Organised by British Museum
IMPORTANT: This is a free display, but you must book a timed spot here.
Experience Grayson Perry's playful memorial to the unnamed craftsmen and women who made some of the wonders of history.
Created and displayed as part of an exhibition at the British Museum in 2011 and now making its return, The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman is a sculpture of an iron ship, sailing into the afterlife. The ship is hung with hand-made replicas of British Museum objects, representing crafts made through history – by forgotten men and women – which have survived into the present day.
... a large proportion of the British Museum collection has come from tombs. You could say the British Museum is a kind of giant tomb itself. The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman could be another name for the British Museum…
– Grayson Perry CBE
The installation is on display in Room 17 alongside the Nereid monument – a tomb built in around 380 BC for Erbinna, ruler of Lycia (now south-western Turkey). The tomb was built to celebrate his life and to create a monument for the afterlife. Stylistic details reveal that the sculptures were carved by different artists, but their names are now also lost to history.
Museum Trustee Grayson Perry is an internationally acclaimed artist, writer and presenter. He works with media including ceramics, cast iron, bronze, printmaking and tapestry, often using digital technology to make images. He is the winner of the 2003 Turner prize and 2020 Erasmus Prize, was elected a Royal Academician in 2012, and awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June 2013.