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London Photo Gallery - British Museum Top 20

In 2004 and 2006 we traveled to London, England

British Museum Top 20 00-1 Outside Free to the world since 1753, the British Museum houses one of the greatest collections of human cultural history, including the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and the most comprehensive collection of sculpture from the Indian subcontinent in the world. Photography is allowed.

British Museum Top 20 00-1 Outside

British Museum Top 20 00-2 The Great Court The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court. The spectacular glass and steel roof added in 2000 has transformed the British Museum's inner courtyard into the largest covered public square in Europe.

British Museum Top 20 00-2 The Great Court

British Museum Top 20 00-3 Great Court Lion Close Up In the Great Court sits a majestic six ton marble Lion, carved near Knidos in Asia Minor (Turkey) about 350-200 BC, and once crowned a tomb at the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea.

British Museum Top 20 00-3 Great Court Lion Close Up

British Museum Top 20 01-1 The Rosetta Stone 1. Rosetta Stone - Rosetta Egypt, 196BC, 114cm high. This granite stone was the key to deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphs. The writing is in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, using three scripts, Hieroglyphic, Demotic Egyptian and Greek. Soldiers in Napoleon's army discovered the Rosetta Stone in 1799 near the town of el-Rashid (Rosetta). On Napoleon's defeat, the stone became the property of the English under the terms of the Treaty of Alexandria (1801) along with other antiquities that the French had found.

British Museum Top 20 01-1 The Rosetta Stone

British Museum Top 20 01-2 The Rosetta Stone Close Up 1. Rosetta Stone - Rosetta Egypt, 196BC, 114cm high. Here is a close up of the writing in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, using three scripts, Hieroglyphic, Demotic Egyptian and Greek.

British Museum Top 20 01-2 The Rosetta Stone Close Up

British Museum Top 20 02-1 Colossal Bust of Ramesses II and Pete 2. Ramesses II bust – Thebes, 1250BC, 267cm high. This fragment of the statue of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC) was retrieved from the mortuary temple of Ramesses at Thebes by Giovanni Belzoni in 1816. The imminent arrival of the head in England in 1818 inspired the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley to write Ozymandias: My name is Ozymandias, king of kings. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay. Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare. The lone and level sands stretch far away.

British Museum Top 20 02-1 Colossal Bust of Ramesses II and Pete

British Museum Top 20 02-2 Colossal Bust of Ramesses II 2. Ramesses II bust – Thebes, 1250BC, 267cm high. This fragment of the statue of Ramesses II (1279-1213 BC) was cut from a single block of two-coloured granite. The sculptor has used a slight variation of normal conventions to relate his work to the viewer, angling the eyes down slightly, so that the statue relates more to those looking at it. He is shown wearing the nemes head-dress surmounted by a cobra diadem. It was retrieved from the mortuary temple of Ramesses at Thebes in 1816.

British Museum Top 20 02-2 Colossal Bust of Ramesses II

British Museum Top 20 03 Colossal Statue of a Winged Lion 3. Colossal statue of a winged lion - from the palace of Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud in northern Iraq, about 883-859 BC, 3.5m high by 3.7m wide. Stone mythological guardians, sculpted in relief or in the round, were often placed at gateways to ancient Mesopotamian palaces to protect them from demonic forces. This winged lion has five legs so that when viewed from the front it is standing firm, and when viewed from the side it appears to be striding forward against any evil. It wears ropes like other protective spirits.

British Museum Top 20 03 Colossal Statue of a Winged Lion

British Museum Top 20 04-1 Elgin Marbles Block 37 4. Parthenon Horsemen block number 37 – Athens Parthenon, 447-432BC. The Elgin Marbles refers to the collection of sculptures from the Parthenon acquired by Lord Elgin between 1801 and 1805. The Parthenon was built as a temple to Athena on the Acropolis of Athens and was decorated with marble sculptures representing scenes from Athenian cult and mythology. This block from the north frieze shows three horsemen holding the reins of their galloping horses tightly in both hands. The first at the left wears a short chiton, chlamys and sandals, the second a double-belted sleeved chiton and sandals, whereas the body of the third at the join of the two blocks is badly damaged.

British Museum Top 20 04-1 Elgin Marbles Block 37

British Museum Top 20 04-2 Head of a horse of Selene from the east pediment of the Parthenon 4. Head of the horse of Selene – Athens Parthenon, 447-432BC, 83cm. The horse’s head captures the stress felt by a beast that has spent the night drawing Selene’s chariot of the Moon across the sky. The horse pins back its ears, the jaw gapes, the nostrils flare, the eyes bulge, veins stand out, and the flesh seems spare and taut over the flat plate of the cheek bone.

British Museum Top 20 04-2 Head of a horse of Selene from the east pediment of the Parthenon

British Museum Top 20 05 Satdjehuty Mummy Mask 5. Satdjehuty mummy mask - Thebes Egypt, about 1500 BC, 33cm high. The burial of Satdjehuty was discovered around 1820. The winged head-dress on this mask is a feature found on funerary headpieces and coffins, and perhaps denotes protection of the deceased by a deity.

British Museum Top 20 05 Satdjehuty Mummy Mask

British Museum Top 20 06 Gilded Bronze Tara 6. Standing Tara – Sri Lanka, 8C AD, 143cm high. The statue of Tara, the consort of Avalokiteshvara, is solid cast in one piece of bronze and gilded. The goddess is naked to the waist with a lower garment flowing to her ankles. The marked contrast of the slender waist against heavy breasts and hips is the ideal of feminine beauty. Tara's right hand is shown in the mudra of giving; her left hand is empty but may have held a lotus flower.

British Museum Top 20 06 Gilded Bronze Tara

British Museum Top 20 07 Fowling in the Marshes 7. Fowling in the marshes - Thebes Egypt, around 1350 BC, 98cm x 83cm. Nebamun stands on a small papyrus boat with his wife Hatshepsut behind him and his son below. He is about to let fly a throwstick into a mass of birds above a papyrus thicket. The hieroglyphs below Nebamun's raised arm describe him as taking recreation and seeing what is good in the place of eternity (i.e. the afterlife). In front of him is his hunting cat, which has seized three birds, one with its hind claws, one with its fore claws, and one by the wings with its mouth. Numerous butterflies are represented, and the lake is well stocked with fish.

British Museum Top 20 07 Fowling in the Marshes

British Museum Top 20 08 Nenkheftka 8 Nenkheftka – tomb at Deshasha Egypt, 2400 BC, 1.3m high. The painted limestone statue of a provincial official has excellent facial features and great detail on the wig. Statues such as this were intended to keep the memory and the personality of the deceased person alive, so that even if his body were destroyed his spirit would still be able to reside in the statue.

British Museum Top 20 08 Nenkheftka

British Museum Top 20 09 Marble Buddha Amitabha 9. Amitabha - North China, 585AD, 5.8m high. This marble statue of the Meditation Buddha of the west has a very solid form and drapery in extremely flat folds.

British Museum Top 20 09 Marble Buddha Amitabha

British Museum Top 20 10 Easter Island Hoa Hakananaia 10. Hoa Hakananai'a – Easter Island, 1000AD, 2.42m high. Easter Island is famous for its stone statues of human figures, known as moai. They were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors. The stone statue has a heavy eyebrow ridge, elongated ears and oval nostrils. The clavicle is emphasized, and the nipples protrude. The arms are thin and lie tightly against the body; the hands are hardly indicated.

British Museum Top 20 10 Easter Island Hoa Hakananaia

British Museum Top 20 11-1 Gayer-Anderson Cat 11. Gayer-Anderson Cat – Saqqara Egypt, after 600BC, 42cm high. The cat is a sacred representation of the goddess Bastet. The cat has gold rings, a silvered collar round its neck and a silver protective wedjat eye amulet. This cat is known as the Gayer-Anderson cat after its donor to The British Museum.

British Museum Top 20 11-1 Gayer-Anderson Cat

British Museum Top 20 11-2 Gayer-Anderson Cat Close Up 11. Gayer-Anderson Cat – Saqqara Egypt, after 600BC, 42cm high. Here is a close up showing the gold rings, a silvered collar round its neck and a silver protective wedjat eye amulet.

British Museum Top 20 11-2 Gayer-Anderson Cat Close Up

British Museum Top 20 12 Nataraja 12 Nataraja - South India, 1100AD, 90cm.The Hindu god Shiva appears as the lord of the dance, Nataraja, in a ring of fire. His long ascetic's hair flies out on either side of his head as he performs his dance. Beneath his foot he tramples upon the dwarf of ignorance, Apasmara.

British Museum Top 20 12 Nataraja

British Museum Top 20 13 Seated Buddha 13. Seated Buddha – Eastern India (possibly Sarnath), 5CAD, 1.18m high. This sandstone statue of Shakyamuni is notable for its posture, since it is more common to see him seated with legs crossed. Here he sits on a lion's throne with his feet on a double lotus. His hands are in the teaching mudra, delivering his first teaching in the Deer Park at Sarnath.

British Museum Top 20 13 Seated Buddha

British Museum Top 20 14-1 Black Obelisk 14. Black obelisk of Shalmaneser III, 825BC, Nimrod (northern Iraq), 198cm high. The Black Obelisk was erected as a public monument in 825BC at a time of civil war. The relief sculptures on the black alabaster glorify the achievements of King Shalmaneser III (reigned Assyria 858-824 BC) and his chief minister. It lists their military campaigns of 31 years and the tribute they exacted from the kings they had conquered, including camels, monkeys, an elephant and a rhinoceros. There are five scenes of tribute, each of which occupies four panels round the face of the obelisk.

British Museum Top 20 14-1 Black Obelisk

British Museum Top 20 14-2 Black Obelisk Close Up 14. Black obelisk of Shalmaneser III, 825BC, Nimrod (northern Iraq), 198cm high. Here is a close up of the third panel showing the tribute of the country of Musri (probably Egypt), consisting entirely of animals led or driven by attendants dressed in knee-length garments.

British Museum Top 20 14-2 Black Obelisk Close Up

British Museum Top 20 15-1 Blue Egyptian Hippos 15. Blue Egyptian Hippo - 1800 BC. Many small figures of hippos have been found in tombs, possibly buried with the dead so they could be hunted in the after-life. The male hippo was associated with the god Seth and was considered a bad omen, but the female hippo was associated with Taweret, the goddess of childbirth and protector of both mother and baby.

British Museum Top 20 15-1 Blue Egyptian Hippos

British Museum Top 20 15-2 Blue Egyptian Hippo Close Up 15. Blue Egyptian Hippo - 1800 BC. Here is a close up of the very small blue hippopotamus sculpture, decorated with papyrus flowers and birds.

British Museum Top 20 15-2 Blue Egyptian Hippo Close Up

British Museum Top 20 16 Henutmehyt Gilded Outer Coffin 16 Henutmehyt Gilded Outer Coffin - Thebes Egypt, around 1250 BC, 46cm x 187cm. The coffin of Henutmehyt was human-shaped, which was believed to provide the spirit with a substitute body if the mummy should perish. The outer wooden coffin covered with gold leaf provides an idealized image of the dead woman, adorned with her full wig. A collar is spread over the breast, and below it hangs a pectoral (chest) ornament flanked by protective wedjat eyes. The sky-goddess Nut spreads her winged arms protectively across the body, and the hieroglyphic text immediately below invokes her. Vertical and horizontal bands divide the remainder of the lid into compartments which are occupied by figures of the Sons of Horus and the goddesses Isis and Nephthys.

British Museum Top 20 16 Henutmehyt Gilded Outer Coffin

British Museum Top 20 17 Dunhuang Two Standing Avalokiteshvara 17. Two Standing Avalokiteshvara - , Cave 17 Dunhuang China, mid 9C AD, 147 x 105 cm. The British Museum has many artifacts that are not on display, like this one of almost 400 priceless Buddhist paintings on silk from the Dunhuang cave complex in China from the Stein collection. The painting shows two almost identical figures of Avalokiteshvara, one of the most popular of the bodhisattvas, identifiable by the small figure of the Buddha Amitabha in his headdress. One of the only differences between the two figures are the attributes that they hold: that on the left holds a flower, that on the right a vase and a willow branch. All three were popular attributes of Avalokiteshvara. The inscription in the centre of the painting translates in part: '…the disciple of pure faith, Yiwen, on his own behalf, having fallen [into the hands of the Tibetans], hopes that he return to his birthplace.' Therefore this example was commissioned to ensure a peaceful life during the period of war with the Tibetans, who finally had to give up Dunhuang in 948 AD. For more information on Dunhuang, check out

British Museum Top 20 17 Dunhuang Two Standing Avalokiteshvara

British Museum Top 20 18 Book of the Dead of Hunefer 18. Book of the Dead of Hunefer - The judgment of the dead in the presence of Osiris, Thebes Egypt, around 1275BC. After being judged as justified, Hunefer is brought into the presence of Osiris by his son Horus,. Osiris is shown seated under a canopy, with his wife Isis and sister Nephthys behind. In front of Osiris the children of Horus stand on a lotus, while at the top a row of deities supervise the judgment.

British Museum Top 20 18 Book of the Dead of Hunefer

British Museum Top 20 19-1 Amenophis III Seated Statue 19. Amenophis III Seated Statue, Thebes Egypt, about 1400BC. In room 4 there are two 3m high seated statues in black granite of Amenophis III (also spelled Amenhotep). Amenhophis III was the first Egyptian King to be worshipped as a god in his own lifetime. Here is a full view of one of them

British Museum Top 20 19-1 Amenophis III Seated Statue

British Museum Top 20 19-2 Amenophis III Seated Statue Close Up 19. Amenophis III Seated Statue, Thebes Egypt, about 1400BC. In room 4 there are two 3m high seated statues in black granite of Amenophis III (also spelled Amenhotep). Amenhophis III was the first Egyptian King to be worshipped as a god in his own lifetime. Here is a close up of the head of the other statue, with a head-dress ornamented in front with a Uraeus, the figure of the sacred serpent that was an emblem of sovereignty.

British Museum Top 20 19-2 Amenophis III Seated Statue Close Up

British Museum Top 20 20 Pasenhor Wooden Coffin 20. Wooden coffin of Pasenhor – Thebes Egypt, around 900BC. This coffin is well painted with blue, green, black, red and white colours. Pasenhor wears a striped headdress and an elaborate collar around his shoulders and most of his upper body, with leaf and petal shaped elements, and flowers. The Abydos fetish, symbol of Osiris, is in the centre of the collar.

British Museum Top 20 20 Pasenhor Wooden Coffin