Being behind the scenes was like witnessing a high-budget Broadway show in full production mode. Technicians in the rafters training spotlights in every direction, sets going up in every corner of an elaborate floor plan, the smell of wet paint, cables that no one seems to trip over, and a surprisingly cheerful hub of good-natured banter punctuating the sounds of drills and hammers and fork lift trucks.



“Presenting an exhibition that catalogues nearly one-and-a-half million years of human history is no small feat,” said Royal BC Museum CEO Pauline Rafferty.

No small feat indeed.  

“Labour intensive!”  agreed Head Exhibition Designer Ken Johnson, displaying the staggering pile of plans and drawings and specifications.

Just about everything to help stage the exhibit was built from scratch by Royal BC Museum designers and exhibit arts technicians. They even invented their own tools to create the richly thematic exhibition gallery and the backdrop to showcase the priceless artefacts the Brits have brought in.

Faux limestone arches, 5,200 square feet of glass and Plexiglas (more than enough to cover a basketball court) 150 gallons of custom-tinted paint, 3,000 square feet of images and text, 2,000 feet of crown moulding, and 33 nine-foot columns.  The list is endless.

Showcasing more than 300 of the most treasured artefacts from the British Museum, this is not the first time the Royal BC Museum has collaborated with the Brits.  In 2004, Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum attracted some 330,000 visitors – a resounding success that looks likely to be repeated.

“This is a truly stupendous exhibit,” says the normally modest and softly spoken Brendan Moore, curator of the Treasures exhibition.  Directly involved in the selection of treasures, and in the fastidious details in presenting and preserving the priceless artefacts, Brendan Moore is very clear about the importance of the British Museum’s mission.

Established in 1753 to promote knowledge and understanding of the world, the British Museum holds an extraordinary collection of over seven million objects.  It is a collection that allows the whole world to look at what it has made - from the very first tools crafted in Africa 1.5 million years ago to contemporary art of the new millennium. 

And now, a real treat for Canadians and visitors to Vancouver Island, some of those artefacts have arrived at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria.

“This exhibition provides a wonderful opportunity to see some of the greatest treasures from the British Museum’s collection,” says Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum. “Visitors will be able to experience the world in one gallery.”

The mission of the exhibit, as Brendan Moore is quick to point out, is to spark debate, and debate, for him, is at the heart of enlightenment.

Arranged by geography and chronology into seven sections - Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Oceania, the Americas and the Modern World, Treasures: The World’s Cultures from the British Museum is a global journey that chronicles the development of civilization though art and artefacts.

Highlights include stone hand axes from Africa made 1.5 million years ago, a 3,000-year old Egyptian mummy, a letter from the king of Babylon to the king of Egypt, dated 14th Century BC, a 2nd century marble Roman statue of Dionysos, the god of wine, a rare, bird-shaped stone pestle from Papua New Guinea, works of art by Picasso, Renoir, Matisse and Rembrandt, as well as gold-and-gemstone jewellery, gold and silver coins, house wares and military hardware from all eras and continents.

A unique part of the exhibition is the Enlightenment Centre, inspired by the British Museum’s Enlightenment Gallery developed in part by Brendan Moore, that invites families to learn though hands-on activities.

Unwrap a mummy and follow the instructions to redo it properly, (legs first, of course!), create a message in hieroglyphics, put broken artefacts back together, or play with the specially created computer jigsaws of some of the artefacts on display.



The main concept of the centre is to let visitors “touch” what they see.  Wear a recreated headdress or necklace from ancient times, hold a prehistoric tool (or at least one specially recreated by the Royal BC Museum in a material not designed to cut your hand open, or play with ancient looking chess pieces on a board authentically and lovingly crafted in the Royal BC Museum’s own workshops down in the basements.

The wonder of this exhibition is not just the amazing pieces of art and history that are on display, it is in the work and efforts of the men and women who have come together to make it work.

From the dedicated attention of Brendan Moore of the British Museum to the skills of the talented staff in the bowels of the Royal BC Museum creating the perfect environment to showcase these amazing pieces, the creation of the exhibition is in itself a work of art.

It is a work of art Victoria and the Royal BC Museum is clearly proud to present to the people of North America.

Now that the dust is settling, and the staff of the Royal BC Museum earn a well deserved break, Treasures: The World’s Cultures from the British Museum at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, Canada runs through September 30.

For more information visit: www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/


Photos: from top - 1: Royal BC Museum, 2 and 3: Kevin Retief

see also British Columbia - Victoria-
Inn at Laurel Point

and still more art at
SKANDA





Skanda is creating original jewelry inspired by the Treasures exhibition which will be available for the public to purchase in the Museum gift shop.

You can also visit Skanda to make your own inspired jewelry while learning about precious stones and take-home jewelry creations courtesy of Skanda.

For more information visit: www.skanda.ca