BRITISH MUSEUM 7 



The Chinese and Japanese Room was opened in October, 



The furnishing of the Upper Egyptian Galleries is nearing completion ; 

 new metal wall-cases have been installed, and a new tone of staining has 

 been applied to the old furniture. 



The end wall of the original Elgin Room has been re-erected and 

 fitted with a marble doorway. 



The Second and Third Grseco-Roman Galleries and the marble staircase 

 in the King Edward VII Building have been redecorated. 



Temporary Exhibitions. 



A special exhibition commemorating the four-hundredth anniversary 

 of the Injunctions of Thomas Cromwell for the setting up of the English 

 Bible in parish churches was opened in the new Bible Room on 23rd 

 March and Mdthdrawn on 21st December. The exhibition of Egyptian 

 Antiquities lent by Mr. C. S. Gulbenkian in 1936 was continued through- 

 out the year. The following temporary exhibitions were also held : — 



English Bookbindings. 



Swedenborg. 



John Wesley (bicentenary of his conversion). 



Drawings and Etchings by Rembrandt. 



Buddhist Paintings. 



Antiquities from the Saxon cemeteries at Horton Kirby and How- 

 letts, Kent. 



Methods of Hafting Prehistoric Stone and Bronze Axes. 



The Swanscombe Man. 



Mesolithic dwellings at Farnham, Kent. 



Selected notable antiquities were exhibited in the Central Saloon of 

 the Prehistoric Room during short periods throughout the yer^r 



Representation at Congresses. 



Mr. J. Allan and Mr. Sidney Smith represented the Trustees at the 

 International Congress of Orientalists at Brussels. Dr. R. Flower, 

 accompanied by Mr. H. R. Aldridge and Miss M. L. Hoyle, represented 

 the Trustees at the International Congress of Historical Studies at Zurich, 

 which was also attended by Mr. H. Mattingly. The Trustees were 

 represented at the Annual Conference of the Museums Association by 

 Mr. J. Allan and Mr. C. F. C. Hawkes, and at the Annual Conference of 

 the Library Association by Mr. A. Esdaile, Mr. L. C. Wharton attended 

 the Conference of the International Federation for Documentation in 

 Oxford and London. 



Acquisitions. 



The total number of objects added to the collections in 1938 was 

 458,072, more by 25,623 than in 1937, and by 26,494 than in 1936. 



