You can be familiar with the history of world civilization, or you can be ignorant. You can collect a few art treasures before you leave, or you can go into battle lightly without making any preparations; Like me, you can spend enough time exploring the story behind the national treasure, or you can just set aside an hour for it on the trip; You can even use it as a shopping place to bring back exclusive gifts for your friends. No matter who you are, the door of the British Museum is always open for you. You can always find the world you want to see here, and you can proudly say: I collect stamps! The British Museum in central London was built in 1753. After several expansions and adjustments, it has gradually become one of the four major museums in the world. At present, the museum has more than 8 million collections and receives more than 6 million visitors every year. Due to the limited exhibition area, most of the collections cannot be exhibited in public. Some public collections are related to postal culture. For example, a set of 6 stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of the British Museum issued by Royal Mail, Three Destinies stamps issued by Greek Post, Diu Lei rhinoceros stamps issued by Maldivian Post and Bulgarian Post successively, Rosetta Stone wooden postcards, etc. In addition, I made the cover of the official letter of the British Museum into a hand-painted cover, and used the postage meter label made by Royal Mail as a stamp. On June 7th, 2003, 10, Royal Mail issued a set of six stamps to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the British Museum. On the same day, a first day cover was issued. The picture and commemorative postmark on the left side of the first day cover come from the Queen Elizabeth II exhibition hall in the atrium of the British Museum. 1823, Sir Robert Smirke designed the main part of the British Museum. At that time, the number of visitors in a year did not exceed 654.38+million, but by the end of the 20th century, the number of visitors exceeded 6 million, making the museum overcrowded. In order to solve the congestion problem at the entrance of the museum, the Millennium Committee and the British Cultural Heritage Lottery Foundation allocated funds, and social companies and individuals also generously set up a public area connecting the exhibition hall in the center of the museum, which successfully solved this problem. From June 5438 to February 2000, in order to welcome the arrival of the new millennium, the Grand Exhibition Garden was officially opened and was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II. The most special thing about it is that it is a reticulated dome made of glass and steel, which is magnificent like a crystal palace. The huge space in the hall makes the Grand Exhibition Garden the first indoor city square in London, with an education center, an African exhibition hall in sainsbury, a souvenir shop, a rest area and a restaurant. Several striking sculptures collected by the museum are also on display here. Looking for clues about the 250th anniversary stamps of the British Museum, I soon found the Anglo-Saxon helmet. This is an iron helmet from the early 7th century. This was found in a sunken grave in Sutton Lake. The helmet was broken when it was unearthed. After renovation, the crown and mask were restored to their original appearance. Although the coating and decoration on the helmet have partially fallen off, the style of the year is still faintly visible. At the same time, there are only four helmets in the world, which is the earliest and the best preserved one. This kind of helmet was also found in eastern Sweden, indicating that there are similar cultures in these areas. The rarity of the Anglo-Saxon helmet also shows that only outstanding people deserve it. As long as you walk to Hall 24 of the British Museum, you will see the statue of Stonehenge on Easter Island at first sight, which is also one of the stamps commemorating the 250th anniversary of the British Museum. On Easter 1722, European sailors arrived at Rapanui Island (later called Easter Island) in the center of the South Pacific. 1868, HMS Topaz arrived at Easter Island, and the leader of the island presented the smallest statue of Howa Hokananaia to the crew. It was put on a boat by a group of islanders and brought to England as a gift to Queen Victoria. 1869, it came to London and appeared in the British Museum, becoming the most popular and favorite cultural relic. The giant stone statue on Easter Island is also a very distinctive label of Chile. Chile Post has issued related stamps more than once, and other South Pacific island countries have also issued related stamps to show their concern.
On March 5th, 1984, Greece Post issued a set of five stamps (the Parthenon marble statue in the Acropolis of Athens), among which the third stamp showed the sculpture named Three Fates, which was the sculpture on the top of the east pillar gable of the Parthenon in the Acropolis of Athens, a world cultural heritage. There is only one original sculpture of Destiny, which has been circulated in an orderly manner, and is now in the British Museum 18 exhibition hall. It is said that this is the work of Pheidias, an ancient Greek sculptor, which was created in 447-438 BC. In general, these ancient Greek gods stood upright on the ground, but this group of sculptures were carved under the eaves of the temple, and the space was limited, so these gods had to pose differently. Some bodies even violate anatomical principles after lying down, and some don't care as long as they look good. In the British Museum, there is another cultural relic that China people are no strangers to. From June 5 to 10, 2000, the print "Diu Lei rhinoceros" by German painter and sculptor Albray Diu Lei was exhibited in the special exhibition "British Museum 100 World History among Cultural Relics" held by the National Museum of China. In the era when there is no photography technology, the best way to describe a thing vividly is painting. At that time, Albray in Diu Lei had never seen a rhinoceros, but he finished this work according to a distorted sketch by an unknown painter. The result of the rumor has not affected the effect of the master's works at all. At that time, all kinds of zoology and natural history books were scrambling to use this "Diu Lei rhinoceros" as an illustration. People don't care much about whether the image of the work is true or not. What they care about is that this is the work of a great painter. Based on this peculiar cognitive process, the British Museum bought this print. 1973 and 1979, Maldives Post and Bulgaria Post issued the stamps. After 40 years, people's enthusiasm for this print has not diminished. Whether it is the Anglo-Saxon helmet, the Goddess of Three Fates or the giant stone statue on Easter Island, they are all dazzling stars in the British Museum. When the traditional culture in the museum meets the postal culture, this collision is bound to be a unique imprint of the times.