Blog

Enjoy the latest news and stories from the British Museum.

Conservators work in the Hirayama studio with scrolls and artworks in front of them, surrounded by wooden boards and red lacquer tables

Museum stories / 2 October 2024

One of a kind: the Hirayama Conservation Studio

Step inside the Hirayama Studio as it celebrates 30 years conserving East Asian masterpieces on paper and silk in a unique space.

Detail from a manuscript showing a decorated initial with an elephant's head.

Exhibitions and events / 23 September 2024

Far from home: travelling the Silk Roads

From an African king to a Chinese princess, meet the fascinating figures whose stories are forever entwined with the Silk Roads.

Chaos in a classroom as two teachers come head-to-head and pupils look on

Objects in focus / 13 September 2024

Time(table) travellers

Missing the summer holidays? Tour the world through the ages and land back in the classroom with a fresh perspective.

Man sitting on stairs with colour masked figures behind him.

Blog / 4 September 2024

Unlocking 'Hew Locke: what have we here?'

Explore how artist Hew Locke has worked with the Museum to challenge and question the histories and legacies of British imperialism.

Inside a large open book featuring a handwritten catalogue.

Exhibitions and events / 30 August 2024

For the curious and interested

The British Museum collection was left to 'curious' and interested people. 271 years on, what does it mean to be 'curious' today?

Sketch in charcoal and red chalk of Anne Damer, with large hair and glancing upwards

Blog / 27 June 2024

Anne Seymour Damer: public life, private love

Gossip about Anne Damer's sexuality nearly wrecked her relationships and reputation, but in this queer love story, love outlasts scandal.

Gold pendant in the shape of a semicircle, engraved with triangular shapes that reflect light to create a shimmering effect

Objects in focus / 17 June 2024

Solstice, sunshine and the sacred

From Bronze Age Shropshire to the Temple of the Sun in Peru, ancient peoples marked the solar calendar with acts of ritual and reverence.

Painting on a wooden panel of the 'silk princess'

Exhibitions and events / 10 June 2024

Beyond sand and spices: introduction to 'Silk Roads'

Learn how recent research has revealed a rich, intricately connected world, whose horizons stretched far beyond sand and spices.

A cartonnage coffin covered in gold and blue pigment, with magnets applying pressure in places.

Museum stories / 10 May 2024

A 3D puzzle: conserving the Aswan cartonnage

Conservators took on the challenge of conserving a rare 2,300-year-old coffin. Four years later, the Aswan cartonnage is on display.

Japanese paper infills are toned with watercolour to the surrounding area of cartoon paper

Exhibitions and events / 1 May 2024

The biggest challenge: conserving Michelangelo's 'Epifania'

Go behind the scenes to discover how conservators prepared an extremely rare (and enormous) Michelangelo drawing for our latest exhibition.

Pencil and charcoal drawings of figures surrounded by dark border. The figure in the middle wears glasses and a hat that reads 'CAMP'

Exhibitions and events / 26 April 2024

Bodies are Sacred: a collaborative artwork inspired by Michelangelo

Six generations of LGBTQIA+ artists came together to make an artwork inspired by drawings on display in 'Michelangelo: the last decades'.

A white marble portrait of a woman with centre parting and braided wig.

Exhibitions and events / 6 March 2024

Women to the front

Men may have done the fighting, but Legion shows that a picture of Roman military life without women is just wrong, says Mary Beard.

Drawing of a man pushing himself up with his arms, viewed from behind.

Exhibitions and events / 26 February 2024

Introduction to 'Michelangelo: the last decades'

Discover the extraordinary dynamism of Michelangelo's work in the final 30 years of his life with exhibition curator, Sarah Vowles.