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Behind the scenes at the British Museum
DISSECTING ROOM
Behind the scenes at the British Museum Building the British Museum—An exhibition at the British Museum, London, UK running from Jan 23 to April 18, 1999. Building the British Museum—An accompanying book by Marjorie Caygill and Christopher Date. London: British Museum Press. 1999. Pp 80. £8.50. ISBN 0-7141-2164-9.
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418
Smirke, who was influenced by his travels and by the vogue for ancient Greece at the time. He designed the British Museum building around an inner courtyard, where visitors might walk in a garden enclosed by Greek Revival façades. Despite the great plans, the building and the arrangement of its contents
British Museum
isitors to the British Museum in London these days are in for a nasty shock. The world-famous Greek Revival façade of the building is currently dwarfed by a massive red tower crane, tarpaulins and boards shroud part of the building, and the tattoo of a pneumatic drill is ever-present. These impediments are a necessary part of a transformation of the building’s inner courtyard, which has been hidden from public view for 150 years, into London’s first covered public square. This “Great Courtyard” is due for completion at the end of next year; at its centre, the famous Round Reading Room will open its doors to the public as a reference library. Yet, as both the exhibition and book Building the British Museum point out, the structure is no stranger to development, and indeed has been in a constant state of disorganisation and reorganisation from its early days. The origins of the Museum lie in the collections of the society physician and keen natural historian, Hans Sloane (1660–1753), who succeeded Isaac Newton as President of the Royal Society. Following Sloane’s death, the British Museum Act of 1753 allowed for funds to be raised via a public lottery for the purchase of his collection. In the exhibition, this lottery is dubbed “scandalous”, and in the book, “dubiously conducted”; neither, however, gives any more detail on the questionable nature of the Museum’s initial funding. This oversight is puzzling—perhaps the organisers want no parallels drawn with the current building work, which is supported by the UK National Lottery, itself not a stranger to controversy. However the money was acquired two centuries ago, the museum it was used to create set a laudable precedent. It was not a private, royal, or church institution, but one owned by the people. A home for this people’s museum was found in Montagu House, Great Russell Street. Over the years, the house proved to be inadequate for the growing collection, and despite continuous restoration and repairs, “Visits could be hazardous as pieces of the building had an increasing tendency to drop off”. Perhaps the most significant advance was work to create a new building on the Montagu House site, which began in 1823. The architect was Sir Robert
quiet study and repose”. Despite this limitation, the room was clearly adequate for readers such as Karl Marx, Charles Dickens, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Richard Cobden, and George Meredith. The provision of library services at the Museum were, however, to improve again under the combined influences of London pollution, lack of funds, and an Italian revolutionary. Robert Smirke’s grand plans for a garden in the inner courtyard faltered, since the construction allowed little natural light in, but proved to be a trap for the pollution belching from the Museum’s 200 fires. The Principal Librarian at the Museum was Antonio
Hand-coloured lithograph of 1841 showing the eccentric contents of the Long Gallery
continued to evolve in what seems to be a rather haphazard fashion. Work was constantly being held up through lack of funds or by the disasters and delays that anyone who has had some contact with the building profession will understand. The illustration of the “Long Gallery” above, displayed in the exhibition, is a good example. Originally intended for the national collection of paintings, it was assigned to the Museum’s natural history exhibits after its completion in 1831.The display of minerals and fossils was subsequently replaced by a clutter of stuffed birds, eggs, mollusc shells, and horns of deer and rhinoceri. Hung incongruously above this spectacle was a collection of portraits, which a Trustees’ Committee in 1860 politely pointed out had “no connection with the objects”. The exhibition also shows a detailed watercolour of the 1838 reading room, the sixth since readers were first admitted in 1759. The painting shows a spacious, lofty room of which The Times commented: “rooms of such large dimensions are almost too spacious for
Panizzi, who had fled to England having been condemned to death for revolutionary activity in his native Italy. Determined to create the finest library in the world, Panizzi lobbied for the inner courtyard to be used for that purpose. He won, and the famous “Round” Reading Room, designed by Robert Smirke’s younger brother, Sidney, opened in 1857. The British Library’s recent departure from the Museum to new premises at St Pancras presented the opportunity once more to remodel the inner courtyard and open it once again to the public. There is thus a hint of Robert Smirke’s original plans in the covered square currently under construction. The evolution of the British Museum is complex and fascinating. Building the British Museum, both exhibition and book, could have done a better job of simplifying the story. They nevertheless convey the centuries of frantic activity behind the Museum’s serene façade. Sarah Ramsay The Lancet, London, UK
THE LANCET • Vol 353 • January 30, 1999
Behind the scenes at the British Museum Building the British Museum—An exhibition at the British Museum, London, UK running from Jan 23 to April 18, 1999. Building the British Museum—An accompanying book by Marjorie Caygill and Christopher Date. London: British Museum Press. 1999. Pp 80. £8.50. ISBN 0-7141-2164-9.
V
418
Smirke, who was influenced by his travels and by the vogue for ancient Greece at the time. He designed the British Museum building around an inner courtyard, where visitors might walk in a garden enclosed by Greek Revival façades. Despite the great plans, the building and the arrangement of its contents
British Museum
isitors to the British Museum in London these days are in for a nasty shock. The world-famous Greek Revival façade of the building is currently dwarfed by a massive red tower crane, tarpaulins and boards shroud part of the building, and the tattoo of a pneumatic drill is ever-present. These impediments are a necessary part of a transformation of the building’s inner courtyard, which has been hidden from public view for 150 years, into London’s first covered public square. This “Great Courtyard” is due for completion at the end of next year; at its centre, the famous Round Reading Room will open its doors to the public as a reference library. Yet, as both the exhibition and book Building the British Museum point out, the structure is no stranger to development, and indeed has been in a constant state of disorganisation and reorganisation from its early days. The origins of the Museum lie in the collections of the society physician and keen natural historian, Hans Sloane (1660–1753), who succeeded Isaac Newton as President of the Royal Society. Following Sloane’s death, the British Museum Act of 1753 allowed for funds to be raised via a public lottery for the purchase of his collection. In the exhibition, this lottery is dubbed “scandalous”, and in the book, “dubiously conducted”; neither, however, gives any more detail on the questionable nature of the Museum’s initial funding. This oversight is puzzling—perhaps the organisers want no parallels drawn with the current building work, which is supported by the UK National Lottery, itself not a stranger to controversy. However the money was acquired two centuries ago, the museum it was used to create set a laudable precedent. It was not a private, royal, or church institution, but one owned by the people. A home for this people’s museum was found in Montagu House, Great Russell Street. Over the years, the house proved to be inadequate for the growing collection, and despite continuous restoration and repairs, “Visits could be hazardous as pieces of the building had an increasing tendency to drop off”. Perhaps the most significant advance was work to create a new building on the Montagu House site, which began in 1823. The architect was Sir Robert
quiet study and repose”. Despite this limitation, the room was clearly adequate for readers such as Karl Marx, Charles Dickens, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Richard Cobden, and George Meredith. The provision of library services at the Museum were, however, to improve again under the combined influences of London pollution, lack of funds, and an Italian revolutionary. Robert Smirke’s grand plans for a garden in the inner courtyard faltered, since the construction allowed little natural light in, but proved to be a trap for the pollution belching from the Museum’s 200 fires. The Principal Librarian at the Museum was Antonio
Hand-coloured lithograph of 1841 showing the eccentric contents of the Long Gallery
continued to evolve in what seems to be a rather haphazard fashion. Work was constantly being held up through lack of funds or by the disasters and delays that anyone who has had some contact with the building profession will understand. The illustration of the “Long Gallery” above, displayed in the exhibition, is a good example. Originally intended for the national collection of paintings, it was assigned to the Museum’s natural history exhibits after its completion in 1831.The display of minerals and fossils was subsequently replaced by a clutter of stuffed birds, eggs, mollusc shells, and horns of deer and rhinoceri. Hung incongruously above this spectacle was a collection of portraits, which a Trustees’ Committee in 1860 politely pointed out had “no connection with the objects”. The exhibition also shows a detailed watercolour of the 1838 reading room, the sixth since readers were first admitted in 1759. The painting shows a spacious, lofty room of which The Times commented: “rooms of such large dimensions are almost too spacious for
Panizzi, who had fled to England having been condemned to death for revolutionary activity in his native Italy. Determined to create the finest library in the world, Panizzi lobbied for the inner courtyard to be used for that purpose. He won, and the famous “Round” Reading Room, designed by Robert Smirke’s younger brother, Sidney, opened in 1857. The British Library’s recent departure from the Museum to new premises at St Pancras presented the opportunity once more to remodel the inner courtyard and open it once again to the public. There is thus a hint of Robert Smirke’s original plans in the covered square currently under construction. The evolution of the British Museum is complex and fascinating. Building the British Museum, both exhibition and book, could have done a better job of simplifying the story. They nevertheless convey the centuries of frantic activity behind the Museum’s serene façade. Sarah Ramsay The Lancet, London, UK
THE LANCET • Vol 353 • January 30, 1999