The Grand Saloon and the
Egyptian Sculpture Gallery, an
engraving
The British Museum, London, England, mid to
late 1830s
From Illustrations of the
British Museum
The engraving shows the Egyptian Sculpture
Gallery soon after it was opened in 1834. As yet only the northern
part of the gallery had been built. Where the southern part of the
gallery stands today were the Townley Galleries, which were
demolished in 1846. The wider area which now forms the centre of
the gallery was then known as the Grand
Saloon.
It is afternoon,
and the sun is shining in through the west-facing windows onto the
Egyptian sculptures which have recently been installed. Several of
the sculptures which are in the gallery today can be seen. The two
red granite lions from the Temple of Soleb are in the foreground,
and beyond them are the statue of Amenhotep II (on the left) and
the head of Ramesses II (at the far end on the right). The walls of
the gallery were painted dark red, a dramatic background for the
stone sculpture.
In the
Grand Saloon are pieces of Classical (Greek and Roman) sculpture.
These were moved out before the whole of the gallery was taken over
for the display of Egyptian sculptures in 1854. Several children
have been brought on educational visits by their parents. But the
biggest crowd has gathered to watch the man who, sitting on a pile
of boxes, is painting a copy of one of the Classical
sculptures.