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Masterpieces of the British Museum
This is the new glossy souvenir-style catalogue of the British Museum's finest pieces, and does pretty much what you would expect, coupling exquisite photography which brief but informative descriptions of the context and functions of the artefacts. The pieces are arranged thematically, rather than chronologically or geographically, which makes for some interesting juxtapositions.
288 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2010
About the author
The British Museum
1,812 books8 followersThe British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 18, 2022
A brilliant read with handpicked artifacts from the British Museum on each page. Each is accompanied by a description (relatively short but punchy) and a great quality photo. The book is also laid out so the objects on either side of each page have a loose theme connecting them adding an extra layer of interest.
Would recommend picking this up if your visiting the British Museum and want to know more about objects there.
Would recommend picking this up if your visiting the British Museum and want to know more about objects there.
January 9, 2023
A book with artifacts and descriptions of their history. Pretty much a catalogue with background notes of famous or popular items seen in the The British Museum. I still refer to this book today for inspiration with my writing or when I’m in the mood to research something new. If you have an art or history section of your at-home library, I would recommend adding this book to it.
May 9, 2026
A summary of the museum’s prized collections from around the world. The book focuses on 11 selected themes but overall gives a good overall summary.
1 paragraph is dedicated to each work, so it’s a quick reference guide.
1 paragraph is dedicated to each work, so it’s a quick reference guide.
January 1, 2019
Oooh, I was there.
Read
June 22, 2022I read the 2019 printing. I don't know if it were a different edition.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2015
Review Title: Archeology as art
This overview of about 250 artifacts from the British Museum barely scratches the surface of the millions of artifacts it owns and the thousands on display, and after my two-plus days at the museum I saw maybe 45 of these. This should help give you an idea of how much there is to see at this amazing place and how impossible it is to absorb.
The use of the term masterpieces to describe these objects, most of which were not designed, built, carved, or written with the intent for admiration and study that would qualify them for the use of the term, is both interesting and appropriate. As the text explains, the power of these objects to inspire reflection, thought, creation, and learning about the connections through time and cultures of us as a species earns them the description as masterpieces.
This book is available in all the museum shops at a steep discount when shoppers reach a fairly low spending limit so it is clearly the intent of the Museum to get it in the hands of as many patrons as possible. It is a medium sized paperback printed on quality heavy paper, but not quite big enough to be a coffee table book. A larger format would allow for larger pictures which would help readers see some of the larger objects more clearly, but of course bigger would be more expensive to print the and buy and harder to carry home and read.
Which I think is most of all the objective of the Museum for this book. The objects are arranged by topics such as gods, rulers, people, animals, words, and eating and drinking utensils, which along with the laymen's-level text accompanying the images make the objects accessible to the average reader. For us to understand the power of these masterpieces we need to see them, in person if possible, or on paper, and examine and consider and hold them in our mind's eye, and make them part of our own human experience.
This overview of about 250 artifacts from the British Museum barely scratches the surface of the millions of artifacts it owns and the thousands on display, and after my two-plus days at the museum I saw maybe 45 of these. This should help give you an idea of how much there is to see at this amazing place and how impossible it is to absorb.
The use of the term masterpieces to describe these objects, most of which were not designed, built, carved, or written with the intent for admiration and study that would qualify them for the use of the term, is both interesting and appropriate. As the text explains, the power of these objects to inspire reflection, thought, creation, and learning about the connections through time and cultures of us as a species earns them the description as masterpieces.
This book is available in all the museum shops at a steep discount when shoppers reach a fairly low spending limit so it is clearly the intent of the Museum to get it in the hands of as many patrons as possible. It is a medium sized paperback printed on quality heavy paper, but not quite big enough to be a coffee table book. A larger format would allow for larger pictures which would help readers see some of the larger objects more clearly, but of course bigger would be more expensive to print the and buy and harder to carry home and read.
Which I think is most of all the objective of the Museum for this book. The objects are arranged by topics such as gods, rulers, people, animals, words, and eating and drinking utensils, which along with the laymen's-level text accompanying the images make the objects accessible to the average reader. For us to understand the power of these masterpieces we need to see them, in person if possible, or on paper, and examine and consider and hold them in our mind's eye, and make them part of our own human experience.
January 2, 2016
This nicely-produced book presents 250 striking objects from the British Museum, devoting a page to each, with a high-quality photograph and a couple of paragraphs of explanatory text. The thematic grouping leads to some interesting juxtapostions so that (for instance) an Arapaho feather headdress from 1927 is placed next to a deer antler headdress from 7,500 BC.
It's essentially a "dipping-in" sort of book designed to catch the reader's interest rather than provide depth of knowledge. A number of the better-known artefacts here are listed with much more detail in "A history of the world in 100 objects" which was also based on the BM collection. In that volume, for instance, the Sutton Hoo Helmet is given 5 pages: here it has only about 200 words of succinct description, albeit with a much better illustration.
So this is not a book for those seeking scholarly knowledge. However, it's an attractive introduction to the scope of the Museum's collection, or a nice memento of a visit there.
It's essentially a "dipping-in" sort of book designed to catch the reader's interest rather than provide depth of knowledge. A number of the better-known artefacts here are listed with much more detail in "A history of the world in 100 objects" which was also based on the BM collection. In that volume, for instance, the Sutton Hoo Helmet is given 5 pages: here it has only about 200 words of succinct description, albeit with a much better illustration.
So this is not a book for those seeking scholarly knowledge. However, it's an attractive introduction to the scope of the Museum's collection, or a nice memento of a visit there.
June 22, 2016
The British Museum has an estimated six million objects in its collection, with more added all the time. Any book that focuses on a fragment of them is going to leave out some of your favorites. It can't be helped.
That said, this book features a number of my person favorites, from John Dee's wax sigils to Hokusai's Wave, including the statue of Bastet, the Rosetta Stone, Goya's Sleep of Reason, and so much more. It misses the hippo goddesses, the bog man, and some of the other things I love.
As you can imagine, my favorite section of the book focuses on Death, from the original Mausoleum at Halicarnassus to Cromwell's death mask. I loved every page of this section. In fact, I would have loved a whole book just about the death-oriented objects in the Museum.
The book was half-off at the Museum gift shop, but this lovely, heavy, lushly illustrated book is worth full price.
That said, this book features a number of my person favorites, from John Dee's wax sigils to Hokusai's Wave, including the statue of Bastet, the Rosetta Stone, Goya's Sleep of Reason, and so much more. It misses the hippo goddesses, the bog man, and some of the other things I love.
As you can imagine, my favorite section of the book focuses on Death, from the original Mausoleum at Halicarnassus to Cromwell's death mask. I loved every page of this section. In fact, I would have loved a whole book just about the death-oriented objects in the Museum.
The book was half-off at the Museum gift shop, but this lovely, heavy, lushly illustrated book is worth full price.
August 16, 2016
I may have enjoyed reading this book more than I enjoyed visiting the actual British Museum. The museum is overwhelmingly large, and after a couple of hours one gets to the point of "yep, a vase, another vase, a stone pot, a case of spear tips..." Rarely stopping to read the plaques. This book gave me the opportunity to take things slowly and really appreciate each curated object.
August 31, 2015
excelente. muchos recuerdos de nuestro primer viaje a Londres
August 26, 2017
Brilliant collection of the best of the world.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews