London’s museums are a treasure trove of all kinds of weird and wonderful artefacts.
Whether it be mummified pets, Roman bikinis or the three-man toilet seat that the Museum of London Docklands announced it would be exhibiting later this year — there are plenty of bizarre artefacts for curious Londoners to seek out.
All the star players of the capital’s museum scene have standout curiosities that will certainly grab your attention — just be sure to go in with an open mind.
From the intriguing to the outright creepy, these are the best pieces tucked away in the capital’s brilliant venues.
Mermaid figure, British Museum
This super-creepy mermaid figure might just ruin your childhood memories of Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian. The peculiar piece is quite literally a tale of two halves — its upper body resembles a monkey while its lower region appears to be a fish tail. The little fella was donated to the British Museum by the grandson of Queen Victoria and it's said to have been “caught” in Japan in the 18th century. People collected curiosities just like this one in the 1700s, and it's thought that many of them came from areas in East Asia. It continues to fascinate, and even inspired Imogen Hermes Gowar's debut novel, The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, which was published last year.
Seal Helmet, British Museum
This unassuming seal helmet looks pretty adorable, until you realise it was actually used to hunt the creatures themselves. The piece was allegedly used as a camouflage device, to lure unsuspecting seals close to hunters. The British Museum states the equipment was used by people on the Northwest coast and was collected on a voyage by British explorer James Cook.
Roman leather bikini, Museum of London
The Roman Empire may conjure up images of togas, tunics and heavy metal-wear, but it turns out the Romans were quite the fans of impractical swimwear. This leather bikini is on show at the Museum of London and is one of four that were found at an excavation site at Queen Victoria Street. Just like a modern day bikini bottom, this skimpy number has adjustable sides at the hips and it’s thought the garment was used by female gymnasts and acrobatic dancers. Let’s just hope there wasn’t too much chafing.
Mummified cat and rat, Museum of London Docklands
One poor soul came across this mummified moggy and rat in the 1890s, while looking behind some old bottles on the London Docks. Cats were encouraged to run around busy warehouses at the time to kill vermin in the goods, so there's a chance this puss was either caught in the walls or chased his prey into an inescapable space. On the other hand, it's also thought that dead cats were dotted around to scare off mice — if that's the case then there's no way of knowing how this kitty passed away. Poor thing.
Statue of the Ephesian Diana, Sir John Soane's Museum
At a glance, this may look like a normal marble statue, but on closer inspection any spectator can see her upper body is covered in breasts. That’s because this piece is actually Diana of Ephesus, Roman goddess of wild animals, hunting and fertility — as symbolised by the multitude of breasts on her upper half and the different animals on her legs.
Animal bone ice skates, Museum of London
Even Londoners in 1172 couldn’t resist an ice-skating session, and they certainly didn’t let a lack of suitable footwear stop them either. These skates are made out of animal bone, most likely cattle shin bones. Keen skaters would tie them onto their ankles and take to the marsh (known as Moorfield) in the north of the city when it froze over. They may have been practical back in the day, but it's likely Torvill and Dean would have their work cut out with these now.
Dog gravestone, Sir John Soane's Museum
Fanny was the dog of Sir John Soane's wife and her gravestone hilariously has "Alas, Poor Fanny" inscribed upon it — which any literature buff will know is a reference to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Dear old Fanny lived to the ripe old age of 18 — which is 126 in dog years. She even outlived her owner by five years, passing away on Christmas Day in 1820. The grave is a rather morbid reminder of the beloved pet, but at least this dog has its day every day.
