The British Museum is Great Britain's national collection of archaeology and ethnography, located in the Bloomsbury district of London. The museum and library originated in 1753 when the art collection and library of Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753) were acquired by the government. Established by an act of Parliament, the museum and library were opened to the public in 1759 and housed in Montagu House; the present building was designed in the Neoclassical style by Sir Robert Smirke and was built (1823-52) on the site of Montagu House. The buildings have undergone alterations and additions to the present day.

The museum has among its holdings collections of ancient and medieval artifacts and art. Among its best-known antiquities are the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon at Athens, the Rosetta Stone, colossal sculptures from ancient Egypt, and monumental Assyrian relief sculptures from Nineveh, Calah (modern Nimrud), and other sites. The ethnographic collections are displayed at the Museum of Mankind, elsewhere in London. In 1973 the library of the British Museum was joined with several other significant holdings to create the British Library.

You can find more information on the British Museum at its home page.

Recommended viewing from the collection:

• Christ on the Cross by Michelangelo,
• Queen Mary Psalter by an English miniaturist.