The day before it closed due to the pandemic...Snaps from the glorious British Museum the day before it shut down in March as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK. It's dignified, it's elegant, and it's a world-class display of Britannia's best war booty from its many years of plundering and/or civilising the rest of the world. The museum holds priceless, famous, and very controversial artefacts such as the Rosetta Stone (which helped unlock our understanding of the ancient Egyptian language), the Elgin Marbles (which were originally part of the Parthenon in Athens), and the Benin Bronzes (that once decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in modern-day Nigeria). These objects, among many others, have highly contested ownership. I often find that exploring a museum is as much an act of self-discovery as it is uncovering a particular collection. I find myself often mysteriously drawn to particular, idiosyncratic items for instinctual reasons. That blip, that feeling of magnetism to an object can be an intriguing and even thrilling sensation to have. Examples of items I found myself loving in this museum:
And who can't help but be awed by the museum's Easter Island statue (or moai) or the marvellous African artistry of the Benin Bronzes? Again, pity about their disputed ownership... It was sad, of course, to see the museum in such a quiet state as a result of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic into the UK. It was quite eerie, in fact. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the quietest the British Museum had ever been in years. And who could blame anyone — a global pandemic will do that to visitor numbers. What a wonderful place, though. I certainly hope that as we overcome this awful virus, this incredible museum, along with many others the world over, will return to life.
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AuthorMing is an economist, traveller, and creative writer from Melbourne, Australia. He’s a nebulous collection of particles on the lookout for a good corner to sit with a book and a cup of coffee. Archives
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