Bøker utgitt av British Museum Press

Reveals the rich and complex histories and cultures of Burma/Myanmar from their early development and powerful imperial expansions to their positions as colonial subjects and then as a war-torn nation. From influential superpower to repressive regime, Myanmar - also known as Burma - has seen dramatic fluctuations in fortune over the past 1,500 years. Interconnected yet isolated, rich in natural resources such as jade, rubies and teak but with many of its peoples living below the poverty line, Myanmar is a country that defies categorisation. Its cultures have been shaped by their engagements with religious networks, expansionist empires and global trade routes from India and China to Africa, the Middle East and Europe. It was once home to different kingdoms, principalities and chiefdoms that interacted with one another and further afield. The colonial period under British rule saw dramatic changes and upon independence in 1948, the various parts of the country were brought together, many for the first time, into a single nation state. Since then Myanmar has been engulfed by long running civil wars. This beautiful book explores Myanmar's complexities, focusing on the extraordinary and innovative arts of its diverse peoples to create a long history of the region. Featuring objects such as sparkling gems, sumptuous court dress, intricately carved furniture, elaborate silver vessels, satirical cartoons and contemporary art, from the 400s CE to the present day, this book is a testament to the creativity and variety of Myanmar's many peoples.

From the 1960s drawing assumed a prominent position in the practice of a rising generation of post-war artists in Germany and Austria. This publication examines works on paper by four artists still comparatively little known in the UK. While Georg Baselitz and Gerhard Richter, household names in German contemporary art, are well known for their large and commanding works, a quieter and more reflective strand is found in the work of Rudi Tröger (b. 1929), Karl Bohrmann (1928-1998) and Carl-Heinz Wegert (1926-2007). Small and intimate in scale, their drawings focus on the abstracted, minimalist figure, the studio interior and landscapes, through a sensitive use of line and a spare, self-effacing gesturalism. By contrast, the Austrian actionist Hermann Nitsch (1938-2022) presents visceral depictions of the human anatomy in his large lithographs, which come out of his notorious actionist performances. This publication celebrates a second major gift to the British Museum from the German collector Count Christian Duerckheim, whose first gift featured in Germany Divided: Baselitz and his generation, published by the British Museum Press in 2014.

Wonderfully preserved Greek vases are a unique source of information about the mythology, religion, drama and daily life of the ancient Greek world. This sumptuous photographic book offers a superb visual introduction to the artistry of ancient Greek vases, exploring them not merely as beautiful vessels to bear water and wine, but also as instruments of storytelling and bearers of meaning. Presenting the vases and their imagery in their full narrative glory, The Greek Vase interprets their forms and stories along a variety of themes, from the adventures of gods and mythological heroes, to expressive scenes of sexual intimacy and depictions of social, family and domestic life. This beautifully illustrated book highlights what these pictures would have meant to the people who lived with and used them, how they have been received by later generations, and the profound influence of their form, decoration and narrative on subsequent art, architecture and literature.

Most accounts of the history of Greek and Roman medicine are based on ancient medical texts. As a study of the subject through its material remains, this book will be a unique contribution to the understanding of ancient medical implements and surgical instruments, of surgery, and of the history of medicine.

In the hands of artists and poets, books have been taking a radically different form since the advent of the artist¿s book in Paris in the early 20th century. Appearing in a variety of shapes and sizes, as one-offs or small print editions, books offer artists and poets a novel form of expression. In the words of Indian artist Nalini Malani (b. 1946), the book is `a carrier of experience¿, in which whole worlds are encapsulated. In this beautifully produced book, works made by artists from New York to Damascus and beyond highlight the relationship between artists and writers and the influences that inform their work, from family to politics and everything in between. Lebanese artist Abed Al Kadiri (b. 1984) conceived his book during the first month of the pandemic to explore his family history, while through the eyes of Iraqi artist Kareem Risan (b. 1960) we see the shocking aftermath of a deadly explosion on the streets of Baghdad in 2005. These artists also find inspiration in classical poetry and literature. Here you will see works that respond to and that are informed by the medieval Persian poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi and Hafez, as well as the tales of The Arabian Nights.

'Handsomely illustrated' - Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide 'The book is a resounding success... a valuable guide to laypeople, students and scholars on the late Qing for years to come.' - SEHEPUNKTE 'The exhibition catalogue's seven essays...are a guide to [a] re-reading of the past, threading the relics on display into a rich tapestry of what life entailed under the last century of Manchu reign.' - Rhoda Kwan, The Mekong Review Cultural creativity in China between 1796 and 1912 demonstrated extraordinary resilience at a time of intense external and internal warfare and socioeconomic turmoil. Innovation can be seen in material culture (including print, painting, calligraphy, textiles, fashion, jewellery, ceramics, lacquer, glass, arms and armour, silver, and photography) during a century in which China's art, literature, crafts and technology faced unprecedented exposure to global influences. 1796 - the official end of the reign of the Qianlong emperor - is viewed as the close of the 'high Qing' and the start of a period of protracted crisis. In 1912, the last emperor, Puyi, abdicated after the revolution of 1911, bringing to an end some 2,000 years of dynastic rule and making way for the republic. Until recently the 19th century in China has been often defined - and dismissed - as an era of cultural decline. Built on new research from a four-year project supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and with chapter contributions by international scholars from leading institutions, this beautifully illustrated, 336-page book edited by Jessica Harrison-Hall and Julia Lovell sets out a fresh understanding of this important era. It presents a stunning array of objects and artworks to create a detailed visual account of responses to war, technology, urbanisation, political transformations and external influences.

An eye-opening publication that contrasts perceptions of luxury - together with its positive and negative connotations - in imperial Persia, democratic Athens and the Hellenistic world between 600 and 200 BCE.

A ground-breaking publication providing new insights into Katsushika Hokusai, one of the world's most celebrated artists with authors from the UK, Europe, Japan and USA engaging with the oeuvre of late Hokusai from a variety of perspectives, both intrinsic and extrinsic to his life and works.

This volume presents a new translation and analysis of the Hay manuscripts: an assemblage of seven leather sheets bearing Coptic 'magical' texts produced in the 8th/9th century AD. They contain a handbook, known as the 'Hay cookbook', and other formularies for protection, healing and cursing, some with an especially aggressive sexual character.

The art of Edvard Munch is striking for the originality and universality of its themes, which cross moments in place and time. Yet he was very much an artist of the 19th century, and the focus of this book is to show how especially in his prints and photographs Munch was enabled by technical advances to create an entirely new visual language.

This book explores how models of non-European watercrafts - specifically those from the Indian Ocean - commonly found in museum collections in the UK and throughout the world can help us to understand traditional boats and boat-building practices, some of which no longer exist.

The ancient Greeks perceived the human body as an object of sensory delight and its depiction as the expression of an intelligent mind. This photographic book explores ancient Greek sculptures of the body from the various angles.

An exciting, wide-ranging exploration of the power and diversity of female figures of worship in world cultures and belief systems, from the ancient world to today.

Using extraordinary Indigenous Australian art and artifacts preserved in museums across Great Britain and Ireland, the authors present a global history that entwines ancestral pasts with epochs of empire and colony leading to the contemporary moment.

Landmark publication of a major new discovery of over 100 drawings by foremost Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. Acquired by the British Museum in 2020, these previously unpublished drawings had been forgotten for over 70 years.

Brand new research on the place where Buddha attained enlightenment: the temple site of Bodhgaya in eastern India.

Examines how European and Asian ceramics in the domestic sphere challenged convention and tackled socio-political issues.

This is a perfect companion for visitors who want to savour the highlights of the collection.

Marking the 850th anniversary of his dramatic murder, this major exhibition and book presents Becket's tumultuous journey from a London merchant's son to Archbishop, and from a revered saint in death to a 'traitor' in the eyes of Henry VIII over 350 years later.

A timely study of an important, but often overlooked collector of early Melanesian objects and a pioneering anthropologist of his time, providing important contextual material for many of the objects collected by Codrington now in the British Museum, The Pitt Rivers Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge.

First complete publication of one of the most important Iron Age sites in Europe at Snettisham, Norfolk. It will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in Iron Age culture

An innovative approach to the study of an under-appreciated topic of the place of art in ancient religion and will be essential reading for researchers and students of the material and religious cultures of late antiquity across Eurasia.

A new title in the British Museum¿s Object in Focus series, concentrating on a fascinating mammoth ivory model depicting a Siberian summer festival.

A catalogue of the unique collection of modern and contemporary prints and drawings of film critic and author Alexander Walker (1930¿2003).

The book discusses and catalogues Charles Masson's 1833-8 collections from the urban site of Begram and Kabul bazaar now in the British Museum, supplemented by illustrated coins recorded in Masson's archival manuscripts and in H.H. Wilson, but no longer in the collection.

From AD 500-1000, the Indian Ocean emerged as a global commercial centre, and by around 750-800 a sophisticated trade network had been established. However, the Indian Ocean's commercial system has been understudied. This book documents the unique significance of ceramic finds as an indicator of long-term changes in the scale of maritime exchange