British Museum – Leonardo da Vinci Coming Soon

Plus African Art, the Italian Renaissance, Egyptian Book of the Dead

Nov 10, 2009

The British Museum is planning shows which will explore West African Sculptures from the Kingdom of Ife, Italian Renaissance Drawings, and the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

In order to attract visitors museums must continuously create new and exciting exhibitions. Forthcoming shows planned at the British Museum for 2010 will include Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures from West Africa, Fra Angelico: Italian Renaissance Drawings and Journey through the afterlife: the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Another major exhibition planned for 2010 is Fra Angelico to Leonardo: Italian Renaissance drawings. More than 100 drawings, from the Uffizi and the British Museum's own comprehensive collections, will be on display.

The exhibition will feature work by the most important Italian Renaissance artists active between 1400 and 1510 including Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Angelico, Jacopo and Gentile Bellini, Botticelli, Carpaccio, Filippo Lippi, Mantegna, Michelangelo, Verrocchio and Titian.

To coincide with the 50th anniversary of African Independence the British Museum is mounting an exhibition of African art and culture. Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures from West Africa will feature more than 100 pieces of Ife (pronounced ee-fay) sculpture. Most of the pieces have been made available by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria.

During the 12th to 15th centuries Ife, an important trading centre in West Africa (now modern Nigeria) developed its own highly distinctive and unique sculptural tradition in copper, stone and terracotta. The figures depict all aspects of Ife society.

The exhibition, which is sponsored by Santander and The A.G. Leventis Foundation, is a collaboration between the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the Fundacion Marcelino Botin and the Museum of African Art, New York.

The British Museum has a very fine collection of Books of the Dead on papyrus, many of which are colourfully illustrated showing the landscape of the netherworld, its gods and demons. Since so many papyri are too delicate to be displayed permanently this will be a rare opportunity for visitors to see these amazing objects.

This exhibition will explore the meaning and content of these books, which comprise prayers, hymns, rituals and instructions that gave the dead the information they needed to make a successful journey to the next world.

The display will feature the Hunefer papyrus, possibly the longest Book of the Dead at 37 metres. Also on view will be coffins, statues, amulets, masks and funerary jewellery.

Further information about forthcoming shows can be obtained from the British Museum. Telephone +44 (0) 20 7323 8299. Tickets can be booked direct: +44 (0)20 7323 8181.

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