The British Museum
How to catch a unicorn | Curator's Corner Season 2 Episode 7
Curator Naomi Speakman explores the fantastical world of medieval bestiaries and the mythical creatures found within. To find out more read Naomi's blog on fantastic medieval beasts: https://goo.gl/7EDEzD
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Conserving Vulture Peak | Ep4: Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry
Scientist, Dr Diego Tamburini analyses the dyes used to colour the fibres of the Vulture Peak embroidery. He uses a technique known as Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry to find out what was used to colour the embroidery threads....
The British Museum
Conserving Vulture Peak | Episode 3: Conservation assessment
This week Hanna and Monique discuss the specific areas that need to be addressed to conserve this delicate embroidery. The embroidery dates from China’s Tang dynasty (AD 618–907). It depicts the Buddha preaching at Vulture Peak – in...
The British Museum
Conserving Vulture Peak | Episode 2: Curatorial introduction
This week we join Jane Portal, Keeper of the Department of Asia at the British Museum, as she explains the history and rediscovery of the Vulture Peak embroidery – one of the most magnificent of all the compositions found in the hidden...
The British Museum
Desire, love, identity: exploring LGBTQ histories
In honour of Pride 2017, we have filmed part of the trail of LGBTQ-related objects on display throughout the Museum. These objects hail from across the world and throughout history. This trail is part of the free temporary display Love,...
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Print making: screenprint
MA student of Printmaking Jennifer Talbot demonstrates the techniques of screenprinting and discusses how inserting a technical process has affected her art practice. Screenprints by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg and Ed Ruscha all...
The British Museum
Conserving Dürer's Triumphal Arch
Follow the latest stages of the complex conservation process of Albrecht Dürer's Triumphal Arch – one of the largest prints ever produced. Curator Giulia Bartrum and Paper Conservator Caroline Barry talk through some of the steps...
The British Museum
How to tell the time in the dark... in the 17th century | Curator's Corner Season 2 Episode 6
In 1675 (or thereabouts) telling the time in the middle of the night was no easy task. You couldn't simply flick a light switch and look at a clock. To get around this problem the British clockmaker Edward East came up with an ingenious...
The British Museum
Conserving Vulture Peak | Episode 1: Introduction
Join textile conservators Monique Pullan and Hannah Vickers as they embark on this intricate conservation journey over the course of 11 weeks. This embroidery dates from China’s Tang dynasty (AD 618–907). It depicts the Buddha preaching...
The British Museum
Print making: etching
MA student of Printmaking Peter Wylie shows the traditional techniques of etching, using acid, smoke, rosin, plate and stylus. The process has been used by artists from Rembrandt and Goya to the present. You can see etchings by Claes...
The British Museum
Print making: lithography
Laura Bianchi, MA student of Printmaking at Camberwell College of Arts, UAL, demonstrates the techniques of lithography – using carborundum, oil, water and ink – and discusses how the painterly aspect of the process suits her artistic...
The British Museum
Conservation of a Romano-British urn | Episode 10: Completion
The final episode in the series tracking the in-depth conservation of this Romano-British cinerary urn. Watch previous episodes in the series - https://goo.gl/U851ra Cinerary urns were designed to carry ashes, especially the ashes of...
The British Museum
Idrimi: a 3,500-year-old refugee from Aleppo | Curator's Corner Season 2 Episode 5
Idrimi was a refugee who fled Aleppo in Syria about 3,500 years ago – the same Aleppo so often in the news today. Later, as a much older man, Idrimi had this statue made of himself, with his life story written across the front, literally...
The British Museum
Curating America: the importance of prints
From 1960 to the present day, the greatest American artists have been drawn to printmaking to create some of their most exciting work. From Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns to Kara Walker and Ed Ruscha, they have combined bold colours, huge...
The British Museum
Hidden Treasure: a gold hoard found in a piano
This is the story of a mystery hoard of gold found inside a piano. Piano tuner Martin Backhouse came across several tightly wrapped fabric bundles while working on an instrument that had been newly donated to Bishop’s Castle Community...
The British Museum
Ancient Egyptian poetry: The Tale of Sinuhe
Oxford University professor Richard Bruce Parkinson worked with actress and writer Barbara Ewing to record a dramatic reading of one of the finest works of Egyptian poetry The Tale of Sinuhe. Here, they discuss working together and the...
The British Museum
The American Dream: pop to the present at the British Museum
From Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg to Ed Ruscha, Kara Walker and the Guerrilla Girls, see America through the eyes of its greatest printmakers. Trace 60 years of a superpower in this major new exhibition. The American...
The British Museum
Why you should love Japanese manhole covers | Curator's Corner Season 2 Episode 2
While walking through the streets of Nagaoka in Japan, Curator Nicole Rousmaniere noticed she was standing on a prehistoric Japanese pot…well, a representation of one of these pots. ‘Dezain manhōru’ are designed manhole covers, and...
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Checking for pests on ‘Potent Fields’ by Karel Nel
How are contemporary works of art looked after at the Museum? See how Karel Nel’s ‘Potent Fields’ was prepared for our #SouthAfricanArt exhibition. The artwork is made using ochre, a natural pigment found in the earth. It is inspired by...
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Shipwrecks and samian ware: commissioning art with Turner Contemporary
Between 8 October 2016 and 8 January 2017, the British Museum sent a Spotlight loan of samian ware pottery to Turner Contemporary in Margate as part of the Museum’s wide-ranging national partnership work. Also known as pudding pans, the...
The British Museum
Titokowaru’s dilemma: an interview with Marian Maguire
New Zealand artist Marian Maguire discusses the inspirations for her lithographic series ‘Titokowaru’s dilemma’. Marian uses the instantly recognisable silhouettes of ancient Greek red-and-black figure pottery, decorating them with Māori...
The British Museum
Curating South Africa: the art of a nation
Curators John Giblin, Chris Spring and Laura Snowling explore the extraordinary breadth and diversity of creativity to come out of South Africa, not simply in the modern age but over the past 3 million years. From rock art and hand axes...
The British Museum
Amazing finds from Egypt’s lost cities
For over a thousand years, the ancient cities of Canopus and Thonis-Heracleion were lost underwater. Curator Aurelia Masson-Berghoff reveals the fascinating story of how archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team found and excavated these...
The British Museum
Conserving a Ndebele beaded blanket
Go behind the scenes to learn how this intricate Ndebele beaded blanket was repaired so it could be shown in our #SouthAfricanArt exhibition, which traces the story of South Africa over 100,000 years. You can buy your tickets for the...