Ah the British Museum! One of the largest collections in the world! When I stepped into the British Museum, I began to understand just how powerful the British empire had been at the height of its power. It was marvelous being able to see so many historical artifacts gathered in one place, and to actually see history rather than small pictures in a textbook.
At first I couldn’t fathom how it even crosses someone’s mind to pack up the facade of a tomb to take home. I suppose it is similar to my desire to capture everything with my camera in the form of pictures, only they had the ability to bring back the actual monument.
Someday, I hope to stay a few months in London and explore the museum as well as other parts of London more thoroughly! The British Museum was one of the reasons why I felt like I had barely started scratching the surface after seeing London for two and a half days. I think I could probably go daily for weeks and still not see everything there is to see there. Even if I were to finish seeing everything, I wouldn’t mind visiting again just to sit in the beautiful courtyard.
The shape and height of the ceiling just added to this incredible spacious feeling with beautiful beautiful lighting. I was so captivated by this area that I spent the last few minutes before closing just sitting here admiring the architecture.
The elements of the modern and the classical antiquity seemed to be in perfect harmony in this courtyard; beautifully orchestrated!
I had forgotten a lot of important dates and specifics of historical events, but the Rosetta Stone wasn’t one of them! The reflections on the glass encasing made it a bit hard to see the whole Rosetta Stone clearly when standing in front of it. The trick was to stand a bit off to the side. It reminded me of bad gallery lighting where you can’t see a painting directly from the front because the lighting above it creates a glare that whitens out the artwork.
A wise professor once told me that the only way to truly appreciate sculpture is to see it in person from every angle. I most wholeheartedly agree. This beautiful marble statue is Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. According to the audio guide, she was caught off guard during a bath and trying to cover herself with her arms.
This sculpture of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, is part of the east pediment of the Parthenon. It’s such a shame that so many statues have lost their heads and limbs over time. Imagine how extraordinary the Parthenon would have been in its time! This large sculpture was only a small part of the Parthenon. I wasn’t able to visit Greece this time, but someday I will go see the Parthenon and imagine its former glory.
Most of the art that I have worked on has been mend-able in one way or another. Pencil can be erased, clay can be reshaped, and 3D files can be adjusted. Of course, some things are trickier. Photos can’t always be retaken, calligraphy must be rewritten, and watercolor can only suffer a certain number of brush strokes. However, none of these are comparable to sculpting with stone. It reminds me of a scene in Disney’s Aladdin where a distracted Egyptian sculptor breaks the sphinx he was working on. It’s probably terribly time-consuming to start over, not to mention expensive! I think it gives you a greater appreciation for stone sculptures.
The detail on this gold cape was amazing! Probably uncomfortable as it looks like you wouldn’t be able to raise your arms, but still quite beautiful to look at.
There was so much to see, so little time. I only had about three hours there and quickly started to realize that I simply wasn’t going to be able to see it all. There seemed to be no end of rooms full of things to see and as time trickled through my fingers I had to force myself to pass by a great deal to focus more on things that caught my eye. Even so I wasn’t able to see entire sections in the museum. If you love learning about history and seeing relics of the past then the British Museum is a must-see. Which part of the museum would you be most interested in?
