British Museum

Obsidian spirit mirror used by John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I’s court astrologer, has Aztec origins

Now housed in the British Museum’s Enlightenment Galleries, the mystical object used for occult investigations matches samples found in Mexico, researchers find

British Museum should review its position on the Parthenon Marbles, Unesco body says

Greece's culture minister says the issue is of intergovernmental nature rather than a matter for the British Museum

British Museum to sell NFTs of 200 Hokusai works—including The Great Wave

The institution has partnered with French start-up LaCollection to auction the non-fungible tokens, coinciding with its exhibition of the Japanese artist's work

Is it raining again in the British Museum’s Parthenon gallery?

A leaking roof has delayed the reopening of seven galleries of Greek art

British Museum to restore glass artefacts shattered in Beirut explosion

Eight vessels from the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut will undergo conservation thanks to €25,000 grant from Tefaf fund

Gambling den identified in drawing by Albrecht Dürer

Expert matches painter's journal entry detailing trip to Zum Spiegel in Aachen with sketch which is currently on show in major exhibition

Museumscomment

One of us or one of them? A long view of the appointment of George Osborne as chair of the British Museum

The former chancellor's instalment echoes the selection of Lord Armstrong as chair of the V&A, which had serious consequences for the museum

Visitor figures: how many people are actually returning to London museums post-lockdown?

We asked English institutions to provide figures for the four-week period from 17 May to gauge current demand

Appointment of former UK Chancellor George Osborne as new British Museum chairman draws criticism

Ex-politician, who presided over austerity cuts to culture, takes up the position on 4 October

Podcastspodcast

Classicist Mary Beard on the infamous Roman emperor Nero

Plus, London Gallery Weekend and Nina Katchadourian on her adopted grandmother's embroidery

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Three exhibitions to see in London this weekend

From Matthew Barney's American survivalist film to Emma Stern's "porn-adjacent" virtual avatars

Finding Nero: reputation of misunderstood Roman emperor is revisited for major London show

“Almost every single thing we think we know about him is wrong,” says the curator of a new exhibition at the British Museum

Lootnews

Looted Libyan sculpture seized at Heathrow Airport heads back home with help from the British Museum

The funerary piece was illicitly excavated from the ancient city of Cyrene which is under threat from property developers

'Hurrah, it’s leprosy!' How a conservator and a historian are decoding the grisly tales in Canterbury Cathedral’s stained-glass windows

New research for British Museum exhibition means panels depicting St Thomas Becket's healing miracles will be correctly reassembled after centuries in the wrong order

Visitor Figures 2020: top 100 art museums revealed as attendance drops by 77% worldwide

The Art Newspaper's annual survey shows how the pandemic had a devastating impact on museums around the world—but there were some silver linings

Emily Sharpe and José da Silva. With additional reporting by Martin Bailey. Research conducted by Federico Florian and Victoria Stapley-Brown

Wanted: £48k curator to shake up British Museum's permanent displays and ‘give greater prominence to Africa’

London institution is advertising two new job roles to help deliver a radical curatorial initiative known as 'Reimagining the British Museum'

George Clooney wades into Parthenon Marbles debate—again

The actor first stated that the Ancient Greek sculptures should be returned to their site of origin in 2014 after filming The Monuments Men

British Museum hires curator to research history of its collection, also covering contested objects such as the Parthenon Marbles

"Issues such as the role of the slave trade and empire… will be relevant to some of the research undertaken," a museum spokeswoman says

The biggest art exhibitions opening around the world in 2021

The new year's must-see shows include Vermeer and Botticelli blockbusters; major Jasper Johns and Yayoi Kusama retrospectives; and sweeping surveys on Iran, slavery and queer art

Awardsnews

UK New Year’s Honours 2021: awards for artists Michael Landy and Denzil Forrester

Former Tate Britain chief Stephen Deuchar is knighted; curator Lesley Fitton and ceramicist Jennifer Lee also recognised

Obituariesfeature

Remembering Ian Jenkins, a scholar and British Museum curator who enriched all who met him with his passion for classical Greece

He was devoted to rediscovering the history of the museum's ancient sculpture collections and improving the display and understanding of the Parthenon Marbles

Caffè Nero? The British Museum is looking for help with naming its blockbuster show on the Roman emperor

The survey, with suggestions including “the man behind the monster” and “emperor, tyrant, traitor?”, was sent out to members of the museum’s Friends scheme

From the Dalai Lama’s tailoring to beekeeping in Kenya, British Museum saves world's dying skills

Endangered Material Knowledge Programme will be extended for seven more years with £8.8m grant from Arcadia fund

Three exhibitions to see in London this weekend

From a chilling show on Arctic culture to Polly Morgan's gorgeously repellent serpentine sculptures

Leading Australian activist accuses British Museum of downgrading provenance of Aboriginal shield to prevent restitution

New text accompanying object removes mention that it was collected by Captain James Cook but museum says it doesn't alter its significance

Three exhibitions to see in London this weekend

From transgressive Tantra at the British Museum to a series of artistic interventions in Brent's libraries

Podcastspodcast

Sell the Michelangelo or lose 150 staff? The Royal Academy of Arts’s Covid-19 conundrum

Plus, the curator Legacy Russell talks about her new book Glitch Feminism

Hosted by Ben Luke and Margaret Carrigan. with guest speaker Alison Cole

Trove of 'lost' Hokusai drawings acquired by British Museum

103 forgotten works by the renowned Japanese artist resurfaced at a Paris auction after slipping out of sight for more than 70 years

UK museums are back open—but visitors are staying away

Our data shows that most major London art museums had many available booking slots for next-day entry despite operating reduced capacity

Three exhibitions to see in New York, London and online this weekend

From Jacob Lawrence's Struggle series at the Met to Edmund de Waal's library of exiled authors at the British Museum