The Bayeux Tapestry
Britain has been overcome by Bayeux Tapestry fever (as has CA: see our feature on here and more in Sherds on here) with the famous embroidery returning to British soil for the first time since its creation almost 1,000 years…
art history
Creatures of myth and imagination
An exhibition at the Met Cloisters explores depictions of fantastical hybrid creatures from medieval Europe and the ancient Americas.
Drawn on the Western Front: Paul Sarrut and the Indian Army
Reviewing the best military history exhibitions, with Peter Popham.
Worth a thousand words: Examining medieval wall-paintings at Goodrich Castle
Tiny traces of medieval wall-paintings have been discovered at Goodrich Castle in Herefordshire, transforming our understanding of how its chapel was decorated. Carly Hilts spoke to Sophie Stewart to learn more.
UK news in brief
New Mudlark-in-Residence role at Southwark Cathedral Lara Maiklem has been named as the first Mudlark-in-Residence for Southwark Cathedral, in what is thought to be the UK’s only permanent mudlarking role within a cultural or heritage organisation. With almost 25 years…
Rock Art and its Legacy in Myth and Art
Rock Art and its Legacy in Myth and Art is an illuminating and deeply engaging exploration of humanity’s earliest artistic expressions, brought vividly to life by Christoph Baumer and Therese Weber. From the very first lines, the book establishes rock…
The painted tomb of Insneferuishetef
Wolfram Grajetzki explores rare painted scenes from an Old Kingdom mastaba at Dahshur.
Making Art in the Ice Age: the story of how our ancestors made images
Ice Age art engages something within us that feels deeply and inherently human. Most of us feel it immediately: awe, curiosity, and perhaps even sometimes a feeling that borders on spiritual. Yet, while this response is nearly universal, the opportunity…
The Diver of Paestum: Youth, Eros, and the Sea in Ancient Greece
On 3 June 1968, Italian archaeologists digging the ancient city of Paestum made an extraordinary discovery. They had unearthed a tomb fashioned from slabs of travertine, containing the bones of an individual who had been lain to rest c.480 BC,…
The last piece of the puzzle: Withington Roman Villa mosaics, Corinium Museum
For the first time in more than 200 years, colourful fragments of the ‘Orpheus’ mosaic excavated at Withington Roman Villa in 1812 have been reunited in a new display at the Corinium Museum in Cirencester, thanks to long-term loans from…
Ancient Egypt February listings
CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE IN ANCIENT EGYPT The exhibition traces the daily lives of young ancient Egyptians, with a display of more than 190 pieces from national and international collections in the Vimcorsa Room, accompanied by an immersive audiovisual experience in…
Clever Minds and Expert Hands: Egyptian Art and Artists in the New Kingdom
This new publication brings a welcome focus to the creative individuals behind the artistic achievements of the New Kingdom. Building on a 2022 conference in Madrid, the collection’s 12 papers examine a broad range of interconnected themes: the role and…
Christianity and Monasticism in Upper Egypt – Volume 1: Akhmim and Sohag
REVIEW BY MICHAEL TUNNICLIFFE This is a paperback edition of a work following the Third International Symposium on Christianity and Monasticism in Upper Egypt. There is a particular focus on the life and writings of St Shenoute, who was a…
Unique family statue
A newly published statue found at Gisr el-Mudir (Saqqara) in 2021 has revealed an unusual family portrait. The 100cm-high limestone figure depicts a nobleman standing in a typical Old Kingdom stance with his left foot forward, but also includes images…
Cat Tales: A History
REVIEW BY CH Dogs may be ‘man’s best friend’, but cats also share a long relationship with humans – a tale (tail?) that archaeologist Jerry Moore recounts in this absorbing overview, covering two million years of history and an equally…
The changing faces of Easter Island: Revealing the secrets of shape-shifting figurines
Easter Island did not just produce monumental stone sculptures. It was also home to talented woodcarvers making an extraordinary range of figurines. Paul Horley, Rafal Wieczorek, Catherine Orliac, and Paul Bahn explore a side to these sculptures that was hidden in plain sight.
Ice Age art now
REVIEW BY OSCAR MORO ABADIA This publication was created to accompany the British Museum Partnership Exhibition Ice Age art now, held at Cliffe Castle Museum in summer 2025. The exhibition showcased the British Museum’s remarkable collection of Pleistocene mobiliary art…
A Medieval Cabinet of Curiosities
REVIEW BY KK The title of this book explains it all. Reading it is like stepping into a dimly lit, 19th-century hall of curiosities, with various unusual artefacts covering every available surface. By giving a tour through this bizarre exhibition,…
Senusret III: Warrior and innovator
Wolfram Grajetzki continues his series with one of the most important and best known kings of the Twelfth Dynasty.
Hatshepsut’s statues
A new study by Jun Yi Wong of the University of Toronto suggests that damage to Hatshepsut’s statues may not have been an act of animosity by Thutmose III. The examination of previously unpublished documents shows that many of the…
Hilary Wilson on… Hands
Hilary Wilson describes the way ancient Egyptian artists and craftsmen depicted the human form (especially the hands) in wall paintings and sculpture.
Ancient Egypt August listings
THE MYSTERY OF CLEOPATRA The legend of Cleopatra and her depictions in art over the centuries is explored through archaeological finds, paintings, sculptures, and works of contemporary art. Highlights include the peacock headpiece worn by Sarah Bernhard in Sardou’s play…
Ice Age Art Now
REVIEW BY HANNA MCNULTY What if Ice Age art was not confined to glass cases or academic articles, but displayed in galleries alongside contemporary artists? In Ice Age Art Now, Jill Cook curates just that experience. Spanning the final 20,000…
The World of King James VI & I at National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait
Gunpowder, treason, and plot; witch trials and sexual scandals; political, cultural, and religious innovations – James VI & I’s reign was undeniably eventful. Carly Hilts visited an exhibition investigating the man behind the monarch.
‘Portrait of Lady Jane Grey’ may have been painted during her lifetime
Recent research on a portrait believed to depict Lady Jane Grey has revealed that the painting may be the only surviving image of the ‘Nine Day Queen’ that dates to her lifetime. A devout Protestant, Lady Jane Grey was named…
Poetic portents of spring
By the time you read this, February fill dyke will be over for another year and March will (perhaps) have come in like a lion. Sherds is always glad when winter is over, but in the depths of the cold, dark, and grey weeks of January and February there is one sure way to find warmth and consolation – by reaching for a book called Next to Nature, an anthology of the ‘Word from Wormingford’ diary columns that Ronald Blythe wrote for many years for the Church Times.
Win a copy of The Mysterious Fayum Portraits: Faces from Ancient Egypt by Euphrosyne Doxiadis
Where in Egypt is this? If you know, email the Editor: peter@ancientegyptmagazine.com before 30 April with your answer, giving your full name, address, and a contact phone number. One lucky reader will have their name selected at random from all…
Robert Talbot Kelly – Egypt: Painted and Described
Lee P Ruddin explores the life and work of an artist whose beautiful paintings of Egyptian life are now sadly overlooked.
The Mysterious Fayum Portraits: Faces from Ancient Egypt
REVIEW BY J PETER PHILLIPS This seminal work was first published by Thames & Hudson in 1995. The reprint is described by the publishers as a ‘compact hardback edition’ and includes a new foreword by Ahdaf Soueif, an Egyptian novelist…
The Great Mughals: art, architecture, and opulence at the V&A
A vibrant exhibition currently running at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London illuminates the ingenuity and influence of the Mughal Empire. Carly Hilts visited to learn more.
Ancestral bust of a woman
Dr Campbell Price describes an unusual statue bust from the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
Current Archaeology’s November Listings: exhibitions, events, and heritage from home
There is a great range of historical and archaeological events coming up over the next few months, ranging from exciting new exhibitions to lectures and conferences. Or, if you prefer to get your heritage fix at home, there are lots of ways to do that too, including digital museum resources, virtual site tours, podcasts, and TV shows. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the best options.
The tale of an Amarna fresco
Bob Brier gives a fascinating account of the ultimately unsuccessful attempts to save a fresco found at Akhenaten’s city of Amarna.
Lights, Camera, Action!
Continuing his series of articles entitled ‘Travels in an Antique Land’, independent traveller Karl Harris guides us round four Theban tombs recently opened to the public.
The Mammals of Ancient Egypt
REVIEW BY SG The Oxbow Classics in Egyptology series is steadily building into a large library of facsimile volumes covering a wide range of topics (including reissues of typological catalogues by W M Flinders Petrie, as reviewed in AE 139),…
Six Lives at the National Portrait Gallery, London
Carly Hilts visited a new exhibition aiming to restore individuality to six women often grouped merely as the ‘wives of Henry VIII’.