The British Museum on the beeb

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rocknicker R
rocknicker May 10, 2007 23:07:33

Anyone see tonight's program?

It was a nice surprise - wasn't trumpeted by any means that I saw.

http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/whatson/events/bbc.html


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Thursday 17 May
BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE
The stories behind some of the 8,000 human remains in the Museum’s collection, including the Lindow Man and mummies.We see how changing attitudes have led to greater awareness of the sensitivities of indigenous people, and witness the historic return of aboriginal ash bundles to Tasmania.

Thursday 24 May
THE BM GOES EAST
We head east to China to see the Museum’s Director, Neil MacGregor, measure up terracotta soldiers and strike the deal for this Autumn’s blockbuster exhibition, The First Emperor.We also follow the BM heavy mob transporting massive Assyrian wall reliefs to an exhibition in China.

Thursday 31 May
BURSTING AT THE SEAMS
The story of the famous building itself – the never ending challenge of updating the storage facilities, dealing with leaks and power cuts, the hawk that chases the pigeons away, and restoring the historic front gates.

Thursday 7 June
PUTTING ON A BLOCKBUSTER
The preparation and opening of the blockbuster Michelangelo Drawings exhibition with curator Hugo Chapman and a look at how the Museum handles over 5 million visitors a year with some of its dedicated Visitor Hosts.

Thursday 14 June
SHOPPING FOR POSTERITY
How the Museum uses limited funds to acquire new objects to complement the existing collections, from the rare 8th-9th-century Coenwulf coin, to remarkable medals and the modern African art installation, La Bouche du Roi.

Thursday 21 June
CURATORS OF THE HERE AND NOW
Two curators developing and fulfilling cutting edge projects – one with a range of contemporary artists from the Middle East and another staging an installation and workshops with prisoners in Pentonville Prison.

Thursday 12 July
OLD POTS AND PUZZLES
An insight into the constant research taking place across the Museum and how to unravel the mysteries of the past, from the decoding of symbols and imagery on Nasca pots to the mysteries of cuneiform tablets and ancient writing.

Thursday 26 July
THINGS AREN’T WHAT THEY SEEM
Fakes and replicas: how to spot them and how to make them. The programme features the painstaking creation of a replica of the head of Amenhotep III and a replica Rosetta Stone.

Thursday 2 August
BEYOND BLOOMSBURY
The extensive work of the Museum within the community, following the creation of an image of the goddess Durga in the Great Court by master craftsmen from India, and its work throughout the UK with partner institutions, including a massively successful touring exhibition on ancient board games and getting hooked on a 1.8 million-year-old handaxe – as curator Jill Cook says, ‘without this stone tool, we wouldn’t have our mobiles.’

L Littlestone
Littlestone May 11, 2007 05:16:04
Replying to rocknicker

Yup, excellent prog - looking forward to watching the rest of the series.

L Littlestone
Littlestone May 17, 2007 19:48:41
Replying to rocknicker

Thursday 17 May

BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE

The stories behind some of the 8,000 human remains in the Museum’s collection, including the Lindow Man and mummies.We see how changing attitudes have led to greater awareness of the sensitivities of indigenous people, and witness the historic return of aboriginal ash bundles to Tasmania.

Another excellent and thought-provoking episode this evening dealing with the repatriation of human remains to Tasmania, and how human remains in museums (generally) should be treated. Food for thought methinks, especially for those here and elsewhere who think ancient 'British' remains, held by various museums across the country, are of little more value than those of extinct animal and bird species.