22 September 2022: British Museum
I had to be in London this afternoon so I decided to spend the whole day there and visit the British Museum in the morning.
My favourite galleries are the Middle Eastern and Egyptian galleries. I am always impressed by the large sculptures they created. This morning I took a closer look at the Assyrian Winged Bulls, two large stone figures designed for either side of an entrance. I didn’t realise until I read the accompanying information board that they were designed to be looked at from the front even though their flanks cover a larger area.
It is always possible to find something in the museum that you had not noticed before. On this occasion I wandered into one of the Greek galleries, where I took the picture above. Believe it or not, it is a drinking cup. Look closely and you can just make out the cup behind the donkey’s head. When I showed the photograph to my wife later she wondered just what it was for; when someone drank from it he would show a donkey’s face to his fellow drinkers.
After spending some time going round the galleries I had lunch in the Members’s Room. The menu there is very similar to menu at the café in the Great Court, except that the food is as members’ prices and alcoholic drinks are available. The Members Room has views down into the Great Court.