“Empire and Collecting,” a new self-guided tour, reflects an attempt to help visitors understand the colonial origins of the collection.
British Museum
Posted inOpinion
The British Museum Isn’t Doing Enough to Fight Illegal Antiquities Trafficking
While the museum presents its attempt to identify trafficked antiquities as an altruistic enterprise, its policing of the antiquities market also distracts from its historic role in acquiring looted objects.
Posted inNews
Climate Activists Crash Arctic Exhibition at British Museum to Protest Oil Funding
BP or not BP? staged the demonstration as part of a day of action convened by the Alaskan Indigenous organizations Defend the Sacred AK and Native Movement.
Posted inNews
British Museum Will Move Bust of its Founding Donor, a Colonialist and Slaveowner
Sir Hans Sloane’s bust will be moved from prominent display to a secure cabinet alongside artifacts explaining his work in the context of the British empire.
Posted inOpinion
Addressing the British Museum’s Colonial History and Hollow Solidarity With Black Lives
“I am disappointed that it took the death of an unarmed Black man for you to join the conversation about the colonial past and present of the British Museum,” says Bayryam Mustafa Bayryamali in a letter addressed to director Hartwig Fischer.
Posted inNews
Anti-Oil Activists Stage Largest Protest Yet at British Museum, With Trojan Horse in Tow
Hundreds of activists occupied the British Museum for a protest lasting over two days straight, coinciding with the BP-sponsored exhibition Troy: Myth and Reality.
Posted inIn Brief
Two Treasure Hunters Headed to Jail After Concealing Their Discovery of Viking Treasure Trove
The metal detector enthusiasts, along with two coin dealers who assisted in selling the concealed find, have all been sentenced to up to 10 years in jail. The collection is worth an estimated $15.4 million.
Posted inArt
When the West Dreamt of Odalisques
Inspired by the East: How the Islamic World Influenced Western Art is a giant teaching aid of a fairly solid and dependable kind, but one that does not quite push far enough.
Posted inNews
Activists Dressed as Trojan Figures Crash Opening of BP-Funded Exhibition
Activist group BP or not BP? interrupted the opening of Troy: Myth and Reality at the British Museum, dressed as “living statues,” including a character of their own invention, “Petroleus.”
Posted inIn Brief
China Sides with Greece Over Return of Parthenon Marbles
President Xi Jinping, expressed his support of Greece’s request to win back the 2,500-year-old friezes after 30 years of British refusal.
Posted inNews
This Is What the World’s First Travel Guide Looks Like
This first edition of the 15th-century book Peregrinatio in Terram Sanctam features the first accurate printed illustrations of Jerusalem and Venice, among other cities.
Posted inNews
Anti-Oil Protesters Will Storm the British Museum with a Trojan Horse
BP or not BP? launched a crowdfunding campaign to build a giant Trojan Horse for its largest protest yet, which will coincide with the museum’s Troy: Myth and Reality exhibition.
