I took Mister G to the
British Museum for the first time yesterday afternoon. Or, the first time since he was born - we actually went to see the
Grayson Perry exhibit on his due date last year (before watching Alien for the first time. in HD. that was a good day). I took full advantage of special treatment, skipping the queue and carrying around a complimentary folding stool to park my swaying mass (and ass) on.
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| Great Court |
I love the British Museum. I used to go there as a hungover student to draw things and whenever I'm at a loose end in Bloomsbury I go. Even just to walk through from the Senate House side to Museum Street. In fact the
Great Court is, secretly, probably my favourite part -- the internal square centred on the old, round Reading Room, enclosed by a massive, curved, glass and steel canopy. The light is so good.
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| Great Court, stone lion |
I also love the pillars outside.
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| exterior pillars |
And the fact that no matter how many times I have been I never feel like I've seen anything.
I love the grand scale of it. I find it calming somehow.
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| love the colours of these ceramics (from Iraq and Iran, 6th century BC - 6th century AD) |
We didn't get past the ground floor yesterday. Mister G was happy enough in the Enlightenment Gallery and the Egyptians but drew the line at the Greek & Roman sculpture (such populists the Egyptians. Everyone loves a big sarcophagus.)
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| marble statue of Aphrodite at her bath (Roman, 2nd century AD) |
I found out that it is very difficult to draw with a baby on your hip. Grabby hands. Although for the few minutes I tried I did feel like kind of a multitasking badass (like that time at the 6 week check where I nursed him whilst having my bloods taken.)
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| reconstructed Greek temple facade |
Fun fun. I might need to head back tomorrow.
all photos from my iphone
The entrance hall is my favourite bit too. Closely followed by the shop. My favourite bit of the V&A is the cafe. I'm a cretin.
ReplyDeleteHa. I'm glad 'm not alone. And the V&A cafe *is* so nice - the tiling, the ceilings...
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I'd read a tumblr of museums where the exhibits aren't the best part (the Wallace Collection has a sweet courtyard cafe too)
I really want to visit the National Museum of Scotland now too.
Oh you must, it's amazing. Like a much much much smaller version of the London museums where you can actually see everything in one visit. There's also pickled dead stuff in jars, which I like in a museum.
ReplyDeletePerfect. My little sister is living in Edinburgh now and we're hoping to make it up for a visit - dead things in jars are definitely on the list.
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