Calling on the Egyptians

London, England In a new, very leisurely, touristy way, I ambled over to the British Museum in late morning. What a weird sensation to not have to conform to a schedule or meet a reservation. Not all days here will be like this one, but it was a delightful sensation.

It is a very lovely and mild day in London, and the museum was packed. There were mobs of cute school children in their distinctive uniforms, and lots of tourists in their non-distinctive garb.

My objective was the Egyptian collection, as those Brits were quite aggressive in ‘exploring’ that country. Besides the Rosetta Stone, there are lots of mummies and tomb artifacts that any museum would be proud to claim.

However, the displays in the various rooms holding the collection were clearly installed prior to the level of tourism we now experience, plus the creation of large strollers, and the popularity of mummies and school trips. It was most difficult getting through the crowds, let alone photographing the contents. The lighting is quite intense, and glare is impossible to avoid.

This will sound quite chauvinistic, but I was expecting something even more amazing than the Metropolitan’s beautifully laid out (and lit) rooms. The contents here didn’t seem to follow any particular dynastic order, but I may have missed it in the crowds, who were most definitely fond of the mummy displays. (I later read that the museum can only display 4% of its Egyptian holdings.)

So I decided to do the best I could and just focus on interesting objects I could reach.

The monumental sculptures are downstairs with the Rosetta Stone, which I didn’t revisit today. I’ll probably go back for another round some other day, as it’s only a short walk away.

How nice to be able to say that.