ABSTRACT
In1860theDirectoroftheBritishMuseum,AnthonyPanizzi,wassummonedbeforeaSelectCommitteeatWestminsterandaskedbyitschairman:'Youhavealso,Iimagine,Byzantine,Oriental,MexicanandPeruvian antiquitiesstowedawayinthebasement?'Panizzireplied:'Yes,afewof them;and,Imaywelladd,thatIdonotthinkitanygreatlossthatthey arenotbetterplacedthantheyare.'1AperusaloftheSynopsesofthe BritishMuseum,publishedannuallyfrom1808to1856,andofsubsequentguidestotheMuseumrevealsthatuntilthemid-1870stheonly earlyChristianantiquitiesonpublicdisplaywereanumberofgilded glassesfromRome;Byzantiumwasrepresentedbyabronzelamp.An attitudeofpersistentneglecttowardstheMuseum'searlyChristianand Byzantinecollectionsprevaileduntiltheturnofthecentury,whena remarkablecurator,0.M.Dalton,withtheconnivanceofasympathetic keeper,SirHerculesRead,effectedaremarkabletransformationinthe Museum'sattitudetoboththedisplayandpublicationofitsByzantine antiquities.
