Treasures from the British Museum
The museum's facade. It's the classic image of what a museum's front should look like. At some point I should look up who the people are above the entrance.
Just inside the entrance. Also absolutely beautiful. The staircases are quite dramatic.
But not as dramatic as this. This is the main central courtyard. The ceiling is really stunning. Like the ceiling of the routunda at the ROM, but beautiful in a very different way. I love how its just a big open space. Its very needed from the rest of the building. I got over stimulated walking around. It provided a much needed break from looking at the ridiculously amazing collections.
Museum's motto?
The British Museum's crystal skull. Fake aztec antiquity, actually most likely made in germany and purchased through an antiquities dealer and then tiffany's.
Random art? I enjoyed it immensely.
A Hoa Hakananai'a statue. Crazy British imerialism.
Figure which I believe was from New Zealand, if I recall. The eyes are inlaid with, I think it was shell, and are so striking, otherworldly.
Statue in one of the stairwells. The hands I take it were made separately and attached afterwords. The holes there were once for wooden pegs that held in the hands.
I noticed these because only just this summer I noticed similar detailing on the pillars inside the ROM.
Shabtis in the musuem's egyptian collection. The craftsmanship in these is just so amazing.
Really it's amazing to look at the impressiveness of everything at the British museum, because its head and shoulders above everything at the ROM, and everything the ROM has, the British museum has at least and probably more than one analog of. I will say that the galleries themselves look a lot older than the ROMs, worn down and used sort of. The cases often look at little worse for wear.
Coffin covered in gold.
Note not sarcophagus. Thats the stone box that the coffin then goes in to. The ancient egyptians liked layers.
Frog jar!
This is one of the builders of the pyramids. The large stone piece next to them is one of the cover stones from the great pyramids. They originally were not stepped like they are today. They were covered in limestone blocks which made the sides smooth. These though were taken to build Cairo as it grew.
Again, amazing craftsmanship in this shabti.
Carved ivory wand which would have been used in ceremonies and for magical rites.
Hippo votive offering I believe it was. Votive offerings are made in the likeness of a god or an animal sacred to one and given to a temple in hopes of earning their favour.
Cat mummy. Cats were often mummified, again as offerings. Mummification was the gift of eternity. Spirits needed the body to go and rest in, so preserving the cats body for eternity meant that its spirit would live forever.
Mummified fish. Not really an offering. More like a lunch for the deceased it was buried with.
Now we've moved into Greece. These are wee mouse jars.
An orrery. Its a model of the solar system used to either predict movements or to teach about astronomy. This one I think is a smaller model of the one built by some king in their orrery.
This hall was really cool. Its set up like a library, but its lined with cases and cases of curios.
Like this. A tablet with cuneiform writing.
Aztec jug I believe.
Carved flint.
More photos to come. There's a lot of em... Heh.