The British Museum’s hidden basement galleries are to stay closed nether its novel masterplan for a sweeping redisplay of its collections—but what treasures exercise they hold? Among the antiquities soundless existence stored in that place is the Banquet Scene (645-635BC), the world’s finest unmarried Assyrian relief sculpture, of the variety destroyed yesteryear Islamic State inward Iraq.
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| Buried treasure: the valuable Banquet Scene (645BC-635BC) is stored on the flooring of the museum’s basement galleries [Credit: © The Trustees of the British Museum] |
These spaces housed 2 collections: Assyrian antiquities from present-day Iraq, too Greek too Roman sculptures. Built inward the belatedly 19th century, the galleries were originally double-height rooms. In the 1960s, they were cutting inward one-half to exercise a novel flooring at the principal score of the museum.
In 2006, the basement was closed entirely, largely because of access problems. Without a lift, entry for disabled visitors was restricted. The museum was likewise concerned most evacuating visitors inward an emergency. Keeping the galleries opened upwardly required safety warders, then their closure helped to relieve costs.
Two of the galleries contained Assyrian reliefs from Nineveh dating to the 7th century BC too recounting the story of King Ashurbanipal’s wars with the patch of Elam. Some of these sculptures are soundless affixed to the walls, patch others direct maintain been stored safely on wooden pallets on the floor.
Chief with them is the Banquet Scene, which nosotros sympathise was of late valued at £100m, making it i of the most valuable objects inward the British Museum’s collection. Unseen inward London since 2006, it was lent to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art inward 2014-15.
The undercover Assyrian galleries likewise presented other artefacts, including an eighth-century BC bronze privy from Ur, which was afterward reused equally a coffin. It remains inward storage there.
Many Assyrian reliefs volition hold out leaving the basement temporarily for the major, BP-sponsored exhibition, I Am Ashurbanipal, which runs from 8 Nov to 24 Feb 2019. Others direct maintain been on loan inward touring exhibitions. Most of the museum’s of import Assyrian reliefs are, however, on continuous display on the principal floor.
Six of the undercover galleries were dedicated to ancient Hellenic Republic too Rome, including architecture, classical inscriptions, early on Ephesus material, Roman sculpture too Roman portraits. Larger Greek too Roman sculptures stay inward the basement, where they tin give the sack hold out viewed yesteryear appointment. Some objects direct maintain been moved to the principal score or stored elsewhere. Others are included inward the museum’s touring exhibition Rome: City too Empire, which is due to opened upwardly at the National Museum of Commonwealth of Australia inward Canberra on 21 September.
The British Museum’s director, Hartwig Fischer, too its trustees are at in i lawsuit developing a highly ambitious masterplan to reinstall most of the collection, a procedure that volition direct maintain years too mayhap decades. It is probable to hold out the museum’s most radical redisplay inward to a greater extent than than 150 years.
Plans are soundless at an early on stage, only the undercover galleries volition stay off-limits to the populace too volition in all probability hold out used for storage too treatment of museum objects. Under the masterplan, the museum may determine to movement roughly of the Assyrian reliefs from the basement upwardly to the principal floor.
Author: Martin Bailey | Source: The Art Newspaper [September 20, 2018]
Sumber http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com
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