学生作品库 学生作品库 The British Museum.ppt

The British Museum大英博物馆 The British Museum is located on the Russell Square（罗素广场） of the new Oxford Street s north in London . It is the oldest and most magnificent scale comprehensive museum in the world, is the largest and one of the most famous four major museums in the world. You can visit the British Museum for free . It opens from 10:00am to 5:30pm in daily ，from 10:00am to 8:30pm on Friday .And its closed in December 24th, 25th and 26th and January 1st . History of the Museum The origins of the British Museum lie in the will of the physician, naturalist and collector, Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753). Over his lifetime, Sloane collected more than 71,000 objects which he wanted to be preserved intact after his death. So he bequeathed the whole collection to King George II for the nation in return for a payment of ￡20,000 to his heirs. The gift was accepted and on 7 June 1753, an Act of Parliament established the British Museum. The founding collections largely consisted of books, manuscripts and natural specimens with some antiquities (including coins and medals, prints and drawings) and ethnographic material. In 1757 King George II donated the Old Royal Library of the sovereigns of England and with it the privilege of copyright receipt. The British Museum opened to the public on 15 January 1759 . It was first housed in a seventeenth-century mansion, Montagu House, in Bloomsbury on the site of todays building. Entry was free and given to all studious and curious persons . With the exception of two World Wars, the Museum has remained open ever since, gradually increasing its opening hours and moving from an attendance of 5,000 per year to todays 6 million. History of the collection The original collection of the British Museum included antiquities, coins and medals, natural history specimens and a large library collection. It now comprises over 8 million objects spanning the hist