A History of the World in 100 Objects

Suitable for: Adults

Sponsored by: The Blue Door Foundation

Available braille grades:

‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’ was masterminded by Neil McGregor, of the British Museum, in collaboration with the BBC. The series was broadcast on Radio 4, 5 episodes a week, and challenged the audience to imagine the objects rather than being able to see them in a museum. The British Museum was set up to achieve a truer understanding of the world and this ‘history’ does just that with great success. This ‘radio’ format was ideal for Living Paintings as you, our library members, are so adept at imagining objects along with our accompanying audio descriptions. In this collection we have adapted 13 of the 100 objects, including a range of eras in different parts of the world, different media and topics. The BBC Radio 4 programme about the object precedes the Living Paintings tactile description of it on the soundtrack.

Listen to an audio clip

The Buddha's hands are held closely together in front of the body. The legs are folded, knees pointing outwards and he's sitting on a cushion. Below this is a decorated base. As you feel over the thermoform picture you may notice that the figure of the seated Buddha is not totally in proportion - the body is small in comparison to the face and hands. Traditionally the enlarged head with the topknot indicates wisdom and the large hands show the important teaching position. Now trace down and feel over the serene face. Feel its prominent nose and eyes, which are half closed in meditation. In between the eyebrows feel the round spot, the Urna.

What's inside

A collection of raised tactile pictures.
Audio descriptions with music and sound effects in your chosen format of either CD or USB.
An A4 large print colour image pack or postcard pack.
An ‘Articles for the Blind’ returns label for the free and convenient return of the box.

Touch to see image list

Oxus Chariot Model
Coin with Head of Alexander
Seated Buddha
Two Gold Coins of Kumaragupta I
Sutton Hoo Helmet
Chinese Tang Tomb Figures
Lewis Chessmen
Hoa Hakananai’a Easter Island Statue
Double-headed Serpent
Shadow Puppet of Bima
Akan Drum
Hokusai’s The Great Wave
Russian Revoluntionary Plate

Subjects

What our members say

I absolutely loved this album! I always thoroughly enjoy the albums from yourselves, but I have absolutely loved this one of the objects. The thermoforms and descriptions are amazing and brought everything to life for me, I could just imagine holding them. Thank you so very much. Adult Member

Greatly enjoyed this collection ... the images are excellent. Library Member

A successful combination In this album, you have created a very successful combination between the BBC presentations, and your own explanations of the tactile images. Library Member