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    The Ælfgyva of the Bayeux Tapestry
    (2026)
    Lewis Michael John
    The chapter revisits and evaluates theories about aspects of the Tapestry’s images in a book of 16 essays in honour of a distinguished Bayeux Tapestry scholar considering the contexts of the Tapestry’s creation and preservation.
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    Glass bangles from the Yemeni workshop of Kawd am-Saila, Aden (c.14th–16th century): Defining a high-alumina plant-ash (v-Na-al) group
    (2026)
    Nash-pye Charlotte
    ;
    Meek, Andrew
    ;
    Schibille, Nadine
    ;
    Richards, Liam
    ;
    Charlton, Michael
    This paper presents compositional results and typological distinctions for glass bangle debris collected from the Yemeni workshop of Kawd am-Saila (c. 14th–16th centuries) in the province of Aden, and small contemporary collections from nearby al-Karf Road and neighbouring Somaliland held in the British Museum. These bangle fragments share the same typological designs and colour repertoires, consistent with export from Yemen to the Horn of Africa. Archaeochemical analyses were undertaken using SEM-EDX at the British Museum and LA-ICP-MS at CNRS Orléans and the UCL Institute of Archaeology. This study applies an established geochemical framework to identify a new, internally coherent category of glass termed ‘KAS’, characterised by distinct silica and plant-ash sources most likely associated with the region of Aden, consistent with archaeological indications of secondary production at the Kawd am-Saila workshop. The comparative collections were also found to be primarily of this previously undocumented ‘KAS’ composition and the few fragments with typological differences corresponded to other established regional glass groupings. KAS is a soda-lime-silica plant-ash glass most notable for elevated alumina concentrations (c. >4 wt% Al2O3), placing it within the so-called ‘v-Na-Al’ compositional category, a characteristic often associated with Central Asian glass (c. 9th–17th centuries). This study defines the key compositional characteristics of KAS, establishing a new categorisation for a potential South Arabian glass production zone by highlighting notable differences from contemporary Central Asian glasses. Identification of this proposed new composition contributes to a better understanding of plant-ash glasses, offering a new regional reference point for Islamic glass studies. The findings also provide insights into production techniques, compositional variability and circulation patterns of glass bangles across the western Indian Ocean during the medieval to early modern period.
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    Multiplied wonders: Italian Renaissance woodcuts
    (2026)
    Aldovini, Laura
    ;
    Landau, David
    ;
    Urbini, Silvia
    The accompanying hardback catalogue to the British Museum exhibition Multiplied wonders: Italian Renaissance woodcuts, opening in October 2026, this richly illustrated publication presents the first significant study of Italian Renaissance woodcuts in the British Museum. Woodcut was an important and highly inventive medium during the Italian Renaissance. Artists created designs for specialist cutters, who transformed them into relief printing blocks, requiring both technical skill and a remarkable ability to anticipate how a design would translate into print. This publication examines regional differences in the production of woodcuts, highlighting leading schools, designers and cutters, while exploring how and why this flourishing aspect of Italian printmaking declined so rapidly in favour of engraving. The technical demands of cutting into a wooden block and foreseeing the image that would emerge in relief attracted some of the leading artists of the period. The medium inspired designs of extraordinary ingenuity across a wide range of subjects, including landscapes, mythology, devotional imagery and imagined portraits. Some woodcuts were produced on a spectacular scale, such as Titian’s Submersion of the Pharaoh’s Army in the Red Sea, which measures more than two metres in length. With a few notable exceptions, woodcuts fell out of favour after the mid-sixteenth century, becoming increasingly associated with the cheaper and more popular end of the print market and consequently neglected by collectors. As a result, many woodcuts in the British Museum’s collection are the sole surviving examples or one of only a handful known today. The publication brings these remarkable works together, including celebrated prints by artists such as Titian and Parmigianino alongside woodcuts that have never previously been exhibited.
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    Item type:Journal article,
      5
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    The Bayeux Tapestry
    (2026)
    Brunning, Sue
    ;
    Lloyd de Beer
    ;
    Lewis Michael John
    ;
    Naomi Speakman
    The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most significant surviving objects in European history. This book celebrates its unique loan to the British Museum and will be the essential volume about the Tapestry for generations to come. The Bayeux Tapestry is a unique historical embroidery almost 70 metres long which tells the story of the events leading to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 by William, Duke of Normandy. Its account of the eleventh century in England and France is like no other, revealing details from civil and military architecture to armour, seafaring and everyday life. Featuring a full-colour reproduction of the Tapestry, this exhibition book allows readers to follow the narrative visually while texts from international experts unpick the importance of the work in understanding this pivotal moment in European history. The latest research into the Tapestry is presented across five chapters that explore its patronage, design and production, its status as an iconic work of art and its depictions of daily life. Focused profiles woven throughout introduce key figures from the world of the Tapestry offering moments of personal connection within the sweeping story.
      13
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    Korea: 2,000 years of creativity
    (2026)
    Sang-ah Kim
    For over 2,000 years Korea has had a unique history and vibrant culture, frequently absorbing and adapting ideas from elsewhere to produce art and crafts that are distinctively Korean. Across the centuries, down to the present day, artists and craftspeople have taken inspiration from the past, re-creating and reinterpreting forms and meanings in innovative ways. Showcasing an exceptional collection of objects drawn primarily from the collection of the late Samsung Chair, Lee Kun-Hee, this new book presents Korean culture from its ancient roots through to the present day. Through four key periods – Ancient States to Unified Silla (prehistory–935 CE), Goryeo (918–1392), Joseon (1392–1897), and modern/contemporary – the authors explore each era’s differences in religion, economy and relations with neighbouring countries, factors that shaped artistic traditions and cultural values. From early Iron Age ritual bells, through to inlaid lacquerware, landscape paintings, portraits, sculpture, pottery and multimedia contemporary art, this beautifully illustrated new book celebrates the unique history, art and culture of Korea.
      4
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    Rounded With a Sleep: The Transitional Role of Grave Goods in the Archaeology of Ritual and Emotion
    (2026)
    Wilkin, Neil
    Although grave goods have been a major concern in archaeology since its inception, the question of what objects buried with the dead actually do—in both ritual and emotional terms—has remained relatively opaque and understudied. This paper addresses the issue directly, illuminating the ways graves goods served to unstitch the dead from the ‘objective’ quotidian life of the ‘self’ and enter into ‘subjective’ communities of the dead; how objects buried in graves can simultaneously belong to the dead and the living, playing an importantly paradoxical role in navigating journeys between the needs and identities of the living, dying and the dead and the role of grave goods in addressing and transforming the anxieties caused by death and the creation of positive psychological emotional benefits, community cohesion and solidarity. To develop these ideas, I draw attention to the similarities between the concept of ‘transitional objects’, which serve to bridge subjectivity and objectivity (inner and outer worlds), and grave goods, both of which can be understood in terms of ritual processes and ritualized acts.
      2
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    'Satyros Saved by Sarapis’: Ptolemaic Elephant- Hunter Dedications in the Temple of Seti i at Abydos
    (2026)
    Timothy Moller
    This paper examines a series of Ptolemaic secondary inscriptions found within the temple of Seti I at Abydos. By contextualising their spatial placement and analysing the information conveyed by the texts, it argues that their positioning was not incidental, but instead constituted a deliberate engagement with the architectural fabric of this millennium-old monument.
      1
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    Medieval Europe Research Community Papers Vol.2: proceedings of the postgraduate and early career conference in medieval archaeology (Wroclaw 2024)
    (2026)
    Jacob Sawicki
    ;
    Lewis Michael John
    ;
    Vargha, Mária
    The Medieval Europe Research Community Papers Vol. 2 contains the proceedings from the Postgraduate and Early Career Conference in Medieval Archaeology held in Wrocław in 2024
      3
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    Plain yet significant: The making of a new typology of unglazed pottery from Takht-e Suleiman
    (2026)
    Bangsborg Thuesen Mette
    New Research on Old Collections in Southwest Asian Archaeology presents a compilation of papers by early career researchers exploring the potential and challenges of working with legacy collections which often remain overlooked in museum and archival stores. These papers stem from a workshop held at the British Museum over three consecutive days in July and August 2023 and offer different approaches to object biographies, provenance research, and the reinterpretation of well-known sites and archival material. By (re-)engaging with these overlooked materials, the volume positions research on legacy collections as a meaningful, sustainable research practice in archaeology of ancient Southwest Asia.