Jill Cook

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Jill Cook
FSA
Cook in 2011
Born1954 (age 69–70)
OccupationMuseum curator
Academic work
DisciplinePalaeontology, Archaeology
InstitutionsBritish Museum
Notable worksIce Age Art, The Swimming Reindeer

Jill Cook, FSA (born 1954) is a British museum curator who is the acting Keeper of the Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory at the British Museum. She curates the collection of European Prehistory and is a specialist in Ice Age art[1] and the archaeology of human evolution.

Career[edit]

Jill Cook giving a talk on stone tools to a group of Wikipedians in 2011

Cook joined the British Museum in 1986 as the curator of European Prehistory, becoming Deputy Keeper and is presently the Acting Keeper (head of department) of Britain, Europe and Prehistory.[2] Cook was elected a member of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1990.[3]

Ice Age Art[edit]

Cook curated the exhibition Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind at the British Museum in 2013.[4] The exhibition was a surprise success[5] for the British Museum, which extended its run,[6] despite the fact that it had struggled to attract sponsorship.[7] Ice Age art attracted large visitor numbers and good reviews.[8][9][10][11] Cook used art by Picasso, Degas, Mondrian, and Matisse, as well as work by modern artists such as Ghislaine Howard[12] in combination with Ice Age artefacts to examine the development of western art.[13]

Ice Age art was transformed into a new exhibition called Art in the age of Altamira at the Fundación Botín, Santander in late 2013.[14]

The Lampedusa Cross[edit]

The Lampedusa Cross[15] was acquired by Cook for the British Museum in 2015. It was made and donated by Francesco Tuccio, a carpenter who created crosses from the wreck of a boat which sank on 11 October 2013 off the coast of Lampedusa resulting in the deaths of 311 people.[16][17] In 2021 the cross was temporarily loaned to Hastings Museum and Art Gallery.[18]

Living with Gods[edit]

Cook curated the exhibition Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond at the British Museum in 2017–2018.[19][20][21][22] The exhibition was part of a series of related projects produced by the British Museum and the BBC, including the BBC Radio 4 series Living with the Gods.[23]

Select bibliography[edit]

  • Ice Age art: arrival of the modern mind (British Museum Press, 2013)
  • with P Woodman, 'Elephant's Teeth in the Diocese of Kilmore' Archaeology Ireland Vol. 27, No. 4 (Winter 2013), pp. 11–14
  • The Swimming Reindeer (Objects in Focus) (British Museum Press, 2010)
  • with S Milliken, A Very Remote Period Indeed. Papers on Palaeolithic Archaeology Presented to Derek Roe (Oxbow books 2001)
  • 'Preliminary Report on Marked Human Bones from the 1986-1987 Excavations at Gough's Cave, Somerset, England' Anthropologie (1962-) Vol. 29, No. 3 (1991), pp. 181–187
  • 'High Lodge: Einer der ältesten Fundplätze Englands?' Archäologie in Deutschland No. 3 (Juli-Sept. 1988), pp. 36–38
  • with P Andrews, 'Natural Modifications to Bones in a Temperate Setting' Man New Series, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Dec., 1985), pp. 675–691
  • 'A Re-Examination of Methods of Study Applicable to the British Lower Palaeolithic' World Archaeology Vol. 12, No. 2, Early Man: Some Precise Moments in the Remote Past (Oct., 1980), pp. 218–225

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Origins of Art | The Warburg Institute". warburg.sas.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  2. ^ Cook, Jill. "Jill Cook". Linkedin. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Fellows Directory - Society of Antiquaries". www.sal.org.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Art of the Ice Age: The Modern Mind". YouTube. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Jill Cook - Archaeology, The University of York". www.york.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  6. ^ "JILL COOK :: ICE AGE ART | DROME magazine". www.dromemagazine.com. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  7. ^ "A British Museum exhibition given an icy response by sponsors is hit". Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  8. ^ Dorment, Richard (4 February 2013). "Ice Age Art, British Museum, review". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  9. ^ "The modern mind". The Economist. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  10. ^ Kohn, Marek (6 February 2013). "Ice Age Art: Arrival of the Modern Mind, British Museum, London". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  11. ^ Higgins, Charlotte (24 January 2013). "Ice age art at the British Museum was crafted by 'professional' artists". the Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  12. ^ The British Museum (19 March 2013), The female gaze in Ice Age art, retrieved 9 March 2018
  13. ^ "Ice Age Art : Dr Jill Cook - Curator of European Prehistory at the British Museum". Bradshaw Foundation. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  14. ^ "Exhibition El arte en la época de Altamira / Art in the age of Altamira". www.fundacionbotin.org. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  15. ^ "The Lampedusa Cross". The British Museum. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  16. ^ Kirby, Emma Jane (2016). "How Lampedusa migrant memorial reached British Museum". BBC News. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  17. ^ "A crafted act of kindness - Crafts Council". www.craftscouncil.org.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  18. ^ Mills, Eleanor (31 August 2021). "Festival of Sanctuary announces Lampedusa Cross loan to Hastings". museums Association News. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond". The British Museum. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond | British Museum (Gods) | Stagetext". www.stagetext.org. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Prehistoric Lion Man points towards earliest notions of religion in new British Museum show". www.theartnewspaper.com. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  22. ^ "VIDEO: "Living with gods" exhibition inspired by Faith in Birmingham Gallery, says curator". Birmingham Eastside. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  23. ^ "Living With The Gods - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 9 March 2018.

External links[edit]

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