Miniature meditating skeletons, snarling cats, eerie ghosts, and gods of fortune carved in ivory, wood, and horn adorned the sashes of Japanese men throughout the Edo period.
British Museum
Posted inNews
British Museum Will Train Iraqis in Rescue Archaeology
There’s nothing like watching ISIS blow up the ancient city of Nineveh to make archaeologists, conservationists, and historians feel helpless.
Posted inArt
The Pomp and Mockery of Louis XIV’s Propaganda Medals
Louis XIV, like politicians of today, knew the value of controlling his public image.
Posted inArt
British Museum’s First Commissioned Caribbean Sculptures Tower Over Its Great Court
Wander into the British Museum’s Great Court these days, and you’ll encounter two large, black and gold Moko Jumbie sculptures guarding the staircases on either side.
Posted inArt
Praise the Lord! The World’s Oldest Bible Goes on Display at the British Museum
For only its second time on loan, the earliest known Bible is going on view this October at the British Museum.
Posted inIn Brief
Greece Won’t Sue to Get the Elgin Marbles Back
The Greek government has decided not to go to court to demand restitution of the Elgin Marbles, which the country has been trying to get back from the British Museum for three decades.
Posted inOpinion
A Patronizing Argument Against Cultural Repatriation
In the past few decades, cultural institutions in the West have increasingly felt pressure to return artifacts acquired through questionable means during the colonial era.
Posted inNews
Once More, Britain Refuses to Return the Elgin Marbles
In 2013, UNESCO asked the British Museum to let it mediate a deal between it and the government of Greece, which has been calling for the return of the Elgin Marbles with ever-growing fervor for the past 30 years.
Posted inNews
For #MuseumWeek, Institutions Share Their Secrets Online
What are museums hiding in their pasts and inside their collection storage vaults? Some of those secrets (or just lesser-known facts) are being shared by institutions around the world this Museum Week through the hashtag #secretsmw.
Posted inNews
UK Institutions Relying Less on Corporate Sponsorship
In January, many were surprised to find that BP’s controversial sponsorship of Tate Britain represented a relatively small slice of its overall funding.
Posted inArt
British Museum’s Display of Aboriginal Artifacts Prompts New Demands for Their Return
There are only a handful of bark art examples from the Dja Dja Wurrung in Australia, and they’re leagues away from their place of origin. A new exhibition of indigenous art of Australia at the British Museum, which holds these artifacts in their collections, will finally bring them back to the South Pacific. However, leaders there want them returned permanently.
Posted inArt
Let Them Eat Art: Queens Through the Ages
In her infamous speech at the British Museum last year, writer Hilary Mantel described Kate Middleton, future queen of England, as a “shop-window mannequin” whose sole purpose was to look pretty and give birth.