Jane Portal's perfect day
Jane Portal heads the Chinese section in the Department of Asia at the British Museum. She was the curator of The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army exhibition, and is also curator of the Korean collection and the Korea Foundation Gallery. Here Jane tells us about her perfect day in London.
"Perhaps surprisingly as I live and work there, my ideal day would be spent in Bloomsbury, London.
I would breakfast al fresco in the newly-renovated Russell Square café and then head to the British Museum. Firstly I would check out the Terracotta Warriors once again. Although there is invariably a queue outside the museum until the box office opens at 9, there are always 500 tickets available every day so it's worth the effort to get there early.
The installation of the figures in the Round Reading Room in the centre of the museum never ceases to delight me, and I must have been in hundreds of times now. There is always something new to notice about the way they are made, some detail of their physiognomy that escaped me before. I shall really miss them all, along with the bureaucrats, acrobats, musicians and bronze birds, when they depart on their homeward journey in April 2008.
I would take some time to examine the seldom seen Chinese nature paintings which are currently on display, including the amazing 14th century handscroll called Fascination of Nature, full of beautifully painted flowers and insects and the most famous Chinese painting in the world, 'The Admonitions of the Court Instructress to the Palace Ladies'. The painting instructs the ladies in how to be an ideal concubine. Because it dates to the 6th century AD, it is extremely fragile and can't be displayed for long.
For lunch I would head to the Thai Garden Cafe for a Pad Thai and a cup of green tea. I would then head back to the Museum to explore a section I am not so familiar with, perhaps the Mexican or African galleries. When you work at the Museum it can be surprisingly difficult to find the time to wander around the collection but it is so interesting every so often to immerse yourself in a world civilisation you are unfamiliar with.
I'd then head out of the Museum through the iconic Great Court, pausing to admire the new installation by the Chinese artist Zhan Wang. It looks amazing set against the stone and glass of the Great Court: a huge, hollow stainless steel rock, a bit like the eroded natural ones you see in traditional gardens in China, but totally contemporary. Blissful."