The National Gallery. Painting of the Month. He’s England’s patron saint, but little can be said with any certainty about Saint George. According to legend, Saint George was a Roman soldier who refused to recant his Christian faith, and who was subjected to brutal torture and death by the Emperor Diocletian. He was martyred in Nicomedia (in modern Turkey) and buried in Lydda (in modern Israel). Uccello depicts the scene for which Saint George is most associated - his battle with the dragon - a legend that became popular in the 13th century when recounted by Jacobus de Voragine. The legend tells of a town in Lydda, terrorised by a fearsome dragon living in a nearby lake. After trying to appease the dragon by feeding him sheep, the townsfolk were forced to offer their own people, who were chosen by lot.
One day, the lot fell upon the king’s daughter. Uccello has chosen to show both the moment that George defeats the dragon (more accurately, a wyvern), and the moment when the dragon is subdued by the princess’s girdle. Museum of Childhood. Collection of the old toy. Collecting Childhood Blog Assistant Curator Alice Sage blogs about some of the discoveries the collections team make in the course of researching the collection. Read more FAQs Frequently asked questions about the collections, including more information about donations and valuations. Read more Archives A brief description of the archive collections held by the Museum, including information on how they can be accessed.
Read more New acquisitions The Museum has acquired a series of six original designs for nursery friezes entitled Children's Toys by the artist, designer and illustrator John Hassall. Read more Construction toys The Museum’s collection includes bricks and construction sets produced by many of the leading toy manufacturers. Read more Clothing The clothing collection includes over 6000 garments and accessories worn by children from birth up to their teenage years. Read more Dolls The Museum of Childhood holds the largest collection of dolls in the UK. Read more Early years Read more Furniture.
Covent Garden. The History & Architecture of Covent Garden. Piccadilly Circus. The Circus lies at the intersection of five main roads: Regent Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, Piccadilly Street, Covent Street and Haymarket. It was created by John Nash as part of the future King George IV's plan to connect Carlton House - where the Prince Regent resided - with Regent's Park. The creation of Shaftesbury Avenue in 1885 turned the plaza into a busy traffic junction. This made Piccadilly Circus attractive for advertisers, who installed London's first illuminated billboards here in 1895. For some time the plaza was surrounded by billboards, creating London's version of Times Square, but Eros statue currently only one building still carries large (mostly electronic) displays.
At the center of the Circus stands the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain. The name 'Piccadilly' originates from a seventeenth-century frilled collar The Circus at night named piccadil. London Eye. British Museum. Ancient Egypt. Towards the end of the fourth millennium BC several independent city-states were unified to form a single state, marking the beginning of over 3,000 years of pharaonic civilisation in the Nile Valley. Fertile earth left behind after the yearly Nile flood provided the basis for Egypt’s agricultural prosperity, a key factor in the longevity of the civilisation. Impressive monuments were erected in the name of kings, from monumental temples for the gods to the pyramids marking the burials of rulers.
The British Museum collection includes statuary and decorated architecture from throughout pharaonic history, often inscribed with hieroglyphs. Many other aspects of ancient Egyptian culture are represented: coffins and mummies of individuals, but also furniture, fine jewellery and other burial goods. These reflect the practice of lavish burials for the wealthy, which included the royal family, government officials and the priesthood. Aztecs (Mexica) During the twelfth century AD the Mexica were a small and obscure tribe searching for a new homeland. Eventually they settled in the Valley of Mexico and founded their capital, Tenochtitlan, in 1345.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century it was one of the largest cities in the world. Warfare was extremely important for the Mexica people and led them to conquer most of modern-day central and southern Mexico. They controlled their huge empire through military strength, a long-distance trading network and the tribute which conquered peoples had to pay. Stone sculpture in the British Museum collection reflects the Mexica's complex religious beliefs and the large pantheon of gods they worshipped. Their sophisticated ritual calendar reflected the rhythms of the agricultural year and their ceramic sculptures are noted for their visual impact. Craftsmen also worked in gold, turquoise mosaic and feathers. Image caption: Mosaic mask of Quetzalcoatl Mexica/Mixtec, 15th-16th century AD. Polynesia. The islands of the eastern Pacific are known as Polynesia, from the Greek for ‘many islands’. They lie across a vast stretch of ocean from Hawaii in the north, to New Zealand in the south and Easter Island in the east.
The western Polynesian islands of Fiji and Tonga were settled approximately 3,000 years ago, whilst New Zealand was settled as recently as AD1200. In the past, Polynesians were skilled navigators and canoe builders, creating double-hulled vessels capable of travelling great distances. Their societies were hierarchical, with the highest ranking people tracing their descent directly from the gods. These gods were all powerful and present in the world. Images of them were created in wood, feathers, fibre and stone. Today, Polynesian culture continues to develop and change, partly in response to colonialism.
The Polynesian collections at the Museum date back to the earliest contact with European explorers and missionaries. Natural History Museum. Tate Modern.