Moore, Brendan (ed.), et al. Treasures: The World's Cultures from the British Museum (exh. cat.). Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum, 2009.
Review by STAN PARCHIN
June 12, 2011
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| Handaxe (1.6-1.4 Million B.C.). Lava block. L. 20.6 cm; W. 9.8 cm; D. 5.8 cm. Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. © The Trustees of the British Museum. |
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| Egyptian, Ptolemaic (305-30 B.C.). Wooden Anthropoid Inner Coffin of Djeho. Wood, gold leaf and painted plaster. L. 176 cm. Akhmim, Upper Egypt. © The Trustees of the British Museum. |
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| Moche (100-800 A.D.). Figurative Vessel. Ceramic. H. 31.0 cm; L. 9 cm; D. 23 cm. Peru. © The Trustees of the British Museum. |
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| Cristóvão Canhavato (Kester) (Mozambiquan, b. 1966). Throne of Weapons (2001). Metal, wood and plastic. H. 101 cm; W. 61 cm. Maputo, Mozambique. © The Trustees of the British Museum. |
Treasures: The World's Cultures from the British Museum traces the development of humankind's creativity from prehistory through recent times. The 100-page softcover catalogue, edited by scholar Brendan Moore, was published to accompany the sprawling 52,000-square-foot special exhibition of the same name at western Canada's Royal British Columbia Museum (May 1 to September 30, 2009). His thematic introductory essay is followed by erudite object entries by members of the BM's eight curatorial departments. The color-illustrated text's important works from Great Britain's premiere collection of art and artifacts are arranged both chronologically and regionally.
The immensely popular exposition, attended by 1.3 million people when it toured nine Asian cities, was expanded for its Canadian presentation. This book covers some of the 150 additional items that illustrated Vancouver Island's First Nations history. Selected from the British Museum's holdings of more than seven million objects, the catalogue's 168 utilitarian and artistic works (309 works were displayed) inspire reflection upon mankind's past, present and immediate future.
Prehistory, Egypt and Sub-Saharan Africa
Treasures... begins in mankind's remotest past with Early Stone Age handaxes (1.6-1.4 Million B.C.) from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Discovered by Kenyan archaeologist Louis Leakey (1903-1972), these lava block implements and their creation with a stone hammer distinguished humans from the rest of the Animal Kingdom.
Egyptian civilization is introduced by a scale replica of the Rosetta Stone (196 B.C.), the original granodiorite monument having been excavated in 1799 by Napoleon Bonaparte's troops. Its combination of hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek scripts aided in the 1822 decipherment of ancient Egypt's language by French philologist Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832).
Other artifacts describe Egyptian history, culture and funerary practices. Principal among them is the Ptolemaic Wooden Anthropoid Inner Coffin of Djeho (305-30 B.C.). Embellished with gold leaf, the painted sarcophagus was designed for a man of high social standing. Beneath the lid's large amuletic collar is a representation of the sky goddess Nut, her wings outstretched protectively. Under the deity is an image of Djeho's mummy above four canopic jars that stored his preserved stomach, intestines, lungs and liver. The coffin's vertical inscriptions safeguard the deceased in the afterlife.
West and central African kingdoms are represented by 16th-century commemorative brass plaques from Benin, a Royal Portrait Statue (late 18th Century) from the Democratic Republic of Congo and woven Kente textiles from southeast Ghana.
Ancient to Modern Europe
Europe's history is chronicled from the pre-agricultural Upper Palaeolithic or Late Stone Age (12,000 B.C.) to the end of the 19th Century. The achievements of classical Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment and beyond are explained through carvings, coins, armor, sculpture, paintings, prints and drawings. Highlights include the King, Queen, Bishop, Knight and Rook from the celebrated Lewis Chessmen (1150-1200 A.D.), the 92 walrus ivory gaming pieces discovered in the Outer Hebrides in 1831.
The Americas
The ancient civilizations of Mexico, Central, South and North America developed advanced forms of social and political organization, art and architecture prior to European contact. Their cultural sophistication is seen in fine ceramic, stone and gold artifacts as well as intricately designed garments and accessories. Four carefully fashioned Figurative Vessels (100-800 A.D.) appear in the shape of animals, plants and deities. Moche craftsmen from northern Peru produced these ceremonial works; powerful lords used them to maintain important alliances and celebrate marriages.
The Modern World
Technological advances contributed to the global dimension of the 20th Century's political conflicts. This observation is perhaps best expressed by Cristóvão Canhavato's Throne of Weapons (2001), a sculpture comprised of decommissioned rifles and other weapons collected after the end of Mozambique's civil war in 1992. Its welded parts, manufactured in Russia, Eastern Europe, Portugal and North Korea, transform the chair from a traditional symbol of African power and prestige into a representation of the international arms trade and its role in destabilizing governments.
Treasures: The World's Cultures from the British Museum introduces the reader to the breathtaking range of objects collected by the famous institution since its founding in 1753. Conceived as a survey of humanity's cultural milestones, the catalogue concludes with two brief histories of the BM and the Royal BC Museum. Although it lacks maps and an index, the book will prove to be a valuable addition to many museum-goers' libraries.
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