British Museum

On est arrivé à Londres par train, avec l'Eurostar. Comme c'était plutôt tôt, on est allé au British museum. Ce musée fut construit entre 1823 et 1848 et eut plusieurs ampliations.

Il contient des pièces de tout le monde qui ont été ou prises durant la colonisation ou données comme des cadeaux d'autres états à la couronne anglaise.

On trouve principalement des pièces égyptiennes et des pièces gréco-romaines, mais il y a aussi des pièces Asiatiques, d'autres parties d'Afrique et même d'Amérique.

First we stepped into the Africa exhibit, there was mainly a lot of diversity of Egypt sculptures and items such as the Rosetta Stone. We ended up so amazed. Here are some pictures we managed to take.

As for The Centaur there is a prescription that explain what it means, "Drill holes in the Lapiths torso indicate the attachment of a baldric (sword strap), now lost":

Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone is one of the many pieces at the British Museum and one of the main reasons why tourists go to this museum.

This stone was found in the city of Rosetta in July 1799 by the French soldiers during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt. It was part of a bigger stone that has a message carved into it, in three types of writing.

So why is this stone so remarkable?

The main reason why it became such an important and relevant item it's because it served as a clue that helped experts to read and learn about the Egyptian hieroglyphs, the text was the same in the three languages and the experts knew Greek so that helped them finally understand this new language.

What does the Rosetta Stone say exactly?

The Rosetta Stone is a symbol for different things to different people. This stone has inscribed the same text in three scripts, in Demotic, in hieroglyphic and in Greek.

The text says "the god who maketh himself manifest, whose deeds are beautiful".

Our opinion: We really liked the Rosetta Stone, it is such a masterpiece and we couldn't believe we were standing in front of the stone that helped so many experts understand more about the Egyptian hieroglyphic.

II. The Parthenon frieze

These sculptures were originally part of the Greek Parthenon in the Athens acropolis, dedicated to goddess Athena. These statues, along with the parthenon, were created between 447 BC (Before Christ) and 432 BC.

They represent the procession of the Panathenaic festival which was made to commemorate the birthday of goddess Athena, the city's guardian. We can also find images of Greek heroes and battles. These statues were created with the goal of showing Athens supremacy in comparison to the other Greek city-states.

Back then, in the 19th century, when Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire, the British Ambassador Lord Elgin managed to convince the authorities of the moment to take half of the remaining sculptures back to England. This process was made between 1801 and 1805 with the consent of the authorities of the moment. In 1816 a process made by the Parliamentary Select Committee found his actions legal, and permitted their entry to the museum's collection by Act of Parliament.

Now that Greece is an independent nation they have requested that the museum return the statues to Athens which would be guarded in the newly founded Acropolis's museum. However the British Museum refuses to give them back, because they consider that the sculptures will be better appreciated having pieces from other neighboring cultures in the same museum. They also believe that more people will be able to see them if they remain in the British Museum.

Our Opinion: These statues were very interesting and nice to watch. They help us understand the past better and know more about Greek culture even though we think they should be returned to the Greek government and kept in the acropolis museum.

III. Lewis Island Chess

The Lewis Chess set is currently preserved in the British Museum and is the oldest chess set on record today. It is composed of 12th century walrus ivory pieces, preserved with great care and detail. This board was found on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland in 1831, with chess boards and a purse buckle. Its origin is somewhat unknown but it is speculated to be of Scandinavian, Norse or Viking origin.

We believe that this game can show the beginnings of board games from ancient times, and how our perception of entertainment and ways of seeking it have evolved over the years.

En conclusión, esta visita al museo britanico nos enriquece culturalmente puesto que no solo vimos obras hechas por artistas británicos sino que, al contrario, pudimos apreciar mucha diversidad entre obras pintadas, esculpidas, grabadas, entre muchas más. Cada sala expone objetos de todas partes del mundo y contaban la historia del origen y contexto de cada uno de ellos.

Lucia Sarmiento, Amanda Cabrera, Luka Jaureguy, Ambrosia Pinedo, Bianca Parra, Luciana Barthé, Francesca Cailloux