🌍For #MineralMonday, a beautiful twin formation of #Azurite and #Malachite from the #BRLSI collection. Otherwise known as #Azurmalachite, this combination of two #copper carbonate minerals forms in copper-rich, hot water #igneous regions. During changes in conditions, the #minerals #precipitate and #crystallise into solid form, coming out of the water solution and solidifying within the surrounding rock. Malachite and Azurite are found near copper ore deposits, but form separately from that process, when primary copper sulfide minerals like #chalcopyrite, and #chalcocite are exposed to #oxygen near #Earth's surface. To discover more, follow the link in our bio. #earth #volcanic #igneous #geology #crystals #minerals #bath #earth #volcanic #igneous #geology #crystals #minerals #bath

#Mystery #object #revealed Collections manager Matt Williams uncovers the mystery of this hairy decorative object from the BRLSI collection. #mysteryobject #collections #museumartefact #naga #tribe #earring #stretchedlobes #stretchers #culture #jewellery #headhunters #goathair #exhibit

This stool was carved from a single piece of wood by the Asante in Ghana. Such stools have a strong spiritual significance for the Asante. According to legend, a golden stool, the so-called Sika Dwa Kofi, was passed down from the sky to the first King of the Asante, Osei Tutu, as a symbol of the newly united nation and its power. Included in our exhibition 'Inglefield’s Africa Revisited'. Read more about the objects in the #BRLSI collection by following the link in our bio #art #history #fashion #hiphop #africa #natur #cultura #artist #heritage #tradition #photooftheday #architecture #africa #dance #explore #style #beautiful #life #community #design #traditional #sky #Astante #OseiTutu #Ghana

From the #BRLSI collection. This illustration is from an 1827 book which gives advice on how to preserve their specimens once captured. Collecting insects was something of an obsession for many 19th century amateur naturalists. Some exceptional naturalists expressed compassion for the victims: James Barbut (1711-1788) wrote “I cannot help reflecting on this tyranny, this wanton cruelty, exercised by thoughtless man, on many animals but especially in insects: "tis certain, that every animal possessing life, has feeling; and, therefore, is as capable of suffering pain, as of enjoying pleasure”. Visit our website to find out more about the BRLSI collection. #bath #bugs #naturalist #specimens #insects #life #nature #loveinsects #museum #collection #history #Jamesburbut #butterfly #preserving

North American birch-bark container with porcupine quill embroidery. Included in our recent exhibition 'The Civic and the Global'. An ingenious storage solution, made by a person of mixed indigenous and #European ancestry/heritage, today known as the #Metis, from the #RedRiverColony (now #Manitoba), #Canada. #BRLSI #Collection #Bath #vamuseum #thecivicandtheglobal #exhibition #culture #fashion #beaded #textiles #pattern #collection #artefact #ancestral

From the collection of Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution, Azurite, a mineral produced as copper deposits weather. For medieval painters it was a major source of blue colour although its intensity reduces over time. It was replaced by a synthetic colour, Prussian Blue, in the 18th century. Follow the link in our bio to learn more about the objects in our collection. #MuseumCollection #macro #fineminerals #mineralspecimen #minerals #geologyrocks #earthscience #minerals #brlsi #minerals #crystals #gemstones #geology #crystal #gems #crystalhealing #quartz #mineralporn #gemstonel #crystalsho#rocks #crystalporn #geologyrocks #mineralcollector #gemsandminerals #mineralcollection #mineralspecimen #mineralogy #crystallove #painters #azurite #blue

To celebrate Chinese New Year, Year of the Rabbit, a photograph from Bath Royal collections of a Chinese litter, taken around 1858 in Shanghai by William Vacher, gifted amateur photographer and merchant banker who recorded life in China at a turbulent time. #LunarNewYear #China #YearoftheRabbit #Bath #BRLSI

#Revealed! Our mystery object is a Buddhist mani, or hand prayer wheel (this one probably from Tibet) has been used since the 4th century. A mantra is written on paper and put inside the cylinder, accumulating wisdom and merit as it is whirled, a physical manifestation of ‘turning the wheel of Dharma’. While the wheel is spun, the words ‘Om mani padme hum’ are recited, and the mind becomes stabilised. #mysteryobject #artefact #collecitons #brlsi #bath #museum #prayerwheel #buddhist #Dharma #mantra #wisdom #musuemobjects #culture #history #4thcentury #Tibet #Tibetan #Brlsi #Bath

🐞#Bug enthusiasts! Two new populations of one of Britain's rarest beetles were recently discovered in Devon. The Blue Ground Beetle (Carabus Intricatus) was found at two sites on Dartmoor in November 2022, by staff from conservation charity @buglife_ict. The species is the UK's largest ground beetle. 🕵️‍♂️ In this extract, Charles Darwin describes a painful encounter with a rare beetle, while out collecting in the Fens in his undergraduate days, in a letter (1846) to a fellow entomologist, Leonard Jenyns. Jenyns went on to assist Darwin with his fish specimens from the voyage of ‘The Beagle’ and became a lifelong friend. All their correspondence, along with many books and specimens donated by Jenyns, is in the Collections of Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution. #darwin #charlesdarwin #beetles #carabi #entomology #bug #buglife #carabid #rare #nature #naturalhistory #bluegroundbeetle #brlsi #Bath #bathnaturalhistory