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Nefertiti

The wife of the ‘heretic’ king Akhenaten, Queen Nefertiti is today one of the most iconic of all ancient Egyptians, thanks to her painted bust revealed to the world in 1923. Aidan Dodson charts the career of this remarkable queen, a hard-headed pragmatist who became a forgotten – and possibly murdered – king.

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Megalithic Malta

There is much we don’t know about the people who lived in Neolithic Malta, but they left their mark on the islands through vast temples and tombs. Luc Amkreutz and Sharon Sultana explore what these impressive structures and the figurines found in them can tell us about a vanished civilisation.

Exhibitions from around the world – August 2021

Due to changing coronavirus measures, the dates listed below may have changed since we went to print, and museums and galleries may close. Check the websites and social-media accounts of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings.

OPPOSITE Polychrome wall mosaic showing a harbour and ship, found in the garden of Palazzo Rospigliosi Pallavicini in 1876, during construction work on Rome’s Via Nazionale. Late 2nd / early 3rd century

Rome’s hidden mosaics

With small tiles of marble and glass, Roman mosaicists created intricate mythological images, realistic scenes from nature, and other complex compositions to decorate the floors and walls of tombs, sanctuaries, and homes. Dalu Jones explores some mosaic masterpieces normally hidden in stores in Rome’s museums.

LEFT The golden funerary mask of Tutankhamun, brought to light by Howard Carter and his team in 1922, quickly becoming perhaps the most famous of all archaeological finds.

Egyptology: obelisks and ambitions

Flinders Petrie is called the father of Egyptian archaeology; well, he was assisted on all of his excavations by his wife Hilda, who has never really achieved the due recognition that she deserves.

Right A modern piatto di pompa with St Francis in front of a cross. Size: 31cm in diameter

St Francis of Assisi: a tale of two plates

In September 1224, St Francis of Assisi had a vision in which an angel marked him with the wounds of Christ. As Norman Hammond explains, this was a popular scene on plates for pilgrims, but sometimes these plates could offer up a more unusual image.

Mogao Caves, 1943-1944

The oldest of the Mogao Caves temples that survive date from around AD 420. Among them is Cave 275, built during the Northern Laing period (AD 420-439).

RIGHT The snake has been carefully carved with an open mouth, and perhaps shows a grass snake or European adder slithering or swimming.

A shaman’s snake staff?

In Finno-Ugric and Sámi cosmology, snakes are associated with various symbolic meanings, and shamans had the ability to transform into these creatures.

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Spinning Salamis

Soon after the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC came another famous battle as allied Greek city-states fought to resist the invading armies of the Persian Empire. The Greek victory at Salamis 2,500 years ago was mythologised by Athenian playwrights and others, monumentalising their city’s role in saving all that was good and Greek. David Stuttard guides us through the drama.