Hidden Treasures of the British Museum

The British Museum houses over eight million objects, making it one of the most comprehensive collections of human history and culture in the world. While iconic artifacts like the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, and Egyptian mummies draw crowds, the museum holds countless treasures that remain relatively unknown to the casual visitor. This article unveils some of these hidden gems and tells their fascinating stories.

Beyond the Ground Floor: Room 2a - The Waddesdon Bequest

Tucked away in a special gallery on the upper floor, the Waddesdon Bequest represents one of the finest collections of medieval and Renaissance objects in existence. Bequeathed to the museum by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild in 1898, this collection includes exquisite examples of goldsmith work, enamels, carvings, and jewelry.

The Holy Thorn Reliquary, the crown jewel of this collection, is a masterpiece of medieval craftsmanship. Created in Paris around 1400, this intricate gold, enamel, and rock crystal piece was designed to hold a thorn purportedly from Christ's crown of thorns. The delicate goldwork and vibrant enamel details make this not only a religious treasure but an artistic masterpiece that demonstrates the pinnacle of medieval craftsmanship.

Another highlight is the 'Lyte Jewel,' a diamond-studded locket containing a miniature portrait of James I. Given by the king to Thomas Lyte in 1610 to thank him for a genealogical table tracing the king's ancestry back to Brutus of Troy, this intimate royal gift provides a glimpse into the personal relationships between monarchs and their subjects.

The Enigmatic Oxus Treasure

In Room 52, devoted to Ancient Iran, lies the remarkable Oxus Treasure—the most important surviving collection of Achaemenid Persian metalwork. Discovered in the 1870s on the banks of the Oxus River (modern-day Tajikistan), the hoard contains over 180 gold and silver objects dating from the 5th-4th centuries BCE.

Among the standout pieces is a gold chariot model with a driver figure. Just 7.5 cm tall, this miniature masterpiece displays astonishing detail, from the tiny wheels to the driver's finely modeled features. Equally impressive are the gold armlets adorned with griffins, showcasing the distinctive Achaemenid artistic style that blended various influences from across their vast empire.

The Oxus Treasure provides rare insight into the sophisticated artistic traditions of the Persian Empire at its height, when it was the largest empire the world had ever seen. Unlike the monumental sculptures and grand architecture that typically symbolize ancient empires, these intimate, portable luxury goods reveal the everyday aesthetics of Persian nobility.

The Forgotten Technology: The Antikythera Mechanism

In a small display case in Room 73, dedicated to Ancient Greece, sits a replica of one of antiquity's most extraordinary technological achievements—the Antikythera Mechanism. While the original remains in Athens, the British Museum's detailed model illustrates how this remarkable 2,000-year-old device functioned as the world's first known analog computer.

Discovered in a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, this bronze mechanism contained at least 30 precisely engineered bronze gears that could track the movements of the sun, moon, and planets with remarkable accuracy. Modern imaging techniques have revealed that the device could predict solar and lunar eclipses and even displayed the timing of the ancient Olympic Games.

The existence of the Antikythera Mechanism challenges our understanding of ancient technological capabilities. The mathematics and precision engineering required to create such a device wouldn't be seen again in Europe until the development of mechanical astronomical clocks in the 14th century—more than 1,400 years later.

Medieval Department: The Lewis Chessmen

In Room 40, devoted to Medieval Europe, visitors will find one of the museum's most charming collections—the Lewis Chessmen. Discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, these 93 chess pieces carved from walrus ivory and whale teeth date to the 12th century and are believed to have been made in Norway.

What makes these pieces extraordinary is not just their age but their remarkably expressive features. The kings sit solemnly on their thrones, the queens rest their heads on their hands in gestures of worry, while the bishops clasp their croziers and the warders (rooks) bite their shields in berserker battle fury. These human expressions transform the chess pieces from mere game tokens into character studies that offer insight into medieval society and its values.

The Lewis Chessmen represent the apex of Romanesque ivory carving and provide a direct connection to the Norse-Gaelic culture that flourished in the medieval North Atlantic. Though some pieces are displayed in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, the British Museum holds 82 of the pieces, making it the most comprehensive collection.

Room 33: The Enigmatic Amaravati Sculptures

The South Asian galleries house one of the world's most important—yet often overlooked—Buddhist sculptural collections: the Amaravati Marbles. Created between the 2nd century BCE and the 3rd century CE in what is now Andhra Pradesh, India, these limestone carvings once adorned a great stupa (Buddhist monument) that has since disappeared.

The most striking element is a large drum slab depicting worshippers gathered around an empty space beneath a parasol—symbolizing the Buddha without actually depicting him. This aniconic representation (where the Buddha is indicated by symbols rather than human form) represents an early phase of Buddhist art before direct depictions of the Buddha became common.

The fluid carving style, with its emphasis on narrative storytelling and naturalistic details, influenced Buddhist art across Asia. The sculptures are remarkable for their complex compositions and the diversity of figures they portray, from monks and nobles to ordinary people, animals, and supernatural beings—presenting a vivid picture of ancient Indian society.

Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas: Taino Ceremonial Seat

In Room 27, dedicated to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, an unassuming wooden object represents one of the few surviving artifacts from a lost civilization. The Taino duho (ceremonial seat), carved from a single piece of wood in the form of a human-animal figure, dates to the 13th-16th century and comes from the Dominican Republic.

The Taino were the indigenous people who greeted Columbus upon his arrival in the Caribbean in 1492. Within decades, their population was devastated by disease, warfare, and enslavement. This ceremonial seat, used by Taino caciques (chiefs) during religious ceremonies involving hallucinogenic substances, is one of fewer than 100 duhos known to survive.

The figure combines human and animal features with abstract geometric patterns, embodying the Taino belief in the interconnectedness of the natural and spiritual worlds. The seat's polished surface bears witness to generations of use in rituals that have now vanished, making it a powerful testament to a civilization that might otherwise be forgotten.

Planning Your Visit to Discover These Hidden Treasures

To fully explore these lesser-known marvels of the British Museum, consider the following tips:

• Timing is everything: Visit early weekday mornings or late afternoons to avoid the busiest periods when the major attractions are crowded.
• Take a specialized tour: The museum offers thematic tours focusing on specific collections or time periods, which can provide deeper context for understanding these treasures.
• Use the museum map strategically: Plan your route to include these galleries specifically, as they are often in areas visitors might skip when heading to more famous exhibits.
• Allow sufficient time: A meaningful exploration of these hidden treasures requires at least 3-4 hours, particularly if you want to absorb the details and stories behind each artifact.

At Dushistaya-Rybka, we offer specialized guided tours of the British Museum that include these extraordinary hidden treasures. Our expert guides provide historical context and fascinating details that bring these artifacts to life, creating a richer understanding of their significance in human history.

The next time you visit the British Museum, venture beyond the crowds surrounding the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies. Seek out these remarkable but lesser-known treasures, and you'll discover entirely new perspectives on human creativity, ingenuity, and cultural expression across the millennia.