Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience.

Exhibitions and events

13 events

Pieces of paper laid out on the floor on top of each other.

Artists making books: poetry to politics
. Free .

This intriguing new show explores the history of artists taking on the medium of books.

Black and white print showing map of Venice with chreub-like heads in clouds and boats in the water surrounding Venice.

Venice 1500: Jacopo de’ Barbari and the rise of printmaking
. Free .

This display showcases the innovation and variety of printmaking in Venice during the High Renaissance.

Japanese festival float model teaser 1

Japan’s Festival Floats
. Free .

For centuries, summertime in Japan has centred around spectacular local festivals with costumes, singing, dancing and incredible floats.

A close up photograph of a silver griffin. The griffin has curled horns, a beak and gold details including its wings.

Luxury and power: Persia to Greece
. Book now .

Drawing on dazzling objects, this exhibition explores how luxury shaped the political landscape of Eurasia in the first millennium BC.

Ink and colour picture showing the head and shoulders of an elderly Chinese woman with her hair tied back. She is wearing green earings and a blue jacket decorated with gold leaves around the neck.

China’s hidden century
. Book now .

In a global first, the resilience and innovation of 19th-century China is revealed through the stories of its remarkable individuals.

Gold armlet with two dragon looking figures attached.

Exhibition / Family activity

1 Jun 2023

Persia and Greece: family art and tales
. Free .

Join us for crafts and storytelling celebrating the art and culture of ancient Persia and Greece.

A small bottle with an orange stopper. On the front, it has a black and white image of an old Chinese man with a long white beard wearing a skull-cap.

Online events / Lectures & discussions

1 Jun 2023

Curator's introduction to China’s hidden century
. Book now .

Join curators Jessica Harrison-Hall and Julia Lovell as they introduce the context and highlights of this extraordinary exhibition.

Bust of Ramesses the Great in Room 4

Online events / Lectures & discussions / Members' exclusive

£16 (Members)
12 Jun 2023

Ramesses the Great: Egypt's king of kings
. Book now .

Join acclaimed Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson to explore the life, dramatic reign and enduring legacy of the pharaoh Ramesses the Great.

Colourful kimono-like informal gown with a swooping phoenix on the front. Colours are mainly brown, pink, purple and blue.

Accessible event

15 Jun 2023

Audio-described tour of China’s hidden century exhibition
. Book now .

VocalEyes' Timna Fibert leads this audio-described event, which provides evocative visual descriptions with a guided tour of the exhibition.

Hydria showing a woman shaded by a parasol.

Online events / Accessible event

12 Jul 2023

Audio-described tour of Luxury and power exhibition
. Book now .

Lonny Evans leads this audio-described event, providing evocative visual descriptions with a guided virtual tour of the exhibition.

Print showing a semi-circular scene depicting soldiers attacking towns people.

Film / Members' exclusive

£28 (Members)
16 Jul 2023

Behind the screens: 300
. Book now .

Join us for an unforgettable afternoon of cinema and historical discussion with a special screening of the 2006 smash hit 300.

Fragments of a clay tablet against a black background.

Online events / Lectures & discussions / Members' exclusive

£8 (Members)
21 Jul 2023

Assyrian medicine: healthcare fit for a king
. Book now .

Explore the complaints and cures found in an ancient medical textbook with Curator Krisztián Simkó.