Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
painted red and white), and four modern apocalyptic papier-mâché skeletons from the
Mexican Day of the Dead festival. Close by is the famous crystal skull, thought to have
been Aztec when the BM bought it in 1897, but now known to be a fake.
Next door is the
North American gallery
(room 26), whose precise exhibits change
regularly, due to the delicate, organic nature of the materials used. However, you can
be sure to find feather headdresses, masks, basketry, bead and shell currency and
zoomorphic stone pipes. From the Arctic, there are Inuit furs and skins, including a
caribou-skin parka and bone sled, and from the Southwest, the ever-popular Pueblo
pottery made by the Hopi.
he
Mexican gallery
(room 27) covers Mexican art from the second millennium BC to
the sixteenth century AD. The centrepiece is an Aztec fire serpent, Xiuhcoatl, carved in
basalt: on one side is a collection of Huaxtec female deities in stone, sporting fan-shaped
headdresses; on the other are an Aztec stone rattlesnake, the squatting figure of the
sun-god, Xochipili, and the death-cult god, Mictlantecuhtli. A series of limestone Mayan
reliefs from Yaxchilan, depicting blood-letting ceremonies, lines one wall and, elsewhere,
there are some exquisite fifteenth-century turquoise mosaic masks and figurines.
6
Africa
he BM's
Africa
collection is housed on the lower floor (room 25). As you enter, you'll
see the “Throne of Weapons”, made in Mozambique from decommissioned weapons,
as is the “Tree of Life” further on. Nearby there are
woodcarvings
from a whole range
of African cultures: everything from carved gods from Mali to backrests from the
Congo. Further to the left, you'll find the Yoruba royal palace doors, carved in high
relief and depicting, among other things, lazy British imperialists arriving on a litter to
collect taxes. And don't miss the incredible display of throwing knives from central
Africa in the next door gallery.
To the right, there's a section on
masquerades
, with elaborate crocodile, buffalo,
warthog and hippo masks from the last two centuries, and a video of contemporary
initiation ceremonies in Nigeria. Perhaps the most famous of the BM's African
exhibits are the so-called “
Benin Bronzes
”, looted by the British in 1897. Confusingly,
these are neither bronzes (they are, in fact, brass), nor from modern-day Benin, but
from the former Benin Empire within modern-day Nigeria. Among the most
impressive are the fifty or so ornate sixteenth-century brass plaques, nine hundred of
which once decorated the royal palace in Benin City. Other Benin exhibits, such as
the eye-catching ivory leopards studded with copper gun caps, were actually
commissioned by Europeans.
Asia
The BM's Chinese collection is unrivalled in the West, and the Indian sculpture is
easily as good as anything at the V&A. The Asian galleries (rooms 33, 67 & 92-95)
are in the museum's north wing, by the Montague Place entrance.
China
he
Chinese collection
occupies one half of room 33. Immediately striking are the large
pieces of garishly glazed
three-colour statuary
, particularly the three seated sages at the far
end of the room, and the central cabinet of horses, camels, kings, of
cials and fabulous
beasts. However, take time for the smaller pieces: the miniature landscapes (cabinet 56),
popular among bored Chinese bureaucrats, or the incredible array of
snuff bottles
(cabinet 54), made from lapis lazuli, jade, crystal, tortoiseshell, quartz and amber. The
Chinese invented
porcelain
, and there's a whole range on display here, but for an even
more impressive collection of Chinese ceramics, head for room 95 (see opposite). Lastly,
don't miss the
Chinese jade
, on display in the adjacent corridor (room 33b).
