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.
Jill Cook | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cook in 2011 | |
| Born | 1954 (age 69–70) |
| Occupation | Museum curator |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Palaeontology, Archaeology |
| Institutions | British Museum |
| Notable works | Ice Age Art, The Swimming Reindeer |
Career
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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
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
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
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
- 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