In Brief
British Museum Uploads 3D Model of the Rosetta Stone
Now you can examine the 196 BCE stone stela in all its textural glory.
British Museum
Art
Hokusai’s “Great Wave” Was Only a Drop in the Bucket
Already fully accomplished by his fifties in a range of styles, from his sixties Katsushika Hokusai’s paintings and prints begin to accelerate in ambition and sophistication, leaping between styles and subjects.
Art
Why an Indigenous Australian Wants the British Museum to Return His Ancestor’s Shield
Rodney Kelly is campaigning the museum to repatriate the Gweagal shield, which belonged to his great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather.
News
At British Museum Protest, Australian Aboriginal Activist Demands Repatriation of Ancestor’s Shield
On Sunday, with help from the theatrical protest group BP Or Not BP?, Rodney Kelly appealed to the public for the return of the Gweagal shield.
Art
Watch the British Museum Conserve Its Largest Print, a 16th-Century Dürer Woodcut
Albrecht Dürer's "Triumphal Arch" is one of the largest prints ever made, and after a century on view at the British Museum, its conservation was a colossal task.
Art
The British Pennies Defaced in Protest by a Suffragette
A 1903 penny on view at the British Museum features the words "Votes for Women" letter-stamped by a suffragette over the face of the king.
Art
Recreating the Face of a 9,500-Year-Old Man
A 9,500-year-old human skull at the British Museum may help visitors connect to our human ancestors.
News
In Wake of Trump's Election, Protestors Address Climate Change at the British Museum
In a performance at the British Museum, the theatrical protest group BP or not BP? marked the final weekend of a BP-sponsored exhibition and responded to the election of Donald Trump.
Art
The Enduring Power of Southeast Asia's Traditional Shadow Puppets
For centuries, shadow puppet theater not only captivated audiences across Southeast Asia but also held ritual significance for various local communities.
News
Anti-BP Protesters Release Pirates, Merpeople, and the Kraken at the British Museum
LONDON — The irony of oil company BP sponsoring the British Museum’s current exhibition Sunken Cities will have been lost on few.
Opinion
Art Not Oil Coalition Issues Statement on BP’s Sponsorship of UK Cultural Institutions
We received the following statement from the Art Not Oil coalition regarding the new BP sponsorships of major cultural institutions in the UK.
Art
The Many Influences and Invasions that Shaped Two Millennia of Sicilian Art
LONDON — Sicily: Culture and Conquest is one of the last exhibitions commissioned by outgoing British Museum director Neil MacGregor and encapsulates what made his tenure so valuable.