The Museum building - Британский музей

By the mid-nineteenth century was over the new Museum building. Montagu house by this time was full, and priceless collections housed in it quite chaotic. In the new building of the British Museum, built on the project of Robert Smirke, there was not any particularly bold or out of the ordinary architectural idea. It was designed in the Greek Revival style, which at that time was widespread. In the nineteenth century for museums of Europe and America were built hundreds of buildings in this style. According to one of the historians of the British Museum, Greek columns used in the facade "are exactly the same (if not in the number, style) can be detected in almost every capital city in any end of the world".

However, it was in the project and a clear success: this is a library and reading rooms - those parts of buildings that are intended for scholars and not for the General public. Round reading room with steel frame, construction of which was completed in 1857, was a true masterpiece of the architect.

Library (or libraries, as they are located in different parts of the building) has such a rarity as the first printed book in the world, the first editions of the Greek classics and many other curiosities.

In the Hall of manuscripts visitors curiously looking at the original of the Magna Carta, signed by Shakespeare, bill of sale, letter of Cromwell's description of the battle of Nasby, autographs of Luther, Calvin, Erasmus, I. Newton, Galileo, Descartes ' ideas...

In 1845 natural history collections of the Museum were transferred to a new building on Travelsky street in Kensington. Here and opened Naturally the historical section, which has a rich Zoological, mineralogical, geological and Botanical collections. In it visitors read free lectures on Zoology, Geology and other Sciences.

Now the British national Museum is the Keeper of precious and rare works of art created by cultural peoples 4-5 years ago. In the hall of Egyptian antiquities you can see the colossal statues of Egyptian gods and pharaohs carved of black and red granite; mummy, covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions; the tombs and various household collection of clothing, jewelry and household items.

In the collection were first put the few monuments that were removed from Egypt after the surrender of Alexandria in 1801. Since then, this section has grown many times over and now the entirety of the exhibits is the first in Europe. The hall collection of Egyptian antiquities cover the entire history of this country from its first dynasties before the era of the Roman conquest.

Here is the famous shard abadesco the tablet, which has helped clarify the Egyptian chronology, starting with the first Pharaoh of Menasha and to Ramses II (that is over 3000 years old).

In the same exhibit hall and the world famous basalt slab - "Rosetta stone".Hieroglyphic inscriptions are accompanied by a Greek translation, which allowed at the time of the French scholar Jean-franзois Champollion to decipher Egyptian writing. The Rosetta inscription contained the admirable speech of the priests of Memphis in honor of Ptolemy epifani (195 BC).

In the middle of the Northern Egyptian gallery on a huge Billboard (four meters)exhibited "book of the dead", founded in 1050 BC. It also keeps one mummy, who is credited with mysterious destructive force. The inscriptions on three tapes, which covered the mummy, scientists have found that it belongs to the high priestess of the temple of the God Amon-RA hundredfold in Thebes. The time of her life belongs to the fourteenth century BC. Already the transfer of the sarcophagus priestesses in Europe was accompanied by a number of tragic accidents. For accompanying persons were hit by one disaster after another. The same was observed with people who were directly touched by this amazing mummy.

In Halicarnassus exhibit hall, all that remains of one of the greatest wonders of the wor. The mausoleum many times subjected<sup/>destruction and devastation. In 1846 Sultan Abdul-Majid ordered to remove his few fragments depicting the battle of the Greeks with the Amazons, and presented them as a gift to the British Museum. The rest of the jewelry was purchased in 1855, and is now exhibited in the Museum 17 fragments of the frieze of the Mausoleum.

Here stands a colossal statue of Mausolus and his wife Artemisia. The statue was divided into 63 piece, but then artfully composed. Once both figures were standing in a chariot drawn by four horses, but survived only one wheel and fragments of two horses.

In the Assyrian hall showcases the monuments taken from the Palace of king Sargon, the founder of the last Assyrian power. On both sides! the entrance, there are two huge winged bull with a human; heads. The beliefs of the ancient Assyrians, such supernatural creatures guarding the people and their homes from evil spirits. It is visible. among Assyrian antiquities is the obelisk of the king of Assyria, two plates with a wedge letter that tells about the battle of Sargon and Sennacherib.

Cannot describe briefly about all the rarities and treasures of the Museum are exhibited in 94 galleries, which have a total length of four kilometers. The British national Museum is so rich that even a cursory inspection of all the rooms will need at least seven days.

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The Museum building - Британский музей

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