'Hadrian: Empire & Conflict' at the British Museum

As part of my I-must-do-something-everyday(-ish) regime I visited the British Museum for the first time in an age to see the Hadrian: Empire & Conflict exhibition. There is so much to see at the Museum that it's rather shameful how infrequently I've been over the years. I must put that right.

Now, if I was asked who my favourite Roman emperor was, I'd probably say Hadrian (not that I've been asked that question). He's sort of a local boy done good, not that he ever set foot in this country, but I grew up a few miles from his wall, variously known as Hadrian's Wall or the Roman Wall, that was built across Northumberland and Cumberland to mark the northern edge of the Roman Empire and to keep those pesky Picts and Scots out. I've been on the Wall and visited Roman forts and settlements at Housesteads, Vindalanda and Corstopidum (Corbridge), all good Geordie names - I remember it always being very windy and chilly whenever I visited as a youngster.

They've managed to pack a lot into the exhibition, lots of busts of Hadrian and his people, some nice statues, areas dedicated to his enthusiasm for building and architecture, a miniature of his palace outside Rome (which was huge so the 'miniature' takes up most of the room), a room to his lover Antinous and the cult that sprang up after he died, a small area for his wife (well, they didn't have much of a marriage, really) and the usual collection of coins and small objects. The exhibition is doing really well and was packed, mainly with old women for some reason when I was there, as well as tourists. You exit the exhibition into the shop (of course).

I spent an enjoyable 45 minutes wandering round, dipping in and out and looking at things that caught my eye. I never follow exhibitions round in the 'proper' order, trailing after people listening to the audio tour, I much prefer pretending to be a magpie and waiting for something shiny to home in on.

Of course, the curator had to include some non-Hadrian objects to give a flavour of life and society at the time, like a big corner with a few olive oil jars to demonstrate wealth and trade and, to spice it up a bit, a section on homosexuality since Hadrian was gay (rather a bald statement since sexuality was a lot more blurred back then). And, naturally, the gay bit was about sex with a small silver cup called the Warren Cup (I can think of better names) which drew the crowds of little old women. So I obviously have to show it here...

One thing I liked from the off is that Hadrian had a beard and was, I think, the first emperor to be consistently portrayed with one. That must've given the sculptors something to think about! But it meant that he looked broadly the same throughout his life and therefore quite recognisable. There were a few nice busts of him and some full-length statues in togas with the usual carefully sculpted folds and creases to make them lifelike. There was even a statue of him as an athlete, ie naked, but it looked like they'd just plonked his head on top of a typically toned nude statue so it didn't really work for me.

There were also a few images of Hadrian's Greek lover, Antinous. One of the highlights was an enormous head with elaborate cascades of hair. The well drafted notes accompanying each exhibit pointed out the holes drilled into his hair to attach flowers and fruit to the cold stone and the empty eye sockets that would've been filled with precious stones to make his eyes alive. And, no doubt, the voluptuous lips would be painted red.

The other highlighted image of Antinous was a full length statue of him as Osiris in Egyptian garb. This is a striking statue but the pose and definition of the body screams Roman rather than Egyptian so I found it both irritating and striking at the same time. It's very stylised and I assume it was done by Roman or Greek sculptors rather than Egyptian. He died in Egypt hence the Egyptian imagery (as well as the life after death cult of Osiris).

The final exhibit is a nicely lit bust of the older Hadrian beside one of his short poems anticipating his death. It reads:

Little soul, little wanderer, little charmer
Body's guest and companion
To what places will you set out for now?
To darkling, cold and gloomy ones -
And you won't make your usual jokes.

There are some building works outside the museum which are screened off with big panels showing scenes from the Roman Wall and from his villa and baths. So, this is me pretending to be on the bleak, windswept hills of Northumberland walking Hadrian's Wall like in olden days....