we MUSEUM Enlightenment Tay me aot R Mu lnk eal Room 1The Enlightenment Gallery: Room 1 Completed in 1828, this magnificent room s designed by the architect Robert smirke to house the library of George ill ‘ontains an exhibition about the Enlightenment, a time when people \cluding the collectors who created the British Museum — used reason and first hand observation of the world around them to understand it in new ways 1 The Natural World indation in 1753, British Museum and Artificial ture or made 3 Art and Civilisation During the Enlightenment, European collectors began to develop new histories of ancient art based on knowledge of objects they owned or had seen on their travels. They believed in a‘progress’ of art from ‘primitive’ beginnings to its height in the Classical civilisations of Europe. 4 Classifying the World The vast world of knowledge being gathered in the 18th century had to be Classified and organised so that it could be more easily understood and used, The British Museum's founders began to catalogue objects by type, material, date, purpose or culture ~ rather than simply 5 Ancient Scripts The search for knowledge about the past ed to renewed interest in deciphering the mysterious forms of Egyptian hieroglyphs, Sanskrit and cuneiform. This scholarly activity eventually led to the ‘cracking’ of their codes in the early 9th century, and thousands of years f history were opened up to research 6 Religion and Ritual yeans had long been inspired by Greek and Roman mythology religions around 7 Trade and Discovery ToRoom 27 Throughout the Enlightenment, increasing competition led Britain to search for new trade routes. Merchants, diplomats, explorers and collectors returned with artefacts that formed the beginning of ‘an ethnographic’ collection at the British Museum, in which objects were classified by culture rather than as exotic curiosities, Please do not touch the sculpture in the gallery Visit the Hands On desk to handle a variety of real objects. You are also welcome to touch the copy of the Rosetta Stone opposite the desk. Both the Hands On desk and the copy of the Rosetta Stone are located in section 5 of the gallery. Free children’s trail A trail around the Enlightenment Gallery for families is available from the Hands On desk NATURAL HISTORY M eriFind out more BE Ey Free eyeOpener tour of the uu ger LN ea ee eee ric Ronee Ee ea Eu key eee eg visit the events calendar at Dee eels fl Hands On Bre ace Ru cee ce oad PCr eeUn SUR ec) ATL) BR Books eres bac Be eau Roles Rae Ua uaee lature ny rrr Ros § Multimedia Guide De ee ru Multimedia Guide (£), which includes Ry ate en alu ag er NE CRU Miu cel per SR ee eel Mtn MUSEUM Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG Seared Telephone +44 (0)20 7323 8000 PCA uae Try Pans Cec ey Pe ee ee A souvenir guide and a comprehensive rll ea ec se a the Museum Book Shop. The Museum Par ehen eae Re ec PU eu Le Rd Loken ec acl Dey De eu ue kal ie meet a POR ea its ee UU a ee eo a BAUR aa) Are eR ee Du mun keel PA ee roe Esa 8 eT me) ram ECR TCL) ey at Hands On desk in Prec a SE een nak ea eer ee eer eee eae ete ae Ce eC Lat eta een