☀ Today is the summer solstice – the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, also known as midsummer ☀ Stonehenge was carefully designed to align with the solstice, marking the extreme limits of the sun’s movements – the word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (“sun”) and sistere (“to stand still”). The enormous sarsen stones and smaller bluestones were precisely arranged to frame two particular events in the year: the sunrise at summer solstice, and the sunset at winter solstice. 🌄Read more about Stonehenge’s significance to the solstice via the link in our bio. 🔎 Julius Caesar Ibbetson (1759-1817), ‘Stone Henge 7 Miles N.W. of Salisbury’. Hand-coloured etching and aquatint on paper, England, 1791. #BritishMuseum #Stonehenge #Solstice

One of these embroidered creatures is a tiger and the other is a monkey. Can you tell which is which? 🐯🐵 The Chinese motif of two ritual cups decorated with a tiger and monkey dates to around 145 BC, according to the writings of the famous historian Sima Qian. 👘 This embroidered detail comes from a robe worn by the Jiaqing emperor (r. 1796–1820), showing that the design endured through the ages – swipe to see the full garment 👉 The emperor’s robe is further distinguished by 12 imperial symbols: sun, moon, constellations, mountains, paired dragons, a pheasant, ritual cups (with tigers), water weed, millet, fire, an axe and a fu symbol. 🐅 In traditional Chinese culture, the image of a tiger was used as a symbol to represent bravery. Its depiction also acted as a defensive talisman due to the similar pronunciations of ‘tiger’ and ‘to protect’ in Chinese. 🔗 Discover more about the symbolism behind these terrific tigers over on our blog – link in bio. 🏛 Find more of China’s talismanic tigers in our #ChinasHiddenCentury exhibition, on display until 8 October. Book your tickets at britishmuseum.org/chinashiddencentury 🔎 Detail from an Imperial blue robe embroidered with multicoloured silks and couched gold thread, China, about 1800. © The Teresa Coleman Collection. #BritishMuseum #ChineseArt #Tiger

#DidYouKnow that the ancient Egyptian word for cat was ‘mioew’? 🐈 This upright cat statue sits in typical Egyptian fashion, and was probably intended as a dedication to the cat-goddess Bastet 🐱 🔎 Limestone figure of a seated cat. Naukratis, Egypt, 266–227 BC. #BritishMuseum #AncientEgypt #Caturday

Fencer, author, diplomat, and spy: the Chevalier d'Eon was one of the most charismatic figures of 18th century Britain. The Chevalier is best known for living openly as man for the first half of their life, and as a woman for the second. Their convention-defying tale is one of many stories within the Museum demonstrating that gender fluidity and diversity have always been integral to the human experience. Born in France, the Chevalier made their name as a soldier and diplomat. They moved to England in 1764, becoming a source of both fascination and ridicule for the British press – London bookmakers had even begun to take bets on d'Eon's gender. This print is one of the few to offer an accurate representation of how the Chevalier looked during their later life. They are depicted without satirical intent, as a middle-aged woman in a lace cap and gown. On the gown d’Eon’s Cross of St Louis – awarded for their bravery in battle – is proudly on view. 🏳‍🌈 Read more about the Chevalier’s remarkable life via the link in our bio 🔎 Robert Cooper (active 1795–1836), ‘The Chevalier d’Eon’. Stipple on paper, England, 1791. #BritishMuseum #Pride

📜 Magna Carta or the ‘Great Charter’ was signed #OnThisDay in 1215. King John, the crowned figure depicted in this engraving, approved the Magna Carta after facing a political crisis caused by rebelling barons in his court. The document sought to prevent the king from exploiting his power, establishing for the first time that everybody, including the king, was subject to equality under the law. It covers practical matters from fishing rights to inheritance, but its first clause relates to the freedom of the church. It states that the English Church must be free from royal interference, and was probably added at the insistence of Stephen Langton, the then Archbishop of Canterbury. Some rights established within Magna Carta proved highly influential in later centuries. Most famously, the 39th clause gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial. Some of Magna Carta’s core principles are echoed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950). 🔎Joseph Strutt (17491802). ‘A monk handing a cup to King John inside a church’, copied from a 13th century illuminated manuscript in the @britishlibrary. Engraving in brown ink, around 1793. #BritishMuseum #MagnaCarta

The oldest surviving literary work in the world is ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’, which was composed nearly 4,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. This famous poem recounts the legendary exploits of King Gilgamesh and the Wildman Enkidu – together they embark on many heroic adventures, including slaying both the Bull of Heaven, depicted on this Babylonian cylinder seal. Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s relationship is described in ambiguous terms. Though beginning as rivals, the two develop a close bond which transcends the platonic but is never explicitly noted as sexual. In one scene Gilgamesh is entranced by Enkidu and desires to ‘caress him like a woman’ and the two embrace and kiss each other. When the gods kill Enkidu to punish Gilgamesh, the hero grieves deeply and is moved to abandon his search of glory and wealth. 🔎 Cylinder seal with Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Chalcedony, from Asia, 800– 700 BC. #BritishMuseum #PrideMonth #LGBTHistory #Gilgamesh

Queen Anne (1665–1714) is probably best known from Olivia Coleman’s Oscar-winning performance in the 2018’s ‘The Favourite’ 🎬🍿 The film explored the tumultuous relationships between the monarch and the women of her court, especially Sarah Churchill and Abigail Hill. After Anne and Sarah’s relationship turned sour, Sarah wrote that Anne had 'no inclination for any but her own sex' despite knowing the potential damage this might have done to Sarah's own reputation. Other letters and accounts from Anne's contemporaries often contained references to her ‘passionate friendships’ and ‘unnatural attachments’ with other women, euphemistically hinting at the existence of same-sex relationships. 🔎 Guinea with depiction of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. Gold, from London in England, 1703. #BritishMuseum #PrideMonth #LGBT+ #QueenAnne

☀ Here’s hoping this sunny skyscape brings some serenity to your Sunday ☁ This watercolour was created by John Constable, who was born #OnThisDay in 1776. Constable was a major artistic figure during his lifetime, who became known for his delicate paintings of the English countryside 🌳 A native of the valley surrounding the River Stour in the east of England, his beloved impressions of this picturesque landscape gave the area a new name – ‘Constable country’. 👉 Swipe through for some more gorgeous views from one of the legends of landscape painting. 🔎 John Constable (1776–1837), ‘View of London from Hampstead Heath’. Watercolour drawing on paper, 1830. 🔎 John Constable (1776–1837), ‘The Lower Pond, Hampstead’. Watercolour drawing on paper, 1823. 🔎 John Constable (1776–1837), ‘Theale, Berkshire’. Pen and grey ink and watercolour on paper, 1832. #BritishMuseum #Constable #Watercolour

Ever been so angry you wanted to throw something? 💥🤾‍♂️ This is the likely outcome after a night of heavy drinking, according to this cautionary poem by the Greek playwright Eubulus in the 4th century BC: 🍷 Three bowls of wine only do I mix for the sensible: 💊 One is dedicated to health, ❤ The second to love and pleasure, 😴The third to sleep – when this is drunk up, wise guests go home… 🏺 The fourth krater belongs to outrage, 🗣 The fifth to arguments, 🍻 The sixth to drunken revel, 👀 The seventh to black eyes, ⛓ The eighth is the bailiff’s, 😡 The ninth belongs to bitter anger, 🤾‍♀️ And the tenth to the madness that makes people throw things. Specifically, this poem describes a drinking party where Greek men from the upper-classes would gather to dine, listen to music – and of course, play rowdy drinking games. The outer rim of this kylix – a type of wide cup made for drinking wine – shows the gods impossibly balancing large Persian-style bowls on their fingertips 🍇 ✨For more wisdom from the Ancient Greeks – and to see this beautiful kylix alongside many more exquisite drinking vessels – visit our #LuxuryAndPowerExhibition, open until 13 August. 🔗 Find out more and book your tickets via the link in our bio. 📜 Poem from the Greek poet Eubulus (active around 380-355 BC), as quoted by the writer Athenaeus (active 200 AD). 🔎 Kylix with scene of a symposion. Red and black pottery, from Vulci in Italy, 485–480 BC. #BritishMuseum #Exhibitions #AncientGreece #Wine

When you think of something that smells wonderful, a fish might not be the first thing that comes to mind 👃 🐟 🌊 We’re sharing this glittering fish flask for #WorldOceanDay. Specifically, the species represented is Turkestan barbel, native to the Oxus river and Caspian Sea. Despite its smelly exterior, this fish vessel would have been used to hold costly perfumed oil which was used by Achaemenid nobles to style their beards and ringlets, keeping them shiny and fragrant. Bad hair days were a serious social misstep in the Achaemenid empire. Elite Persian men grew their hair long, and well-crafted styles were considered supreme markers of status ✂🧔 ✨ Come and see this fragrant fish amongst other golden treasures in our #LuxuryAndPowerExhibition, open until 13 August – get your ticket via the link in our bio 🔎 Flask in the shape of a fish. Gold, from Takht-i Kuwad in Tajikistan, around 500–300 BC. #BritishMuseum #Fish #OceansMW

🍫 The only thing sweeter than the chocolate these porcelain cups were made to hold is the tender love story behind them ☕ They were once owned by the Ladies of Llangollen, Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby. The two women fled Ireland in 1778, crossing the sea to make a home together in North Wales. These cups are decorated with a view of their house, Plâs Newydd, where they challenged the conventions of the era to live happily together for 50 years. Eleanor kept a diary which describes quiet days spent with her ‘beloved’ Sarah. Read more of their timeless love story via the link in our bio 💕 🏛 You can visit these cups on display in Room 47 of the Museum. 🔎 Pair of chocolate cups. Porcelain, from Derbyshire in England, 1795– 1805. #BritishMuseum #Pride #Porcelain

This bronze statue depicts the Hindu god Shiva as the lord of the dance, Nataraja, in a ring of fire 🔥 In Hindu belief, Shiva as Nataraja appears at the end of one cosmic cycle and the beginning of the next, and is thus associated with both creation and destruction. The Nataraja is one of the best-known images of Indian art. It was especially popular during the rule of the Chola kings in Tamil Nadu in the tenth to twelfth centuries. ➡ Swipe through to discover these incredible details 🌊 A female figure is enmeshed in Shiva’s hair – this is the goddess Ganga, the personification of the Ganges River, whose fall to earth was broken by Shiva’s matted locks. 🥁 Shiva holds a double-sided shaped drum in his upper right hand, the sound from which summons up new creation. 🔥 His upper left hand holds the destructive ball of fire. 🦶 Underneath his feet Shiva tramples Apasmara, a demon who represents ignorance. See this statue on display in Room 33 of the Museum – the Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia. 🔎 Dancing Shiva in a ring of fire. Bronze, Tamil Nadu, southern India, around 1100. #BritishMuseum