BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 79: Kakiemon Elephants 23 Sept 2010
A pair of Japanese porcelain elephants. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum looks at how the skill of porcelain production spread across the Far East. Kakiemon, named after a Japanese potter, was much desired by the European...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 80: Pieces of Eight 24 Sept 2010
15th Century silver coins. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines pieces of eight - rough silver coins that were to become an international currency as Spain's trade with the world grew in the 15th and 16th centuries....
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 81: Shi'a Religious Parade Standard 27 Sept 2010
Religious parade standard from Iran. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the development of faiths about 400 years ago, beginning with a standard from Iran that was carried at the front of processions as a symbol of...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 82: Miniature of a Mughal Prince 28 Sept 2010
Miniature showing encounter between an Indian Mughal prince and a holy man. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at a 17th-century miniature and uses it to explore the religious tolerance encouraged by the rulers of...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 83: Shadow Puppet of Bima 29 Sept 2010
Puppet from the Indonesian island of Java. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the relationship between religion and society in South East Asia 400 years ago by examining a shadow puppet from Java. He talks to a...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 84: Mexican Codex Map 30 Sept 2010
Map showing details of the foundation of two towns in Mexico. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines an old map, or codex, that illustrates Spain's zeal for building churches after conquering Mexico in the 16th century....
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 85: Reformation Centenary Broadsheet 1 Oct 2010
Broadsheet depicting the Reformation of the Christian Church. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines a broadsheet souvenir, commissioned in Saxony in 1617 to raise morale on the centenary of the Protestant Reformation....
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 86: Akan Drum 4 October 2010
18th century African drum. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines an African drum that was taken to America during the slave trade- where drumming was to prove an important cultural influence. The object was later...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 87: Hawaiian Feather Helmet 5 Oct 2010
Feather helmet worn by Hawaiian chief. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines a chieftain's helmet given to Captain James Cook after he landed in Hawaii in 1778. He looks at the impact of Cook's mapping and collecting...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 88: North American Buckskin Map 6 Oct 2010
Map of the area between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the differing attitudes towards land and living of Europeans and Native Americans in the 18th century. He looks at a...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 89: Australian Bark Shield 7 Oct 2010
Aboriginal shield collected by Captain Cook. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at a shield owned by one of the first Indigenous Australians to set eyes on Europeans, as they descended on Botany Bay in 1770. What can...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 90: Jade Bi 8 Oct 2010
Inscribed jade disc. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores life in 18th-century China through a jade disc, or bi. This disc was owned by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty at a time when the country's culture was...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 91: Ship's Chronometer From Hms Beagle 11 Oct 2010
Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at an instrument that first helped Europeans to navigate with precision around the world - a marine chronometer. In particular the chronometer that accompanied Charles Darwin on his...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 92: Early Victorian Tea Set 12 Oct 2010
Wedgwood pottery tea set. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at the history of Britain's relationship with tea by examining an early Victorian stoneware set made by the Staffordshire pottery firm of Wedgwood. He...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 93: Hokusai's the Great Wave 13 Oct 2010
Hokusai woodblock print. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines The Great Wave by Hokusai, one of the defining images of the power of the sea. He discovers its production initiated a wider awareness of Japanese art and...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 94: Sudanese Slit Drum 14 Oct 2010
A wooden drum from central Africa. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, examines a buffalo-shaped drum from Sudan which was played in a court orchestra and used to transmit messages or summon warriors to war. The drum was...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 95: Suffragette Defaced Penny 15 Oct 2010
A defaced coin from 1903. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the rise of mass political engagement in Britain and the emergence of the suffragettes by examining a penny coin, on which the image of Edward VII has...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 96: Russian Revolutionary Plate 18 Oct 2010
Decorated plate from St Petersburg. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the Russian Revolution by looking at a plate painted with propaganda for the new Communist state. The plate was made at the Imperial Porcelain...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 97: Hockney's in the Dull Village 19 Oct 2010
Print by the British artist David Hockney. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the sexual revolution of the 1960s through a print by David Hockney which shows two men in bed together. The work was one of a series...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 98: Throne of Weapons 20 Oct 2010
Chair made from decommissioned guns. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the impact of weapons on the modern world by examining a sculptured throne made from decommissioned guns. The weapons are remnants of the...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 99: Credit Card 21 Oct 2010
A plastic credit card. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the changing role of money in the modern world by looking at a Shari'a compliant credit card. How is modern banking adapting for new markets and what are the...
BBC
Bbc Podcasts: Episode 100: Solar Powered Lamp and Charger 22 Oct 2010
A lamp that runs off sunlight. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, looks at the final object in the series: a solar-powered lamp with a charger that can bring cheap light and power to people around the world with no access to...
BBC
Bbc: Learning Zone Broadband Class Clips: How Shadows Are Made
A shadow puppeteer shows how to create a shadow puppet. [2:02]