The Top Ten Treasures at the Louvre - A Detailed Tour

If you love museums, like I do, the Louvre is certainly on your bucket list. Combining art, history, and antiquities, the Louvre is a former palace and a repository of some of the world’s great treasures.

It would take weeks – even months – to explore this gigantic museum. It is spread across three huge wings and a staggering 400 rooms! Not everyone has a lot of time to spend in the Louvre – sometimes you only have a few hours.

I included objects from all three wings and vastly different time periods in history, as well as three iconic French paintings from the tumultuous early 19th century.

This blog covers:

10. The Great Sphinx of Tanis

9. Pacheri - The Louvre’s Mummy

8. Liberty Leading the People

7. The Code of Hammurabi

6. The Coronation of Napoleon

5. Michelangelo’s Dying Slave and Rebellious Slave

4. The Raft of The Medusa

3.  The Venus De Milo

2. The Winged Victory of Samothrace

1. The Mona Lisa

Let me just say – this was a really tough list to narrow down! I could have made an almost completely different top ten list – and I will make a part two in the future! What did I miss? Let me know in the comment section below.

Remember – the Louvre is massive, and it can be confusing to navigate. I linked the official Louvre map in the description below, but things do occasionally move or get lent to other museums.

Also, the lines to get in without a pre-booked slot are really long! For your first trip, I recommend that you book a guided tour with skip-the-line access. Trust me – it makes your experience a lot smoother and really removes the stress.

Now, let’s start with Number 10!

10. The Great Sphinx of Tanis

Location: Entrance to the Department of Egyptian Antiquities, Sully Wing

Starting with number ten, often often called the “guardian of the Louvre Museum.” This is one of the largest sphinxes located outside of Egypt! It was excavated in 1825 in the Temple of Amun in Tanis, the Egyptian capital during the 21st and 23rd Dynasties.

The Sphinx greets us at the Entrance to the Department of Egyptian Antiquities. Check out his outstretched claws – while it may look calm and serene, this kitty’s got claws.

Egyptologists have trouble dating this object, because different Pharaohs scratched out their predecessors’ names and replaced them with their own! This was a cheeky practice very common in Ancient Egypt, and it means that Egyptologists can only date it between the 4th the 12th Dynasty. That's somewhere between 2613 to 2494 BCE to 1991BCE - 1783BCE – a huge date range!

Henry Salt, an English Egyptologist and collector, sold this sphinx (and the mummy we’ll talk about soon) to the Louvre after it was excavated by his Egyptian team. The curator of the Egyptian Department at that time was Jean-Francois Champollion.

I talk about Champollion in depth in my Top Ten Objects at the British Museum Blog, because he translated the Rosetta Stone! He’s the reason we can understand these hieroglyphics. Was it Salt’s to sell? Let me know if you’d like a blog and video just about the controversies of the Louvre.

jalvear, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

9. Pacheri - The Louvre’s Mummy

Location: Sully Wing, 1st Floor, Room 33

Let’s stay in the Sully Wing for number nine on our top ten list to see the only human mummy at the Louvre.

While the Louvre has a large collection of mummy coffins and sarcophagi, which are beautiful to look at, it only has one mummified human. Look at how many people are gathered around him! He is the most famous display of the Louvre’s Department of Egyptian Antiquities. The Museum’s collection spans more than four millennia, from 4,000 BCE to the 4th century CE.

You can traverse its galleries and learn all about Egyptian life and death from the most ancient days of the Egyptian civilisation, through the Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, Ptolemaic, Roman, and Byzantine eras.

Let’s have a closer look at the mummy, and his unusual and intricate head wrapping. His face a head is encased in woven strips of linen, and the result is a geometric twisted square pattern.

He likely lived between 305 BCE to 30 BCE, during was the Ptolemaic Period of Ancient Egypt. Experts believe that his name was Nenu or Pacheri.

He was almost certainly an upper middle-class person - mummification like this was only for the elite. His most important organs were removed and then preserved in jars, called canopic jars, but his brain and heart were left intact in his body. He was desiccated with salt, and then covered with pungent resin and lovely aromatic oils before being wrapped.

These oils are why the Victorians loved to attend ‘mummy unwrapping parties’ – believe it or not, mummies smell really good! Let me know if you would like a video on mummy unwrapping parties.

Look at his feet – we can see Anubis, God of embalming and cemeteries. Anubis has a man’s body and a canine head, and he will measure the weight of your heart to see if you deserve entry into the realm of the dead.

But wait – there are tons of mummy coffins in the Louvre, so where are the rest of the mummies? When the Egyptian Department first opened in 1827, they couldn’t figure out how to keep the mummies from decaying. This one managed to survive, but the rest were buried in Parisian cemeteries.

By the way, Europeans like Henry Salt were excavating Egypt like crazy at this time, and negotiating with local government officials who may not have had permission or the right to give these objects away. If you’d like to see a video on the ethics of mummies in museums, including displaying human remains and the question of returning them to Egypt, let me know in the comments.

Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix

8. Liberty Leading the People

Location: Denon Wing, 1st floor, Room 700

I have included three French paintings from the 19th century on our top ten list. Yes, I could have included Caravaggio (my favourite), or Titian, or Vermeer, or countless others – but the truth is that you can see many of those artists in other museums. But here at the Louvre, it is all about these three massive canvases.

Let’s start with Number 8 on our list – Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix. Along with Géricault, who we will see soon, he is considered the greatest French Romantic painter, and you can visit his grave at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. I’m going to embed the link for a great tour of Pere Lachaise by my colleague Margaret – give it a watch.

This painting depicts an allegory of the 1830 French Revolution, a symbolic interpretation of the events that toppled King Charles X. The bare-breasted woman in the centre is Liberty, a symbol of French liberation referred to in France as Marianne.

She is a specific version of the goddess of Liberty, depicted countless ways over the millennia, and she personifies liberty, equality, fraternity, and reason. In this painting, she is wearing a Phrygian cap, an Eastern European hat made popular during the French Revolution as a “liberty cap.”

Note that she isn’t perfect or idealised- she has a sweaty hue to her skin, and she appears to have underarm hair, not to mention the musket she clutches in her left hand.

In her right, she is holding the French flag, known as le tricolore, which the militia had worn when they stormed the Bastille and overthrew the king. Until that point, the French flag had been a gold fleur-de-lis.

Of course, you might recognise Marianne from the massive statue the French gifted to the United States in 1884. Though not strictly Marianne, The Statue of Liberty is often considered to be based on this concept.

The people in the painting are all working side by side, even though they are of different classes – this personifies egalite – or egalitarianism. There is a man in a top hat, clearly a member of the French upper class. Near him is a factory worker in an apron, a student with a black beret, and men of other professions – they are working together for the principles of the new French Republic.

This painting was good for Delacroix’s soul and artistic integrity. To keep up with his lavish lifestyle, he had previously been working for King Charles X, and he hated working for a man he considered an ‘enemy’ (I mean, not enough to not take his money…)

He felt much better about this subject matter, which was more in line with his values.  He wrote, “I have undertaken a modern subject, a barricade, and although I may not have fought for my country, at least I shall have painted for her. It has restored my good spirits.” 

Hammurabi, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

7. The Code of Hammurabi 

Location: The Richelieu Wing, Ground Floor, Room 227

Let’s head to a completely different wing – the Richelieu Wing, to see a famous legal document that dates to 1754 BCE. It’s the Code of Hammurabi, which is a remarkably well-preserved set of laws from ancient Mesopotamia. Enacted by King Hammurabi, who was the sixth King of Babylon, and who ruled from 1792 – 1750 BCE. That makes this documentation even older than the biblical laws of Christianity.

The basalt stele is 2.5 metres tall (7.5 feet), and it details 280 laws. They cover some of the most common problems encountered in Ancient Babylon, including nurses’ duties, marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, and engagement.

Have a look at the top of the stele, and you can see the God Shamash, the ancient Mesopotamian sun God. Shamash is reciting this divine legal code directly to King Hammurabi. Hmmm – that reminds me a bit of the Ten Commandments!  

The Code of Hammurabi was discovered in 1901 and was soon translated from its original Akkadian language, using cuneiform script. The first section is a poetic ode to Hammurabi call him the protector of the “weak and oppressed,” while the remaining four sections detail the actual laws.

 The Code of Hammurabi is considered a hugely important document that has influenced modern law - it is depicted in the US Capitol, and there is a replica of the stele at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.

The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David

6. The Coronation of Napoleon

Location: Denon Wing, 1st floor, Room 702

This painting depicts, you guessed it, the coronation of Napoleon, when he was crowned leader of the French Empire on December 2nd, 1804, thus ending the First Republic of France.

In the painting, we can see Pope Pius VII, who didn’t like to travel – he had come all the way from Rome to bless Napoleon’s reign. Napoleon wanted to evoke the previous grandeur of Charlemagne’s coronation, which occurred 1000 years earlier.  

The painter was Jacques-Louis David, considered one of the most important French neoclassicist painters. Napoleon didn’t give David much artistic leeway – he was obsessed with the details, and he told David exactly who should be placed where. So much so, that he created fiction.

See, this is not an accurate depiction of the event at all. It is, instead, a highly idealised version of what Napoleon wanted to have happened.

The biggest glaring difference is that his mother Letizia Bonaparte is depicted prominently, she was not there. In fact, she was protesting the friction between Napoleon and his brothers Lucien and Joseph, and she wouldn’t attend. She reportedly didn’t approve of Josephine, who was six years older than Napoleon and couldn’t bare him children, but that is a different post!

During the ceremony, Napoleon reached out and grabbed the crown from the Pope and placed it on his own head. This was actually quite insulting to the Pope, and it made him seem petulant and impatient. After all, the Pope placing the crown on his head was symbolic approval from God.

Napoleon soon realised that he hadn’t behaved very well, so he instead has David portray him placing the crown on the head of Empress Josephine. This is a much more chivalrous and gracious gesture, far more befitting of an Emperor.  

The painting was a huge success with the public – and more importantly, Napoleon loved it. He said, “it is not a painting. There are people walking in this picture. Life is everywhere. David, I salute you. You have made me a French knight.” 

David, understanding that he owed his success to the Emperor’s approval of his work, later said, “I shall slide into posterity in the shadow of my hero.”

5. Michelangelo’s Dying Slave and Rebellious Slave

Location: Denon Wing, Room 403, Ground Floor

We’re heading towards some of the most famous objects in the Louvre now. When the doors open in the morning, everyone runs towards the Mona Lisa, but I recommend giving these remarkable statues your full attention. I happened to catch them alone, and I know it’s corny – but I actually started crying. It was awe-inspiring to take them in without the crowds.

The sculptures were created by one of the most iconic Renaissance artists, Michelangelo, between 1513 and 1516. Along with four others, they were meant to flank the tomb of Pope Julius II, but they didn’t make it onto the final version of the monument, completed in 1542.

Instead, Michelangelo gave them as a thank-you gift to a gracious host, and they were later sold to the Cardinal of Richelieu in 1632. In 1793, at the height of the Reign of Terror, a widow of one of the Dukes of Richelieu attempted to sell them. The Government seized her assets, and they landed in the Louvre in 1794. They were originally referred to as Prigioni, which means prisoner, but people start calling them the Slaves in the 19th century.

They are more than 2 metres tall (7”4), so they tower over you, and they are every bit as fascinating and complex as Michelangelo’s David (which is in Florence). They depict and evoke agony, ecstasy, life, and death. Michelangelo had just finished the Sistine Chapel ceilings, and these sculptures truly cemented him as the greatest artist of all time. Ok, there isn’t just one – who is your favourite artist of all time? Let me know in the comments.

These are my favourite objects in the Louvre – don’t miss them.

The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault

4. The Raft of The Medusa

Location: Denon Wing, 1st floor, Room 700

If you could only see one painting in the Louvre, I would advise you to bypass the Old Masters and head to The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault. In this work, he shows us a horrifying view into the aftermath of a real shipwreck that rocked the world. It occurred on July 2nd, 1816, when the crew of the Medusa were shipwrecked off the coast of Mauritania in Northwest Africa. 

At least 147 men had been aboard the ship, and they realised they faced certain death on the isolated beach, in the hot sun. They worked together to construct a raft from the ship’s hull, but this would be the last time they all worked together. So much for fraternite!

That’s because, within 13 days, all but 15 men would die. The men on the raft were eventually discovered – they were suffering from extreme dehydration. They had survived through cannibalism, and likely murdered some of their shipmates.

This painting depicts the moment when a French military ship passed by the raft. Faced with the wild-eyed men, they refused to save them. However, they were soon rescued, and the cannibalism, as well as the Medusa’s captain’s incompetence, became an international scandal.

Géricault interviewed two survivors of the horror, and even asked them to re-enact their traumatic experience. In a common practice for painters, he studied corpses to get the shades and colours of the dying flesh just right. 

I can’t convey just how large this is – it’s a monumental size, 16 ft x 23 ft (5 x 7 metres). He released this painting at the Paris Salon in 1819 and caused a huge stir. Even though he was then an unknown 27-year-old painter, he would soon be considered a master of French Romanticism. He would go on to influence important artists, such as Delacroix, who we just saw, and Manet, one of my favourites, who I detail in my Musee D’Orsay video.

The Venus de Milo

3.  The Venus de Milo

Sully Wing, Floor 1, Room 346

Number three on our list is one of the world’s most famous sculptures – The Venus de Milo. But a lot of what you know about her is likely wrong – including her name.

The statue was unearthed on the Greek island of Melos in 1820 and it dates to around 100 BCE. She was discovered by a farmer in his field, and the public immediately began referring to her as “Venus.” But there’s a giant problem with using the name Venus. See, Venus is the Roman goddess of sex and love – Roman, not Greek!

And considering she was found in Greece, if she is a goddess of love and sex, she should be called Aphrodite de Milo, not Venus.

But wait – she’s probably not a goddess of love at all!

She is much more likely to be Amphitrite, the goddess of the sea and wife of sea god Poseidon. For obvious reasons, this goddess was beloved in Melos, and so we should probably start calling her Amphitrite de Milo. But I don’t think that is going to catch on.

So, who created her? It could have been Praxiteles, one of the most talented sculptors in Ancient Greek, but he was alive a few centuries too early. It’s more likely to be a piece by Alexandros of Antioch, who was alive at the right time and in the right place.

There is speculation that she might have been holding an apple, and we know she was originally festooned with elaborate metal jewellery.

We also know that she was painted in bright colours, just like most ancient sculpture. I know – we tend to look at these statues and think, “how understated and sophisticated to be a neutral bone white,” but they were actually a riot of colour.

Funnily enough, Renaissance sculptors like Michelangelo didn’t know this! That’s why his iconic pieces are uncoloured marble.

We’re extremely lucky that 19th century conservators didn’t try to replace her arms, as they did with many other damaged sculptures (we’ll see one next). For me, the Venus de Milo’s imperfection is what makes her so wonderful. I choose to think that about myself, as well!

The Winged Victory of Samothrace

2. The Winged Victory of Samothrace

Location: Denon Wing, Room 703 (Daru Staircase)

Coming in at number 2 - the Winged Victory of Samothrace. It’s in the of the main staircase, where it has resided since 1866 – the only place in the Louvre that does justice to its size and grandeur. This monumental sculpture is considered the finest example of Hellenistic art, and it it's easy to see why.

I visited twice on my recent trip – here is the first time, at around noon. Here is the second time, right when the museum opened! You can really see a difference. It was a very special experience when I had it to myself.

We’re looking at Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory – yes, like the shoes! It dates to around the 2nd century BCE, a similar time frame to our previous entry, the Venus de Milo.

Charles Champoiseau found it in pieces while he was excavating on the Greek island of Samothrace in 1863. As the vice-consul in the Ottoman city of Adrianople, he regularly visited Samothrace looking for buried treasure and antiquities like this one. For Champoiseau and his contemporaries, owning antiquities was a status symbol.

They certainly didn’t give much thought to the ethics of digging up the land in a foreign country and carting aways its treasures. Again, let me know if you’d like a video on the most controversial objects in the Louvre!

The entire piece is more than 6 metres (18 feet) tall. Nike is 3 metres (9 feet) tall just on her own! She stands confidently atop a ship’s bow, which is made from grey marble. In contrast, her body is white marble – though these both would have been painted.

Nike has huge wings, and we can see that the sculptor was extremely skilled. Just look at the way the wind is blowing her robes against the form of her body, making her quite sexual. Folded fabric is difficult to sculpt in a natural way, but this looks effortless.

When you come to see The Winged Victory of Samothrace, stand in a few different places and make sure you have a look at her from different angles. Like our number one piece, the Mona Lisa, it changes depending on the angle.

Unlike the Venus de Milo, this statue has been partially restored – the right wing is a modern replica completed in the 19th century. Thankfully, no one decided to replace her head, feet, and arms, which was the prevailing trend at the time.

By the way, if you want to see her original hand, head to the glass case to the left of the statue. It was only discovered in the same field in 1950!

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

1. The Mona Lisa

Location: Denon Wing, Room 711

 You didn’t think I was going to leave you hanging, did you? Of course, the number one thing you have to see at the Louvre is the Mona Lisa.

Sometimes an object becomes famous because of its history and the popular culture that arises around it rather than just its artistic merit, and that is the case here.

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, painted between 1503 – 1506. It’s called La Giaconda in Italian, and we now know it depicts Lisa Gherardini, who was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a Florentine nobleman.

Da Vinci was supposed to give this painting to his patron, but he instead brought it with him to France, leaving behind a flustered Giocondo. Clearly, he recognised that there was something special about the portrait. Had he left it with its patrons in Florence, it would probably not be the subject of so many parodies – and so many massive queues.

Seriously – people make a run – actually running – to try to get here first in the morning!

Mona Lisa is famous for two main reasons. The first is that enigmatic smile! From some angles she looks like she is smirking, from some angles she looks like she is smiling, and from others she is frowning.

But the second reason is more interesting – she was stolen.

The Mona Lisa shot to worldwide fame when it was stolen in 1911 – and museum staff didn’t notice it was missing right away! It was taken by Vincenzo Perugia, a petty criminal wearing a janitor’s uniform. He mistakenly believed it had been stolen from Italy by Napoleon and he thought he was doing his patriotic duty. This was a huge news story at the time.

He stowed it away for two years and was caught when he tried to sell it to an art dealer in 1913. It was displayed in the Uffizi in Florence for a short time, with Italians weeping to see it in person on their home soil. Perugia only served a short time in prison – the Italian legal system went easy on him.

So, wait - how did the Louvre get the Mona Lisa? While many objects in the Louvre have dubious or downright illegal origins, this one is completely legal. French king François I purchased the Mona Lisa when da Vinci died in 1519, and then it hung in the gallery at Fontainebleu.

There is a Napoleon connection after all, but not in the way Perugia thought. Napoleon loved it so much that it hung in his bedroom in the Tuileries, before eventually coming to the Louvre.

There you have it - the top ten objects in the Louvre. What did I miss? Leave me a comment and let me know.  

The Top Ten Must-See Paintings at the National Gallery

1. Room 63 - Jan van Eyck - The Arnolfini Portrait (1434)

2. Room 58 - Botticelli - Venus and Mars (1485)

3. Room 66 - Leonardo da Vinci - The Virgin of the Rocks (1491/2-9 and 1506-8)

4. Room 10 - Titian - Bacchus and Ariadne (1520) 

5. Room 12 - Hans Holbein - The Ambassadors (1533)

6. Room 32 - Caravaggio - Boy Bitten by a Lizard (1594)

7. Room 30 - Diego Velázquez - Rokeby Venus (1647-51)

8. Room 45 - Paul Delaroche - The Execution of Lady Jane Grey (1833)

9. Room 41 - Claude Monet - The Water Lily Pond (1902 - 1908)

10.  Room 43 - Vincent Van Gogh - Sunflowers (1888)

Room 63 - Jan van Eyck - The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434

The Arnolfini Portrait, commissioned by the Arnolfini Family from Jan Van Eyck in 1434, is one of the most compelling paintings in the world. In this photo, a man and woman stand in a room, dressed in finery. While it looks like a ‘normal’ room, every object has been selected by van Eyck to represent the couple’s sophistication and wealth. 

That’s because the Arnolfinis were wealthy merchants from Italy living in Bruges, where van Eyck was active. You can tell just by looking at the construction of the room. The brick home is immediately more stately than one made from wood or a village shack, and you can see a handsome cherry tree through the open window, itself a status symbol. 

We can indeed see their bed, but this isn’t their bedroom. At this time in history, when the bed was the most expensive item of furniture one owned, this would be a reception room. It is covered with extremely expensive red cloth, with additional red cushions and on an ornately carved chair and bench. Above, an intricate brass chandelier. Underfoot, a handwoven Middle Eastern rug. 

Look at the oranges casually dotted across the table - this tropical fruit required an orangery - or greenhouse - to grow, and it was incredibly expensive. Even the plaster walls show us that this couple can afford to pay for the details - most people used tapestries to cover unfinished walls.

Even the room itself if not a literal record of the couple’s home. Although it looks as if van Eyck has simply removed a wall, close examination reveals inconsistencies. The chandelier cannot fit into the space it seems to occupy; there is no sign of a fireplace; the bed is too short and the ornate convex mirror on the back wall seems impossibly large. As usual, van Eyck created a perfectly convincing show of reality but altered things to fit his aesthetic purposes and perhaps also to accord with Arnolfini’s aspirations.

Now let’s look at the couple themselves. They too are sumptuously decked out, wearing fine clothing that isn’t at all flashy. They are the epitome of 15th-century Flemish style - think of this like their Instagram! 

It’s very common to misinterpret her as pregnant - she is holding a bulky belly, after all. However, she is actually just holding up the folds of her heavy gown in front of her, as was the fashion at the time. 

On the wall behind them you can see a large round mirror. It has a convex shape, which contorts the room. Look in the mirror - you can see two men entering the room behind our perspective. One of the men is raising his hand, perhaps in greeting. Above this mirror, van Eyck has signed the painting Jan van Eyck was here. 1434’. Therefore, maybe the men are van Eyck and his servant, entering the room for a friendly visit. 

Room 66 - Leonardo da Vinci - The Virgin of the Rocks 

If you’re anything like me, the name Leonardo da Vinci takes your breath away. I grew up in absolute wonder of this genius. Today, while I tend to prefer other styles of art, there is still always something so special about viewing a da Vinci piece in person. And luckily, the National Gallery has three. This painting, the Virgin of the Rocks, depicts the Virgin Mary, the baby Jesus, and the infant John the Baptist.

It consists of three panels that would have originally been part of the altar of a chapel in the church of San Francesco Grande, Milan. Sculptor Giacomo del Maiano had already finished elaborate scultpturs for the altar, and then Leonardo and his associates were hired to do the paintings. 

But wait - there is a second version. This one actually isn’t the first he painted! This one was made to replace another, which now hangs in the Louvre, perhaps because the religious order wouldn’t properly pay him for the expensive materials!

Leonardo worked with two Milanese painters to create the altar paintings, half-brothers Ambrogio and Evangelista de Predis. Leonardo took on the most elaborate of the paintings, the Vigin and Child, though the other men and their friends likely painted elements within. 

This painting is notable because it introduces us to Leonardo’s iconic style of using shadows instead of outlines. Think about it - in typical renaissance paintings, the Virgin and Child are usually depicted in bright daylight with the blue sky behind them. In this case, Leonardo positions them in a dark cave, which some people would have found quite blasphemous. However, it is this contrast that makes the painting so unique. 

Leonardo wrote that light and shadow should blend together “without lines or borders in the manner of smoke.” This gave rise to the term sfumato, which means “seen as if through smoke.”

But just so we’re clear - Leonardo did not think Israel looked like this cave! This setting was meant to remind us about many biblical metaphors. For instance, Mary and Joseph are often associated with caves and rocks because they make us think of sanctuary. Similarly, the flowers at the bottom left are called Star of Bethlehems, or heartsease - they symbolise purity. We can also see palm leaves, a symbol of the Virgin Mary, behind the infant John’s head. We may write these off as small details, but a Renaissance viewer would have been very familiar with metaphors like these. 

Room 48 - Sandro Botticelli - Venus and Mars 1485

One of the most famous Renaissance artists, Sandro Botticelli is often thought of as the archetypal Florentine painter. Here, he has painted the goddess Venus with the God of War, Mars. Of course, Venus represents love - she is alert and awake while Mars is sleeping - you can almost hear him snoring. It is clear that love has conquered war in this particular sexual encounter. 

Botticeli painted this to honour his patrons’ wedding. Who were they? Check out the wasps buzzing around. Vespe is the Italian word for wasp, and this could be a nod to the Vespuccis, a noble Florentine family.

This was a popular myth amongst the Florentines in the late 15th century when this was painted. In the story, Venus was married to Vulcan, the god of the forge, often represented as an unattractive blacksmith. He heard about this tryst between Venus and Mars, and so he forged chains to catch them in the act. However, the chains were so light and delicate that the gods did not know they had been captured - soon, Vulcan invited the other gods from Mount Olympus, and then pointed and laughed at the adulterers. 

Botticelli has painted this for his client with a keen attention to detail and lots of funny inclusions meant to amuse the viewer. Let’s look at these impish satyrs - they’re playing with Mars’s armour - the helmet is covering their entire face! 

One of the little ones is even blowing a conch shell into Mars’s ear, but this doesn’t even disturb his deep slumber. The conch further symbolises Venus’s connection with the sea, which you can almost see in the distance. All of this mayhem has disturbed a wasp’s nest, and these prickly little creatures buzz around his head. 

Botticelli is showing off his knowledge of ancient Greek sculpture, which was the pinnacle of sophistication in 15th-century Florence. Mars almost looks like a classical nude sculpture, but Venus is fully clothed. In fact, look at her clothing and her hair. Her braids are actually woven into her dress, which is fastened with a jewel - her dress would have been impossible to take off! Botticelli might be nodding to her chastity, even though we know she has just committed adultery. 

Works like this were typically placed in a newlywed couple’s bedchamber, where guests were received. Therefore, since this was a pretty public space and he wouldn’t have wanted to offend his patron, Botticelli may be referencing the bride’s purity before marriage. There is also a myrtle bush behind Venus, which was a symbol of marriage. 

But despite her chastity, there did need to be some lust going on in this painting. I mean, the young couple would also meet in this room to try to conceive children!

Room 10 - Titian - Bacchus and Ariadne, 1520-23

This is a piece by one of the most important painters in history, the Venetian painter known as Titian, or Tiziano Vecelli in Italian. This painting is of Bacchus and Ariadne and depicts Cretan princess Ariadne, whose love Theseus, had just left her on the Greek island of Naxos. Look at the horizon, at the top left of the painting behind Ariadne, and you can see his ship sailing away as he abandons her. 

Bacchus, the god of wine, is entering the painting in a chariot drawn by two cheetahs. He is being trailed by his followers and revellers, as well as Drunken Silenus, who is slumped on a donkey. He is immediately in love with Ariadne, but she is put off by him - after all, her lover has just left her. However, Bacchus promises that he will turn her into a constellation, Corona Borealis, which you can see above her at the top left of the painting. 

That’s why her pose is quite complicated. She seems partially turned towards her disappearing lover Theseus, but she is also clearly intrigued by Bacchus and his wild energy as he leaps out of his chariot, shown suspended in mid-air. They were both clearly doing other things when they were unexpectedly drawn to each other - their bodies are kind of at odds with their heads, which is a good metaphor for intense passion. 

Titian was a master colourist, and he used all of the most vibrant paints and pigments available in Venice, undiluted and unmixed. Since he was painting for a wealthy patron, he had the money to use all of the finest materials. Using these colours at full strength gives this painting a bold, jewel-like feeling, with a brilliant blue sky and richly dressed subjects each with their own personal flesh tone. 

This painting was hugely influential on European Art. Soon, many other painters were depicting the gods and their love lives. 

Room 12 - Hans Holbein - The Ambassadors

Hans Holbein The Younger was a German-Swiss painter most famous for his Tudor portraiture - think of these famous images of Henry the 8th, Anne of Cleves, Thomas More, and many more. He created this magnificent work in 1533.‘The Ambassadors depicts Jean Dinteville, the French ambassador to England at the time. On the right is his friend and fellow diplomat, George de Selve.

Just as people do today on Instagram, George and Jean are surrounding themselves with status symbols to show you just how important they are. It would have cost a fortune to own clothes like these. 

Have a look - the globe shows that they are worldly, travelled people. The giant lute demonstrates that they can either play the lute, which would have been a symbol of education and sophistication or that they had the money to pay someone else to play for them.

There are also a number of astronomy objects here, and a crucified Jesus Christ in the top left corner. Perhaps the ambassadors are showing that whilst they are enjoying the earthly pleasures, they haven’t forgotten Christ? 

It’s also fascinating to note the date at the bottom -  1533. at the time this was perceived to be exactly 1500 years since Christ had died.

There are many clues about the painting in the tiniest details. For example, we know the ages of the two men because Jean’s little sword reads 29, and the book George is touching reads 25. These objects also tell us something about their characters - the book shows George to be a more contemplative person, whereas the sword shows Jean to be a man of action. 

Look at the lute’s broken string - it is positioned next to a book of hymns to signify the tension between the religious and political situation of the day - remember, this is 1533, and Henry 8 secretly married Anne Boleyn, annulled his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and officially changed England’s religion to the CofE from Catholicism. 

Now we can’t leave this painting without enjoying the crazy visual effect it has. The skull is known to be anamorphic, which means if you stand here it comes to life - it’s quite spooky. I know you can see it to some degree in the video, but in person? It is wild. 

It’s a classic ‘Momento Mori’ - a popular phrase at the time, meaning “remember you are going to die.” While it sounds quite goth, it is a way to remind you that your time on earth is short, and so you should be focusing on preparing for the afterlife.

Room 32 - Caravaggio - Boy Bitten by a Lizard, 1594

This is one of Caravaggio’s early works, painted as he tried to attract attention from one of the wealthy patrons in Rome. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a Milan-born painter often considered the father of modern painting. 

He is known for his tempestuous life and habit of using sex workers and orphaned children as models, which was very scandalous at the time. He has been described as the “rebellious, hot-tempered punk of art history.”

This is my favourite Caravaggio piece here in the National Gallery - Boy Bitten by a Lizard, painted in 1594. Some art historians think this Mario Minniti, Caravaggio’s companion and fellow painter, while others think this may be Caravaggio himself. As you can see, the boy’s middle finger is getting bitten by a lizard as he reaches for some grapes. In 16th century Rome, the middle finger had a similar meaning as it does today, so perhaps Caravaggio was sending a message to his many rivals. Regardless of this choice of finger, there is a lot of symbolism in the lizard biting the boy, and quite a few different theories. This could be a metaphor for love, with the flowers representing love and the lizard’s bite a warning for getting hurt. 

That is quite an innocent reading, however. Another theory proposes that this painting is a metaphor for syphilis, which was a big problem in Rome. Perhaps the finger is a phallic symbol, and this scene is a warning not to enjoy too much of life’s carnal pleasures, as you might get bitten by disease! 

A more academic reading of the painting’s symbolism could be that this is a rendering of the Apollo Sauroktonos theme, in which a poisonous salamander attacks and bests the god. The Four Temperaments are also represented, as the salamander was a symbol of fire in Caravaggio's time - and it also had phallic connotations! 

Caravaggio is really showing off his talent in this painting - you can see a stunning still life of cherries, plums, and flowers. Look even closer at the reflection of the room in the glass of water. 

Caravaggio’s biographers state that this painting was made for the open market and not for a specific patron. However, it did the trick- Caravaggio finally got a patron to fund his works shortly after it was completed.

Room 30 - Diego Velázquez - Rokeby Venus 1651

This is the Rokeby Venus, painted by Diego Velázquez around 1651. While we tend to think of the naked female form as common in Renaissance Art, this was not the case in 17th-century Spain. Due to the censorship of the Catholic Church, painting nudity could be punished with fines or even exile. 

Therefore, this painting was almost undoubtedly displayed in a private room, probably covered with a curtain and only revealed to certain guests. The painting appears flirtatious - Velazquez has painted Venus here to reveal just enough for the viewer to be drawn into the subject, but does not reveal her front. There is still plenty of mystery to her form. Venus was the Roman goddess of love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory. Cupid, the god of erotic love, is propping up a mirror, and the erotic overtones are contrasted by the fact that Venus’ face in the mirror is rather blurred. 

Why is that so? Art critics are undecided. It may be to conceal the identity of the woman who had posed for Velazquez. Or, it might be a deliberate technique to emphasise that our attention should be focused on Venus’ body, as the face is out of focus. The mirror also seems to be angled wrong - many people have tried to reconstruct this painting, only to discover that it is geometrically impossible for the mirror to show their face! This is Velazquez playing with our perspective. Instead of Venus looking at herself, she is looking at us looking at her.

After being owned in private collections in Spain since the 1600s, it was first brought to Britain in 1806 and kept in a private collection. It shot to fame in 1905 when it was purchased by the National Gallery - displaying erotica like this in a public gallery a hundred years ago did not go unnoticed!

In fact, it became so well known that it was the target of a protest by a suffragette campaigner. Women could not vote in elections in Britain, and some campaigners were committing acts of sabotage to draw attention to the cause. In 1914, Mary Richardson came right to where we are standing with a butcher’s meat cleaver and smashed the glass and the body of Venus. If you look closely at the painting you can see it still has the scars.

She said, “I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government for destroying Mrs Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history.”

Mrs Pankhurst was Emily Pankhurst, one of the suffragette leaders who had been imprisoned the day before. Well, Mary Richardson herself was sentenced to 6 months in prison. This did not deter other campaigners from damaging other paintings in the gallery, and the National Gallery even closed for several months until the suffragettes agreed to stop destroying works of art. Whether you agree with their methods or not, they were successful; some white women were finally granted the right to vote in 1918. 

Room 36 - Paul Delaroche - The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, 1833

When this painting ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey in the Tower of London’ was first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1834, it drew massive queues as people pressed in just to get close to its hyper-realistic style.  

But believe it or not, this painting was thought to be lost for most of the 20th century, believed to be destroyed in the Thames flood of 1928. It was rediscovered in the basement of the Tate in 1973, and was placed on display here in the National Gallery two years later. It drew crowds then, as well. 

The painting depicts a legendary 1554 event - the execution of England’s shortest reigning Queen, known as Lady Jane Grey, the 9 Days Queen, at the Tower of London. This young girl took the throne after the death of King Edward (her cousin) at the age of 15. He wanted her to take the throne in order to stop the Catholic Mary I from becoming the monarch and threatening the relatively new Church of England, which was only 20 years old.

But, Jane only lasted nine days before the courts and wider population turned against her in favour of Queen Mary. She was put on trial and sentenced to death. You will notice she is wearing a ring on her finger - her husband, Lord Guildford, was executed not long before her. She didn’t see it happen but may have seen his decapitated body being towed away as it passed by her room on a horse and cart. Certainly, this would have terrified her.

When it was unveiled in 1834, it was hit with the public, but critics were not always so generous, claiming that it was too sensational and too similar to another painting, John Opie’s Mary Queen of Scots. There are also plenty of factually incorrect details in the painting, especially in the styles of the clothing. But the main difference between this painting and what really happened is the lighting. The execution occurred outdoors during daylight hours, yet this seems to be indoors in a relatively dark room.

That inaccuracy, though, may have been deliberate. Paul Delaroche was obsessed with British history and had visited the Tower of London, writing notes and drawing sketches. He was therefore probably aware that the execution had happened outside. So it is probably the case that he has deliberately made it darker to add to the drama. Rather like the Caravaggio and Wright paintings we saw earlier, this use of darkness makes it much more tense and forboding. 

Claude Monet - The Water Lily Pond

Claude Monet was a French painter whose work came to epitomise the art movement Impressionism, which was all about capturing the way light lands on natural forms. He painted the Water Lily Pond, one of 250 paintings of lilies in his water gardens, in 1899. 

Monet moved to Giverny in Normandy, France, in 1883, and he was absolutely taken by his gardens there. For Monet, gardens were a respite from the rapidly industrialising world, even as he benefited from advances in botanical science to create new hybrid flowers in a diverse array of sizes and shapes.

After moving to Giverny, he became a passionate gardener, and employed as many as 8 gardeners to help him cultivate his flowers.

He replaced his kitchen garden with flowers, and soon purchased the plot next to his. It came with a pond, and he transformed it into a water garden and lily pond that were “both for the pleasure of the eye and for the purpose of having subjects to paint.”

Over time, he enlarged the pond and tripled its size, and eventually built a Japanese bridge over the western end of the pond. He patiently waited for the garden to grow and mature before he could paint it. He said, “It took me some time to understand my water-lilies. It takes more than a day to get under your skin. And then all at once, I had the revelation – how wonderful my pond was – and reached for my palette. I’ve hardly had any other subject since that moment.” Today, he is most known for his lilies. I think he would have liked that. 

Room 43 - Vincent Van Gogh - Sunflowers

This is one of the most famous works by Vincent Van Gogh - there are five different versions of it in different galleries around the world. Today, he is one of the most famous painters in the world, but that was not always the case. In fact, he himself was not even a painter until the age of 30, and his career in this field was incredibly short - he died at age 37.

What’s incredible about Van Gogh’s life is that until he turned to painting, he failed at almost everything else he tried - he failed at teaching, failed at preaching, failed as an art salesman, and of course, he failed at love with a number of tragic love affairs.

Van Gogh moved to the Arles in the south of France in 1888, and he was incredibly inspired by vivid colours of the countryside. Of course, this is also where his mental health suffered and he had a fateful argument with his friend, fellow painter Paul Gaugin, after which he cut off part of his ear. To learn more about that incident and see even more works by Van Gogh, watch my video on the Musee D’Orsay in Paris. But let’s focus on the happy times right now - this painting and the four others like it reveal Van Gogh in more uplifted spirits - these sunflowers radiate brightness.

He was also able to head outside owing to the invention of paint in small tubes! That’s right - before John G Rand invented paint tubes in 1841, painters were tied to their studios, indoors. However, paint in tubes makes their profession more portable than ever before, and Van Gogh can head outdoors and be inspired by these gorgeous colours.Of course, he wasn’t only inspired by nature and its beauty. He was also heavily influenced by Japanese art, particularly woodcuts, and he sought to bring these elements into his work. 

These vibrant sunflowers, influential as they are, are a true juxtaposition with Van Gogh’s life and it’s tragic nature. Not long after these paintings were produced, he passed away at age 37, underappreciated, undervalued and having received little recognition from the general public. Just imagine what he would think today. 

Bedlam At the Imperial War Museum

In between tours on Saturday I decided to take a walk from Spitalfields to Elephant and Castle in order to visit the Imperial War Museum.

I have been reading a fantastic book called "Bedlam: London and its Mad" by the eminently readable and engaging Catherine Arnold, and the IWM is housed in what was built to be the Bethlem Mental Hospital's third (and penultimate) location. 

Anyone who reads my blog or who has been on my tours knows that I am never more deeply engaged than when learning about the nasty bits of history; mass graves, body parts in jars, torture and flagellating saints are all right up my alley. A medieval mental institution is naturally of interest. The fact that the namesake of the deliciously evocative word "Bedlam" was once housed on Bishopsgate, at the sight of Liverpool Street Station (my home away from home) gives me untold moments of pleasure.

Whenever I see the Blue Heritage plaque announcing its former presence where I catch my trains, I get a shiver up my spine to which only other historians will relate. 

This fascination with the Bedlam Asylum was in part what lead to my interest in the Imperial War Museum; of course, as a 20th century historian, my interest in the European wars is a given. 

Housed in the Bethlem Asylum's former administrative building, The Imperial War Museum is a brilliantly curated archive of British involvement in the First and Second World Wars. From the London Blitz, the homeland experience of rationing and the Holocaust abroad, this museum sensitively and creatively guides the visitor through the chaos of early twentieth century London. (The Bethlem Hospital is now located in Croydon, and is home to the brilliant Museum of the Mind, about the asylum's oft-dark past). 

From full sized aircraft to tanks, the experience of local Londoners to the experience of soldiers on the ground, this museum attempts to capture the experience of many diverse groups. Myself, I was as equally captivated by the architecture and raw space as I was by what filled it - visions of Bedlam danced in my head, and not even the very serious topics at hand could erase the feeling of dark heritage in the air. 

Overall, I enjoyed this museum, but I must admit that I found its layout confusing and would have appreciated more direction on which way to walk in order to ideally experience the curation. That said, this museum offers free admission (like most UK museums), and so if you are in the area you should consider a visit.

Should you plan your London itinerary around this institution? Not unless you have a specific interest in the world wars, or in military history in general. As a tour guide, and historian I am more apt to recommend that you spend 18 quid to visit the Churchill War Museum in Westminster - it is operated by the IWM, and I think it is far more cohesive, and well worth your cash. 

Do you agree, disagree or have anything to add? Leave your comments below. 

The Strangest Objects in the British Museum

Have you ever wanted to take a tour of the British Museum and just look at the weirdest objects? Read ahead to learn more about the strangest things on a DIY tour of the British Museum’s Oddities.

1. The Crystal Skull - Room 24

We’ll start our tour with the Crystal Skull in Room 24, purchased from Tiffany of New York in the late 1890s. At the time, Crystal Skulls were thought to be originally from pre-Hispanic Mexico and used for ancient rituals and magic. Some people also thought it might be from Central Asia or Japan, but by the 1890s people were pretty convinced it was Mexican. 

But is it?

The museum has tried to use technology and subject matter expertise to verify its origins, and they haven’t been successful. The skull’s features do line up with genuine Aztec or Mixtec carvings, but the overall appearance just isn’t that of any Mesoamerican art style. 

The last time the British Museum Research Laboratory examined the skull, they said it appeared that the teeth were cut with a jeweller's wheel, and not technology available to Aztecs. 

The actual rock crystal itself likely comes from Brazil, which makes its pre-Hispanic date unlikely, as this type of mining is more recent. The actual craftsmanship was likely done in the late 19th century, probably in Germany.

It seems that the European fascination with Mesoamerican crystal skulls may be a long, long con. 

This is an example of a common trope in pop culture - stretching the truth and really playing into the ‘mystical’ nature of Native American and Mesoamerican people  - even though these are often more European and settler ideas rather than based in fact.

The British Museum and the Smithsonian have both conducted electron microscope analyses of this skull and others like it. They discovered that the markings could have only been made with modern carving implements. 

Therefore, the museums date their skulls to the mid/late 19th century. Remember - this is when public interest in ancient cultures was at a fever pitch. Museums have always been about entertainment, as we’ll soon see again and again. 

These recent studies and tests found led the British Museum to state that all of the Crystal Skulls are likely fakes. After all, where do you usually see Crystal Skulls? Nancy Drew, Indiana Jones, and comic books. 

2. The FeeJee Mermaid - Room 1

The FeeJee Mermaid in all her glory.

For the second item of our tour, we’re talking about another object of dubious origin - The FeeJee Mermaid.

This strange mermaid is far from being the only one in the world – there are many in the world’s museums, and many more in circus sideshow collections.

In fact, they are one of the most common circus sideshow ‘gaffs’, originally made famous by the legendary circus man PT Barnum. FeeJee Mermaids owe their existence to Japanese folklore, specifically the Ningyo, which translates to a human fish. They bring bad weather and death, so if a fisherman catches one, he needs to throw it back in the sea.

Now, let’s talk about PT Barnum. Did you know that befre starting in circuses, he was a museum owner? That’s right - the connection between museums and entertainment runs deep.

His American Museum in New York housed all kinds of oddities, including his so-called FeeJee mermaid, which he said was found in the Polynesian tropics and depicted a real-life mermaid. 

As people streamed into the museum, they were treated not to a beautiful young maiden, but to a desiccated chimaera. 

A hired naturalist was not able to determine how the fake was made, so he was forced to say that it was inconclusive. This was even better for Barnum than a certificate of authenticity because now everybody in New York wanted to come in and have a look.

He’s often credited with the saying, “there’s a sucker born every minute,” but he didn’t actually say this. However, he did say, "I don't believe in duping the public, but I believe in first attracting and then pleasing them.

He would go on to start rumours that loads of his other items were fakes, even many legitimately real objects. The controversy was just too profitable. 

This particular Feejee Mermaid was donated by HRH Prince Arthur of Connaught (1883–1938), grandson of Queen Victoria, and was said to have been ‘caught’ in Japan during the 18th century. 

According to the museum, “The merman is displayed in the Enlightenment Gallery… In this context, it helps to show how museums changed during the 18th century from cabinets of curiosity to the type of museums we are more familiar with today.”

This mermaid is likely made of fish’s tail sewn onto a block of wood and embellished with leather and plaster, with sharp fish teeth added. 

There is another really famous Feejee Mermaid in London, located at the Horniman Museum. Do you want me to include it in a “strangest objects in London Museums” video and blog? Let me know in the comments!

3. John Dee’s Magical Discs and Shew Stone - Room 1

Dr John Dee

Next up on our British Museum tour, head to the other end of Room 1 to see the magical discs of a man called John Dee, which date to the mid-16th century. John Dee created these wax discs and this obsidian mirror, which he called a shew stone, to contact angels and spirits. 

John Dee was one of the leading intellectuals of his time, and he is absolutely fascinating. I could do an entire video just about him! He was a mathematician, astronomer, occultist, and alchemist, as well as the court astronomer to Queen Elizabeth I. 

He left her service in search of occult knowledge, was accused of being a spy, and eventually died in relative obscurity in 1608 or 1609. 

Remember - at this time in European history, mathematics was akin to magic - people didn’t quite trust it. After all, think of how we still use the word ‘calculating’ to describe someone with dishonourable intentions…

In 1582, Dr Dee created this series of wax discs that would anchor his Holy Table, which was part of an elaborate magical ritual to contact the angels and the dead. The table was topped with the obsidian mirror, used for scrying or fortune-telling, which would have been his partner, Edward Kelley, who was a seer.

Each disc is inscribed with the Sigillum Dei, or the Sigil of God. A sigil is a symbol that is thought to have magical powers. This one is comprised of two circles, a pentagram, and three heptagons. They contain the names of the seven archangels: Cafziel, Satquiel, Amael, Raphael, Anael, Michael, and Gabriel. Around the edge of the disc you can see “the full name of God” which is comprised of 72 Latin letters. 

By The .:X - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2743168

John Dee did not create the Sigillum Dei - it first appears in The Sworn Book of Honorius, a spellbook dating to before 1347. He likely owned a copy of this book. He also believed that angels spoke in a language called Enochian, and he and Kelley wrote a series of books in the language. It was all leading up to an elaborate ritual, but they had a scandalous falling out and it never happened.

There is also something about this that very much reminds me of the tale of Joseph Smith, the Golden Plates, and the Angel Moroni in the Book of Mormon. What do you think? Was John Lee communicating with angels and the dead?

4. Banksy - Peckham Rock - Room 49 (no longer there)

Photo courtesy of Marabou at the Museum, Megan Elevado

You’ve probably heard of a museum heist, but have you heard of someone sneaking something into a museum? That’s exactly what enigmatic British street artist Banksy did in 2005 with some guerilla museum work. He installed a piece in the Roman Britain Gallery, right here on the wall.

And believe it or not, it stayed here for THREE DAYS. It depicts a bison, a spikey person, and a grocery store cart. He called it “Peckham Rock,” and it even had an official label that included a title, description, and even a fake identification (accession) number! 

Even the name includes a cheeky joke, as Peckham is a gentrifying part of South London known for its vibrant Nigerian community, street art, and hipsters.

Here’s what the plaque said:

“This finely preserved example of primitive art dates from the Post-Catatonic era and is thought to depict early man venturing towards the out-of-town hunting grounds. The artist responsible is known to have created a substantial body of work across the South East of England under the moniker Banksymus Maximus but little else is known about him. Most art of this type has unfortunately not survived. The majority is destroyed by zealous municipal officials who fail to recognize the artistic merit and historical value of daubing on walls.”

The museum staff didn’t notice it until they saw it listed on Banksy’s own website. Of course, it’s a good laugh, but this piece asks all kinds of questions about what is worth hanging in a museum? What has museum value?

The Museum clearly believes that the piece has value, as they brought it back on display as a part of “I Object,” a temporary exhibition about pieces that explore acts of dissent.

Of course, the strangest thing about all of this is that we don’t actually know who Banksy is! The Bristol street artist, director, and political activist has been active for more than 20 years, and rumours have swirled since he reached global fame in the late ‘00s. The most common theories are that he is Robert del Naja, Robin Gunningham, or even a collective of artists led by a woman. If you want to watch me guide some Banksy pieces, check out this video I did for Free Tours by Foot.

5. The “Cleopatra” Propaganda Lamp

This terracotta oil lamp, which dates to around 35 BCE, is a pretty spicy object, so it might not be the most appropriate for kids! It depicts a crocodile, the emblem of Egypt, with a large phallus instead of a tail. Straddled on top of the - ahem, tail - is a naked female form.

 It is likely depicting Cleopatra, and let’s just say it’s not a compliment. 

While the lamp’s origins are not fully clear, it was most likely created as part of one of history’s most successful propaganda campaigns. This was a massive attempt by supporters of Octavian (later known as the Emperor Augustus) against Mark Antony and Cleopatra.At this time in Rome, rumours were swirling about Antony and Cleopatra’s decadent way of life. In contrast, Octavian claimed that he was the moral alternative to their supposedly debauched ways. 

This lamp would have been a harsh dig at Cleopatra, designed to strengthen Octavian’s claim that he was Julius Caesar’s rightful successor. As a powerful woman, Cleopatra was forever defined by her romantic relationships, and it was her personal life, not her leadership capabilities, that attracted gossip and propaganda. Hmmmm… not at all similar to today! 

This lamp was once in the Secretum, also known as the porn room, because it was definitely too spicy for Victorian tastes. However, remember that this was not an object of titillation. Instead, it was state-sanctioned propaganda designed to sully Cleopatra’s reputation. 

6. Mummified Cats

One of millions.

When I think of mummies, I think of these humans. However, there are literally millions of mummified animals that have been found in Egypt! Just like we do today, Ancient Egyptians kept beloved pets. These included cats, dogs, monkeys, birds, gazelles, and even mongooses. While cats were worshipped and venerated in ancient Egypt, that’s not the only reason they were mummified. 

They were pets! And people believed that mummifying them ensured they would join their owners in the afterlife.

However, they were also considered good offerings to various gods. Cats especially were thought to be the incarnation of the cat god Bastet, as she had the head of a cat and a woman’s body. Finally, some animals were mummified so they could serve as food in the afterlife.

Looking at them, they almost remind me of the FeeJee mermaids…

These animal mummies are not as old as human mummies. After all, important individuals had been mummified for more than 5000 years before the first animal. For instance, this cat mummy dates to around 30 BCE. 

Animal offerings had previously been made of bronze, but by this era, it was cheaper to actually mummify real animals. Therefore, they become much more common around this time period. 

Before being mummified, an animal’s body would be dried out and then filled with soil or sand. They would be arranged in a lifelike position, and then wrapped up with linen. 

Animal mummification mass production starts to occur, and archaeologists find millions upon millions of them in cemeteries specifically dedicated to animal mummies. The most famous is next to the pyramids in Saqqara. 

And here is an insane fact - so many cat mummies were excavated in Middle Egypt in the 19th century that they were shipped to Liverpool to be crushed up and used as fertiliser in the fields!

By the way, did you know that in the medieval and early modern periods, people in Europe used to eat human mummies by crushing them up and putting them in tinctures and medicines? I’m going to come back to that in a few stops!

7. Gebelein Man - Ancient True Crime? Room 64

Photo Courtesy of: Fæ, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

People love true crime because it allows them to externalise their fears and then consume them as entertainment. 

Back in 2012, one of the museum’s oldest humans was taken off-site for an autopsy using some of the latest CT scan technologies to perform a digital autopsy.

The Gebelein man is a naturally preserved mummy on display in the Early Egypt gallery. He was buried around 3500 BCE, (if not earlier) - that’s more than 5500 years ago! at the site of Gebelein in Upper Egypt. He’s sometimes called Ginger because of the tuft of preserved Ginger hair that pokes up from his scalp. 

Normally when we think of an Egyptian mummy we think of a manmade preservation ritual, just like we saw with the cats. However, this happened naturally. Since the air is so hot and dry, he was mummified by the sand.

In September 2012, the Gebelein Man was carefully taken to the Cromwell Hospital in London. They created detailed images and 3D models from high-resolution X-rays, allowing pathologists and forensic archaeologists to look around inside his body and learn more about his life and death. He was the first predynastic mummy to ever receive a CT scan! 

Now, here’s where the strange true crime details come into play. The CT scan revealed that Ginger was very young when he died - only around 18-21 years old. 

This wasn’t too shocking - but the researchers were surprised to find out that he was stabbed in the back!

 He died a gruesome, violent death, with a gash on his back and damage to his shoulder blade and rib. These injuries point to a single, fatal wound.

And there is the mystery - who killed the Gebelein Man, and why? I feel like we need a new season of Serial to figure this out. 

8. An Empty Mummy’s Coffin (and Corpse Medicine) - Room 1

The empty Mummy coffin in the Englightenment Gallery

We are back where we started - Room 1, The Enlightenment Gallery. This is another instance where I am going to show you the absence of something, rather than its presence. That’s because this mummy’s coffin is empty.

Now, in this instance, we know that the mummified remains of a man called Irtyru are in another part of the museum. But when it comes to other empty mummy coffins, we can take a darn good guess that what happened to them. It’s what happened to thousands of other mummies brought to Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. We ate them. 

You heard me correctly. We ate them! An unknown number of the mummies brought to Europe during this period were scraped, powdered, and included in tinctures and medicines called mummia. We also crushed them up and used them for painting - hence the paint colour ‘mummy brown,” and believe it or not, we used them for fertiliser for farming.

Now, it’s important that we don’t overstate this practice. When you see the term mummia, it actually has a few different meanings. It originally referred to Arabic mūmiyā, which was a "type of resinous bitumen found in Western Asia and used curatively." Fast forward to medieval Europe, and the term starts to mean both the “bituminous medicine from Persia" and "mummy."

Historians think this was a misunderstanding - seriously. They saw the word mummia, realised that the bitumen supplies were running low, and redefined the word to mean the “black resinous exudate scraped out from embalmed Egyptian mummies.” 

I wish I were kidding. 

Egyptian tomb raiders could earn a good living supplying Europeans with their desired mummies. By the 16th century, Egypt banned this practice, and that’s when Europeans really stepped up their game. Apothecaries began buying fresh corpses from grave robbers, embalming and desiccating them, and then selling them as mummia.

Did I already say I wish I was kidding?

Photo Courtesy of Bullenwächter - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17852006

Of course, mummies were not the only human flesh we consumed. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, all manner of human bone, blood, and fat were used for their supposed healing properties.

The question was not “Should you eat human flesh?” says one historian, but, “What sort of flesh should you eat?”

Let’s talk about Charles II for a few seconds. When he was on his deathbed in 1685, he had a stroke. That’s when his doctors decided to administer King’s Drops. These innocuous-sounding drops contained a secret ingredient - five pounds of crushed human skulls. 

And not just any skulls - those of an executed man were best. The idea was that a young healthy person who had suffered a violent death was better than an elderly person. In other instances, mossy skulls fermented in horse dung were considered good medicine. Now, does eating mummies sound a bit less weird?

Of course, this was the same time period in which Europeans were labelling people in South America as “savages” for their own cultural cannibalism practices… By the way, medicines made of mummies were in use until the early 20th century.

To clarify - I want to be really clear that these practices are not why mummies are ‘rare’ - in fact, they’re not rare at all! Archaeologists continue to find them all the time. We also need to remember that even though these are ancient people, they were still people. 

Again, I have no way of knowing if this poor soul was ground up and shoved down the gob of some British aristocrat or used for a painting… but the chances are pretty good. 

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