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2022
Book chapter
Mediterranean encounters: Greeks, Carians and Egyptians in the first millennium BC
The first millennium BC was a crucial period in the history of contact between Egypt and Greece. Three case studies examine the processes and people behind and the impact of this contact. They will take us from sixth century BC cosmopolitan Memphis, with its international population including Greeks and Carians,...Villing, Alexandra
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2022
Journal article
Salvage excavations in the Berber-Abidiya Region, 1999: a post-Meroitic single descendary, two-entrance tomb in el-Fereikha
Rescue excavations undertaken in el-Fereikha Sudan revealed a post-Meroitic tomb (4th-5th c AD) with a large oval burial chamber with two entrances reached by a single descendary. Few tombs of this type have been documented and their use seems restricted to the region between Meroe and Berber-Abidiya. Little organic material...Anderson, Julie ; Bashir, Mahmoud Suliman ; Ahmed, Salah Mohammed
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Book
India: A History in Objects
India: A History in Objects is a beautiful exploration of India's past, which highlights objects from the British Museum collection. Arranged chronologically, and abundantly illustrated with expertly selected objects, this superb new overview connects today’s India with its past. Early chapters uncover prehistoric objects from 1.5 million years ago, examine...Blurton, Richard
material culture, history, and India
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2022
Book
Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic
Divine women – in many guises – have featured in every world faith, from deep history until the present day, inspiring people and cultures across the world. In a cross-cultural and global approach, this book discusses Eve alongside Inanna, Radha and Aphrodite in the context of sex and desire, while...Crerar, Belinda
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2022
Journal article
Studying Saraha: technical and multi-analytical investigation of the painting materials and techniques in an 18th century Tibetan thangka
Scientific analyses of the traditional materials and methods in thangka production are uncommon, as thangkas are sacred objects, the sampling of which is discouraged, in order to preserve their integrity. This study builds on this important ethical challenge and presents a three-stage methodology that systematically delves deeper into each layer... -
2022
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2022
Journal article
Displays of money and medals at the British Museum, 1759 to 2022
The aim of this paper is to give a survey of displays of money and medals at the British Museum from 1759 to 2022. It takes as its starting point Joanna Bowring’s Chronology of Temporary Exhibitions at the British Museum (2012), which is, to date, the only published list of...Wang, Helen
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2022
Book
The Hay Archive of Coptic Spells on Leather: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Materiality of Magical Practice
The Hay archive of Coptic manuscripts consists of seven fragmentary sheets of leather bearing spells for divination, protection, healing, personal advancement, cursing and the satisfaction of sexual desire. Purchased from the heir of the Scottish Egyptologist and draftsman, Robert Hay (1799–1863), the manuscripts arrived at the British Museum in 1869....O'Connell, Elisabeth
papyrology, religious studies, Coptic studies, and Egyptology
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2022
Book
Munch and his World: Graphic Arts and the Avant-garde in Paris and Berlin
Munch and his World: Graphic Arts and the Avant-garde in Paris and Berlin is a visually stunning publication which offers new insights into the life and world of the artist Edvard Munch. The art of Edvard Munch is striking for the originality and universality of its themes, which cross moments...Bartrum, Giulia
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2022
Journal article
Coin hoards from England, Scotland and Wales, 2022
Annual round up of coin hoards studied for the Treasure Act 1996Andrews, Murray ; Ghey, Eleanor
Iron Age, numismatics, and Roman
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2022
Journal article
An Iron Age coin hoard from Nursling, Hampshire
The article outlines the contents of an Iron Age coin hoard found in 2018 and discusses the significance of the coinage and the broader archaeological context of the find.Ghey, Eleanor ; Talbot, John
numismatics and Iron Age
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2022
Book chapter
Characterising transformation in religious material culture AD 1000-1700: through the study of archaeological finds discovered by the public in England and Wales
This paper puts forward an archaeological approach to examining changes in material culture, through time and across boundaries, here focusing on what might be termed (though maybe not very precisely) ‘religious objects’. Pilgrim ‘souvenirs’ are clearly important in this regard, not least because they travelled between places, and were owned...Lewis, Michael
medieval, religion, and material culture
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2019
Book
Roman Imperial Coinage II.3: From AD 117 to AD 138 Hadrian
The standard reference work for Roman Imperial coinage of Hadrian now occupies a fully revised and greatly expanded standalone volume to cover the last epoch of what many consider the apogee of Roman coinage – begun with Nero’s reform of AD 64 when great effort was taken over their iconographic...Abdy, Richard
numismatics and Hadrian
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2022
Book
Hieroglyphs: unlocking ancient Egypt
Today the history of ancient Egypt is known around the world, recognizable in precious museum collections and countless retellings from popular culture. Yet for hundreds of years, from the late Roman Empire to the 19th century, the wonders of this ancient civilisation were frozen in time, locked in artefacts that...Regulski, Ilona
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2022
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2022
Journal article
Protecting Three-Dimensional Museum Collections During Transport: Engineering and Evaluation of Transport Crates Featuring Wire-Rope Isolators for Improved Vibration Mitigation
Shock and vibration generated during transport can lead to overload failure and fatigue fracture in museum objects. Damage can be prevented using transport packing providing both adequate shock absorption and vibration isolation. This research demonstrated that standardized packing with enhanced vibration mitigation is achievable for three-dimensional objects in a busy...Kotonski, Verena ; Kracht, Kerstin ; York, Evan ; Barton, Caroline
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2021
Journal article
Coin hoards from England, Scotland and Wales 2021
Early Medieval, archaeology, hoards, Post-Medieval, numismatics, coins, Medieval, Iron Age, and RomanGhey, Eleanor ; Andrews, Murray
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2022
Book chapter
Hoarding in Roman Britain: an archaeological and contextual approach
An overview of the approach and results of the British Museum / Leicester University AHRC funded project studying Iron Age and Roman hoards from Britain.Ghey, Eleanor
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2022
Book
Chinese Numismatics: The World of Chinese Money
This is the first book to explore the history of the field of Chinese numismatics from both Eastern and Western perspectives. Consisting of four papers that complement each other beautifully, it gives a sound introduction to the study of Chinese numismatics, focusing on the 19th century and, crucially, how to...Wang, Helen ; Thierry, Francois ; Jankowski, Lyce
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2022
Book
Egypt and Empire: The Formation of Religious Identity after Rome
Across Eurasia and North Africa in the First Millennium AD, empires rose and fell, each adopting a universalizing faith which distinguished it broadly from its neighbours. In Egypt, our sources are particularly rich, owing to the land's arid climate and the unparalleled survival not only of stone, ceramic and metalwork,...O'Connell, Elisabeth R.
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2020
Journal article
The British Museum and the State Hermitage Museum: collaboration, exhibitions, research
Explores the long history of collaboration between these two museums through exhibitions, conferences, research, scientific exchanges and archaeological excavations over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, and shows how museums exercise soft power and maintain dialogues even in challenging political timesSimpson, St John
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2021
Book chapter
An analysis of coca leaves
Six Paracas/Nasca textiles with embroideries were scientifically examined not only to identify the fibres, but also to see if any of the textile bags contained traces of coca leaves. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that one of these bags still contained tiny traces of coca leaves.Cartwright, Caroline
coca leaves, textile bags, and Peru
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2021
Journal article
The art of gardens: an introduction
This volume argues that looking at gardens through the lens of art and aesthetics generates new insights into the role that gardens have for those who make and depend on them. Drawing on some of the debates around the anthropology of art, we suggest that aesthetics provides a rich analytical...Bolton, Lissant ; Mitchell, Jean
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2021
Journal article
Heavy metal and the beauty industry: an unexpected connection from ancient Afghanistan
Explores the relationship between facial whiteners, cosmetic containers and by-products of the metal industry by reference to archaeological finds from Afghanistan and objects seized by UK law enforcement and now in the National Museum of AfghanistanSimpson, St John
Afghanistan, cosmetic, and Bronze Age
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2018
Journal article
A corroboree for the Countess of Kintore: enlivening histories through objects
This paper discusses a corroboree performed in Darwin in 1893 to illustrate the potential of British ethnographic collections for researching overlooked historical events. The performance was brought to light after a collection of Aboriginal artefacts used in it was noted and examined by the author in the collections of Marischal...Sculthorpe, Gaye
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2016
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2020
Book
The Italian coins in the British Museum volume 1: South Italy, Sicily, Sardinia
A catalogue of the British Museum's collection of coins of South Italy, Sicily and Sardinia between 610 and 1860, with introductions on the history of the coinage and the provenance of the collection.Cook, Barrie ; Locatelli, Stefano ; Sarcinelli, Giuseppe ; Travaini, Lucia
British Museum, coinage, Italy, monetary history, and Sicily
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2020
Journal article
Peasants, produce and tractors: farming scenes on Communist banknotes
Communist regimes in the twentieth century deployed a common visual language through banknote imagery, forging new narratives framed within the context of shared political and economic goals. In particular, farming imagery came to dominate banknote design. All communist regimes pursued extensive agricultural reform, from the ownership of land to the...Hockenhull, Tom
communism, currency, and agriculture
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2021
Journal article
Tantra: Enlightenment to Revolution
A scholarly overview of the British Museum's 2020 exhibition, Tantra: enlightenment to revolution.Ramos, Imma
British Museum, Tantra, and exhibition
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2021
Journal article
Some weapons to take away: the spread of decorated projectile points across Magdalenian societies
This paper presents a consideration on the spread of decorated weapon tips across Magdalenian societies. Based on a comprehensive review of the ten types of decorations identified on weapon tips from south-western France, the comparative analysis of their distribution shows their value to document both short and long distances relationships,...Lucas, Claire
Weapon, Magdalenian, and Portable art
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2022
Journal article
Putting the pieces back together: Rembrandt's Lamentation drawing under the microscope
A thorough examination of Rembrandt’s early drawing of the Lamentation at the Foot of the Cross in the British Museum (Benesch 154; registration number Oo,9.103) using magnification (x10), transmitted light, infrared imaging and Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), in order to conclusively establish the construction of the paper and the different...Horbatsch, Olenka ; Snow, Rebecca ; Taylor, Samantha
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2022
Book chapter
The small finds
Part of a multi-author chapter discussing late and post-medieval finds from excavations on the island of Kinolhas, illustrating links with South Asia, the Middle East and East Africa, and illustrating the importance of the Maldives within Indian Ocean networks.Abe, Yoshinari ; Dussubieux, Laure ; Wood, Marilee ; Haour, Anne ; Simpson, St John
archaeology, Indian Ocean, and Maldives
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2021
Journal article
Revealing relationships: colonial photograph albums of the Niger Delta at the British Museum: a case study
The focus of this paper is a collection of photographs currently housed in the British Museum. Two albums (British Museum reference numbers Af,A46 and Af,A47) are identified as belonging to Arthur Purt, thought to be a European trader in the Niger Delta in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries....Anderson, Helen
Nigeria, Photographs, and Colonial
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2021
Journal article
The haunting of Assyria: a chilling new detail from the Sack of Nimrud
Discusses a previously unrecognised ancient graffito on an Assyrian sculptureSimpson, St John
iconoclasm, graffiti, and Assyria
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2021
Book
Journal Special Issue: The Art of Gardens: Views from Melanesia and Amazonia
This volume argues that looking at gardens through the lens of art and aesthetics generates new insights into the role that gardens have for those who make and depend on them. Drawing on some of the debates around the anthropology of art, we suggest that aesthetics provides a rich analytical...Mitchell, Jean ; Bolton, Lissant
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2021
Journal article
Assyrian palaces: from their foundation to their destruction in antiquity
The more recent synthesis in English to explore all aspects of Assyrian palaces and their decorationSimpson, St John
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2015
Book
Hoards: Hidden History
Every so often a remarkable discovery hits the headlines - often an account of treasure hunters striking lucky after years of searching the land, or perhaps a chance find made by a farmer after ploughing. With each new hoard comes a story, or a number of possible stories and unanswered...Ghey, Eleanor
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2021
Book chapter
Early medieval industries of Khurasan and evidence for the mining, working and export of talc cooking pots, and small items of jet and turquoise
Discussion of textual evidence for the exploitation of different resources in Khurasan, and how archaeological evidence from Merv shows the import of talc cooking pots, and small items of jet and turquoise from neighbouring highland Iran in the early medieval period, with the implications that they raiseSimpson, St John
archaeology, Khurasan, and Merv
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2020
Journal article
The Great Wave: how to identify reproductions
Korenberg, Capucine
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2020
Book chapter
Defining a Romano-Egyptian painting workshop at Tebtunis
The collections of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, include eleven mummy portraits excavated between 1899 and 1900 from Tebtunis, Egypt. This group constitutes one of the largest assemblages of Roman-period mummy portraits to remain both together and unrestored since excavation; as such, it presents...Williams, Jane ; Cartwright, Caroline ; Walton, Marc
painting, Egypt, Tebtunis, mummy portraits, scientific research, wood anatomy, and pigments
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2020
Journal article
Forgeries of Hellenistic bronze coins of Ithaca
This article examines the stylistic and metal composition differences between two variants of the bronze Odysseus/Cock type from Ithaca. It posits that Variant 2 is a forgery, which must have been produced after the Hellenistic period but before the end of the 19th century. It also identifies a historic substitution...Dowler, Amelia ; Perucchetti, Laura
British Museum, copper, metal composition, Hellenistic, X-ray fluorescence, copper alloy, numismatics, tin, coins, bronze, forgery, zinc, and Ithaca
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2020
Book
Arctic: culture and climate
For more than 25,000 years, Arctic peoples have made warm and hospitable homes in diverse and innovative ways out of ecosystems of ice. For the first time in their long history, however, Arctic communities are facing the real possibility that the foundations of their way of life—sea ice and permafrost—will...Lincoln, Amber ; Cooper, Jago ; Jan Peter, Laurens Loovers
archaeology, museum collections, Indigenous Arctic People, Arctic, climate change, and anthropology
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2020
Book
Mummy Portraits of Roman Egypt: Emerging Research from the APPEAR Project
This research has revitalized scholarly and scientific research into Roman Period Egyptian mummy portraits and provided a critical tool for understanding their production and influence on the history of art.Svoboda, Marie ; Cartwright, Caroline
science, Roman Period, pigments, multispectral imaging, wood, mummy portraits, painted panels, and Egypt
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2020
Book chapter
Touching the past: the Breadalbane Brooch and its bearers
The Breadalbane Brooch is a highlight of the British Museum’s early medieval Insular collection. A lavish accessory, it writhes with interlace and glitters with gold and glass gems. Encountering it on display, its first impact is as an art object rather than something that was made and used by real...Brunning, Sue
Symbolism, Zoomorphic, Pictish, Insular, Scotland, Irish, Picts, Celtic, Modification, Brooch, Early Medieval, Ireland, Dress, Use-wear, and Metalwork
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2020
Journal article
A coin of Augustus struck at Butrint
This article discusses a coin of Augustus struck at Butrint, found on excvations at Butrint, which possibly shows either Aeneas or Ascanius (Julius). It is appended to an article about related sculpture found at ButrintMoorhead, Sam
Coin, Aeneas, Augustus, Ascanius, Roman Provincial, Roman, and Butrint
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2020
Book
The social context of technology: non-ferrous metalworking in later prehistoric Britain and Ireland
The Social Context of Technology explores non-ferrous metalworking in Britain and Ireland during the Bronze and Iron Ages (c. 2500 BC to 1st century AD). Bronze-working dominates the evidence, though the crafting of other non-ferrous metals – including gold, silver, tin and lead – is also considered. Metalwork has long...Adams, Sophia ; Brück, Joanna ; Webley, Leo
Prehistoric Britain and Ireland, Metalworking, and Technology
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2020
Journal article
The art of hunting: coordinating subsistence laws with Alaska native harvesting practices
This paper explores the socioeconomic relationships between Alaska Native harvesting practices, the laws that regulate those practices, and Alaska Native art. In the 21st century, indigenous residents of northwestern Alaska incorporate harvesting activities into their travels between small rural communities, regional centers, and larger Alaskan cities. These harvests efficiently coordinate...Lincoln, Amber
art, markets, Arctic, Inuit, and anthropology
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2020
Book chapter
A passion for prints: Netherlandish engravings in an early sixteenth-century prayer book
An extraordinary prayer book manuscript dated c. 1530, recently acquired by the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), shows that printed images became recognized as a collectible category of art much earlier than is commonly understood. The manuscript includes 16 masterfully hand-coloured engravings by Netherlandish printmakers, including Lucas van Leyden’s 12-print series, the Engraved...Horbatsch, Olenka
Lucas van Leyden, manuscript, hand-coloured, engravings, Netherlandish, modified prints, etchings, Frans Crabbe, and prints
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2020
Journal article
Manufacturing techniques of Eastern Zhou bronze ding vessels with short legs: a case study of bronze ding (1949,0711.1) in the British Museum collection
This paper presents a detailed technical study of a Chinese bronze ding vessel with a bulging body, three short legs and a lid in the British Museum collection (1949,0711.1). It is a representative product made by the pattern-block method of the Houma foundry, the largest foundry site of the Eastern...Wang, Quanyu ; Su, Rongyu ; O'Flynn, Daniel ; Chen, Yi