Museum Pieces #6

From London's Science Museum, an assortment of items arranged to set off warm and fuzzy feeling of nostalgia amongst us 40-somethings. Note the slim, door-wedge-styled Sinclair ZX80 between the Apple II and the Windows 3.1 manual. I had the replacement model myself, the ZX81, in black. In fact I still have it here in Guatemala in a box up in my study!

Museum Pieces #5

One of the treasures of the British Museum I make a point of revisiting each time I'm in there, these twelfth century walrus ivory chess pieces known as the Lewis Chessmen (though the most characterful figures are perhaps the two queens) were probably made in Trondheim, Norway and were discovered on the Isle of Lewis in 1831. The BM has 67 of the 78 pieces; the rest can be seen at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh.

Museum Pieces #4

Sir Thomas Lawrence's painting of The Calmady Children (1823) can be found in New York's Metropolitan Museum. Emily (1818-1906) and Laura Anne (1820-1894) were the daughters of Charles Calmady of Langdon Court in Devonshire.

Lawrence described the painting as "my best picture...one of the few I should wish hereafter to be known by."

When exhibited at the RA it was engraved under the title of Nature.

Museum Pieces #3

These New Kingdom ladies in New York's Metropolitan Museum have a certain modern sexiness about them.

Museum Pieces #2

Sticking with the jade schmutter, this rather lovely Chinese Qin Period (?) horse can also be found in the British Museum.

Museum Pieces #1

Olmec jade head, from between 1200 and 400 BC. (British Museum)