hasan (c. 2125–1795 BC) • Quartzite statue of Ankhrekhu, 12th Dynasty (1985–1795 BC) • Limestone stela of Heqaib,
Abydos, Egypt, 12th Dynasty (1990–1750 BC) • Block statue and stela of Sahathor, 12th Dynasty, reign of
Amenemhat II (1922–1878 BC) • Limestone statue and stelae from the offering chapel of Inyotef,
Abydos, 12th Dynasty () • Stela of Samontu, Abydos (1910 BC) • Reliefs from the tomb of
Djehutyhotep, Deir-el-Bersha (1878–1855 BC) • Three Granite statues of
Senwosret III,
Deir el-Bahri (1850 BC) • Statue of Rehuankh, Abydos (1850–1830 BC) • Colossal head of
Amenemhat III, Bubastis (1800 BC) • Stela of Nebipusenwosret, Abydos (1800 BC)
Second Intermediate Period (1650–1550 BC) • Coffin of King
Nubkheperre Intef, Thebes (1570 BC) • The famous
Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, an early example of
Ancient Egyptian mathematics,
Thebes (1550 BC)
New Kingdom (1549–1069 BC) • Schist head of Pharaoh
Hatshepsut or her successor
Tuthmosis III (1480 BC) • Statue of
Senenmut with Princess
Neferure on his lap,
Karnak (1470 BC) • Block statue of
Sennefer, Western Thebes (1430 BC) • Twenty
Sekhmet statues from the Temple of Mut,
Thebes (1400 BC) • Fragment of the beard of the
Great Sphinx of Giza (14th century BC) • Pair of granite
monumental lion statues from
Soleb in Sudan, (1370 BC) • Hoard of silver bullion from
El-Amarna (1352–1336 BC) •
Colossal head from a statue of Amenhotep III (1350 BC) • Colossal limestone bust of
Amenhotep III (1350 BC) •
Amarna Tablets, 99 out of 382
tablets found, second largest collection in the world after the Vorderasiatisches Museum,
Berlin (203 tablets) (1350 BC) • Stela of
Horemheb from his tomb at
Saqqara (1330 BC) •
London Medical Papyrus with 61 medical and magical treatments (1300 BC) •
Papyrus of Ani, one of the finest extant
Book of the Dead from antiquity,
Thebes (1275 BC) •
List of the kings of Egypt from the
Temple of Ramesses II (1250 BC) • Statue of
Khaemwaset, son of
Ramses II, Abydos (1250 BC) • The
Great Harris Papyrus, the longest surviving papyrus from antiquity, Thebes (1200 BC) •
D'Orbiney Papyrus with the Tale of Two Brothers (1200–1194 BC) • Seated statue of
Seti II, Temple of Mut,
Karnak (1200–1194 BC) • Face from the sarcophagus of
Ramses VI, Valley of the Kings (1140 BC) • Book of the Dead of
Nedjmet with painted offering-vignettes and columns of
Hieroglyphic text, Deir el-Bahari (1070 BC)
Third Intermediate Period (1069–664 BC) •
Greenfield papyrus,
funerary papyrus of Princess
Nesitanebetashru, daughter of
Pinudjem II and
Neskhons, and priestess of Amen-Ra at Thebes (950–930 BC) • Pair of gold bracelets that belonged to General
Nemareth, son of
Shoshenq I,
Sais (940 BC) • Colossal column capital of
Hathor from
Bubastis, 22nd Dynasty (922–887 BC) • Statue of the Nile god
Hapi, Karnak () • Mummy case and coffin of Nesperennub,
Thebes () •
Shabaka Stone from Memphis, Egypt, 25th Dynasty () • Coffin of king
Menkaure, Giza (700–600 BC) • One of the three
statues of Amun in the form of a ram protecting King Taharqo,
Kawa (683 BC) • Inner and outer coffins of the priest Hor, Deir el-Bahari, Thebes, 25th Dynasty () • Granite statue of the
Sphinx of Taharqo (680 BC)
Late Period (664–332 BC) • Saite Sarcophagus of
Sasobek, the vizier (prime minister) of the northern part of Egypt in the reign of
Psammetichus I (664–610 BC) • Sarcophagus lid of Sasobek (630 BC) • Bronze figure of Isis and Horus, North
Saqqara, Egypt (600 BC) • Sarcophagus of Hapmen, Cairo, 26th Dynasty or later (600–300 BC) • Kneeling statue of
Wahibre, from near
Lake Mariout (530 BC) •
Sarcophagus of
Ankhnesneferibre (525 BC) • Torso of
Nectanebo I (380–362 BC) •
Obelisks and sarcophagus of Pharaoh
Nectanebo II (360–343 BC) • Sarcophagus of
Nectanebo II, Alexandria (360–343 BC)
Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BC) • The famous
Rosetta Stone, trilingual stela that unlocked the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics (196 BC) •
Naos or temple shrine of
Ptolemy VIII from
Philae (150 BC) • Giant sculpture of a
scarab beetle (32–30 BC) • Fragment of a basalt Egyptian-style statue of
Ptolemy I Soter (305–283 BC) • Mummy of
Hornedjitef (inner coffin), Thebes (3rd century BC) • Wall from a chapel of Queen
Shanakdakhete,
Meroë () •
Shrine of
Ptolemy VII, Philae ()
Roman Period (30 BC – 641 AD) • Schist head of a young man,
Alexandria (after 30 BC) • The Meriotic
Hamadab Stela from the
Kingdom of Kush found near the ancient site of Meroë in Sudan, 24 BC • Lid of the coffin of Soter and Cleopatra from Qurna, Thebes (early 2nd century AD) • Mummy of a youth with a portrait of the deceased,
Hawara (100–200 AD) • Over 30
Fayum mummy portraits from
Hawara and other sites in
Fayum (40–250 AD) • Bronze lamp and patera from the X-group tombs,
Qasr Ibrim (1st–6th centuries AD) • Coptic wall painting of the
martyrdom of saints, Wadi Sarga (6th century AD) File:Colossal bust of Ramesses II in the British Museum.jpg|Room 4 – Colossal bust of
Ramesses II, known as the
Younger Memnon, File:BD Ani before Osiris.jpg|Ani before
Osiris, from the
Book of the Dead of Ani, File:Bm-ginger.jpg|Room 64 – Egyptian grave containing a
Gebelein predynastic mummy, late
predynastic, 3400 BC File:London - British Museum - 2273.jpg|Room 4 – Three black granite statues of the pharaoh
Senusret III, File:ThreeStatuesOfGoddessSakhmet-ProfileView-BritishMuseum-August19-08.jpg|Room 4 – Three black granite statues of the goddess
Sakhmet, File:British Museum Egypt 086.JPG|Room 4 – Colossal statue of Amenhotep III, File:Colossal quartzite head of Amenhotep III, British Museum EA7.jpg|Great Court –
Colossal quartzite statue of Amenhotep III, File:Egyptian Couple BM (1).JPG|Room 4 – Limestone
statue of a husband and wife, 1300–1250 BC File:P1050700 (5022075232).jpg|Room 63 – Gilded outer coffins from the tomb of
Henutmehyt, Thebes, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, 1250 BC File:Book of the Dead of Hunefer sheet 5.jpg|Book of the Dead of
Hunefer, sheet 5, 19th Dynasty, 1250 BC File:British Museum Egypt 101.jpg|Room 4 – Ancient Egyptian bronze statue of a
cat from the Late Period, –332 BC File:British Museum Egypt 107.jpg|Room 4 – Green siltstone head of a Pharaoh, 26th–30th Dynasty, 600–340 BC File:The black siltstone obelisk of Pharaoh Nectanebo II, c.350 BCE. From Cairo, Egypt. British Museum.jpg|Great Court – Black siltstone
obelisk of King Nectanebo II of Egypt, Thirtieth dynasty, File:Fayum-66.jpg|Room 62 – Detail from the mummy case of Artemidorus the Younger, a Greek who had settled in
Thebes, Egypt, during Roman times, 100–200 AD
Department of Greece and Rome , marbles from the
Acropolis of Athens, 447 BC , one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, mid-4th century BC The British Museum has one of the world's largest and most comprehensive collections of antiquities from the
Classical world, with over 100,000 objects. These mostly range in date from the beginning of the
Greek Bronze Age (about 3200 BC) to the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, with the
Edict of Milan under the reign of the
Roman emperor Constantine I in 313 AD. Archaeology was in its infancy during the nineteenth century and many pioneering individuals began excavating sites across the Classical world, chief among them for the museum were
Charles Newton,
John Turtle Wood,
Robert Murdoch Smith and
Charles Fellows. The Greek objects originate from across the Ancient Greek world, from the mainland of Greece and the Aegean Islands, to neighbouring lands in Asia Minor and Egypt in the eastern Mediterranean and as far as the western lands of
Magna Graecia that include Sicily and southern Italy. The
Cycladic,
Minoan and
Mycenaean cultures are represented, and the Greek collection includes important sculpture from the
Parthenon in Athens, as well as elements of two of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the
Temple of Artemis at
Ephesus. • Fragments from a large bronze
equestrian statue of the
Taranto Rider, southern Italy (480–460 BC) •
Chatsworth Apollo Head, Tamassos, Cyprus (460 BC) • Statue of recumbent bull from the
Dipylon Cemetery, Athens (4th century BC) • Hoard of gold jewellery from
Avola, Sicily (370–300 BC) •
Dedicatory inscription by Alexander the Great from Priene in Turkey (330 BC) • Head from the colossal statue of the
Asclepius of Milos, Greece (325–300 BC) •
Braganza Brooch, Ornamental gold fibula reflecting Celtic and Greek influences (3rd century BC) • Hoard of silver
patera from
Èze, southeastern France (3rd century BC) •
Gold tablet from an Orphic sanctuary in southern Italy (3rd–2nd centuries BC) • Marble relief of the
Apotheosis of Homer from
Bovillae, central Italy (221–205 BC) • Bronze sculpture of a Greek poet known as the
Arundel Head, western Turkey (2nd–1st centuries BC) • Remains of the
Scylla monument at
Bargylia, south west Anatolia, Turkey (200–150 BC) •
Bronze head and hand of the statue of Aphrodite of Satala (1st century BC) •
Bronze statuettes from Paramythia (2nd century AD) • Large statue of
Europa sitting on the back of a bull from the amphitheatre at
Gortyna, Crete (100 BC)
Ancient Rome (1st century BC – 4th century AD) • Pair of engraved oval
agate plaques depicting
Livia as
Diana and
Octavian as
Mercury (Rome, 30–25 BC) •
Guildford Puteal from Corinth, Greece (30–10 BC) •
Bronze head of Augustus from Meroë in Sudan (27–25 BC) • Cameo glass
Portland Vase, the most famous glass vessel from ancient Rome (1–25 AD) • Silver
Warren Cup with homoerotic scenes, found near Jerusalem (5–15 AD) •
Gladius of Mainz (or "Sword of Tiberius") and
Blacas Cameo, depicting Roman emperors in triumph (15 AD) •
Horse trappings in decorated silver-plated bronze from Xanten, Germany (1st century AD) • Pair of carved fluorite cups known as the
Barber Cup and Crawford Cup (100 AD) • Athlete statue, "
Vaison Diadumenos", from an ancient Roman city in southern France (118–138 AD) • A hoard of silver votive plaques dedicated to the Roman God
Jupiter Dolichenus, discovered in
Heddernheim, near Frankfurt, Germany (1st–2nd centuries AD) •
Discus-thrower (Discobolos) and
Bronze Head of Hypnos from Civitella d'Arna, Italy (1st–2nd centuries AD) • Part of a large wooden wheel for draining a copper mine in
Huelva, southern Spain (1st–2nd centuries AD) • Capitals from some of the
pilasters of the
Pantheon, Rome (126 AD) • Colossal marble head of
Faustina the Elder, wife of the Roman emperor
Antoninus Pius from
Sardis, western Turkey (140 AD) • Marble throne from the prohedria of the
Panathenaic Stadium, Athens (140–143 AD) • Hoard of jewellery from a tomb in the vicinity of
Miletopolis, Turkey (175–180 AD) • Inscribed marble base of the Roman Consul
Tiberius Claudius Candidus, unearthed in
Tarragona, Spain (195–199 AD) •
Jennings Dog, a statue of a
Molossian guard dog, central Italy (2nd century AD) • Segment of a decorated marble
balustrade from the
Colosseum, Rome, Italy (2nd century AD) •
Politarch inscription from the Vardar Gate,
Thessaloniki, Greece (2nd century AD) • Two
Roman cavalry bronze parade masks from
Nola, Italy and
Gaziantep, Turkey, (2nd century AD) • Bronze tablet dedicated to Sextus Pompeius Maximus from the
Mithraeum at
Ostia, Italy (200 AD) • Various silver treasures found at
Arcisate,
Beaurains,
Boscoreale,
Bursa,
Chaourse,
Caubiac,
Chatuzange,
Conimbriga,
Mâcon and
Revel-Tourdan (1st–3rd century AD) • Votive statue of
Apollo of Cyrene, Libya (2nd century AD) •
Uerdingen Hoard found near Düsseldorf in Germany (2nd–3rd centuries AD) The collection encompasses architectural, sculptural and epigraphic items from many other sites across the classical world including
Amathus,
Atripalda,
Aphrodisias,
Delos,
Iasos,
Idalion,
Lindus,
Kalymnos,
Kerch,
Rhamnous,
Salamis,
Sestos,
Sounion,
Tomis and
Thessaloniki. File:Aegina treasure 01.jpg|Room 12 – A gold earring from the
Aegina Treasure, Greece, 1700–1500 BC File:BM; RM18 - GR, The Parthenon Galleries 1 Temple of Athena Parthenos (447-438 B.C) + North Slip Room, -Full Elevation & Viewing North-.JPG|Room 18 – Parthenon statuary from the east pediment and
Metopes from the south wall, Athens, Greece, 447–438 BC File:BM, GNR; The Acropolis & The late 5th C BC ~ Erechtheum Caryatid + Ionic Column (Room 19).jpg|Room 19 –
Caryatid and
Ionian column from the
Erechtheion,
Acropolis of Athens, Greece, 420–415 BC File:Tomb of Payava 2.jpg|Room 20 –
Tomb of Payava, Lycia, Turkey, 360 BC File:Fragmentary horse from the colossal four-horses chariot group which topped the podium of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, British Museum (8245662728).jpg|Room 21 – Fragmentary horse from the colossal chariot group which topped the podium of the
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Turkey, File:Gold wreath BM 1908.4-14.1.jpg|Room 22 – Gold oak wreath with a bee and two cicadas, western Turkey, File:Column drum Ephesus.JPG|Room 22 – Column from the
Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Turkey, early 4th century BC File:Asklepios Melos BM Sc550.jpg|Room 22 – Colossal
head of Asclepius wearing a metal crown (now lost), from a cult statue on
Melos, Greece, 325–300 BC File:Head and left hand from a bronze cult statue of Anahita, a local goddess shown here in the guide of Aphrodite, 200-100 BC, British Museum (8167358544).jpg|Room 22 – Bronze head and hand of an ancient
Hellenistic statue discovered in
Satala, Turkey, 200–100 BC File:SFEC BritMus Roman 011.JPG|Room 1 – Farnese
Hermes in the Enlightenment Gallery, Italy, 1st century AD File:GladiatorHelmetBM.jpg|Room 69 – Roman gladiator helmet from
Pompeii, Italy, 1st century AD File:Lely Venus BM 1963.jpg|Room 23 – The famous version of the '
Crouching Venus', Roman, File:Spinario-British Museum.jpg|Room 22 – Roman marble copy of the famous '
Spinario (Boy with Thorn)', Italy, File:Apollo Kitharoidos BM 1380.jpg|Room 22 –
Apollo of Cyrene (holding a
lyre), Libya,
Department of the Middle East ,
Nineveh, 701–681 BC and reliefs from
Nimrud with the
Balawat Gates, , 559–530 BC With a collection numbering some 330,000 works, the British Museum possesses the world's largest and most important collection of
Mesopotamian antiquities outside Iraq. A collection of immense importance, the holdings of
Assyrian sculpture,
Babylonian and
Sumerian antiquities are among the most comprehensive in the world with entire suites of rooms panelled in alabaster
Assyrian palace reliefs from
Nimrud,
Nineveh and
Khorsabad. The collections represent the civilisations of the
ancient Near East and its adjacent areas. These cover Mesopotamia,
Persia, the
Arabian Peninsula,
Anatolia, the
Caucasus, parts of
Central Asia,
Syria, the
Holy Land and
Phoenician settlements in the western
Mediterranean from the
prehistoric period and include objects from the 7th century. The first significant addition of Mesopotamian objects was from the collection of
Claudius James Rich in 1825. The collection was later dramatically enlarged by the excavations of
A. H. Layard at the
Assyrian sites of Nimrud and Nineveh between 1845 and 1851. At Nimrud, Layard discovered the North-West Palace of
Ashurnasirpal II, as well as three other palaces and various temples. He later uncovered the Palace of
Sennacherib at Nineveh with 'no less than seventy-one halls'. As a result, a large numbers of
Lamassus, palace reliefs,
stelae, including the
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, were brought to the British Museum. Layard's work was continued by his assistant,
Hormuzd Rassam and in 1852–1854 he went on to discover the North Palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh with many magnificent reliefs, including the famous
Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal and
Lachish reliefs. He also discovered the Royal
Library of Ashurbanipal, a large collection of
cuneiform tablets of enormous importance that today number around 130,000 pieces.
W. K. Loftus excavated in Nimrud between 1850 and 1855 and found a remarkable hoard of
ivories in the Burnt Palace. Between 1878 and 1882 Rassam greatly improved the museum's holdings with exquisite objects including the
Cyrus Cylinder from
Babylon, the bronze gates from
Balawat, important objects from
Sippar, and a fine collection of
Urartian bronzes from
Toprakkale including a copper figurine of a winged, human-headed bull. In the early 20th century excavations were carried out at
Carchemish, Turkey by
D. G. Hogarth and
Leonard Woolley, the latter assisted by
T. E. Lawrence. The Mesopotamian collections were greatly augmented by excavations in southern Iraq after
World War I. From
Tell al-Ubaid came the bronze furnishings of a
Sumerian temple, including life-sized lions and a panel featuring the lion-headed eagle Indugud found by
H. R. Hall in 1919–24. Woolley went on to excavate
Ur between 1922 and 1934, discovering the Royal Cemeteries of the 3rd millennium BC. Some of the masterpieces include the
Standard of Ur, the
Ram in a Thicket, the
Royal Game of Ur, and two bull-headed
lyres. The department also has three
diorite statues of the ruler
Gudea from the ancient state of
Lagash and a series of limestone
kudurru or boundary stones from different locations across ancient Mesopotamia. Although the collections centre on Mesopotamia, most of the surrounding areas are well represented. The
Achaemenid collection was enhanced with the addition of the
Oxus Treasure in 1897 and objects excavated by the German scholar
Ernst Herzfeld and the Hungarian-British explorer Sir
Aurel Stein. Reliefs and sculptures from the site of
Persepolis were donated by Sir
Gore Ouseley in 1825 and the
5th Earl of Aberdeen in 1861 and the museum received part of a pot-hoard of jewellery from
Pasargadae as the division of finds in 1963 and part of the
Ziwiye hoard in 1971. A large column base from the
One Hundred Column Hall at Persepolis was acquired in exchange from the
Oriental Institute, Chicago. Moreover, the museum has been able to acquire one of the greatest assemblages of Achaemenid
silverware in the world. The later
Sasanian Empire is also well represented by ornate silver plates and cups, many representing ruling monarchs hunting lions and deer. Phoenician antiquities come from across the region, but the
Tharros collection from
Sardinia, the hoard of about 150
metal bowls and hundreds of
ivories from Nimrud, Phœnician inscriptions from Carthage including the
Son of Baalshillek marble base, the
Carthage Tariff and the
Carthage tower model and the many punic stelae from
Carthage and
Maghrawa in Tunisia (such as the ) are outstanding. The number of
Phoenician inscriptions from sites across
Cyprus is also considerable, and include artefacts found at the
Kition necropolis (with the two
Kition Tariffs having the longest Phoenician inscription discovered on the island), the
Idalion temple site and
two bilingual pedestals found at
Tamassos. Another often overlooked highlight is
Yemeni antiquities, the finest collection outside that country. Furthermore, the museum has a representative collection of
Dilmun and
Parthian material excavated from various burial mounds at the ancient sites of
A'ali and
Shakhura (that included a Roman ribbed glass bowl) in Bahrain. From the modern state of
Syria come almost forty funerary busts from
Palmyra and a group of stone
reliefs from the excavations of
Max von Oppenheim at
Tell Halaf that was purchased in 1920. More material followed from the excavations of
Max Mallowan at
Chagar Bazar and
Tell Brak in 1935–1938 and from Woolley at
Alalakh in the years just before and after
World War II. Mallowan returned with his wife
Agatha Christie to carry out further digs at Nimrud in the postwar period which secured many important artefacts, such as the Nimrud Ivories, for the museum. The collection of
Palestinian material was strengthened by the work of
Kathleen Kenyon at
Tell es-Sultan (Jericho) in the 1950s and the acquisition in 1980 of around 17,000 objects found at
Lachish by the Wellcome-Marston expedition of 1932–1938. Archaeological digs are still taking place where permitted in the Middle East, and, depending on the country, the museum continues to receive a share of the finds from sites such as in Jordan. The museum's collection of
Islamic art, including archaeological material, numbers about 40,000 objects, one of the largest of its kind in the world. As such, it contains a broad range of pottery, paintings, tiles, metalwork, glass, seals, and inscriptions from across the Islamic world, from Spain in the west to India in the east. It is particularly famous for its collection of
Iznik ceramics (the largest in the world), its large number of
mosque lamps including one from the
Dome of the Rock, mediaeval metalwork such as the Vaso Vescovali with its depictions of the
Zodiac, a fine selection of
astrolabes, and
Mughal paintings and precious artwork including a large
jade terrapin made for the emperor
Jahangir. Thousands of objects were excavated after the war by professional archaeologists at Iranian sites such as
Siraf by
David Whitehouse and
Alamut Castle by Peter Willey. The collection was augmented in 1983 by the
Godman bequest of Iznik,
Hispano-Moresque and early Iranian pottery. Artefacts from the Islamic world are on display in Gallery 34 of the museum. A representative selection from the Department of Middle East, including the most important pieces, are on display in 13 galleries throughout the museum and total some 4,500 objects. A whole suite of rooms on the ground floor display the sculptured reliefs from the Assyrian palaces at Nineveh, Nimrud and Khorsabad, while 8 galleries on the upper floor hold smaller material from ancient sites across the Middle East. The remainder form the study collection which ranges in size from beads to large sculptures. They include approximately 130,000 cuneiform
tablets from Mesopotamia. Highlights of the collections include: ====
Nimrud ====
Assyrian palace reliefs from: • The North-West Palace of
Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC) • Palace of
Adad-nirari III (811–783 BC) • The Sharrat-Niphi Temple () • Temple of
Ninurta () • South-East Palace ('Burnt Palace') (8th–7th century BC) • Central- Palace of
Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727 BC) • South-West Palace of
Esarhaddon (681–669 BC) • The
Nabu Temple (Ezida) ()
Sculptures and inscriptions: • Pair of Human Headed
Lamassu Lions (883–859 BC) • Human Headed Lamassu Bull, sister piece in
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (883–859 BC) • Human Headed Lamassu Lion, sister piece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (883–859 BC) • Colossal Statue of a Lion (883–859 BC) • Foundation tablet of
Ashurnasirpal II from the Temple of
Ishtar (875–865 BC) • Rassam Obelisk of
Ashurnasirpal II (873–859 BC) •
Stela and
Statue of King
Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC) • The
Black Obelisk of
Shalmaneser III (858–824 BC) •
Stela of Shamshi-Adad V (824–811 BC) • Rare Head of Human Headed 'Lamassu', recovered from the North-West Palace (811–783 BC) • Pair of statues of attendant god dedicated to
Nabu by
Adad-Nirari III and
Sammuramat (810–800 BC) • Bilingual
Assyrian lion weights with both cuneiform and Phoenician inscriptions (800–700 BC) • Large sculpture of a male bearded head from a
Lamassu with inscription dedicated to
Esarhaddon (670 BC) ====
Nineveh ====
Assyrian palace reliefs and sculptures from: • South-West Palace of
Sennacherib (705–681 BC) • North-Palace of
Ashurbanipal (), including the
Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal and
Lachish relief • The famous
Garden Party Relief (645 BC) • Statue of a
nude woman (11th century BC) • Broken Obelisk of
Ashur-bel-kala, the earliest known Assyrian
obelisk (11th century BC) •
White Obelisk of Ashurnasirpal I (1050–1031 BC)
Royal Library of Ashurbanipal: • A large collection of
cuneiform tablets of enormous importance, approximately 22,000 inscribed clay tablets (7th century BC) • The
Flood Tablet, relating part of the famous
Epic of Gilgamesh (7th century BC) •
Taylor Prism, hexagonal clay foundation record (691 BC) •
Rassam cylinder with ten faces, that describes the military campaigns of king
Ashurbanipal (643 BC)
Other Mesopotamian sites Khorsabad and Balawat: • Alabaster bas-reliefs from the Palace of
Sargon II (710–705 BC) • Pair of Human Headed Winged
Lamassu Bulls (710–705 BC) • The
Balawat Gates of
Shalmaneser III (860 BC) ====
Ur ==== • The
Standard of Ur with depictions of war and peace (2600 BC) •
Queen's Lyre and gold drinking cup from Queen
Puabi's tomb (2600 BC) • The
Ram in a Thicket, one of pair, the other is in
Philadelphia (2600–2400 BC) •
The Royal Game of Ur, an ancient game board (2600–2400 BC)
Wider collection •
Plastered human skull from Jericho, a very early form of portraiture, Palestine (7000–6000 BC) •
Tell Brak Head, one of the oldest portrait busts from the Middle East, north east Syria (3500–3300 BC) •
Uruk Trough, one of the earliest surviving works of narrative relief sculpture from the Middle East, southern Iraq (3300–3000 BC) • Pair of inscribed stone objects known as the
Blau Monuments from
Uruk, Iraq (3100–2700 BC) •
Hoard of
Bronze Age gold jewellery found at the
Canaanite site of
Tell el-Ajjul in
Gaza (1750–1550 BC) •
Statue of Idrimi from the ancient city of Alalakh, southern Turkey (1600 BC) •
Bronze bowl and ivory cosmetic box in the shape of a fish from Tell es-Sa'idiyeh, Jordan (1250–1150 BC) • Group of 16 stone reliefs from the palace of King
Kapara at
Tell Halaf, northern Syria (10th century BC) •
Tablet of Shamash, depicting the sun-god Shamash, from Sippar, Iraq (early 9th century BC) •
Hittite lion head from the monument to King
Katuwa at
Carchemish, southern Turkey (9th century BC) • Two large
Assyrian stelae from Kurkh, southern Turkey (850 BC) • Seated statue of Kidudu or guardian spirit from the Assyrian city of
Assur under
Shalmaneser III, Iraq (835 BC) • Basalt bowl with engraved inscription in
Hieroglyphic Luwian found at
Babylon, southern Iraq (8th century BC) •
Babylonian Chronicles, series of tablets recording major events in Babylonian history,
Babylon, Iraq (8th–3rd centuries BC) •
Shebna Inscription from
Siloam near Jerusalem (7th century BC) • Group of 4 bronze shields with inscription of King
Rusa III from the temple of
Khaldi at the
Urartian fortress of
Toprakkale, eastern Turkey (650 BC) •
East India House Inscription from
Babylon, Iraq (604–562 BC) •
Lachish Letters, group of
ostraka written in alphabetic Hebrew from
Lachish, Israel (586 BC) •
Cylinder of Nabonidus, foundation cylinder of King
Nabonidus, Sippar, Iraq (555–540 BC) • The famous
Oxus Treasure, the largest ancient Persian hoard of gold artefacts (550–330 BC) •
Jar of Xerxes I, alabaster
alabastron with
quadrilingual signature of
Achaemenid ruler
Xerxes I, found in the ruins of the
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Turkey (486–465 BC) •
Idalion Bilingual, bilingual Cypriot-
Phoenician inscription, key to the decipherment of the
Cypriot syllabary,
Idalion, Cyprus (388 BC) •
Punic-Libyan Inscription from the
Mausoleum of Ateban, key to the
decipherment of the
Numidian language,
Dougga, Tunisia (146 BC) •
Amran Tablets found near Sana'a, Yemen (1st century BC) • One of the pottery storage jars containing the
Dead Sea Scrolls found in a cave near
Qumran, Jordan (4 BC – 68 AD) • Two limestone
ossuaries from
caves in Jerusalem (1st century AD) • Fragment of a carved basalt
architrave depicting a lion's head from the
Temple of Garni, Armenia (1st century AD) • Group of boulders with
Safaitic inscriptions from Jordan/Syria, one of which was donated by
Gertrude Bell (1st–2nd centuries AD) •
Parthian dynasty gold belt-buckle with central
repoussé figure of eagle with outstretched wings from
Nihavand, Iran (1st–3rd centuries AD) • Silver bowl from
Khwarezm depicting a
four-armed goddess seated on a lion, Kazakhstan, (658 AD) • One of the rare
Hedwig glasses, originating from the Middle East or Norman Sicily (10th–12th centuries AD) • Hoard of
Seljuq artefacts from
Hamadan including gold cup, silver gilt belt fittings and dress accessories, Iran (11th–12th centuries) •
Islamic brass ewers with engraved decoration and inlaid with silver and copper from
Herat, Afghanistan and
Mosul, Iraq (12th–13th centuries AD) File:Raminathicket2.jpg|Room 56 – The '
Ram in a Thicket' figure, one of a pair, from
Ur, Southern Iraq, File:Standard of Ur - War.jpg|Room 56 – The famous '
Standard of Ur', a hollow wooden box with scenes of war and peace, from
Ur, File:British Museum Middle east 14022019 Panel Imdugud 2500 BC 3640.jpg|Room 56 –
Sculpture of the god Imdugud, lion-headed eagle surmounting a lintel made from sheets of copper, Temple of Ninhursag at
Tell al-'Ubaid, Iraq, File:Statue Kurlil BM WA114207.jpg|Room 56 – Statue of Kurlil, from the Temple of
Ninhursag in Tell al-'Ubaid, southern Iraq, File:Ishtar goddess.jpg|Room 56 – The famous Babylonian '
Queen of the Night relief' of the goddess
Ishtar, Iraq, File:Carved ivory depicting a woman at a window.jpg|Room 57 – Carved ivory object from the
Nimrud Ivories, Phoenician, Nimrud, Iraq, 9th–8th century BC File:Jehu-on-Obelisk-of-Shalmaneser.jpg|Room 6 – Depiction of the hypocrite,
Jehu, King of Israel on the
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, Nimrud, c. 827 BC File:Winged Human-headed Bulls.JPG|Room 10 –
Human Headed Winged Bulls from
Khorsabad, companion pieces in the
Musée du Louvre, Iraq, 710–705 BC File:BM; ANE - RM 55, Cuneiform Tablets Display.1.JPG|Room 55 – Cuneiform Collection, including the
Epic of Gilgamesh, Iraq, –631 BC File:Dying Lion.R.jpg|Room 55 –
Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal (detail),
Nineveh, Neo-Assyrian, Iraq, File:BabylonLion-BM.JPG|Room 55 – Panel with striding lion made from glazed bricks, Neo-Babylonian,
Nebuchadnezzar II, Southern Iraq, 604–562 BC File:Britishmuseumoxustreasuregoldchariotmodel.jpg|Room 52 – A chariot from the
Oxus Treasure, the most important surviving collection of
Achaemenid Persian metalwork, c. 5th to 4th centuries BC File:Decorated column base from Persepolis.jpg|Great Court – Decorated column base from Hundred Column Hall,
Persepolis, 470–450 BC File:Bmane2002-1-114,1.jpg|Room 53 – Stela said to come from Tamma' cemetery,
Yemen, 1st century AD File:British Museum Yemen 07d.jpg|Room 53 –
Alabaster statue of a standing female figure, Yemen, 1st–2nd centuries AD File:Brass box BM 1878 12-30 674.jpg|Room 34 – Cylindrical lidded box with an Arabic inscription recording its manufacture for the ruler of Mosul,
Badr al-Din Lu'lu', Iraq, – 1259 AD
Department of Prints and Drawings The Department of
Prints and Drawings holds the national collection of
Western prints and drawings. It ranks as one of the largest and best
print room collections in existence alongside the
Albertina in Vienna, the Paris collections and the
Hermitage. The holdings are easily accessible to the general public in the Study Room, unlike many such collections. The department also has its own exhibition gallery in Room 90, where the displays and exhibitions change several times a year. Since its foundation in 1808, the prints and drawings collection has grown to international renown as one of the richest and most representative collections in the world. There are approximately 50,000 drawings and over two million prints. There are groups of drawings by
Leonardo da Vinci,
Raphael,
Michelangelo, (including
his only surviving full-scale cartoon),
Albrecht Dürer (a collection of 138 drawings is one of the finest in existence),
Peter Paul Rubens,
Rembrandt,
Claude Lorrain and
Antoine Watteau, and largely complete collections of the works of all the great printmakers including Dürer (99
engravings, 6
etchings and most of his 346
woodcuts), Rembrandt and
Francisco Goya. More than 30,000 British drawings and
watercolours include important examples of work by
William Hogarth,
Paul Sandby,
J. M. W. Turner,
Thomas Girtin,
John Constable,
John Sell Cotman,
David Cox,
James Gillray,
Thomas Rowlandson,
Francis Towne and
George Cruikshank, as well as all the great
Victorians. The collection contains the unique set of
watercolours by the pioneering colonist
John White, the first British artist in America and first European to paint Native Americans. There are about a million British prints including more than 20,000 satires and outstanding collections of works by
William Blake and
Thomas Bewick.. The great eleven volume
Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum compiled between 1870 and 1954 is the definitive reference work for the study of British Satirical prints. Over 500,000 objects from the department are now on the online collection database, many with high-quality images. A 2011 donation of £1 million enabled the museum to acquire a complete set of
Pablo Picasso's
Vollard Suite. File:Rogier van der Weyden - Portrait of an unknown young woman - British Museum 180945001.jpg|
Rogier van der Weyden –
Portrait of a Young Woman, File:A fool, seated on a basket, about to be shaved by a nun holding a wafer iron by Hieronymus Bosch.jpg|
Hieronymus Bosch – A comical barber scene, –1516 File:Botticelli, allegoria dell'abbondanza, disegno.jpg|
Sandro Botticelli –
Allegory of Abundance, 1480–1485 File:Leonardo da vinci, Study for the Burlington House Cartoon.jpg|
Leonardo da Vinci – The
Virgin and
Child with
Saint Anne and the Infant Saint
John the Baptist (prep for '
The Burlington House Cartoon'), –1500 File:Adam study - Michelangelo.jpg|
Michelangelo – Studies of a reclining male nude:
Adam in the fresco
The Creation of Man on the vault of the
Sistine Chapel, File:Raffaello, studio di testa di madonna e bambino.jpg|
Raphael –
Study of Heads, Mother and Child, –1511 File:Titian - Drowning of the Pharaoh's Host in the Red Sea - WGA22989.jpg|
Titian – ''
Drowning of the Pharaoh's Host in the Red Sea'', 1515–1517 File:Albrecht Dürer - Walrus - WGA07101.jpg|
Albrecht Dürer – Drawing of a walrus, 1521 File:A Lady, called Anne Boleyn, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|
Hans Holbein the Younger –
Portrait of Anne Boleyn, 1536 File:Joris and Jacob Hoefnagel - Allegory on Life and Death.jpg|
Joris Hoefnagel and
Jacob Hoefnagel –
Allegory on Life and Death, circa 1598 File:Peter Paul Rubens - Study for the figure of Christ on the Cross (cropped).jpg|
Peter Paul Rubens –
Study for the figure of Christ on the Cross, 1610 File:Head of a monk, 1625-64, Francisco de Zurbarán. Drawing, 277 x 196 mm. British Museum.jpg|
Francisco de Zurbarán –
Head of a monk, 1625–1664 File:Drawing of mules by Claude Lorrain.jpg|
Claude Lorrain – Drawing of mules, including one full-length, 1630–1640 File:The Lamentation at the Foot of the Cross by Rembrandt van Rijn.jpg|
Rembrandt –
The Lamentation at the Foot of the Cross, 1634–35 File:A woman with a rose drawn by Thomas Gainsborough.jpg|
Thomas Gainsborough – Drawing of a woman with a rose, 1763–1765 File:Newport Castle by JMW Turner.jpg|
J. M. W. Turner – Watercolour of Newport Castle, 1796 File:The happy effects of that grand systom of shutting ports against the English!!.jpg|
Isaac Cruikshank – 'The happy effects of that grand system of shutting ports against the English!!', 1808 File:Hampstead Heath by John Constable watercolour.jpg|
John Constable –
London from Hampstead Heath in a Storm, (watercolour), 1831 File:Notes Nocturne lithograph by James McNeill Whistler 1878.jpg|
James McNeill Whistler –
View of the Battersea side of Chelsea Reach, London, (lithograph), 1878 File:Van Gogh - In the Orchard - 1883.jpg|
Vincent van Gogh – Man Digging in the Orchard (print), 1883
Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory The Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory is responsible for collections that cover a vast expanse of time and geography. It includes some of the earliest objects made by humans in east Africa over 2 million years ago, as well as
Prehistoric and neolithic objects from other parts of the world; and the art and archaeology of Europe from the earliest times to the present day. Archeological excavation of prehistoric material took off and expanded considerably in the twentieth century and the department now has literally millions of objects from the
Paleolithic and
Mesolithic periods throughout the world, as well as from the
Neolithic,
Bronze Age and
Iron Age in Europe. Stone Age material from Africa has been donated by famous archaeologists such as
Louis and
Mary Leakey, and
Gertrude Caton–Thompson. Paleolithic objects from the
Sturge,
Christy and
Lartet collections include some of the earliest works of art from Europe. Many Bronze Age objects from across Europe were added during the nineteenth century, often from large collections built up by excavators and scholars such as
Greenwell in Britain,
Tobin and Cooke in Ireland,
Lukis and de la Grancière in Brittany,
Worsaae in Denmark,
Siret at
El Argar in Spain, and
Klemm and Edelmann in Germany. A representative selection of Iron Age artefacts from
Hallstatt were acquired as a result of the
Evans/
Lubbock excavations and from
Giubiasco in
Ticino through the
Swiss National Museum. In addition, the British Museum's collections covering the period AD 300 to 1100 are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world, extending from Spain to the
Black Sea and from North Africa to
Scandinavia; a representative selection of these has recently been redisplayed in a newly refurbished gallery. Important collections include Latvian, Norwegian,
Gotlandic and
Merovingian material from
Johann Karl Bähr, Alfred Heneage Cocks, Sir James Curle and Philippe Delamain respectively. However, the undoubted highlight from the early mediaeval period is the magnificent items from the
Sutton Hoo royal grave, generously donated to the nation by the landowner
Edith Pretty. The late mediaeval collection includes a large number of
seal-dies from across Europe, the most famous of which include those from the Town of
Boppard in Germany,
Isabella of Hainault from her tomb in
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris,
Inchaffray Abbey in Scotland and
Robert Fitzwalter, one of the Barons who led
the revolt against King
John in England. There is also a large collection of medieval signet rings, prominent among them is the gold
signet ring belonging to
Jean III de Grailly who fought in the
Hundred Years' War, as well as those of
Mary, Queen of Scots and
Richard I of England. Other groups of artefacts represented in the department include the national collection of (c.100)
icon paintings, most of which originate from the
Byzantine Empire and Russia, and over 40 mediaeval
astrolabes from across Europe and the Middle East. The department also includes the national collection of
horology with one of the most wide-ranging assemblage of clocks, watches and other timepieces in Europe, with masterpieces from every period in the development of time-keeping. Choice horological pieces came from the
Morgan and
Ilbert collections. The department is also responsible for the curation of
Romano-British objects – the museum has by far the most extensive such collection in Britain and one of the most representative regional collections in Europe outside Italy. It is particularly famous for the large number of late Roman silver treasures, many of which were found in
East Anglia, the most important of which is the
Mildenhall Treasure. The museum purchased many Roman-British objects from the antiquarian
Charles Roach Smith in 1856. These quickly formed the nucleus of the collection. The department also includes
ethnographic material from across Europe including a collection of Bulgarian costumes and
shadow puppets from Greece and Turkey. A particular highlight are the three
Sámi drums from northern Sweden of which only about 70 are extant. Objects from the Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory are mostly found on the upper floor of the museum, with a suite of galleries numbered from 38 to 51. Most of the collection is stored in its archive facilities, where it is available for research and study. Highlights of the collections include:
Stone Age (c. 3.4 million years BC – c. 2000 BC) •
Palaeolithic material from across Africa, particularly
Olduvai,
Kalambo Falls,
Olorgesailie and
Cape Flats, (1.8 million BC onwards) • One of the 11
leaf-shaped points found near Volgu,
Saône-et-Loire, France and estimated to be 16,000 years old • Ice Age art from France including the
Wolverine pendant of Les Eyzies,
Montastruc decorated stone and
Baton fragment, (–11,000 BC) • Ice Age art from Britain including the
decorated jaw from Kendrick and
Robin Hood Cave Horse, (11,500–10,000 BC) • Rare
mesolithic artefacts from the site of
Star Carr in Yorkshire, northern England, (8770–8460 BC) • Terracotta figurine from
Vinča, Serbia, (5200–4900 BC) •
Callaïs bead jewellery from Lannec-er-Ro'h, intact schist bracelet from Le Lizo,
Carnac and triangular pendant from , Morbihan, Brittany, western France, (5000–4300 BC) •
Mother Goddess figurine from Campo-Fiorello near
Grossa, southern Corsica (c.4500 BC) • Polished
jade axe produced in the Italian Alps and found in
Canterbury, Kent, southeast England, (4500–4000 BC) • Section of the
Sweet Track, an ancient timber causeway from the Somerset Levels, England, (3807/6 BC) • Small collection of
Neolithic finds including a necklace of flat bone beads from
Skara Brae, Orkneys, northern Scotland, (3180–2500 BC) • Representative sample of artefacts (sherds, vessels, etc.) from the megalithic site of
Tarxien, Malta, (3150–2500 BC) • A number of
carved stone balls from Scotland, Ireland and northern England, (3200–2500 BC) • The three
Folkton Drums, made from chalk and found in Yorkshire, northern England, (2600–2100 BC)
Bronze Age () • Jet beaded necklace from Melfort in
Argyll, Scotland, () •
Gold lunula from
Blessington, Ireland, one of twelve from Ireland, England,
LLanllyfini, Wales and
Gwithian, Cornwall, (2400–2000 BC) • Early Bronze Age hoards from
Barnack,
Driffield,
Sewell and
Snowshill in England,
Arraiolos and
Vendas Novas in Iberia and
Auvernier,
Biecz and
Neunheilingen in central Europe (2280–1500 BC) •
Mold cape, unique cape made of gold sheet from
Mold, Wales (1900–1600 BC) • Contents of the
Rillaton Barrow including a gold cup, and the related
Ringlemere Cup, England, (1700–1500 BC) • Bronze Age hoards from
Forró,
Paks-
Dunaföldvár,
Szőny and
Zsujta in Hungary, (1600–1000 BC) • Large ceremonial swords or dirks from
Oxborough and
Beaune, western Europe, (1450–1300 BC) • Eight bronze shields including those from
Moel Hebog and
Rhyd-y-gors, Wales and
Athenry, County Galway, Ireland, (12th–10th centuries BC) • Gold hoards from
Morvah and
Towednack in Cornwall,
Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire and
Mooghaun in Ireland, (1150–750 BC) • Gold bowl with intricate
repoussé decoration from
Leer, Lower Saxony, northern Germany, (1100–800 BC) •
Dunaverney flesh-hook found near Ballymoney, Northern Ireland and part of the
Dowris Hoard from County Offaly, Ireland, (1050–900 BC & 900–600 BC) • Late Bronze Age gold hoards from
Abia de la Obispalía and
Mérida, Spain and an intricate
gold collar from Sintra, Portugal, (10th–8th centuries BC) •
Shropshire bulla, gold pendant decorated with intricately carved geometric designs, (1000–750 BC) • Part of a copper alloy
lur from
Årslev on the island of
Funen, Denmark, one of only about 40 extant and the
Dunmanway Horn from County Cork, Ireland (900–750 BC) • Gold bowl with embossed ornament and fluted wire
handle from
Angyalföld, Budapest, Hungary, (800–600 BC)
Iron Age () •
Basse Yutz Flagons, a pair of bronze drinking vessels from Moselle, eastern France, (5th century BC) • Morel collection of La Tène material from eastern France, including the
Somme-Bionne chariot burial and the
Prunay Vase, (450–300BC) • Important finds from the
River Thames including the
Battersea, Chertsey and
Wandsworth shields and
Waterloo Helmet, as well as the
Witham Shield from Lincolnshire, eastern England, (350–50 BC) • Bronze
scabbard with
La Tène engraved decoration, found at Lisnacrogher
bog, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, (300–200 BC) • Pair of gold collars called the
Orense Torcs from northwest Spain, (300–150 BC) •
Arras culture items from
chariot burials in the Lady's Barrow near
Market Weighton and
Wetwang Slack, Yorkshire, (300 BC – 100 BC) • Other gold neck collars including the
Ipswich Hoard and the
Sedgeford Torc, England, (200–50 BC) •
Winchester Hoard of gold jewellery from southern England and the
Great Torc from Snettisham in Norfolk, East Anglia, (100 BC) • Eight out of about thirty extant intact
Celtic bronze mirrors with
La Tène decoration including those from
Aston,
Chettle,
Desborough,
Holcombe and
St Keverne in England, (100 BC – 100 AD) •
Cordoba and
Arcillera Treasures, two silver Celtic hoards from Spain, (100–20 BC) •
Grave find of ornately decorated bronze
bucket with human shaped handles, a pan, jug, three brooches and at least four pottery vessels from
Aylesford, Kent, (75 BC – 25 BC) •
Lindow Man found by accident in a peat bog in Cheshire, England, (1st century AD) •
Stanwick Hoard of horse and chariot fittings and the
Meyrick Helmet, northern England, (1st century AD) •
La Tène silver hinged brooch from
Székesfehérvár, Hungary, (1–100 AD) •
Lochar Moss Torc and two pairs of massive bronze armlets from
Muthill and
Strathdon, Scotland, (50–200 AD)
Romano-British (43 AD – 410 AD) • Tombstone of Roman procurator
Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus from London, (1st century) • Ribbed glass bowl found in a grave at
Radnage, Buckinghamshire, (1st century) • Large
milestone marker with inscription from the reign of the emperor
Hadrian from
Llanfairfechan, Gwynedd in North Wales, (120–121 AD) •
Ribchester,
Guisborough and
Witcham helmets once worn by Roman cavalry in Britain, (1st–2nd centuries) • Elaborate gold bracelets and ring found near
Rhayader, central Wales, (1st–2nd centuries) • Hoard of gold jewellery found at
Dolaucothi mine in
Carmarthenshire, Wales, (1st–2nd centuries) • Bronze heads of the Roman emperors
Hadrian and
Nero, found in London and Suffolk, (1st–2nd centuries) •
Vindolanda Tablets, important historical documents found near Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, (1st–2nd centuries) • Head of
Mercury from Roman-Celtic Temple at
Uley, Gloucestershire and limestone head from
Towcester, Northamptonshire (2nd–4th centuries) • Wall-paintings and sculptures from the
Roman Villa at Lullingstone, Kent, south east England, 1st–4th centuries) •
Capheaton and
Backworth treasures, remnants of two important hoards from northern England, (2nd–3rd centuries) •
Stony Stratford Hoard of copper headdresses, fibulae and silver votive plaques, central England, (3rd century) • Square silver
dish from
Mileham in Norfolk, (4th century) • Gold jewellery deposited at the site of
Newgrange, Ireland, (4th century) •
Thetford Hoard, late Roman jewellery from eastern England, (4th century)
Early Mediaeval () • One of five
Largitio silver dishes of the emperor
Licinius found at
Niš, Serbia and a hexagonal gold coin-set pendant of
Constantine the Great, (Early 4th century AD) • Two wooden ship
figureheads dredged from the
River Scheldt at
Moerzeke and
Appels, Belgium, (4th–6th centuries) • Part of the
Asyut,
Domagnano,
Artres,
Sutri,
Bergamo and
Belluno Treasures, (4th–7th centuries) •
Lycurgus Cup, a unique figurative glass cage cup, and the Byzantine
Archangel ivory panel, (4th–6th centuries) • Three large
Ogham stones from the Roofs More
Rath, County Cork, Ireland, (5th–7th centuries) • The
Sutton Hoo treasure,
Taplow burial and
Crundale grave objects with some of the greatest finds from the early Middle Ages in Europe, England, (6th–7th centuries) • One of the
Burghead Bulls,
Pictish stone relief from northeast Scotland, (7th–8th centuries) • Three Viking hoards from Norway known as the
Lilleberge Viking Burial,
Tromsø Burial, and Villa Farm barrow burial (in
Vestnes Municipality) plus the
Ardvouray,
Ballaquayle,
Cuerdale,
Goldsborough and
Vale of York hoards from Britain, (7th–10th centuries) • Irish reliquaries such as the
Kells Crozier,
Bell Shrine of St. Cuileáin and
St Conall Cael's Shrine from
Inishkeel, (7th–11th centuries) • Early Anglo Saxon
Franks Casket, a unique ivory container from northern England, (8th century) • T-shaped
Carolingian antler container with carved geometric interlace and zigzag decoration, found near
Grüneck Castle, Ilanz, Switzerland, (8th–9th centuries) • A number of luxurious penannular brooches such as the
Londesborough Brooch,
Breadalbane Brooch and those from the
Penrith Hoard, British Isles, (8th–9th centuries) • Three of the twenty extant Carolingian crystal
intaglios including the
Lothair Crystal, the
Metz engraved gem with crucifixion and
Saint-Denis Crystal, central Europe, (9th century) • Anglo-Saxon
Fuller and
Strickland Brooches with their complex, niello-inlaid design, England, (9th century) • One of the
Magdeburg Ivories from a set of 16 surviving
ivory panels illustrating episodes of the
Life of Jesus,
Magdeburg, Germany, (968 AD) •
Seax of Beagnoth, iron sword with long
Anglo-Saxon Runic inscription, London, England, (10th century)
Mediaeval () • A number of mediaeval ivory panels including the
Borradaile,
Wernher and
John Grandisson Triptychs, (10th–14th centuries) • Several
elephant ivory horns including the
Borradaile Horn, Clephane Horn and
Savernake Horn, (11th–12th centuries) • The famous
Lewis chessmen found in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, (12th century) •
Reliquary of St. Eustace from the treasury of Basel Munster, Switzerland and fragments of a rare
Romanesque crucifix from
South Cerney, England, (12th century) • Armenian stone-cross or
Khachkar from the
Noratus cemetery in Armenia, (1225 AD) • Items from the tomb of
Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor at
Palermo Cathedral, Sicily, including his
mitre, silk
pall and shoe, (late 12th century) • The unique
Warwick Castle Citole, an early form of guitar, central England, (1280–1330) • Set of 10 wooden door panels engraved with Christian scenes from the
Hanging Church in
Old Cairo, Egypt, (1300) •
Asante Jug, mysteriously found at the
Asante Court in the late 19th century, England, (1390–1400) •
Holy Thorn Reliquary bequeathed by Ferdinand de Rothschild as part of the
Waddesdon Bequest, Paris, France, (14th century) •
Dunstable Swan Jewel, a gold and enamel brooch in the form of a swan, England, (14th century) • A silver
astrolabe quadrant from Canterbury, southeastern England, (14th century) •
Chalcis treasure of jewellery, dress accessories and silver plate from the island of
Euboea, Greece, (14th–15th centuries) • Magnificent cups made from precious metal such as the
Royal Gold Cup and the
Lacock Cup, western Europe, (14th–15th centuries) • Complete church altar set from
Medina de Pomar near Burgos, Spain (1455 AD)
Renaissance to Modern ( – present) •
Tudor Heart Pendant, gold jewel associated with the marriage of
King Henry VIII and
Catherine of Aragon, Warwickshire, England (early 16th century) • Two luxurious silver brooches set with precious stones from
Glen Lyon and
Lochbuie, Scotland (early 16th century) • Intricately decorated
parade shield made by
Giorgio Ghisi from Mantua, Italy, (1554 AD) •
The Armada Service, 26 silver dishes found in Devon, south west England, (late 16th to early 17th centuries) • Early Renaissance
Lyte Jewel, presented to Thomas Lyte of
Lytes Cary, Somerset by
King James I of England, (1610) •
Huguenot silver from the Peter Wilding bequest, England, (18th century) • Pair of so-called
Cleopatra Vases from the
Chelsea porcelain factory, London, England, (1763) • Jaspar ware vase known as the
Pegasus Vase made by
Josiah Wedgwood, England, (1786) • Two of
Charles Darwin's
chronometers used on the voyage of
HMS Beagle, (1795–1805) • The Hull Grundy Gift of jewellery, Europe and North America, (19th century) • Oak clock with mother-of-pearl engraving designed by
Charles Rennie Mackintosh, (1919) •
Silver tea-infuser MT 49 designed by
Marianne Brandt from the
Bauhaus art school, Germany, (1924) • The
Rosetta Vase, earthenware pottery vase designed by the contemporary British artist
Grayson Perry, (2011) The many hoards of treasure include those of
Esquiline,
Carthage,
First Cyprus,
Hockwold,
Hoxne,
Lampsacus,
Mildenhall,
Vale of York and
Water Newton, (4th–10th centuries AD) File:British Museum Olduvai handaxe.jpg|Room 2 –
Handaxe,
Lower Palaeolithic,
Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, File:Sleeping Reindeer 4512630872 d31dcb1207 o.jpg|Room 3 –
Swimming Reindeer carving, France, File:Ain Sakhri Lovers - British Museum - Joy of Museums.jpg|Room 2 –
Ain Sakhri lovers, from the cave of
Ain Sakhri, near
Bethlehem, File:British Museum gold thing 501594 fh000035.jpg|Room 51 –
Mold gold cape, North Wales, Bronze Age, –1600 BC File:Wandsworth Shield.png|Room 50 –
Wandsworth Shield, Iron Age shield boss in La Tène style, England, 2nd century BC File:IronAgeTorcBritishMuseum.JPG|Room 50 – Gold torc found in
Needwood Forest, central England, 75 BC File:Roman emperor head.jpg|Room 49 – Bronze head of a Roman emperor,
Claudius or
Nero, from Rendham in Suffolk, eastern England, 1st century AD File:Romano-British crown and diadem.jpg|Room 49 – Romano-British crown and diadem found in
Hockwold cum Wilton, England 1st century AD File:Mosaic2 - plw.jpg|Room 49 –
Hinton St Mary Mosaic with face of Christ in the centre, from Dorset, southern England, 4th century AD File:Corbridge lanx.jpg|Room 49 –
Corbridge Lanx, silver tray depicting a shrine to Apollo, northern England, 4th century AD File:British Museum Coleraine Hoard.jpg|Room 41 – Silver objects from the Roman
Coleraine Hoard, Northern Ireland, 4th–5th centuries AD File:Sutton Hoo helmet 2016.png|Room 41 –
Sutton Hoo helmet, Anglo-Saxon, England, early 7th century AD File:Virgin and Child BM PE1978-05.02-3.jpg|Room 40 – Ivory statue of
Virgin and Child, who is crushing a dragon under her left foot from Paris, France, 1310–1330 AD File:Chaucer Astrolabe BM 1909.6-17.1.jpg|Room 40 – Chaucer
Astrolabe, the oldest dated in Europe, 1326 AD File:British Museum Royal Gold Cup.jpg|Room 40 –
Royal Gold Cup or
Saint Agnes Cup, made in Paris, France, 1370–80 AD File:Holy Thorn Reliquary front 2018 (cropped).JPG|Room 2a –
Holy Thorn Reliquary, made in Paris, File:Ship Clock at British Museum.jpg|Room 38 –
Mechanical Galleon clock, Augsburg, Germany, around 1585 AD File:Carillon Clock with Automata, by Isaac Habrecht - British Museum.jpg|Room 38 – Carillon clock with automata by
Isaac Habrecht, Switzerland, 1589 AD File:Inside the British Museum, London - DSC04228.JPG|Room 39 – Ornate clock made by
Thomas Tompion, England, 1690 AD
Department of Asia , southern India, 1st century BC and 3rd century AD of Chinese ceramics The scope of the Department of Asia is extremely broad; its collections of over 75,000 objects cover the material culture of the whole Asian continent and from the Neolithic up to the present day. Until recently, this department concentrated on collecting Oriental antiquities from urban or semi-urban societies across the Asian continent. Many of those objects were collected by colonial officers and explorers in former parts of the
British Empire, especially the Indian subcontinent. Examples include the collections made by individuals such as
James Wilkinson Breeks, Sir
Alexander Cunningham, Sir
Harold Deane, Sir
Walter Elliot,
James Prinsep,
Charles Masson, Sir
John Marshall and
Charles Stuart. A large number of Chinese antiquities were purchased from the Anglo-Greek banker
George Eumorfopoulos in the 1930s. The large collection of some 1,800 Japanese prints and paintings owned by
Arthur Morrison was acquired in the early twentieth century. In the second half of the twentieth century, the museum greatly benefited from the bequest of the philanthropist PT Brooke Sewell, which allowed the department to purchase many objects and fill in gaps in the collection. • A small but comprehensive collection of sculpture from the Indian subcontinent, including some of the
Amaravati Marbles,
Buddhist limestone reliefs excavated by Sir
Walter Elliot. • A collection of Chinese antiquities, paintings, and porcelain, lacquer, bronze, jade, and other applied arts. • The collection of 147 Chinese paintings from the Tang to the Qing dynasties. • The most comprehensive collection of
Japanese pre-20th century art in the Western world, many of which originally belonged to the surgeon
William Anderson and diplomat
Ernest Mason Satow.
East Asia • A large collection of
Chinese ritual bronzes, including a wine vessel in the shape of two rams supporting a jar, (1500–200 BC) •
Jade bi or disc with inscription from the
Qianlong Emperor, (1500–1050 BC) • Group of
oracle bones that were used for
divination from the
Shang dynasty, China, (1200–1050 BC) • Intricately designed gold dagger handle from
Eastern Zhou period, China, (6th–5th centuries BC) •
Huixian Bronze Hu, an identical pair of bronze vessels from the
Eastern Zhou period, China, (5th century BC) • Japanese antiquities from the
Kofun period excavated by the pioneering archaeologist
William Gowland, (3rd–6th centuries AD) • Three ornate bronze
Dōtaku or bells from the
Yayoi period, Japan, (200 BC – 200 AD) • Gilded and inscribed
Han dynasty wine-cup made from
lacquer and found in
Pyongyang, Korea (4 AD) •
Gandharan architectural wood carvings, furniture and dress accessories from
Loulan, Xinjiang, (4th century AD) • The famous
Admonitions Scroll by Chinese artist
Gu Kaizhi, (344–406 AD) • The colossal
Amitābha Buddha from Hancui, China, (585 AD) • A set of ceramic
Tang dynasty tomb figures of Liu Tingxun, () • Silk Princess painting from
Dandan-oilik Buddhist sanctuary in
Khotan, Xinjiang, China, (7th–8th century AD) •
Seated Luohan from Yixian, one from a set of eight surviving statues, China, (907–1125 AD) • Hoard of
Tang dynasty silverware from Beihuangshan,
Shaanxi, China, (9th–10th centuries AD) • Seventeen examples of extremely rare
Ru ware, the largest collection in the West, (1100 AD) • A fine assemblage of Buddhist scroll paintings from
Dunhuang, western China, collected by the British-Hungarian explorer
Aurel Stein, (5th–11th centuries AD) •
Pericival David collection of Chinese ceramics, (10th–18th centuries AD) • Ivory stand in the form of a seated lion, Chos-'khor-yan-rtse monastery in
Tibet, (13th century AD) • Copy of a hanging scroll painting of
Minamoto no Yoritomo, first
Shogun of Japan, (14th century AD) • Handscroll silk painting called 'Fascination of Nature' by Xie Chufang depicting insects and plants, China, (1321 AD) • Ornate Sino-Tibetan figure of Buddha
Sakyamuni made of gilded bronze, China, (1403–1424 AD) • Large
Cloisonné jar with dragon made for the
Ming dynasty Imperial Court, paired with another in the
Rietberg Museum, Zürich, Beijing, China, (1426–35 AD) • Pair of ceramic
Kakiemon elephants from Japan, (17th century AD) •
Moon jar from the
Joseon Dynasty collected by the potter
Bernard Leach, Korea, (18th century AD) • Japanese prints including 3 of the original impressions of
The Great Wave off Kanagawa, (1829–32 AD) • Illustrations for the Great Picture Book of Everything, rare album of drawings by the celebrated Japanese artist
Hokusai, (1820–1840 AD)
South Asia • Excavated objects from the
Indus Valley sites of
Mohenjo-daro, and
Harappa,
Ancient India (now in
Pakistan), (2500–2000 BC) • Hoard of
Copper Hoard Culture celts, plaques and disc from Gungeria,
Madhya Pradesh, India, (2000–1000 BC) • Assembly of
prehistoric artefacts from the
Nilgiri Hills in southern India, (10th century BC – 2nd century AD) • Hoard of
Iron Age metal weapons excavated at the Wurreegaon barrow near
Kamptee in
Maharastra, India, (7th – 1st centuries BC) • Sandstone fragment of a
Pillar of Ashoka with
Brahmi inscription from
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India, (238 BC) • The
Kulu Vase found near a monastery in
Himachal Pradesh, one of the earliest examples of figurative art from the sub-continent, northern India, (1st century BC) •
Copper plate from
Taxila, with important Kharoshthi inscription,
Ancient India (now in
Pakistan), (1st century BC – 1st century AD) • Indo-Scythian sandstone
Mathura Lion Capital and
Bracket figure from one of the gateways to the Great Stupa at
Sanchi, central India, (1st century AD) •
Bimaran Casket and
Wardak Vase, reliquaries from ancient stupas in Afghanistan, (1st–2nd centuries AD) • Hoard of gold jewellery with precious stones found under the Enlightenment Throne at the
Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya, eastern India, (2nd century AD) • Relic deposits from
stupas at
Ahin Posh, Ali Masjid,
Gudivada,
Manikyala, Sonala Pind,
Sanchi and
Taxila, (1st–3rd centuries AD) • Seated
Hārītī and
Buddha statues and other
Gandhara sculptures from
Kafir Kot,
Jamal Garhi,
Takht-i-Bahi and
Yusufzai, Pakistan, (1st–3rd centuries AD) •
Hephthalite silver bowl with hunting scenes from the
Swat District, Pakistan, (460–479 AD) • Three sandstone carved sculptures of the Buddha in
Gupta style from
Sarnath, eastern India, (5th–6th centuries AD) •
Aphsad inscription of Ādityasena with important record of the genealogy of the
Later Gupta dynasty up to king Ādityasena,
Ghosrawan, Bihar, India, (675 AD) • The
Buddhapad Hoard of bronze images from southern India, (6th–8th centuries AD) • Small bronze figure of
Buddha Shakyamuni, Bihar, eastern India, (7th century AD) • Stone statue of Buddha from the
Sultanganj hoard, Bihar, eastern India, (7th–8th centuries AD) • Earliest known figure of the dancing four-armed god
Shiva Nataraja,
Pallava dynasty, southern India (800 AD) •
Statue of Tara from Sri Lanka and the
Thanjavur Shiva from Tamil Nadu, southern India, (8th century & 10th century AD) • Standing
Pala statue of Buddha from
Kurkihar, Bihar, India, (9th century AD) • Several wooden architectural panels from the
Kashmir Smast caves, northern Pakistan, (9th–10th centuries AD) • Hoard of Buddhist terracotta sealings from the
Pala period found at the
Nālandā Monastery, Bihar, eastern India, (10th century AD) •
Statue of the
goddess Ambika found at
Dhar in central India, (1034 AD) • Foundation inscription of the
Ananta Vasudeva Temple in
Bhubaneswar, Odisha, eastern India, (1278 AD) •
Jade dragon cup that once belonged to Sultan
Ulugh Beg from
Samarkand, Uzbekistan, (1420–1449 AD) • Foundation inscription with Arabic inscription in
Naskh script in the name of Sultan
Yusufshah from
Gauda, Bengal, eastern India, (1477 AD) • Large standing gilded copper figure of the
Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, Nepal, (15th–16th centuries AD)
Southeast Asia • Earthenware
tazza from the
Phùng Nguyên culture, northern Vietnam, (2000–1500 BC) • Pottery vessels and sherds from the ancient site of
Ban Chiang, Thailand, (10th–1st centuries BC) • Bronze
bell from
Klang and iron socketed axe (tulang mawas) from
Perak, western Malaysia, (200 BC–200 AD) • Group of six
Buddhist clay votive plaques found in a cave in Patania,
Penang, Malaysia, (6th–11th centuries AD) • The famous
Sambas Treasure of buddhist gold and silver figures from west Borneo, Indonesia, (8th–9th centuries AD) • Three stone Buddha heads from the temple at
Borobodur in Java, Indonesia, (9th century AD) • Granite
Kinnari figure in the shape of a bird from Candi
Prambanan in Java, Indonesia, (9th century AD) • Sandstone
Champa figure of a rampant lion, Vietnam, (11th century AD) • Gilded bronze figure of
Śiva holding a rosary, Cambodia, (11th century AD) • Stone figure representing the upper part of an eleven-headed
Avalokiteśvara, Cambodia, (12th century AD) • Bronze figure of a seated Buddha from
Bagan, Burma, (12th–13th centuries AD) • Hoard of
Southern Song dynasty ceramic vessels excavated at Pinagbayanan,
Taysan Municipality, Philippines, (12th–13th centuries AD) • Statue of the Goddess Mamaki from
Candi Jago, eastern Java, Indonesia, (13th–14th centuries AD) • Glazed terracotta tiles from the Shwegugyi Temple erected by king
Dhammazedi in
Bago, Myanmar, (1476 AD) • Inscribed bronze figure of a Buddha from
Fang District, part of a large SE Asian collection amassed by the Norwegian explorer
Carl Bock, Thailand, (1540 AD) • Large impression of the Buddha's foot made of gilded stone (known as Shwesettaw Footprints) donated by Captain
Frederick Marryat, from Ponoodang near
Yangon, Myanmar, (18th–19th centuries AD) File:Poids cubiques harappéens - BM.jpg|Room 33 – Cubic weights made of
chert from
Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan, 2600–1900 BC File:Periodo degli zhou dell'est, coppia di vasi rituali hu. V sec. ac. 01.JPG|Room 33 – One of the
hu from Huixian, China, 5th century BC File:CrystalGoose.JPG|Room 33 – A
hamsa sacred goose vessel made of
crystal from Stupa 32,
Taxila, Pakistan, 1st century AD File:Death of the Buddha BM.jpg|Room 33 – Stone sculpture of the death of Buddha, Gandhara,
Pakistan, 1st–3rd centuries AD File:Ku K'ai-chih 001.jpg|Room 91a – Section of the
Admonitions Scroll by Chinese artist
Gu Kaizhi, China, c. 380 AD File:Denesar Khera Buddha.JPG|Room 33 – Gilded bronze
statue of the Buddha, Dhaneswar Khera, India, 5th century AD File:Amitabha Buddha Statue, British Museum - panoramio.jpg|The
Amitābha Buddha from Hancui on display in the museum's stairwell, China, 6th century AD File:Luóhàn at British Museum.jpg|Room 33 – The
luohan from Yixian made of glazed stoneware, China, 907–1125 AD File:Goddess Ambika from Dhar.JPG|Sculpture of
Goddess Ambika found at
Dhar, India, 1034 AD File:Tirthankaras.jpg|Sculpture of the two Jain tirthankaras
Rishabhanatha and
Mahavira,
Orissa, India, 11th–12th century AD File:British Museum Kang Hou Gui Top.jpg|Room 33 – Western Zhou bronze ritual vessel known as the "
Kang Hou Gui", China, 11th century BC File:Seated Avalokiteshvara BM OA 1985.5-11.1.jpg|Room 33 – A crowned figure of the
Bodhisattva Khasarpana Avalokiteśvara, India, 12th century AD File:British Museum Asia 2 (cropped).jpg|Room 33 – Covered hanging jar with underglaze decoration, Si Satchanalai (Sawankalok), north-central
Thailand, 14th–16th centuries AD File:Hu-shaped altar vessel BM 1989.0309.1.jpg|Room 33 –
Hu-shaped altar flower vessel, Ming dynasty, China, 15th–16th centuries AD File:Judge assistant hell BM OA1917.11-16.1 n02.jpg|Room 33 – An assistant to the Judge of Hell, figure from a judgement group,
Ming dynasty, China, 16th century AD File:British Museum Asia 41-2.jpg|Room 33 – Statue of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, gilded bronze.
Nepal, 16th century AD File:Indischer Maler um 1615 (I) 001.jpg|Portrait of Ibrâhîm 'Âdil Shâh II (1580–1626),
Mughal Empire of India, 1615 AD File:Utagawa Toyoharu (attributed to), Courtesans of the Tamaya House.jpg|Room 90 – Courtesans of the Tamaya House, attributed to Utagawa Toyoharu, screen painting; Japan,
Edo period, late 1770s or early 1780s AD File:SFEC BritMus Asia 027.JPG|Room 33 – Large statue of
Buddha made of
lacquer from Burma, 18th–19th century AD File:Seated.Lama-01-British.Museum.jpg|Room 33 – Figure of seated Lama; of painted and varnished papier-mâché,
Ladakh, India, 19th century AD
Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas Gallery of Living and Dying, with
Hoa Hakananai'a, a
moai, in the centre The British Museum houses one of the world's most comprehensive collections of
ethnographic material from Africa, Oceania and the Americas, representing the cultures of
indigenous peoples throughout the world. Over 350,000 objects spanning thousands of years tells the history of mankind from three major continents and many rich and diverse cultures; the collecting of modern artefacts is ongoing. Many individuals have added to the department's collection over the years but those assembled by
Henry Christy,
Harry Beasley and
William Oldman are outstanding. Objects from this department are mostly on display in several galleries on the ground and lower floors. Gallery 24 displays
ethnographic from every continent while adjacent galleries focus on North America and Mexico. A long suite of rooms (Gallery 25) on the lower floor display African art. There are plans in place to develop permanent galleries for displaying art from Oceania and South America.
Africa The Sainsbury African Galleries display 600 objects from the greatest permanent collection of African arts and culture in the world. The three permanent galleries provide a substantial exhibition space for the museum's African collection comprising over 200,000 objects. A curatorial scope that encompasses both archaeological and contemporary material, including both unique masterpieces of artistry and objects of everyday life. A great addition was material amassed by Sir
Henry Wellcome, which was donated by the
Wellcome Historical Medical Museum in 1954. Highlights of the African collection include objects found at
megalithic circles in The Gambia, a dozen exquisite
Afro-Portuguese ivories, a series of soapstone figures from the
Kissi people in Sierra Leone and Liberia, hoard of bronze
Kru currency rings from the
Sinoe River in
Liberia, Asante goldwork and regalia from Ghana including the
Bowdich collection, the rare
Akan Drum from the same region in west Africa, pair of door panels and lintel from the palace at
Ikere-Ekiti in
Yorubaland, the
Benin and
Igbo-Ukwu bronze sculptures, the beautiful
Bronze Head of Queen Idia, a magnificent
brass head of a Yoruba ruler and quartz throne from
Ife, a similar
terracotta head from Iwinrin Grove near Ife, the
Apapa Hoard from Lagos and other mediaeval bronze hoards from Allabia and the
Forçados River in southern Nigeria. Included is an
Ikom monolith from
Cross River State, several ancestral screens from the
Kalabari tribe in the Niger Delta, the
Torday collection of central African sculpture, textiles and weaponry from the
Kuba Kingdom including three
royal figures, the unique
Luzira Head from Uganda,
processional crosses and other ecclesiastical and royal material from
Gondar and
Magdala, Ethiopia following the
British Expedition to Abyssinia, excavated objects from
Great Zimbabwe (that includes a unique soapstone,
anthropomorphic figure) and satellite towns such as
Mutare including a large hoard of Iron Age soapstone figures, a rare
divining bowl from the
Venda peoples and cave paintings and
petroglyphs from
South Africa.
Oceania The British Museum's Oceanic collections originate from the vast area of the Pacific Ocean, stretching from Papua New Guinea to Easter Island, from New Zealand to Hawaii. The three main anthropological groups represented in the collection are
Polynesia,
Melanesia and
Micronesia – Aboriginal art from Australia is considered separately in its own right. Metal working was not indigenous to Oceania before Europeans arrived, so many of the artefacts from the collection are made from stone, shell, bone and bamboo. Prehistoric objects from the region include a bird-shaped
pestle and a group of stone
mortars from
Papua New Guinea. The British Museum is fortunate in having some of the earliest Oceanic and Pacific collections, many of which were put together by members of
Cook's and
Vancouver's expeditions or by colonial administrators and explorers such as Sir
George Grey, Sir
Frederick Broome,
Joseph Bradshaw,
Robert Christison,
Gregory Mathews, Frederick Meinertzhagen,
Thomas Mitchell and
Arthur Gordon, before Western culture significantly impacted on indigenous cultures. The department has also benefited greatly from the legacy of pioneering
anthropologists such as
AC Haddon,
Bronisław Malinowski and
Katherine Routledge. An important artefact is a wooden Aboriginal
shield, probably dating from the late eighteenth century and one of the earliest precontact objects from Australia. The
Wilson cabinet of curiosities from
Palau is an example of pre-contact ware. Another outstanding exemplar is the
mourner's dress from
Tahiti given to Cook on his
second voyage, one of only ten in existence. In the collection is a large
war canoe from the island of
Vella Lavella in the
Solomon Islands, one of the last ever to be built in the archipelago. The
Māori collection is the finest outside New Zealand with many intricately carved wooden and
jade objects and the
Aboriginal art collection is distinguished by its wide range of
bark paintings, including two very early bark etchings collected by
John Hunter Kerr. A particularly important group of objects was purchased from the
London Missionary Society in 1911, that includes the unique
statue of A'a from Rurutu Island, the rare
idol from the isle of Mangareva and the Cook Islands
deity figure. Other highlights include the huge Hawaiian statue of
Kū-ka-ili-moku or god of war (one of three extant in the world) and the famous Easter Island statues
Hoa Hakananai'a and
Moai Hava.
Americas The Americas collection mainly consists of 19th and 20th century items although the
Paracas,
Moche,
Inca,
Maya,
Aztec,
Taino and other early cultures are well represented. The
Kayung totem pole, which was made in the late nineteenth century on
Haida Gwaii, dominates the Great Court and provides a fitting introduction to this very wide-ranging collection that stretches from the very north of the North American continent where the
Inuit population has lived for centuries, to the tip of South America where indigenous tribes have long thrived in Patagonia. Highlights of the collection include
Aboriginal Canadian and Native American objects from North America collected by the
5th Earl of Lonsdale, the
Marquis of Lorne, the explorer
David Haig-Thomas and
Bryan Mullanphy,
Mayor of St. Louis, the
Squier and
Davis collection of prehistoric mound relics from North America, two carved stone bowls in the form of a seated human figure made by ancient
North West Coast peoples from
British Columbia, the headdress of Chief Yellow Calf from the
Arapaho tribe in
Wyoming, a lidded rivercane basket from
South Carolina and the earliest historic example of
Cherokee basketry, a selection of pottery vessels found in prehistoric dwellings at
Mesa Verde and
Casas Grandes, one of the enigmatic
crystal skulls of unknown origin, a collection of nine turquoise Aztec
mosaics from Mexico (the largest in Europe), important artefacts from
Teotihuacan and
Isla de Sacrificios. There are several rare pre-Columbian manuscripts including the
Codex Zouche-Nuttall and
Codex Waecker-Gotter and post-colonial ones such as the
Codex Aubin and
Codex Kingsborough, a spectacular series of Mayan
lintels from
Yaxchilan excavated by the British Mayanist
Alfred Maudslay, a very high quality Mayan collection that includes sculptures from
Copan,
Tikal,
Tulum,
Pusilha,
Naranjo and
Nebaj (including the celebrated
Fenton Vase), an ornate calcite vase with
jaguar handles from the
Ulua Valley in Honduras, the
Lord Moyne collection from the
Bay Islands, Honduras and
Boyle collection from
Nicaragua, over 20 stone
metates with
zoomorphic and
anthropomorphic ornamentation from Costa Rica, a group of
Zemi Figures from Vere, Jamaica, and wooden
duhos from the Dominican Republic and
The Bahamas. There are a collection of
Pre-Columbian human mummies from sites across South America including
Ancon,
Acari,
Arica and
Leyva, a number of prestigious pre-Columbian gold and
votive objects from Colombia, three axe-shaped gold
diadems found near
Camaná from the Siguas culture in Peru, unique collection of
Moche wooden figures and
staffs from the off Peru, ethnographic objects from across the Amazon region including the
Schomburgk and
Maybury Lewis collections and part of the
von Martius and
von Spix collection, two rare
Tiwanaku pottery vessels from
Lake Titicaca and important items from
Tierra del Fuego donated by Commander
Phillip Parker King. File:British Museum otter pipe.jpg|Room 26 – Stone pipe representing an otter from
Mound City, Ohio, USA, 200 BC – 400 AD File:British Museum tomb guardian.jpg|Room 2 – Stone tomb guardian, part human part jaguar, from
San Agustín, Colombia, c. 300–600 AD File:Maya maize god statue.jpg|Room 1 – Maya maize god statue from
Copán, Honduras, 600–800 AD File:Gold Lime Flasks (poporos) Quimbaya Culture, Colombia AD 600-1100 - British Museum.jpg|Room 24 – Gold Lime Flasks (poporos),
Quimbaya Culture, Colombia, 600–1100 AD File:Maya, lintel 25, da yaxchilan, 725.JPG|Room 27 – Lintel 25 from
Yaxchilan, Late Classic, Mexico, 600–900 AD File:Bird pectoral, Popayan, gold alloy, AD900–1600..jpg|Room 24 – Bird pectoral made from gold alloy,
Popayán, Colombia, 900–1600 AD File:Hoa Hakananai'a, British Museum.jpg|Room 24 – Rapa Nui statue
Hoa Hakananai'a, 1000 AD,
Wellcome Trust Gallery File:Aztec double-headed serpent - Denis Bourez - British Museum, London.jpg|Room 27 –
Double-headed serpent turquoise mosaic, Aztec, Mexico, 1400–1500 AD File:Denis Bourez - British Museum, London (8747055335).jpg|Room 27 – Turquoise Mosaic Mask,
Mixtec-
Aztec, Mexico, 1400–1500 AD File:AHOTWgold lama.JPG|Room 2 – Miniature gold llama figurine,
Inca, Peru, about 1500 AD File:Benin Bronzes at the British Museum 1.jpg|Room 25 – Part of the famous collection of Benin brass plaques,
Nigeria, 1500–1600 AD File:Benin brass plaque 01.jpg|Room 25 – Detail of one of the
Benin brass plaques in the museum, Nigeria, 1500–1600 AD File:Idia mask BM Af1910 5-13 1.jpg|Room 25 –
Benin ivory mask of Queen Idia, Nigeria, 16th century AD File:Hawaiian feather helmet, British Museum 3.jpg|Room 24 – Hawaiian feather helmet or
mahiole, late 1700s AD File:Hawaiian bowl.jpg|Bowl decorated with pearl shell and boars' tusks, used to serve the intoxicating drink
kava, Hawaii, late 1700s AD File:British museum, totem.JPG|Great Court – Two house frontal
totem poles, Haida, British Columbia, Canada, about 1850 AD File:Punu mask BM Af1904 11-22 1.jpg|Room 25 – Mask (wood and pigment); Punu people,
Gabon, 19th century AD File:Otobo masquerade.jpg|Room 25 – Otobo masquerade in the Africa Gallery, Nigeria, 20th century AD File:El Anatsui - Man's Cloth.jpg|Room 25 – Modern interpretation of
kente cloth from
Ghana, late 20th century AD
Department of Money and Medals The British Museum is home to one of the world's finest
numismatic collections, comprising about a million objects, including coins, medals, tokens and paper money. The collection spans the entire history of coinage from its origins in the 7th century BC to the present day and is representative of both the
East and West. The Department of Coins and Medals was created in 1861 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2011.
Department of Conservation and Scientific Research This department was founded in 1920.
Conservation has six specialist areas: ceramics & glass; metals; organic material (including textiles); stone, wall paintings and mosaics; Eastern pictorial art and Western pictorial art. The science department has and continues to develop techniques to date artefacts, analyse and identify the materials used in their manufacture, to identify the place an artefact originated and the techniques used in their creation. The department also publishes its findings and discoveries.
Libraries and archives This department covers all levels of education, from casual visitors, schools, degree level and beyond. The museum's various libraries hold in excess of 350,000 books, journals and pamphlets covering all areas of the museum's collection. Also the general museum archives which date from its foundation in 1753 are overseen by this department; the individual departments have their own separate archives and libraries covering their various areas of responsibility, which can be consulted by the public on application. The
Anthropology Library is especially large, with 120,000 volumes. However, the
Paul Hamlyn Library, which had become the central reference library of the British Museum and the only library there freely open to the general public, closed permanently in August 2011. The website and online database of the collection also provide increasing amounts of information. ==British Museum Press==