"The British Museum is home to some of the world's finest and broadest collections, ranging from prehistoric times to the present and from ancient and modern cultures around the globe. This illustrated introduction to the collections, attractively designed with striking photographs, offers a fascinating summary of up-to-date information on about 250 of the Museum's highlights, including the most famous as well as a selection of lesser-known but equally intriguing pieces. From the Warren Cup to Durer's Rhinoceros, the Lewis Chessmen to the Aztec turquoise serpent and the Gayer-Anderson Cat, the iconic objects of the British Museum are here presented in an exciting and accessible new way. Grouped into twenty sections based on cross-cultural themes such as fashion, technology, myths, gods and nature, each with an illustrated introduction written by the Editor, every object is then illustrated with one or more large high-quality colour photographs. The accompanying text summarizes the unique story and features of each object. Introduced by Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, the huge range and scope of the collections provide a stunning overview of mankind's artistic production around the world."--Publisher's description.