Rediscovering Gems

Comprehensive small exhibition at the British Museum looking at antique gems and the history of the museum’s collection.

For a small show this exhibition covered a lot of ground. It had some beautiful examples but also talked about how the gems were faked and included those.

It talks about collecting in the Renaissance and 18th century with a focus on the collection of Charles Townley which was sold to the museum in the early 19th century.

There is also a section on the recent thefts from the museum which had included gems and some of those which have been recovered were there. It talks about how this has prompted a major project to catalogue and record the gems in the collection which has not been done before.

Closes 2 June 2024


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