It’s a delight to hear that the refurbished Nationalmuseet is open to visitors. And also to know that they start their new chapter than with an exhibition specially designed for children and families in a magical land of …
Sometimes museum labels tell us much more when they write less. In just three words, the curator has left the visitor with more questions than answers – and I’m all for that, from time to time. Visitors don’t need spoon-feeding …
With the flesh off the bone, it’s hard to tell what animal this might be at first glance, so the display label is useful for the visitor. Then they might notice what’s lying around it – burger wrappers? …
Strange how we have been fed some specific visual styles from certain artists. At first sight, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was by Van Gogh, not Mondrian. No squares of primary colour …
This is the only known oil painting of Mary Seacole – once an almost unknown nurse from the Crimean War, but now thankfully a key part of the education curriculum in the UK …
I’m sure museum collections all over the world will be documenting the memory of experience of the Coronavirus pandemic. We’ve used so many of these little plastic trays over the last few years – and after countless tests …
This list of telephone numbers in the village of Braemar, which hangs on the wall in the castle, is a glimpse into who you could call in the 1950s. The butcher’s number is just ‘206’ – and Menzies butchers in Braemar still ends in 206 today …
This monumental piece of stone is a reminder of a more dangerous time, when British Empire saw the world as conquerable and controllable. At 40 tonnes, it’s one of the largest stone spheres in the world …
As a child, our house would occasionally receive a letter from what we called ‘Uncle Ernie’. It was, of course, news that someone in the family had won a prize in the UK Premium Bonds …
Many cocktails have an origin myth. The ‘original’ Irish coffee has its in a museum in Foynes, on the west coast of Ireland. One night in 1943, when a flight bound for New York turned back due to bad weather …
These couldn’t belong to anyone else. Tourists might not be expecting to encounter these objects, or even this museum, on the island of Zanzibar. It’s where Farrokh Bulsara, better known …
“Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning … can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.” Oscar Wilde
These tiles, displayed by the window in the ceramics gallery, glowing in the sun, are a reminder not only …
Since it was established that the object had been looted from Benin City by the British military in 1897, it is being proactively returned to Nigeria. One of the so-called ‘Benin Bronzes’, taken by force …
The first dog to visit the North Pole. Italian explorer and adventurer Umberto Nobile flew over the pole in 1926, accompanied by this fox terrier. He’d found the dog as a puppy, wandering the streets of Rome …
Who’s this table set for? Twenty inspirational women from around the world who have excelled in the arts and music are commemorated here. The museum’s resident miniaturist – who doesn’t have one? – has created this tiny artwork, with a place setting for each …
White (1918–79) used the symbol of the shell repeatedly in his work. To me it looks like an ear, beckoning us not only to look, but to listen. It’s currently on display in the Black American Portraits, an exhibition LACMA hopes will …
This is one of the last coins made in Britain before the Romans arrived, in this case by a king of the Iceni (who was also husband of the warrior queen known to us as Boudica). It’s clear that this silver coin, issued between 35 BC and 45 BC, was made …
We’re not sure if this painting is still intact. The museum was reportedly damaged this week during the Russian attack on northern Ukraine. Maria Primachenko (1909–97) came to fame in the 1930s as a folk artist …
The colours in this oil painting seem so faint, fading, even vanishing, beckoning the viewer towards them. Birgir’s approach to creating artwork is delicate, whispering, heightening the senses and drawing us in …
What do you see when you look at this painting? There are no right or wrong answers to that question, of course. For me, it’s probably the swirling colours and shapes of the Absolutely Fabulous opening titles …
Archaeologists reckon that people buried dogs in the Iron Age with some form of ritual significance – that they might help to appease the spirits and underworld. This fits well with the idea that the dog was a guardian in the real world …
There is no single story of feminism and the media. And so choosing one object from this online exhibition, a mosaic of images, proved a challenge. Forms, Voices, Networks: Feminism and the Media explores the intersections between the growth of mass media and women’s rights movements …
The artist presents herself to us as a scholar and an elegant figure of note – approachable and intelligent. And while the monocle draws our attention to her eye, it also reminds us that this was a woman who observed the world, rather than simply inhabiting it …
The decoration on this vase is all about illusion. Taking something three-dimensional, like a flowering plant, and compressing that not only into a two-dimensional drawing, but also then imprinting it on a curved surface …
The hand of the novelist, captured in plaster. Victor Hugo died in 1885 and a mould taken around time of death was then able to inform casts and models for some time afterwards, like this one. It seems a little creepy to us today …
The front cover of this magazine shows April with her dog, Flora, a vision of upper-middle class Britain in the early 1980s. April died last week, leaving a legacy of trailblazing gender and trans rights …
