While Pride month may have come to a close, The British Museum is ready to carry on celebrations of the legacy and history of the LGBTQ community. Blatant denial of the significant existence and role of gender fluidity and non-binary systems in history will now be challenged with a tour of artifacts that showcase or represent the LGBTQ community.
Visitors will be guided by approximately a dozen volunteers to see the objects on display, including busts of Roman Emperor Hadrian alongside his beau Antinous, an 1800 BC non-binary depiction of a Babylonian deity, Athenian wine amphora portraying love making of men and an 11,000 year old structure of a couple being intimate.
In addition to these exhibits, viewers have the opportunity to the prestigious Warren Cup, a silver ancient Roman drinking cup adorned with the images of men engaged in same sex acts. The Ain Sakhri Lovers is the world&rsquos oldest known portrayal of a couple fornicating (the gender is open to interpretation) and is a prized view at this tour. It is an 11,000 years old pebble known to be created by a tribe of hunter-gatherers called Natufians.
The museum is not only evidently elevating awareness of the history of the queer community but also actively contributing to charities through the sale of &ldquoThe Pride Cups&rdquo. These eight cups are moulded into the shape of the Warren cup in the colours of the original LGBTQ flag. The funds raised will be issued to charity Stonewall and maximise the museum&rsquos effort towards LGBTQ communities.