BRITISH MUSEUM 7 



In the ethnographic section, mention must be made of a fine Maya 

 vase in calcite presented by Mrs. Madeley and Mr. J. W. Madeley ; the 

 torso of a Buddha in sandstone, early Khmer ; and a fine Peruvian vase 

 of the Nasca type, presented by Mr. H. Van den Bergh through the 

 National Art-Collections Fund. 



Much valuable work has been carried out at the Research Laboratory 

 since its transfer from the Department of Scientific and Industrial 

 Research to the Trustees. Among the objects subject to treatment 

 were : a pencil portrait of Artemisia Gentileschi by Van Dyck ; a fine 

 MS. from Durham Cathedral, attacked and blackened by salt, was 

 freed and much improved ; a pastel portrait belonging to H.M. the 

 Queen, suffering from mildew and mould, was cured ; a badly corroded 

 bracelet from Egypt, apparently of copper, was cleaned and found to 

 consist of silver, with inlays of shell and garnet ; what appeared to be 

 a shapeless fragment of corroded bronze from Nubia proved to be a 

 buckle decorated with cloisons of pale gold ; a bronze statuette from 

 Ur which seemed too soft and crumbly for treatment came out in all its 

 detail ; and gold and silver Iron Age brooches with inlays in garnet so 

 delicate that they could hardly be touched without displacing them, were 

 cleaned and fixed. Analysis of porcelains has made it possible to attri- 

 bute works to the potteries which made them. Work has been done on 

 varnishes for pictures, metallic objects, etc. The resources of the 

 laboratory have been placed at the disposal of several other Government 

 Departments. 



The following publications have been issued in the course of the year : 



General Catalogue of Printed Books, new edition, Vols. I and II. 



Codex Alexandrinus, Old Testament, Part II. 



Corpus Vasorum, Part VI. 



Catalogue of Sculpture, Vol. I, Part II. 



Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets, Part XLI. 



Catalogue of Dutch Drawings, Vol. IV. 



Supplementary Catalogue of Tamil Books. 



Early Maps of Drake's Voyage, 2nd edition. 



The Prisms of Esar-haddon and Ashurbanipal. 



Sturge Collection of Flints, Vol. I. 



Catalogue of Roman Imperial Coins, Vol. II. 



Catalogue of Paintings from Tun-Huang. 



Guide to the Tercentenary Exhibition of Cotton MSS. 



Babylonian Legends of the Creation, new edition. 



British Museum Quarterly, Vol. V, nos. 3, 4, and Index to first five 



volumes ; Vol. VI, nos. 1-3. 

 Reproductions in colour of MSS., paintings, etc. ; ten large, eight 



small, and eight sets of postcards. 



G. F. HILL, 



Director and Principal Librarian. 



Bkitish Museum, 

 May, 1932. 



