Other Sights From The British Museum

Other Sights From The British Museum

Photographed: May 20th, 2013

Besides seeing some of the Acropolis at the British Museum here are a few of my favorite artifacts we saw during our visit.

In the Great Court of the Museum you can find some of the largest pieces on display.  Two of my favorites are these totem polls which were made by the Haida people who are native to Canada. As you would expect their age is a little bit of a mystery but they are thought to date back to the 1850s.

This view from the second floor give you a better idea of how huge these poles are and how impressive it is that they were somehow transported from the Pacific Northwest to London and are still in one piece.

My favorite single piece from the British Museum was an Easter Island statue called a moai. I did my best moai impression while a crowd was gathered around the statue.  

Another group of famous pieces that any former member of a high school chess club would appreciate are the Lewis Chessmen.  These were discovered on the Isle of Lewis in the northwest part of Scotland.

They are thought to have been made in Norway somewhere between 1150-1200 AD and they are made of walrus ivory.  From one tusk the artist could make about four full size pieces and two smaller pieces.  And after visiting the gift shop I was even able to take home a replica version of the knight piece.