“God has given women beautiful minds,” said Christine de Pizan. James Burge reviews the Medieval Women: In Their Own Words exhibition at the British Library, which features Christine among many other well- and less-known women, and finds that “this exhibition makes a powerful case in her support.” There was not a huge amount of documentary […]
Review: Silk Roads exhibition
Lesley Downer reviews the Silk Roads exhibition at the British Museum, open until February, 2025. There’s something irresistibly romantic about the Silk Roads. The very name conjures up images of caravans of camels, piled high with baggage, wending their way across desert and steppes. It makes you want to pack your bags and set off […]
Historia exhibition review: Legion: life in the Roman army
Legion: life in the Roman army is the British Museum’s latest big exhibition. The historian Lindsay Powell reviews it for Historia and finds it “has seemingly achieved the remarkable and the impossible.” The Romans knew that their way of war was special. Their legendary legion was different from forms of military unit deployed by other […]
Review: Feminine power: the divine to the demonic
James Burge reviews the Feminine power: the divine to the demonic exhibition at the British Museum and finds contradiction, transgression and dazzling mental gymnastics in 4,000 years of art, faith and history from around the world. Visitors to this show are guided through a well-lit labyrinth, past a series of displays – one might almost […]
Review: The World of Stonehenge
The British Museum’s big exhibition for 2022 is the crowd-puller The World of Stonehenge, on until July. James Burge went to see it for Historia and found surprises, mystery, and exquisite displays. Stonehenge is probably the most famous mysteriously atmospheric building in the world. The monument’s celebrity is filling The World of Stonehenge exhibition at […]
Review: Nero: the man behind the myth
We’ve had more than a year without major exhibitions to visit. But the British Museum has returned with one of its blockbusters: a treasure-filled and challenging exploration of the Emperor Nero. Best-selling author Simon (SJA) Turney, who knows a thing or two about the Roman Empire, reviews it for Historia and finds it one of […]
Review: Art Deco by the Sea
Historian Lucy Jane Santos reviews Art Deco by the Sea, an exhibition at the University of East Anglia’s Sainsbury Centre, transferring to the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle in the summer. The term Art Deco, coined in the 1960s, refers to the decorative modern style that spanned the boom of the roaring 1920s and the […]
Troy: an ancient story for a modern age
Emily Hauser, classicist and author, reviews the British Museum’s Troy: Myth and Reality exhibition for Historia. It seems that the story of the Trojan War is capturing our imaginations now more than ever before. The past few years has seen an explosion in the numbers of reworkings of the Trojan War myth. My own debut […]