British Museum and Bits of Westminster

Statue of Ramses II, from the Ramusseum, western Thebes, about 1270 BCE.

As you are no doubt aware, our British friends created a large empire on which the sun never set, and stole treasures from all over the world to bring home for display. While the ethics of all of this are of course highly questionable, it does mean that, in one morning in London, you can see an absolutely fantastic collection of art and antiquities from the world over. And after the dreadful destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, maybe some of these treasures are currently safer in London. The collection was quite vulnerable during the Blitz, though, so maybe it's not such a great idea to put all of these things in one place.

Eric's picture of a street on the edge of Chinatown.

Eric outside Forbidden Planet, which was not yet open for the day.

Eric, who had seen the great museum before, stopped to check in at the London offices of Household Name Technology Company. He couldn't bring me in with him, so I went on to the museum myself.

British Museum

Entrance to the museum.

Great Court of the museum. As beautiful as it is, it's tempting to think that maybe these precious objects should be displayed inside some kind of hardened bunker instead.

The museum is, of course, huge, and you could of course spend several days. I'm going to take you on a little virtual tour of the museum. The map listed twelve "must-see" choices, which I will show you first. Then I'll show you a selection of my favorite choices art and antiquities from each continent. I selected first for pieces that were in better states of preservation. But I wanted to show you something a bit different from the usual art tour, so I selected for pieces more unique and unusual to my eye, and those that were more oriented toward women and women's lives.

Museum's Top Twelve

The Lewis Chessmen, a medieval set from Scotland.

The king and queen.

Gold armband from the Oxus Treasure, from ancient Iran.

The royal game of Ur.

Only a part of this exhibit was displayed, because the rest of it was out on loan to Abu Dhabi. The irony of this did not escape Eric.

The Portland Vase, a Roman inspiration for Wedgwood.

Samurai armor from medieval Japan.

Samurai helmet. Think Lucas might have seen something like this?

Eric of course was particularly fascinated by the Samurai stuff and took pictures of the swords.

Ceramic tomb figures from the Tang dynasty, 8th c., probably Henan province.

The tomb figures included some horses.

Ivory pendant mask from Nigeria, 16th c.

Easter Island statue, in basalt, known as Hoa Hakananai'a.

Most famous object in the museum, the Rosetta Stone. Detail of the hieroglyphs and Demotic script.

Detail of the Demotic script and Greek.

Large statue at entrance to Assyrian lion hunt exhibit, mid 7th c.

The main attraction at this exhibit was a series of reliefs about hunting a lion. Here is the lion being slain.

Horse from the Mausoleum of Halikarnossos, 4th c.

A woman from the Mausoleum of Halikarnossos.

Women from the Parthenon.

Another woman from the Parthenon.

The Obligatory Egyptian Antiquities

Gold-painted mummy cases.

Gebelein man, unintentionally preserved in the desert, providing the inspiration for mummification.

Eric took a picture of Egyptian glass marble game pieces.

Lotus column, Heracleopolis, about 1250 BCE.

Meroitic script, 1650 BCE.

Some members of my audience will be particularly interested in these fragments of Coptic Art, from the 4th to 7th c. CE.

Other Treasures That Struck Me

Face from the Temple of Ninhursag, near Ur, about 2500 BCE.

Babylonian boundary stone.

The top stone details observations of the planet Venus; the bottom one is a cuneiform star chart, both from the Royal Library of Nineveh.

Tablet from the Epic of Gilgamesh, also from the Royal Library of Nineveh.

Babylonian tablet detailing observations of Halley's Comet, from 164 BCE.

King Idrimi of Alalakh (1570-1500 BCE). Note the expression on Idrimi's face. The cuneiform inscription tells us that he was deposed in a popular revolt and forced into exile.

Turkish coins, some of the earliest money in the world, 650 BCE.

Nereid monument, a temple tomb found in southwest Turkey, showing the Greek and Persian influences on Lykian culture, 390-380 BCE.

Tomb of Seianti Hanunia Tlenasa, a wealthy Etruscan woman, from 150-130 BCE.

Eric's photo of a statue of Aphrodite.

Marble tombstone from Delos, about 375 BCE. The description says, "A nude youth taking an oil flask from a boy attendant."

Greek vases depicting the limited role of women in Greek society.

Dionysus in silver, 2nd-3rd c. CE.

Dionysus in tile, dancing with a panther, 4th c CE. The panel says this is a Roman work, so I am not sure why he is not labeled as Bacchus instead.

Marble bust of younger Faustina, wife of Marcus Aurelius, from Cyrene, North Africa, 162-170 CE.

The Projecta Casket, in silver, a wedding gift, 380 CE. This is inscribed "Secundus and Projecti, Live in Christ" in Latin, but also shows Venus and some winged cupids. Thus, it shows a rare glimpse into the transition between paganism and Christianity, a time when both were alive in Roman society.

Royal Gold Cup, depicting scenes from the life of St. Agnes, 284-305 CE.

Here, Procopius is showing being strangled by a demon for trying to rape St. Agnes.

Viking pins, characteristic of Irish-Viking design.

A balance used in Viking trade, 700-1000 CE. Have a mentioned that a visit to Iceland increased my appreciation for Vikings?

Citole, an ancestor of the guitar, with incredible detail in the wood carving. English, 1300-1330.

A Japanese clock, 1700's. The clock shows hours of different length, depending on the time of year, which was the Japanese system until 1873.

Japanese bridal outer gown, to be worn over a kimono and sash, silk, 1899.

Eric's picture of a Buddha.

My photo of the plaque for this object was blurred, but I can tell you that it's Indian and it's gold, intricate and beautiful.

The Boddhisatva Tara, in bronze, Sri Lanka, 8th c. CE.

Shiva and Parvati, 13th c. CE.

Ganesha, 13th c. CE.

While I enjoyed all of the Egyptian, Greek and Roman art, we've all seen a lot of that stuff. We've even all seen a fair amount of Asian art. What struck me most at the museum was the African art, which gave me some real insights into African culture. These items are not what we see every day, and they fascinated me, even though they are modern.

"Woman Power" bicycle kanga, Tanzania, 2005. The plaque tells us that the inscription reads, "The woman is the catalyst to development."

The Throne of Weapons, Mozambique, 2001. After the end of the lengthy civil war in Mozambique in 1992, the people were encouraged to trade in their weapons for agricultural, domestic and construction tools. I thought the throne made a particularly powerful statement.

A tree of life from Mozambique, also a commemoration from after the end of the civil war.

Nigerian sculpture, 20th c. The plaque describes it as an especially complex work of art.

Hippo masquerade, used in a performance, of the Kalabari people of southern Nigeria, 1995. The hippo is a dangerous animal, and the masquerade sometimes attacks people during the show.

Detail of a large display of medieval African tiles, mostly depicting warriors.

Red velvet hat with silk tassels, Ethiopia, 19th c.

Malawi mask, 20th c., for a masquerade, depicting the chief of a neighboring tribe.

We could have spent much more time in the museum, but I did at least pass through most of the galleries and felt that I had seen a decent selection of the exhibits. The bookstore... the bookstore was very dangerous. I could have bought everything.

Tea

On the way to tea, we passed through Trafalgar Square.

Statue of Horatio Nelson, who fought Napoleon's navy.

Entrance to the tea place, Boyd's Brasserie Bar & Lounge. Note the opulent marble.

Eric took my picture having tea.

I had thought that taking pictures might be kind of gauche, but then the people at the next table asked him to take their picture, then they offered to take ours.

The tea itself was Twinings tea bags and not terribly exciting, but we had a shrimp pate, the typical finger sandwiches, the tray of little cakes and scones with the clotted cream and jam, and then some tiny ice cream cones. It was a lovely little treat.

Westminster

The Hungerford Bridge.

The London Eye. Eric did not think this was worth its high cost.

He did take a picture of it, though, framed by a streetlamp.

More of Parliament.

Wide-angle Parliament.

We met some Brazilians, who took our picture in front of Parliament.

For some reason, outside Parliament, there is a statue of Oliver Cromwell?

More of Westminster Abbey.

Eric's picture of the Abbey.

He also got a picture of a gargoyle sticking its tongue out.

A plaque told us that Caxton's famous printing press had been set up near this place.

They wouldn't let us take pictures inside the Abbey (which seems ridiculous given the ubiquitous security cameras). So, I can't show the beautiful and ornate ceilings, the fabulous organs, the beautiful decorations in many of the small chapels. I can't show you the graves of Chaucer, Darwin, Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor, Mary Queen of Scots, and countless others. Cromwell was originally buried here, but three years later, his body was dug up and desecrated. I can't show you the Poet's Corner, with the graves of Samuel Johnson, Charles Dickens, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Thomas Hardy, and Rudyard Kipling, and memorials to William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Lewis Carroll, and Lord Byron. It was all very elaborately beautiful and historic.

We were able to take a picture of the 20th century martyrs, however, since they are on the outside of the Abbey.

Martin Luther King!

Manche Masemola, a South African teenager who was killed by her parents for wanting to be a Christian. [Yes, I had to look it up on Wikipedia.]

St. Margaret's Church.

We got Indian food in Covent Garden. The service was much more expeditious than in the British pubs, and the food was good.