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Tutankhamun and the pyramids. The Nile and mummies. These are aspects of Ancient Egyptian culture which are taught to almost every student in U.K. schools alongside the topic of todays museum exhibition – Hieroglyphs.
The decipherment of hieroglyphs following the discovery of the Rosetta Stone allowed for a deeper understanding of this ancient culture, which had previously been somewhat of a mystery due to a lack of understanding of the numerous ancient scripts.
The purpose of this exhibition was to show the history behind the great breakthrough of knowledge, highlighting the initial objects discovered, the scripts studied by the largest expert contributors, and the work undertaken in order to decipher the hieroglyph language.
Cost/Affordability
As with all special exhibitions put on by the museum the Hieroglyphs exhibition is an extra cost compared to the free entry to the rest of the museum. An adult admission starts at £18 (see the BM website to see all other ticket types and prices) with all members able to enter for free. Though seemingly expensive, when combined with free access to over 60 galleries throughout the museum, the £18 entry fee becomes more reasonable (it approximately works out to 30p per gallery!).
Display Quality:
Out of the numerous museum exhibitions I have been lucky enough to visit at the BM, the hieroglyphs exhibition is without a doubt one of my all-time favourites. The exhibit follows a well thought out design, beginning with important archaeological artefacts, followed by the history of hieroglyph translation (supported by ancient texts), ending with displays dedicated to some of the most common themes throughout Egyptian texts including but not limited to topics such as food, magic, the afterlife and sex.
In particular the new location and lighting of the Rosetta Stone (pictured above) has been done in a very visually aesthetic way. This new style of display has meant an object that I have previously walked past when in its normal location within the museum (mostly due to the fact that theres a minimum of 30 people are stood around at any one time), is more accessible and you can finally have the time to look at the intricate carvings, the details of which are so easy to overlook in typical circumstances.
The creative mirroring of decorative ancient scrolls located about the real texts created an environment where I was drawn in to the displays and contributed so well to the overall path through the exhibit. Pictured below, the scrolls are equally as intricate and colourful as the ones throughout the galleries.
Accessibility:
The entirety of the British Museum is very physically accessible, with regularly distanced lifts and wide corridors suitable for wheelchair access and the hieroglyphs exhibit was no exception. The location of object labels was consistent throughout and were easily viewed from all heights, and the size of text enhanced this level of accessibility.
With this in mind, when considering the contents of the labels, the language used, in my opinion, leaned ever so slightly towards an academic nature, with specific objects such as the The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus being accompanied by panels containing more specialist language. It could be argued that the usage of less inclusive language could limit the number of people able to engage with the object and information in question. However, the location of the papyrus at the end of the exhibit means each visitor is likely to have improved upon prior knowledge and perhaps the more specialist knowledge is included to reflect the intended journey of furthering visitors knowledge.
Ambience:
The ticketed entry to the exhibition meant the number of visitors was lower than the rest of the museum, which ultimately improved the ambience and overall experience. As one of the largest museums in the world it's no surprise that no matter the time of day or day in the week the galleries are busy. Therefore, the juxtaposition of a slightly less overwhelmingly filled gallery space no doubt contributed to the higher score.
One of my favourite parts of the exhibition which ultimately confirmed my decision to rank the ambience as a 5/5 was the projection and audio combo at the end of the gallery space. The video set the scene by recreating the views and sounds of the river nile. The opportunity to sit and listen to the serene sounds of birds and the slow trickling of water was the perfect conclusion to the exhibition.
Gift shop/ café:
Any visitor to the British Museum is spoilt by the size and number of gift shops available across the site. Varying in content and price, there is something available for anybody and everybody!
Though the museum has several permanent shops, in this section I'll be talking about the dedicated hieroglyphs shop located at the end of the exhibition. The shop has numerous products dedicated to children in the form of toys, merchandise and kid friendly books.
The shop even contains a jewellery and higher quality decorative items which are quite obviously more expensive than the average museum merch. Nonetheless the collection of products on offer have seemingly been chosen carefully and align with the theme of the exhibition perfectly.
The selection of hieroglyph based/patterned items like socks and T-shirts provided the slightly less serious and more fun options for those who would enjoy them (i.e. me!). Overall, the vast majority of gifts available were reasonably priced and high quality. With the exhibition ending in less than two weeks time I'm sure that many of the items available will be discounted too!
Overall
The exhibition had a clear structure and layout, containing interesting and educational displays with contents of international importance. The creative decoration throughout also contributed to the satisfaction of visiting and I feel it's definitely worth the money and effort to visit!
Scores:
Cost/Affordability – 3/5
Display Quality – 4/5
Accessibility – 4/5
Ambience – 5/5
Gift shop/ Café – 3/5
Average – 3.8/5
Exhibition information:
Location – The Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery,
The British Museum,
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
End date – 19th February 2023
Cost – Adult £18 (see website for other ticket types)
Website – Click link