British Museum Artifacts
British Museum - May 9th, 2012
War Propaganda Kimono
Between 1937 and 1941 Japan had a lot of conflict. During these times Japan was at war with the USA, European colonial powers and Southeast Asia which all went on during WWII as well. This kimono (shown to the right) was actually worn by civilians in Japan during the Asian-Pacific war. The government had people of all ages wearing propaganda. The entire country was involved in the war effort and wearing propaganda, no one was excluded.
On this specific kimono the propaganda was maps of a certain part of China. The kimono looked very well made and beautiful.. It said it was made of silk and had a stencil design to give the map design.
The conflict that this kimono promoted is new to me. Of course there are always people with different takes on war but I don't think I've ever heard of anyone in the US wearing something of the sort to promote wars. I've seen plenty of pictures and some people who wear clothing against war. It may also be the different time periods or different government types.
On this specific kimono the propaganda was maps of a certain part of China. The kimono looked very well made and beautiful.. It said it was made of silk and had a stencil design to give the map design.
The conflict that this kimono promoted is new to me. Of course there are always people with different takes on war but I don't think I've ever heard of anyone in the US wearing something of the sort to promote wars. I've seen plenty of pictures and some people who wear clothing against war. It may also be the different time periods or different government types.
Copper Ore, Gold Dust and Silver and Copper shavings
As I walked through the British Museum a few days after arriving in London I came across a little piece of home. There was small section in the museum for the Olympics. In one of the cases there was a display and description of the medals. I began to read it and they started talking about Kennecott Utah Copper Mine supplying the metal for the medals.
I found it amusing but made me also start to miss home for a second. I would have never really expected to see anything from Salt Lake City in a museum thousands of miles away. Kennecott has always been a short distance away from where I'd grown up. When I saw the display in London I knew that copper mine that had always just been down the road had made it to the big time.
I found it amusing but made me also start to miss home for a second. I would have never really expected to see anything from Salt Lake City in a museum thousands of miles away. Kennecott has always been a short distance away from where I'd grown up. When I saw the display in London I knew that copper mine that had always just been down the road had made it to the big time.
Dancing Shiva in a ring of fire
When I came across this Nataraja figure I was immediately drawn to it. My aunt who is quite the free spirit but not religious has always been interested in the Hindu gods. I've known of these gods and what they look like but have never been educated on what they represent. The figure was remarkable. It had some very intricate detail to it. Very pretty.
As I started to read up on Shiva Nataraja I learned the god represented sexual equality. I just took an LGBTQ studies class this spring semester so I was very much so familiarized with the inequality that goes on because of sexual orientation as well as gender. There is more going on with the figure but the biggest part is the sexual equality. It's a beautiful representation of sexual equality. It would be lovely to have everyone believe in equality in every aspect.
As I started to read up on Shiva Nataraja I learned the god represented sexual equality. I just took an LGBTQ studies class this spring semester so I was very much so familiarized with the inequality that goes on because of sexual orientation as well as gender. There is more going on with the figure but the biggest part is the sexual equality. It's a beautiful representation of sexual equality. It would be lovely to have everyone believe in equality in every aspect.
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone, a must see to everyone when they walk into the British Museum. I walked around the museum for a a few hours and the Rosetta Stone was one of the last things I saw. While I was ending my exploration around the museum I realized I hadn't seen the Rosetta Stone yet. I walked into the area and completely walked passed the stone initially. There was a large crowd around the display.
They had a replica you could touch to get a feel for what the stone felt like, I'm sure it didn't quite compare. It was amazing to actually see a piece of stone that clarified so much as far as history and language goes. There were people surrounding it for a while just taking it in I suppose. It was of course very detailed. I was also amazed at how small the writing actually is. I didn't know the reasoning behind the name until I saw the stone and read a little about it. It was named after the town in Egypt it was found in.
They had a replica you could touch to get a feel for what the stone felt like, I'm sure it didn't quite compare. It was amazing to actually see a piece of stone that clarified so much as far as history and language goes. There were people surrounding it for a while just taking it in I suppose. It was of course very detailed. I was also amazed at how small the writing actually is. I didn't know the reasoning behind the name until I saw the stone and read a little about it. It was named after the town in Egypt it was found in.
Venus
Arched Wooden Egyptian Harp
In the description of this Egyptian harp it is explained how the harp was played differently when it was first made. Rather than playing many strings, only two were used. Harps were also used to decorate tombs in Egypt. When the harp was being played it was usually at a banquet for an important god by the name of Amun.
The design on this harp was unreal. The design was a deity with a gray, green and gold like mix of colors. The harp also had a floral design which was beautiful and intricate. It was obviously made differently than what we're used to. This harp had very few in comparison to harps today which typically have about 44. Men were the musicians who played harps in Thebes.
I have a passion for music. This instrument grabbed my attention because it has to do with my passion. It was very intriguing to see how instruments especially harps have evolved since about 1069 BC. There were many other instruments in the museum as well but this was one of the older ones and is an instrument we still use today. It's so lovely to see the handwork put into this instrument.
The design on this harp was unreal. The design was a deity with a gray, green and gold like mix of colors. The harp also had a floral design which was beautiful and intricate. It was obviously made differently than what we're used to. This harp had very few in comparison to harps today which typically have about 44. Men were the musicians who played harps in Thebes.
I have a passion for music. This instrument grabbed my attention because it has to do with my passion. It was very intriguing to see how instruments especially harps have evolved since about 1069 BC. There were many other instruments in the museum as well but this was one of the older ones and is an instrument we still use today. It's so lovely to see the handwork put into this instrument.
Pink Triangle
This pink triangle badge was used by the Nazis to identify homosexuals in concentration camps. When the Hitler came into power it took him about a month to start mistreating and imprisoning gays. They had burned down the headquarters of the German gay movement and began shutting the gay bars down. The Gestapo put together what was called the "pink list' which listed homosexuals who would be going to concentration camps.
Today the LGBTQ community use the pink triangle as a badge of pride. If it has a green circle around the triangle, it is symbolizing a space free of homophobia. Although this was initially used for something so awful, the fact this community could look passed the negativity associated with the badge shows an incredible amount of courage. It's always so nice to see a person or group take something of such negativity and turn it into a form of pride. There have been many communities in our world who have been under scrutiny for things that shouldn't make them any less of a person. It would be so lovely if we didn't have these problems in our world today.
Today the LGBTQ community use the pink triangle as a badge of pride. If it has a green circle around the triangle, it is symbolizing a space free of homophobia. Although this was initially used for something so awful, the fact this community could look passed the negativity associated with the badge shows an incredible amount of courage. It's always so nice to see a person or group take something of such negativity and turn it into a form of pride. There have been many communities in our world who have been under scrutiny for things that shouldn't make them any less of a person. It would be so lovely if we didn't have these problems in our world today.
Helen & Paris Vase
Some say the Trojan war started with king Menelaos wife, Helen leaving him for Paris and others say Paris kidnapped Helen. The British Museum says war started because Helen left Menelaos for Paris. The Greek god Eros and goddess Aphrodite played a part in this love affair.
The vase illustrates Helen and Paris meeting one another. Eros, who is the god of love is shown on the bottom half of the vase. Eros acts as if he has nothing to do with what is going but he is shown to be looking up and his wings are also facing in the same direction. There is also Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and beauty, off to the right of the vase meddling with Helen and Paris.
Greek mythology has always been an interesting subject to me. The museum was unbelievably large which made it hard to find everything on my list. I wasn't able to take a great look at this vase because this was one of the last sections I went to look at. It was amazing the story the vase could tell. If you know about Greek mythology it will be easier to understand however it would be easy to get a very basic understanding when looking at this beautiful vase. It has incredible detail as far as the people and the Greek designs along the sides.
The vase illustrates Helen and Paris meeting one another. Eros, who is the god of love is shown on the bottom half of the vase. Eros acts as if he has nothing to do with what is going but he is shown to be looking up and his wings are also facing in the same direction. There is also Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and beauty, off to the right of the vase meddling with Helen and Paris.
Greek mythology has always been an interesting subject to me. The museum was unbelievably large which made it hard to find everything on my list. I wasn't able to take a great look at this vase because this was one of the last sections I went to look at. It was amazing the story the vase could tell. If you know about Greek mythology it will be easier to understand however it would be easy to get a very basic understanding when looking at this beautiful vase. It has incredible detail as far as the people and the Greek designs along the sides.