British Museum’s History of the World in 100 Objects
Ancient people created the British Museum collection
Arabian Bronze Hand, AD 100-300, Yemen, 1,700 years ago, a vast number of different gods were worshipped around the world. Local gods across Arabia died out with the arrival of Islam. This object is devoted to a god and the inscription carved into the hand is asking for good fortune for the devotee. The hand is highly realistic and was probably cast from real life. British Museum
The British Museum’s 100 objects
The British Museum tells the history of the world with 100 objects from its vast collection. The exhibit’s promise is that these objects reveal stories about the people and societies that created them.
Without written words, artefacts convey how people adapted their environments to make life more livable.
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The exhibit comprises a vast range of materials, including bronze, gold, ceramics, silk, stone, clay, and plastic. The source of the collection spans human history and geography, showing the development of mankind over millions of years.
Through each piece, the prehistory of the world and the evolution of societies and civilisations are told through a visual language.
Pre-history sources
Before written records provided the stories of man’s activities, items created and produced by ancient people were the only source of information about these civilisations.
The exhibition starts with some of the oldest artefacts in the British Museum’s collection.
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Between the 1st and 100th objects are things that solve problems, prove status and answer questions about the afterlife.
Olduvai Chopping Tool, 1.8-2 million years old, Found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, British Museum
The oldest man-crafted object in the British Museum is a stone-chopping tool found in Tanzania.
Dating back 1.8-2 million years, it is crude yet purposefully fashioned for chopping bones, plants and wood.
Great leap for man
Man’s concept of the first tools was monumental and pivotal.
Producing items to aid and enhance life was a technological innovation that helped early humans compete with others and conquer and tame their environment.
Olduvai Handaxe, 1.2-1.4 million years old, Found in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, British Museum
The Olduvai Handaxe is one of the earliest known stone tools made with exacting skill and creative ingenuity. Its production was a breakthrough as it required knowledgeable craftsmanship and immense precision.
Using another stone as a hammer, the maker carefully and forcefully struck flakes off from the stone surface at an angle, making the edges sharp for use as a cutting instrument.
Discovery of the Olduvai Handaxe, as well as other tools with fossil remains of an extinct species, speaks to the origins of life in Africa.
Jade Axe, 5,000-3,600 BC, Biebrich, Germany, British Museum
As early humans left Africa and migrated to the Middle East, Europe and Asia, then to America, these tools told the story of the changing forms of man-made objects and the hunters to whom they belonged.
Emergence of art
A Jade Axe, dated 5,000-3,600 BC, found in Biebrich, Germany, shows that this utilitarian object had also become an item of immense artistic refinement and elegance.
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The axe is highly polished and flawless, suggesting that it was not actually used, but that it may have been an ornamental or ceremonial object. It may have been made as a ritual item for burial with someone of significance.
In a 13,000-year-old Clovis Spear Point, we see how men became successful hunters with implements that aided their ability to stalk and bring down prey.
Clovis Spear Point, Flint, 12,000-14,000 years old Found in Arizona, USA
Clovis Spear Point provides evidence of the settlement of North America by modern humans. This one is named after a site near the town of Clovis in New Mexico.
Although thousands of similar spear points have been found throughout the United States, they are remarkably similar and standardised in form. These lethal weapons tell of man’s capabilities and their migration in the New World.
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Artefacts and relics can also give clues to the social, political and cultural values and achievements of a society.
Often these are the only source of knowledge for understanding the challenges of daily life, spiritual beliefs and the afterlife.
British Museum’s stylised female forms
We also see the human desire for beautiful and representational objects for reverence and remembrance.
The oldest Greek statue in the British Museum is the Karpathos Lady, a highly stylised representation of a female figure with pronounced sexual features.
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Karpathos Lady is one of many fertility goddess statues made to celebrate fecundity – the ability to reproduce. The statue’s blank face and protruding nose contrast with its accentuated breasts and vulva.
The Karpathos Lady, Limestone, 4,500-3,200 BC, Found on Karpathos, Greece, British Museum
Some of the earliest statues of females are often associated with fertility and reproduction. The reverence for the fertility goddess or “Mother Goddess” was hugely relevant in primitive societies.
In Buddhism, the feminine Tara is also a mother figure and the wise consort of Avalokiteshvara, a bodhisattva who represents compassion.
Figure of Tara, Chlorite, AD 900-1100 Gaya District, Bihar, India, British Museum
In one story, Avalokiteshvara cries tears for the world from which a pool forms and a lotus grows, and from within Tara is born. Representations of Tara spread, with that of Buddhism, to all parts of India and beyond to Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and Indonesia.
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A single object can reveal tremendous details about the values of a society.
Death: Not the end of life
The British Museum holds a considerable collection of mummy cases which hold the secrets to how ancient Egypt thrived and how people died.
The Outer Coffin of Nesperennub is an example of an object that tells many stories. With new research using advanced technology, scientists are able to look inside to reveal new information about how these funerary vessels were used.
Outer Coffin of Nesperennub, Painted wood, c.800 BC, Luxor, Egypt
Scans show amulets placed on the body and within the mummy wrappings to ensure safe passage to the afterlife.
Hieroglyphs on the lid show that it was made for a priest named Nesperennub. Both he and his father held the title “Opener of the doors of Heaven” in Karnak, the cult-centre of Amun-Ra, god of the sun and supreme deity of the Egyptian state.
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The decoration of the coffin is simple, and the wood has been coloured red to emphasise Nesperennub’s connection to the sun god. However, for a person of such high status, it is not grand and may not have been made specifically for him.
Dynastic rule began in Egypt around 3000 BC. The Pharaohs of Egypt were venerated like gods, and many artefacts show their command over the country.
Statue of Ramesses II, Granite, 1280 BC, Temple of Khnum, Elephantine, Egypt, British Museum
Ramesses II was Pharaoh from 1279 to 1213 BC and was a successful ruler. He led during a golden age of prosperity and a united country. Many statues and monuments have been made to honour this revered King of Egypt.
Kush was a kingdom and an ancient power in what is now modern Sudan. The Kushites ruled the joint kingdoms of Egypt and Kush from 747 to 656.
Shabti of Taharqo, Granite, 664 BC, Nuri, Sudan, British Museum
The people of Kush absorbed Egyptian traditions, and they also placed shabti – servant figures in tombs to serve the deceased in the afterlife.
The Shabti of Taharqo is from the tomb of the Kushite King and shows a combination of Egyptian and sub-Saharan African features.
Nomadic to farming communities
The transition of man from nomadic hunter and gatherers to farmers was a long and pivotal period that provided stability and led to the formation of residential societies that revolved around agriculture.
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Vegetables and cereals were cultivated around 10,000 years ago. Being able to prepare, store and cook food gave humans an advantage that led to growth in population numbers.
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A Bird-shaped Pestle from Papua New Guinea was made for grinding taro root, which is not edible before it is processed and cooked.
Bird-shaped Pestle, Stone, 6000-2000 BC, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea
The pestle’s bulb is visibly worn, proving that it was much used by the people who produced it.
Its unusual shaft and bird-shaped representation suggest that it may have had spiritual as well as artistic value and was likely also used as a ritual or festive object.
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Agricultural success provided man with an abundance of food and assurance of provisions. This meant that every waking moment didn’t have to be spent just surviving.
Bowl with Bulls’ Head, Painted pottery, 5600-5200 BC, Arpachiya, northern Iraq, British Museum
A Bowl with Bulls’ Head provides evidence that by the time this bowl was made, around 5600-5200 BC, cattle were largely domesticated, a process that began in the Middle East. Cattle motifs appeared as decoration across North Africa and the Middle East for thousands of years.
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Food security led to human society and permanent communities. Along fertile river valleys, cities grew and people organised, with kings and rulers governing over vast populations.
First cities and settlements
The world’s first cities were established around 5,000 years ago, when the settlements emerged in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
The most famous is the Sumerian city of Ur, where a mysterious object was discovered in a royal grave.
The Standard of Ur, Shell, lapis lazuli, red limestone and bitumen, 2500 BC, Iraq, British Museum
The original purpose of the Standard of Ur is not known. Archaeologist Leonard Wooley, who excavated Ur, suggested that it could have been carried like a battle standard.
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Materials used to make the Standard of Ur came from afar. The shells were from the Persian Gulf and lapis lazuli from Afghanistan. The meticulous craftsmanship and time required meant there were tremendous resources to support the production of such an object.
Writing records history
Record keeping became a necessity to manage processes and production within emerging cities. Early writing was developed to administer people and workflow.
Early Writing Tablet, Clay, 2100-3000 BC, Southern Iraq, British Museum
An Early Writing Tablet, made of clay, lists the beer rations due to a group of workers. The characters are represented by symbols, created by pressing the end of a reed stylus into clay.
These clay tablets dried and survived for thousands of years. The narratives on these are the earliest forms of documentation of man’s organised activities.
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Urbanised communities meant better protection and survival. People began to specialise and learned how to work with metal. New technology led to the fabrication of valuable objects in bronze and gold.
Lunula, Gold, 2400-2000 BC, Ireland, British Museum
But wealth and power were not equally distributed. Only the very rich would have had the considerable resources to commission the gold lunula (‘little moon’ in Latin).
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The gold Lunula is a fabulously produced treasure. However, we do not know who wore it and for what purpose. The question remains if it was used as ornamentation or if it inferred status like a crown.
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Clearly, it was made by one or many highly skilled artisans. In all ancient societies, the appearance of gold coincides with the emergence of luxurious goods, social stratification and hierarchies.
Empires with wealth and power
Empires grew out of cities with the most wealth and power. With a formidable army, Assyrian king Sennacherib conquered an empire that covered most of the Middle East.
Assyrian Relief, Gypsum, 700-695 BC, Nineveh, Iraq, British Museum
The Assyrian Relief, dated 700-695 BC, decorated a royal building of the Assyrian king Sennacherib at his capital of Nineveh.
The Assyrians were skilled soldiers who gained control of most of the Middle East through conquest, creating the greatest empire of the time.
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Men from across the empire fought in the Assyrian army as conscripts in professional guard units.
Coin of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great ruled an empire that stretched from Greece to India, 400 years after Sennacherib’s reign.
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As empires expanded, they required money to thrive and flourish. The innovation of coinage facilitated the easy flow and transference of wealth, marking a massive leap in the development of financing.
Coin with Head of Alexander, Silver, Minted 305-281 BC, Turkey, British Museum
A coin minted after the death of Alexander the Great shows the novel use of a portrait as decoration on money – a design element that continues to this day.
Authoritative portraits
Portraits were often used to confirm the authority and status of a ruler. Many marble portraits were used for this purpose during the Roman Empire.
Head of Augustus, Marble, AD 1-40, Italy, British Museum
Augustus established the Roman Empire by becoming its first emperor, and was declared a god and worshipped by Romans when he died. Although he was 76 when he died, statues show him as a young man in his prime. More than 250 distinctive portraits of Augustus survive as an enduring symbol of this Roman god.
Idol worship
Objects were used throughout history by different societies to create something that was visceral to worship. Idols made of all sorts of materials were produced to represent unseen spirits and gods for adoration.
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Before Emperor Constantine made Christianity official, Roman soldiers worshipped the pagan sun-god Mithras.
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The cult of Mithras was influenced by Persian religion and worshipped throughout the empire. The myth was of a hero who killed the cosmic bull whose blood fertilises all vegetation.
Statue of Mithras Marble, AD 100-200, Rome, Italy, British Museum
A 2nd century Statue of Mithras depicts the moment when the bull is slain and its blood is spilt.
Christianity
In the 4th century AD, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Christianity emerged as a dominant religion in Europe and spread throughout the world.
Religious themes were used for decoration and illustrations in churches and monasteries to illuminate biblical narratives to the ignorant and illiterate masses.
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The story of Jonah spending three nights in the belly of a fish for disobeying God’s command to warn Nineveh to repent is part of Judaic and Christian history and appears in the Old Testament.
Sarcophagus Showing Jonah, Stone, c.AD 260-300, Found in Ilminster, Somerset, United Kingdom, British Museum
This Roman sarcophagus, carved with scenes from the story of Jonah and the whale, was probably made for a Christian in AD 260-300.
The lamb in the corner represents the “Lamb of God”, a title used to refer to Jesus in the Bible.
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Sometime in the 18th century, this sarcophagus was taken to England, where holes were drilled in it for use as a fountain.
Religious relics
The veneration of religious relics was extremely popular in Medieval Europe. Elaborate and highly ornate vessels such as a Reliquary Casket Showing the Three Magi were made to house a holy relic – a body part or object which once belonged to a Christian saint.
Reliquary Casket Showing the Three Magi, Copper with gilding, enamel, Limoges, France, British Museum
This item, made in Limoges, France, a famous centre for enamelled metalworks, shows the scene of the nativity when the three Magi followed the Star of Bethlehem to find the infant Jesus, the new Messiah.
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Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest faiths, was a major Middle Eastern religion and was the state faith of the mighty Sasanian Empire, which endured for four centuries.
Plate showing a Sasanian King Hunting, Silver, AD 309-379 Probably made in Iran, British Museum
A Plate showing a Sasanian King Hunting was made at the height of Zoroastrianism, in what is now Iran.
The drama unfolds as the king shows his prowess in the hunt, as he tackles a stag by its horns and plunges a sword into the animal’s neck.
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The Sasanians were a powerful rival of Rome; however, when they were conquered by Islamic armies, their religion fell too.
Preparing for the afterlife
Death comes to all regardless of wealth and power. The question of what happens after death was no less relevant 2,000 years ago than it is today.
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Ancient Chinese people believed that the soul had an existence after death and that the afterlife was much like the living world, and thus one needed to prepare appropriately.
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By the Eastern Han period, elaborate ceramic models of people, servants, attendants and objects from daily life were included in burials alongside real items such as lacquer wares, textiles and metal vessels.
Chinese Ritual Vessel, Bronze, Eastern Zhou dynasty, 800-600 BC, China, British Museum
A bronze Chinese Ritual Vessel was buried during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. This water-pourer is called a yi, and the inscription inside records that it was commissioned by a noble lady called Chu-Yin.
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Chu-Yin’s name indicates that she came from the north-western Qin state, royal surname Yin, and married into the southern Chu state. Intermarriages were an important way to forge alliances between competing regional independent states.
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The Model Fish Pond is an elaborate tomb model that provides a pond, complete with fish, frogs, a tortoise and ducks for the pleasure of the deceased.
Model Fish Pond, Earthenware, Han dynasty c.AD 1-200, China, British Museum
Models such as this were believed to function in the afterlife as their full-scale equivalents would during life.
Silk Road connections
The Silk Road connected international traders and allowed merchants to transport goods such as spices, tea, ceramics and silk from China to the Mediterranean and back.
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The Tang dynasty in China thrived during a period of enhanced security and prosperity. During this golden age, people’s lives became more settled and with affluence, arts and culture proliferated.
Pottery figurines and statuettes depicting various local and foreign people in different poses and actions represent the diverse faces and facets of the Tang dynasty.
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These representations were produced in large quantities but were finished and fashioned individually, serving as portraits of real-life individuals with distinct characteristics and personalities.
Chinese Tang Tomb Figure, Ceramic, 728, Henan Province, China, British Museum
Enormous quantities of artefacts found in the tombs of that era, such as the Chinese Tang Tomb figure, show the wealth of ceramics and grave goods that were produced to accompany the elite into the afterlife.
Porcelain innovations
The secrets of porcelain were developed by the Chinese almost 2,000 years ago. The emergence of the maritime Silk Road enabled greater quantities of porcelain to be transported by sea to the rest of Asia, across the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf, as well as the east coast of Africa.
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The Tang dynasty saw innovations in ceramics and in the creation of fine porcelain, which drove demand in the export trade.
Chinese Amphora, Stoneware, 600-700, China, British Museum
Movement of goods resulted in cross-fertilisation of artistic style, such as that seen in the globular body of a Chinese Amphora, which resembles Greek and Roman vessels, with the dragon handles representing iconic Asian elements.
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The Koreans took about 1,000 years to learn the art of ceramics production. It was war that spread the secrets to the Japanese, who kidnapped many skilled Korean potters.
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In 14th century Korea, during the early Joseon period (1392-1910), Buncheong ceramics made by coating pottery with white slip and then painting them with iron pigment became popular.
Bottle Stoneware, with slip design, c.1500, Korea, British Museum
This technique allowed for the use of course, inexpensive clay and provided greater artistic versatility.
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As a result, both the aristocracy and commoners could use Buncheong ceramics for everything from tableware to supplying grave goods for tombs.
A thick-bodied Bottle Stoneware made in 1500 is a classic example of the tradition.
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With the collapse of China’s Ming dynasty in 1644, the Japanese briefly dominated the Asian porcelain industry.
Kakiemon Elephant, Porcelain with overglaze enamels, 1650-1700 Arita, Saga Prefecture, Japan, British Museum
They added delicate red and yellow enamels to Chinese blue-and-white to create luxury pieces like this Kakiemon Elephant.
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Kakiemon-style ware, named after the still-surviving potting family, appealed to European tastes.
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The Dutch were the only Western merchants that the shogun allowed to trade with Japan. This elephant was shipped to Europe by the Dutch between 1610 and 1700.
Societies of the Americas
Maya civilisation was one of Central America’s most long-lasting cultures. Known for their complex faith, they are also renowned for their architecture, writing system and calendar – elements of which can be seen on this sculpted Maya Altar from Copán (in modern Honduras).
Maya Altar, Limestone, c.736-822, Copán, Honduras, British Museum
The Sculpted face is a personification of the underworld called Sak Xiiw, meaning “white fright”.
The other sides are carved with writing symbols called glyphs. One side refers to the ruler Yax Pahsaj Chan Yopaat and gives the dates of his accession in 763 using the Maya calendar.
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Around 1400, the Aztecs conquered an older Central American civilisation, the Huastec.
Sculpture of Huastec goddess, Sandstone, 900-1,521, Panuco River, Mexico, British Museum
The Aztecs adapted some aspects of the Huastec religion and absorbed it into their own.
The sandstone Sculpture of a Huastec goddess portrays the figure with protruding breasts and an open mouth ready to consume and to purify.
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The Inca Empire was one of the largest in the world around 1500 and ruled over 12 million people across the Andes.
Inca Gold Llama, 1400-1500 AD, Peru, British Museum
The Inca relied on llamas, which they prized. Live as well as gold model llamas were offered as ritual sacrifices. They were also buried alongside the bodies of children of the Inca who were ritually sacrificed to appease the spirits.
African city-state
Ife was one of the great city-states of West Africa (present-day Nigeria) that flourished between 1100 and 1400.
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Ife’s artists developed a distinctive, highly naturalistic sculptural tradition in terracotta and stone.
Ife Head Terracotta, 1100-1400, Possibly from Iwinrin Grove, Ife, Nigeria, British Museum
This terracotta Ife Head was probably displayed on an altar or shrine. This sculpture is of an unknown person. Like other Ife artworks, this one provides a visual record of their people and their society
Leisure activities
The game of chess originated in India around AD550, and became popular with the Persians and later Muslims before Christian Europeans modified it into the game we play today.
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The Lewis Chessmen date back to 1150-1175, by which time the war elephants were gone, and bishops and the all-powerful queen were a central part of the game.
Lewis Chessmen, Walrus ivory, c.1150-1175, Found on the Isle of Lewis, probably made in Norway, British Museum
The Lewis queens embody the powerful, public role that the wives of the rulers fulfilled in European courts.
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Queens often served as advisors to the king, and the pose of the Lewis queens reflects thoughtful counsel.
Scientific innovations
Astrolabes were one of the most advanced scientific devices of the medieval age.
Hebrew Astrolabe, Brass, 1345-1355, Probably Spain
They were used to simulate the movements of the heavenly bodies, to serve as a star-map, and for surveying and astrological purposes.
They were invaluable navigation aids and could be used to determine the time, day or night.
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On this astrolabe, Spanish and Arabic words are inscribed in Hebrew, showing the thriving intellectual environment and multiculturalism of the time.
Modern objects in the British Museum
At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia was failing. Its imperial autocracy was overthrown and replaced by a communist regime.
Revolutionary Plate, Glazed ceramic, 1921, St Petersburg, Russia, British Museum
By 1921, when the Revolutionary Plate was made, more than four million people had died in Russia’s civil war and the resulting famine.
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Propaganda celebrating the revolution, featuring an image of a proletariat worker in front of a factory radiating productivity, was necessary to boost morale on this plate made in the imperial porcelain factory.
The British Museum’s World History Told with 100 Objects
The British Museum’s World History Told with 100 Objects exhibition is convincing and informative.
Each of these 100 objects reveals the differences and the similarities between our modern world and the cultures of the past, providing enlightenment to all contemporary students of history.
Text Martin Wray and the British Museum / Photos Cammy Yiu
