Sarah Raphael in David Inshaw mood

Bonhams London sale of Modern British & Irish Art coming up on September 16 has so many lovely things (with estimates to match), including several pieces by Alan Reynolds and this outstanding acrylic by Sarah Raphael (1960–2001), A Member of the Family (1990). Michael Glover wrote about this work in the Independent in 2013, comparing Raphael’s vision …

Keeping up with Happisburgh

I was in Norfolk a couple of weeks ago, checking out the sites. The shore is changing fast, as homes are threatened by cliff falls and the internationally significant archaeology beneath everything is carved out and washed away by the sea. Compare the view then (above) with that from the same place in 2006, with …

Richard III’s teeth and bones: why we didn’t know it all before

Out today is the fourth peer-reviewed article deriving from the search for Richard III’s grave. It focuses on the king’s bones and teeth, specifically what a few of them might tell us about where he lived at different times in his life, and how his diet changed. And once again, the scientific release occurs on the …

What makes the new Richard III Visitor Centre “insulting”?

You might notice a bit of a theme going on here. First Stonehenge opens a visitor centre that is roundly trashed by the press (and subsequently praised by their travel journalists). Then the British Museum’s new extension and Vikings exhibition is labelled boring – and attracts huge numbers of visitors. Now we have a third archaeological …

Hoa Hakananai’a: Important online resource

James Miles has posted links to some interactive models of Hoa Hakananai’a deriving from his digital work on the statue. The images are relatively low resolution, pending further moves for accessing very large files, but the opportunities they give to examine the statue are already stunning and unprecedented (and arguably of higher resolution than any …

Save the national collection: blog it

Northampton Borough Council sold its Egyptian statue for huge profit. It’s been criticised, but it really doesn't seem to care. What next? If I lived in Northampton, I’d be worried that my museums might sell off more stuff that I didn’t know they had. And who’s to say this will stop at Northampton? Which council …

Wear shoes when you visit Northampton’s museums

Arts Council England’s judgment that Northampton Borough Council contravened museum accreditation standards when it sold the Sekhemka statue, is the first of similar statements we expect to hear, from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Museums Association among others. David Mackintosh, leader of the council, apparently called the news “disappointing” and “puzzling”. More puzzling is …