Polished jade axe produced in the Italian Alps and found in Canterbury, Kent, southeast England, (4500–4000 BC) A British Museum spokesperson said: “We have partnerships with museums and communities around the world and we lend more than 4,000 objects annually. We are dedicated to making our collection accessible to as many people as possible. Earliest known figure of the dancing four-armed god Shiva Nataraja, Pallava dynasty, southern India (800 AD)

The most comprehensive collection of Japanese pre-20th century art in the Western world, many of which originally belonged to the surgeon William Anderson and diplomat Ernest Mason Satow

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Group of boulders with Safaitic inscriptions from Jordan/Syria, one of which was donated by Gertrude Bell, (1st–2nd centuries AD) Elgin Amphora, highly decorated pottery vase attributed to the Dipylon Master, Athens, Greece, (8th century BC)

The famous Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, an early example of Ancient Egyptian mathematics, Thebes (1550 BC) This display explores the work of four artists who spearheaded the practice of drawing in the post-war years. Benin suffered a bloody and devastating occupation. No exact figure can be given for the number of Benin's population who were killed in the conquest of the city. However, it is clear that there were many casualties during the sustained fighting. The occupation of Benin City saw widespread destruction and pillage by British forces. Along with other monuments and palaces, the Benin Royal Palace was burned and partly destroyed. Its shrines and associated compounds were looted by British forces, and thousands of objects of ceremonial and ritual value were taken to the UK as official 'spoils of war' or distributed among members of the expedition according to their rank. This included objects removed from royal ancestral shrines, among which were ceremonial brass heads of former Obas and their associated ivory tusks. The looted objects also included more than 900 brass plaques, dating largely to the 16–17th century, found in a storage room within the palace. Having previously decorated the palace walls, these plaques were key historic records for the Benin Court and kingdom, enabling illustration of historic practices and traditions. Following the occupation, the Oba was later captured and sent into exile, while a number of Benin chiefs were executed. Justified as legitimate military action against a 'barbarous' kingdom, this brutal, violent colonial episode effectively marked the end of the independent Kingdom of Benin.Contents of the Rillaton Barrow including a gold cup, and the related Ringlemere Cup, England, (1700–1500 BC) Three sandstone carved sculptures of the Buddha in Gupta style from Sarnath, eastern India, (5th–6th centuries AD) Winchester Hoard of gold jewellery from southern England and the Great Torc from Snettisham in Norfolk, East Anglia, (100 BC)

Gandharan architectural wood carvings, furniture and dress accessories from Loulan, Xinjiang, (4th century AD) A hoard of silver votive plaques dedicated to the Roman God Jupiter Dolichenus, discovered in Heddernheim, near Frankfurt, Germany, (1st–2nd centuries AD)The BMP publishes both popular and scholarly illustrated books to accompany the exhibition programme and explore aspects of the general collection. Profits from their sales goes to support the British Museum. [105] Please note that the cloakroom has limited capacity, and when this capacity is reached, it cannot accept items until space becomes available again. There are over 900 objects from the historic Kingdom of Benin in the British Museum's collection. Over 100 can be seen in a permanent changing display within the Museum's galleries. Objects from Benin are also lent regularly around the world. The British Museum's collections additionally include a range of archival documentation and photographic collections relating to the objects from the Kingdom of Benin and their collection histories. Where are they from? Jar of Xerxes I, alabaster alabastron with quadrilingual signature of Achaemenid ruler Xerxes I, found in the ruins of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Turkey, (486–465 BC) Flint knife with an ivory handle (known as the Pit-Rivers Knife), Sheikh Hamada, Egypt ( c. 3100 BC)

The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. [3] It documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. [a] The British Museum was the first public national museum to cover all fields of knowledge. [4] Ribeiro-Addy, the Labour MP for Streatham, said: “What makes it more awful is that they’ve been so lax about the [suspected] theft of other people’s items that they haven’t even bothered to assess what it is that they have … to know exactly what’s been stolen.” One of five Largitio silver dishes of the emperor Licinius found at Niš, Serbia and a hexagonal gold coin-set pendant of Constantine the Great, (Early 4th century AD) Idalion Bilingual, bilingual Cypriot- Phoenician inscription, key to the decipherment of the Cypriot syllabary, Idalion, Cyprus, (388 BC) It is a point of controversy whether museums should possess artefacts looted from other countries, [8] [107] and the British Museum is a notable target for criticism. The Elgin Marbles, Benin Bronzes, Ethiopian Tabots and the Rosetta Stone are among the most disputed objects in its collections, and organisations have been formed demanding the return of these artefacts to their native countries. The Parthenon Marbles (Elgin Marbles) claimed by Greece were also cited by UNESCO, among others, for restitution. From 1801 to 1812, Elgin's agents removed about half of the surviving sculptures from the Parthenon, as well as sculptures from the Propylaea and Erechtheum. The former director of the museum has stated, "We are indebted to Elgin for having rescued the Parthenon sculptures and others from the Acropolis from the destruction they were suffering, as well as from the damage that the Acropolis monuments, including the sculptures that he did not remove, have suffered since." [108] The British Museum itself damaged some of the artefacts during restoration in the 1930s. [109]The British Museum works with partner museums and galleries in every part of the UK. The Museum is committed to sharing the collection and our knowledge as widely as possible to create a positive educational, social and economic impact across the UK. Through our programme of touring exhibitions and loans, between April 2022 and March 2023, the British Museum lent more than 1,600 objects to 102 venues around the UK, reaching more than six million visitors outside of London.