Friday, January 13, 2012

100. Solar-Powered Lamp and Phone Charger (China, 2010)

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What lies ahead? Speaking for myself, I’m convinced. I’m going to find a way to get solar panels on my roof. I was very moved, at last n...
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Thursday, January 12, 2012

99. Credit Card (European Union, 2009)

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Modern finance. MacGregor uses a credit card as his penultimate object to continue the story that began with Croesus , the one that continu...
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

98. Throne of Weapons (Mozambique, 2001)

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Modern war and peace. In the history of humanity, you could spend a lot of energy going on about the new weapons, the unprecedented violen...
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

97. Hockney’s In the Dull Village (NOT ON DISPLAY)

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Human rights. This little drawing, by David Hockney, gives MacGregor a jumping-off point to talk about the horrific human rights abuses and...
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Monday, January 9, 2012

96. Russian Revolutionary Plate (Russia, 1921)

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Communism, as propaganda and practical policy. Major world-history story of the twentieth century: the Communist experiment. Since the rise...
Friday, January 6, 2012

95. Suffragette-Defaced Penny (England, AD 1903)

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Nonviolent resistance. And Women’s Rights! For an object that’s in many ways whimsical, and certainly positive all around—is this the first...
Thursday, January 5, 2012

94. Sudanese Slit Drum (Sudan, AD 1850-1900)

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The Scramble for Africa. And...the scramble continues. 2011 was a momentous year for Sudan, which we saw earlier in this history in its te...
Wednesday, January 4, 2012

93. Hokusai’s The Great Wave (NOT ON DISPLAY)

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No more isolationism. A shame; I’ve always maintained as strict an isolationist policy in as many things as possible. But at some point, wi...
Tuesday, January 3, 2012

92. Early Victorian Tea Set (England, 1840-1845)

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Everything’s for everyone. I think this is MacGregor’s last extremely British object. (Coming to the end of his series, now, I repeat I’m a...
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Monday, January 2, 2012

91. Ship’s Chronometer from HMS Beagle (England, 1800-1850)

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Modern times. These last few podcasts have to bring us up to date in our history of the world, and to some extent they’re a bit of a joke....
Friday, December 30, 2011

90. Jade Bi (China, AD 1790)

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Historicity. Now that we’re fast approaching our own self-conscious age, we look at an object that embodies the spirit of all these podcast...
Thursday, December 29, 2011

89. Australian Bark Shield (Australia, AD 1770)

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Rewriting poorly-written history. This crummy photograph (taken through glass in the dimly-lit Enlightenment Gallery) shows a shield, made ...
Wednesday, December 28, 2011

88. North American Buckskin Map (NOT ON DISPLAY)

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World War 0; or, the limitations of centralized authority. Here’s a map of the midwest south of my homeland of Michigan—Illinois, Indiana, ...
Tuesday, December 27, 2011

87. Hawaiian Feather Helmet (NOT ON DISPLAY)

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Cultural Misunderstanding. Here’s a gorgeous helmet which would have required the feathers plucked from some 2500 birds of Hawaii, made in...
Monday, December 26, 2011

86. Akan Drum (US, AD 1700-1750)

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African Slave Trade. This drum was constructed from wood of a tree in West Africa, as well as other little tightening-pieces from that part...
Friday, December 23, 2011

85. Reformation Centenary Broadsheet (NOT ON DISPLAY)

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Printing causes the Protestant Reformation! We had the printing press a few podcasts back, when Dürer circulated a rhinoceros he’d never se...
Thursday, December 22, 2011

84. Mexican Codex Map (NOT ON DISPLAY)

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How Mexico Became Catholic. Here’s another example, following on yesterday’s Islamic Bima , detailing an odd commingling of religion that f...
Wednesday, December 21, 2011

83. Shadow Puppet of Bima (NOT ON DISPLAY)

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Theater and the Religio-Political Hegemon. I quite like this object, although I admit a great failing—I’ve never been to an Indonesian sha...
Tuesday, December 20, 2011

82. Miniature of a Mughal Prince (NOT ON DISPLAY)

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Mughal India; or, Moslem and Hindu are Friends! MacGregor begins his contemplation of this beautiful little painting, which wasn’t on displ...
Monday, December 19, 2011

81. Shi’a Religious Parade Standard (Iran, AD 1650-1700)

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Shi’a Islam. We’ve followed the history of Iran from a source of wealth and raw materials to Sumer and Ur, and their inheritors Babylon a...
Friday, December 16, 2011

80. Pieces of Eight (Bolivia, AD 1573-1598)

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International Finance. Of all the bits of money in the British Museum, MacGregor admits that these pieces of eight have the most evocative ...
Thursday, December 15, 2011

79. Kakiemon Elephants (Japan, AD 1650-1700)

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The Multi-National Corporation! We’re now getting into the era when several of our principals repeat; the story associated with these beau...
Wednesday, December 14, 2011

78. Double-Headed Serpent (Mexico, AD 1400-1600)

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Spanish Destroy Aztecs! This double-headed serpent is one of the most beautiful objects in the British Museum. It’s the main object, in our...
Tuesday, December 13, 2011

77. Benin Plaque: the Oba with Europeans (Nigeria, AD 1500-1600)

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Europe meets Africa! Here’s a sculpture MacGregor uses to speak about two encounters between Europeans and Africans on African turf: the f...
Monday, December 12, 2011

76. The Mechanical Galleon (Germany, AD 1585)

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Ships! And German automatons. This is an impressive object, not too far from the museum’s collection of old clocks, as I remember. It’s her...