"Museum Moment" - British Museum Vol. II

Round 2! We decided to hit the the North America, Mexico, and Africa galleries on Friday night. All of us agreed that the Africa gallery was curated the best out of all of the galleries we've seen. There was a mixture old and new art/artifacts that connected the deeply rooted cultures in several African countries over many centuries. We all kinda laughed when we saw the Native American exhibit inside the tiny North America gallery. The curator had grouped a few artifacts from several tribes all into one case, as if all Native American tribes can just be clumped together and classified as the same people. Maybe we thought it was funny because we've been in museums in the US where one Native American tribe gets an entire section or gallery just for themselves. Oh well...

^^Indiana Jones moment!! This crystal skull was originally thought to be made by the people of ancient Mexica, but recent studies have proof that this was made in Europe from the 19th century.^^

^^Sacrificial themed reliefs that came from a Mayan temple.^^

^^This turquoise mosaic mask from ancient Mexica has bits and pieces of human skull in it.^^

^^This chair is made out of decommissioned weapons from the civil war in Mozambique. It is named "Throne of Weapons."^^

^^Check out that giant, woven basket in the corner. It must have taken forever to finish it!^^

^^Those plaques hanging on the walls were originally from Oba's palace in Benin. During the construction of the new palace, these 16th century plaques were just thrown away. Luckily they were found by explorers and archaeologists, and now there are hundreds of them in museums around the world.^^

"Museum Moment" - British Museum Vol. I

Okay, so I want to start a blog series about museums and galleries. Museums are my thing, so you will definitely see me posting lots of stuff about museums in the future. Hopefully, this will encourage you to go to a museum near you and take advantage of everything they have to offer. 



On Friday, a few of my apartment roommates and I went to the British Museum in the evening for about an hour. Spending only an hour at this place is just impossible, because the museum is way too big to tackle it all in such a short period. Knowing this from the start, we decided to make a promise to go by there once every week or two to cover at least one section of the museum at a time. Since this museum is only a stone's throw away (literally!), we agreed that this would be an easy goal for us. On this trip, we tackled parts of the Middle East, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Greece & Rome.

Going to the British Museum at night is completely different than going during the day. The museum is nearly dark except for the lights that are shining on the works. To me, this really makes the collection stand out, since they are the major focal point of the museum. Plus, the environment is very calm and quiet because fewer people visit the museum at night. This is definitely my favorite time to go to a museum.

^^Colossal statue of a winged lion dates around 883 BC. It is placed at the entrance of the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II along with an exact copy that frames the other side of the entrance. These figures have five legs because they are meant to be seen standing from the front and the side.^^

  

^^Statues from the pediment of the Parthenon are dated around 447 BC. Many of the figures are missing appendages and their heads, but they are still stunningly beautiful.^^

^^Sections of ancient Greek mosaic floors. They are incredibly detailed and very colorful despite their age.^^

^^A few mummies that are on display dressed in different stages of the religious funeral customs of ancient Egypt.^^