One of the largest and most popular museums in the world, visiting the British Museum is an exhilarating and exhausting experience. There is so much to see, and so many people, that it was quite overwhelming. I’ve visited a number of times but these photos are from a weekday in June 2022, when I’d never seen it so busy. It was almost scary at times given that another wave of Covid was arriving and there were no protections in the UK.
The British Museum has over 8 million objects in its collection, some collected in highly dubious fashion. Less than 1% of the objects are on display, but this is still a huge number. It would take days to properly see and read about them all, so I moved around until things caught my eye, some of which are in this post.
To start with the ever popular items from Egypt and Sudan, the largest collection in the world after the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
There are some truly monumental pieces, dozens of elaborate mummies, and the famous Rosetta Stone, nearly hidden behind the crowds.
I particularly liked the Assyrian objects in the Middle East collection.
Roman items caught my eye in the Britain and Europe section, along with the wonderful Lewis chess pieces. the famous Sutton Hoo helmet, and the wax death mask of Oliver Cromwell.
The Asian section was understandably diverse, though Buddha and Hindu gods featured prominently.
The British Museum has a significant collection of objects from Oceania, but few are on display unfortunately, so here’s just one, a Moai from Easter Island.
To finish with possibly my favourite area, the Africa galleries, filled with incredible items, both old and new.
The Benin Bronzes are some of the more contentious items in the museum, understandable given how beautiful they are, and the circumstances by which they became part of the collection.
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