Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh

Until 3rd May 2020, the people of Britain have a final chance to see the glittering world heritage artefacts that were discovered in a tomb belonging to King Tutankhamun before they return to Egypt forever. With a new museum being built specifically for the treasures in Egypt, 150 of the total 5366 objects are gradually making their way around the world on their final tour. Following successes in Los Angeles and Paris, it is London’s turn to hold the once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the wonder and mystery of the boy king.

Tutankhamun was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who ruled at the end of the 18th dynasty (c. 1334 – 1325 BC). He took the throne at the tender age of nine after his father, Akhenaten (originally named Amenhotep IV) passed away. During Akhenaten’s reign, he had established an Aten cult, an ancient religion that deified the sun, dismissing other Egyptian gods. For this reason, the pharaoh renamed himself Akhenaten, meaning “effective for Aten.” He and his wife, known as “The Younger Lady”, named their son Tutankhaten, meaning “living image of Aten”. After Akhenaten’s death, the “boy king” dissolved the Aten cult and reinstated the cult of Amun, changing his name to Tutankhamun – “living image of Amun”. Amun is a major ancient Egyptian deity who may also be the equivalent of the Greek god Zeus.

When Tutankhamun became king, he married his half-sister Ankhesenpaaten, who subsequently changed her name to Ankhesenamun. Two mummified foetuses found in the same tomb as Tutankhamun suggests they had a couple of daughters, neither of whom survived. Data collected from the bodies reveals one was born prematurely at around 6 months of pregnancy, and the other was full term, however, suffered from Spina Bifidia, scoliosis and Sprengel’s deformity. Therefore, Tutankhamun, who died after a short reign of ten years, had no living heir.

Tutankhamun’s cause of death remains a mystery to this very day. His skeleton reveals he was physically disabled with a deformity in his left foot, which, judging by the number of walking sticks in the tomb, meant he needed assistance walking. He had other health issues including a cleft palate, scoliosis and several strains of malaria, however, it is not thought that any of these problems killed him. Xrays revealed Tutankhamun had a compound left leg fracture, which given the lack of modern medicine and technology, could have left Tutankhamun dead within a week. How the Pharoah received this wound can only be speculated.

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As items in the tomb reveal, Tutankhamun was also known by his throne name Nebkheperure. During his reign, he commissioned new statues of deities that had been destroyed whilst his father was on the throne and began to restore the old Egyptian order. This involved renouncing the god Aten, changing his and his wife’s name and reinstating Egypt’s polytheistic religion.

Given his age, Tutankhamun presumably did not rule alone and would have had advisers, such as Ay (a possible great uncle), who became Pharaoh after the boy king’s death. Nonetheless, Tutankhamun was praised for his successes, as evidenced by the gifts from other countries found in his tomb.

Tutankhamun’s history may be brief and open to speculation, however, none of this would have been known at all if his tomb had not been discovered almost 100 years ago. Ay died after a short reign of four years and was replaced by Horemheb, who had been promised the throne if Tutankhamun had no children. For reasons unbeknownst, Horemheb ordered Tutankhamun’s name be hacked out of all monuments, often replacing it with his name. Tutankhamun was literally written out of history and his name forgotten. It is thanks to an Englishman by the name of Howard Carter that Tutankhamun is the most famous of all Egypt’s pharaohs.

Howard Carter was a British archaeologist and Egyptologist who rose to worldwide fame after discovering the intact tomb of Tutankhamun. Carter was born in Kensington, London on 9th May 1874 and received artistic training from his father Samuel John Carter (1835–92). Howard was the youngest of eleven children and spent much of his childhood with his relatives in Norfolk. Whilst there, Howard frequently visited Didlington Hall, which contained a large collection of Egyptian antiques. Seeing that he had a keen interest in the subject, one of the hall’s owners sent 17-year-old Carter to Beni Hasan in Egypt with the Egypt Exploration Fund to help excavate the tombs in the area.

Lord Carnarvon

During the 1890s, Carter helped to record the wall reliefs in the temple of Hatshepsut, the second historically-confirmed female ruler (1479-58 BC). At the end of the decade, he was appointed Chief Inspector of the Egyptian Antiquities Service and supervised several excavations at the ancient city of Thebes. He resigned from his position in 1905 due to arguments between Egyptian guards and French tourists. Fortunately, three years later, Carter met George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon (1866 – 1923) who employed him to supervise the excavation of tombs opposite the city of Thebes.

In 1914, Lord Carnarvon got permission to dig in the Valley of Kings, where Egyptian pharaohs were buried between the 16th and 11th centuries BC. By then, knowledge of Tutankhamun’s existence had been unearthed in tombs of those who had died before him, i.e. in places Horemheb could not access to remove his name. Although World War One hindered the excavation work, Carter returned to the site in 1917, however, by 1922, Lord Carnarvon was dissatisfied with the lack of results.

Hussein Abdel-Rassoul

Carter convinced Lord Carnarvon to let him carry on working in the Valley of Kings for one more year. He instructed his workers to clear some ancient huts and the surrounding rock debris, however, when he arrived on the site on 4th November 1922, no one was working. Earlier that day, the team’s water boy Hussein Abdel-Rassoul had discovered a stone that turned out to be the first step of a flight of stairs. Having waited for Carter’s arrival, they assisted him to dig out the rest of the steps until reaching a mud-plastered doorway stamped with hieroglyphics. Wanting his employer to be there when the tomb was opened, Carter refilled the earth they had dug and sent a telegram to Lord Carnarvon who eventually arrived on 23rd November.

– Howard Carter

Using a chisel he had been given by his grandmother when he was 17, with Lord Carnarvon and his daughter Lady Evelyn Herbert (1901-80) in tow, Carter made a small hole in the top left-hand corner of the doorway through which he could peer with the aid of a candle. “Can you see anything?” Lord Carnarvon asked. To which Carter responded with the famous words, “Yes, wonderful things!” Carter had discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb, later designated with the serial number KV62 (King’s Valley 62).

For the next few months, Carter painstakingly catalogued the items in the antechamber of the tomb, eventually making his way through another door that led to the burial chamber. In there, he unearthed the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun and, therefore, the remains of the pharaoh’s body. Work was suspended for a month in 1923 due to arguments about who owned the discovered items: Carnarvon, who paid for the expedition, or the Egyptian authorities. After a month, Carter resumed work but Lord Carnarvon soon became fatally ill.

Lord Carnarvon contracted blood poisoning from an infected insect bite on his cheek. As a result, he passed away in Cairo on 5th April 1923. Newspapers throughout the world were quick to pick up on the fact that Carnarvon’s facial infection resembled a wound on the cheek of Tutankhamun’s body – later confirmed to be caused by the excavation – and rumours of a curse surrounding the pharaoh’s cave spread like wildfire. Later deaths and mishaps involving some of the people who worked on the excavation were also linked to this fictitious curse. Even today, some Egyptologists feel the effects of the “curse” despite logic debunking the rumour.

Howard Carter, on the other hand, appeared immune to the supposed curse and continued to excavate and catalogue the items in the tomb. As well as the objects discovered in the passageway, there were four chambers full of “wonderful things”: the Antechamber, Burial Chamber, Treasury and Annex. Amongst the 5336 objects were items made from gold, silver, semiprecious stones, wood, ivory, linen and leather.

Despite being world-famous, Carter did not receive much recognition in his own country, however, in 1926 he received the Order of the Nile from King Fuad I of Egypt (1868-1936). Later, he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Yale University and honorary membership in the Real Academia de la Historia of Madrid.

Carter retired from archaeology after finishing with the tomb and began working as an agent for collectors and museums. He also published several books on Egyptology and delivered a series of lectures in Europe and America. Unfortunately, Carter developed Hodgkin’s Disease and passed away on 2nd March 1939 at the age of 64. Despite being world-famous for his discovery, very few people attended his funeral.

The majority of Carter’s finds are still in Egypt, however, the 150 items – at least 60 of which had never left Egypt before – currently in the Saatchi Gallery give a flavour of the type of objects found in the tomb. As can be expected, many of the items depict the boy king, celebrating his reign, such as a gilded wooden figure of Tutankhamun throwing a harpoon. Standing upon a papyrus raft, the pharoah appears ready to throw the weapon, presumably at a hippopotamus, which were widely hunted at the time. Hippos were a danger to human life and destroyed agricultural fields by flattening them with their heavy bodies. In Egyptian mythology, Seth, the god of chaos, often took the form of a hippo in the hopes of killing his brother Horus, however, he never succeeded.

A wooden statuette of Tutankhamun riding a leopard was placed in the tomb to aid him in the afterlife as he travelled to the next world. The netherworld was believed to be a dangerous place and the black leopard, associated with rebirth, was to guide and guard Tutankhamun on his journey. The statuette wears a tall white crown and holds a long staff, which symbolises authority, however, some people do not think the figure was originally intended to represent Tutankhamun. The statuette contains a few feminine qualities, including breasts, which suggests it was intended for a female king, for instance, Nefertiti. Dying so young, there had not been many preparations for Tutankhamun’s tomb, which may explain the appropriation of this object.

Other statues of the pharaoh depict him with a walking stick, alluding to his deformed foot. The number of walking sticks found in the tomb suggests Tutankhamun was reliant upon them to move around. Despite this disability, Tutankhamun was always depicted as an important, respect-worthy king. Even the damaged colossal quartzite statue that closes the exhibition demonstrates his importance. This dramatic statue was not found inside the tomb but may have once stood at Tutankhamun’s mortuary temple. This is one of the objects destroyed by Horemheb, who carved his name across the belt where Tutankhamun’s name would once have been.

Hidden amongst the treasures were objects that Tutankhamun may have used in his lifetime, as well as the walking sticks. Over seventy bows and four hundred arrows were buried with the king, some of which had been used and others that were just for show. The bow was a key weapon in Egyptian times and there were always expert archers in their armed forces. The varying sizes of the bows suggest Tutankhamun was taught to shoot from a very young age. There were also early forms of the boomerang, which were thrown at birds to knock them out of the sky.

The more elaborate bows were made from gilded wood and inlaid with coloured glass and calcite. Gold wire and sheet gold also ornamented the weapons and Tutankhamun’s throne name, Nebkheperure was inscribed in a band of gold on a few of the bows.

Some objects, such as a gilded wooden fan, contained carved images depicting Tutankhamun’s great achievements, albeit fictional ones. Being as disabled as his skeleton suggests, it is unlikely Tutankhamun shot arrows at ostriches from his fast-moving carriage. This scene is shown on one side of the fan, which was once fitted with the ostrich feathers from the animal the king had killed. On the other side, the image shows the king returning with the dead ostriches. It may be true that he shot them himself, but whether the event was as energetic as the artist suggests is uncertain.

A ceremonial shield was discovered in the Annex of the tomb, which portrayed Tutankhamun as a sphinx: a human-headed lion. Due to the elaborate design, this shield would not have been suitable in battle but would have been present at ceremonial or ritual occasions. The Egyptian sphinx was a benevolent being with ferocious strength, which is how Egypt wished to view its kings. On the shield, the sphinx/Tutankhamun tramples on a couple of Nubians, an ethnolinguistic group of Africans, as an expression of the Egyptian view that the world belonged to the pharaoh.

Other elements on the shield include a fan, similar to the ostrich fan, which emphasises Tutankhamun’s royal title; a winged sun disk that protectively stretches over the king; and a falcon, representing Montu, the god of war.

The Egyptian gods were an important aspect of both life and death, therefore, it was unsurprising that Carter found many references to them in Tutankhamun’s tomb. There were over 2000 deities in the Egyptian pantheon, some whose names are still recognised today: Isis, Osiris, Horus, Ra, Hathor, Thoth and so on. Some gods were only worshipped in particular areas, however, others were worshipped throughout Egypt. Horus was one of these and appeared in Tutankhamun’s tomb in several different forms.

In one figure, Horus was depicted as a hawk with a sun disc on its head. In another, he was the half-bird half-human Herwer (Horus the Elder). Horus was a powerful sun god, sometimes referred to as Horakhty (Horus of the Two Horizons) and Horemakhet (Horus in the Horizon). He was the son of Isis and Osiris, therefore also called Harsiesis (Horus, Son of Isis) and Harpocrates (Horus the Child). Egyptian mythology states Osiris, the heir to the throne, was murdered by his brother Seth but was briefly resurrected by Isis during which time they conceived a son. Osiris eventually travelled to the netherworld to reign as king of the dead, whilst Isis endeavoured to keep their son Horus out of his uncle’s clutches. When Horus grew up, he battled against Seth and emerged victorious, taking his rightful place on the throne. Due to this story, Horus was sometimes used as a symbol of the king, which explains why he was prominent in Tutankhamun’s tomb.

In total, the tomb contained hundreds of figurines, many of them intended to help Tutankhamun in the afterlife. The netherworld resembled the living world, including fields, farms and towns, therefore, the dead were buried with shabtis (servant figures) that would activate in the afterlife and accomplish any unpleasant task the deceased faced. Buried with Tutankhamun was an enormous workforce that provided a servant for every day of the year as well as an overseer for every ten workers and a supervisor for every three overseers.

Each shabti was unique, for example, one was painted to resemble the king, whereas another looked more like the Nubian mercenaries that served in the Egyptian army. The costumes were rather elaborate for servants but it identified them as belonging to Tutankhamun. Some of the wooden figures wore painted gold clothing, complete with royal symbols and hieroglyphs.

Many of the items left in the tomb were to assist Tutankhamun in the afterlife. Boxes full of food, including meat and fruit were left with the body so that the dead would not starve on their journey. Some of the comestibles, such as herbs and seeds, may have been some form of medication, insinuating Tutankhamun had been a rather sickly person. It appears not even death would cure the king of his ailments.

The foodstuffs were preserved in nondescript boxes, however, Carter also discovered many decorated ones. On the floor of the Treasury was a wooden cartouche box decorated with ivory and ebony symbols. Rather than writing Tutankhamun’s birth name, the craftsman has used symbols to represent the Pharoah. For example, two loaves of bread and a quail chick spell out Tut, and a reed leaf, a game board and a water sign represent Amun, the god who Tutankhamun revered.

Not all the boxes were specifically made to place in a tomb, for example, the semi-circular box found in the Antechamber. Wear and tear suggest the box may have been used during Tutankhamun’s lifetime, for example, to transport written papyrus documents from place to place. Not only was it not intended for the tomb, but it also was not made for Tutankhamun either. Although Tutankhamun’s name has been added to the box, the original inscription gave the names of his predecessor Ankhkheperure and his half-sister Meritaten.

Tutankhamun’s wealth and status were clear from the amount of gold, silver and jewels discovered in his tomb. Hundreds of jewellery items were found in boxes in the Treasury, many which may have been gifted, worn by the pharaoh, or left in the tomb for protection in the afterlife. Every piece of jewellery was symbolic in some way, for instance, a lapis lazuli beetle, which represented the sun god.

A vulture represented the deity Nekhbet, the patron goddess of Upper Egypt where Tutankhamun reigned. The pendant is ornately decorated with gold, lapis lazuli, turquoise and coloured glass befitting of a king. In each of the bird’s claws is a tiny necklace containing the king’s throne name, proving it was made specifically for Tutankhamun.

Another bird used in jewellery was a falcon with upswept wings. Typically, bird pendants have their heads turned to one side, but in one version the bird faces forward as though looking at the viewer. A carnelian round sun upon the falcon’s head suggests it is representative of Horus and the bird also carried two pendants in its talons, also indicative of the sun.

“A man dies twice — once when the last breath leaves his body, and again when his name is spoken for the last time.” (Paraphrased)

When Horemheb became pharaoh and tried to write Tutankhamun out of history, he was also trying to cause Tutankhamun’s second death. The ancient Egyptian’s believed a man died when his soul left his body but was still considered alive as long as his name was spoken. Due to Howard Carter’s discovery of the missing tomb, Horemheb’s plan was thwarted. Tutankhamun is now the most famous of all the pharaohs and, if the size of the crowds queueing to see the exhibition is anything to go by, his name will never be forgotten. Thanks to Carter and the world’s continued interest, Tutankhamun has been made immortal.

Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh attracted over 1.4 million visitors when it was displayed in France. The London exhibition is expected to reach similar records, which is no surprise considering Tutankhamun’s fame and the fact that this is the final opportunity to see the artefacts outside of Egypt. As well as seeing 150 objects, visitors can opt to take part in a Virtual Reality experience in which they dive into a computer-generated version of Tutankhamun’s tomb and have a look around.

Adult tickets are priced between £24.50 and £28.50 and are selling fast, so do not delay booking your timed entry. Due to popularity, the gallery is operating on a timed entry system and it may take up to thirty minutes to get through security. The average length of stay is 90 minutes.

Inspired by the East

The Islamic world or the Middle East has inspired western artists for hundreds of years. The various styles, objects, fashion and so forth of these exotic lands led to the artistic movement known as Orientalism, which introduced Middle Eastern and North African designs to Europe and North America. Until 26th January, the British Museum is studying these outcomes and comparing them with what we know about the Islamic world today.

Orientalism has come to mean the ways in which the “Orient” has been misrepresented in western culture. The eastern world was represented as a land of beauty and fascination, causing the lines between fantasy and reality to be blurred. The exhibition Inspired by the East: how the Islamic world influenced western art provides a more complex look at the history of the influence and inspiration of the “Orient”. Featuring a range of ceramics, drawings and paintings, music from Piano Concerto No.5, Op.103, “Egyptian” by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) helps to set the scene as visitors make their way around the exhibition.

The Prayer – Frederick Arthur Bridgman

The exhibition opens with a painting of The Prayer by Frederick Arthur Bridgman (1847-1928). The artist has imagined a moment of prayer inside a mosque between an elderly but wealthy man and a poorer Muslim mystic. Both figures wear typical eastern garments and the mosque is decorated with a Persian rug. The artist, however, was American and spent most of his life in France. With that in mind, how far can we trust these paintings of the Orient by western artists?

Frederick Arthur Bridgman was born in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1847 and became a draughtsman in his early twenties. In 1886, Bridgman moved to Paris where he joined the studio of Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) who was a great inspiration for the oriental themes for which Bridgman became famous. His first trip to North Africa took place between 1872 and 1874 where he produced around 300 sketches in Egypt and Algeria, which became source material for later oil paintings. In the 1870s and 1880s, Bridgman returned to the East, collecting examples of costumes and objets d’art, which he often painted in his artworks. Having such an extensive collection of eastern objects makes Bridgman appear to be a knowledgable man on the subject, however, as the British Museum goes on to prove, this was not necessarily the case.

The western fascination with the Middle East coincided with the growing power of the Ottoman Empire (1300-1924). From around 1500, Europeans became increasingly interested in the Empire, which at its height comprised most of south-eastern Europe, modern-day Turkey and Arabic-speaking countries. At one point, the Ottoman Empire stretched as far west as Vienna, Austria.

Europe began to trade with the Ottoman Empire and their neighbours, the Safavid Empire (1501-1722), bringing fascinating goods to the continent. Interest had originally focused on religious pilgrimages to the Holy Land, for example, the places in Palestine that corresponded with the Bible. Palestine was considered the birthplace of Christianity, and Christian pilgrims and envoys frequently travelled to the East, often bringing foreign gifts home with them. As a result, eastern goods became widely available in Europe, particularly when artisans began replicating the Oriental designs.

The British Museum provides examples of ceramics from the Orient and versions that were made in Europe. During the 19th-century, eastern traditions were a popular source of inspiration for artists. Craftsman used the examples purchased in the East as models for their designs or attempts to make exact copies. Of particular interest were the glassworks made in Persia in the 1300s and the Persian ceramics from 1600. By appropriating forgotten techniques, such as glass enamel and lustre-painting, the replicants even surpassed the originals in terms of quality.

In some cases, it could not be certain that the original was indeed the original. On display is a glazed and painted lidded bowl that was produced in Persia during the 19th-century. The unknown artist, however, got their inspiration from Austrian, French and German ceramics, which in turn had been based on Middle Eastern originals.

As well as ceramics, Europe was fascinated by the exotic fashions of the eastern world. The bright colours and materials were a vast contrast to the style of clothing back home and visitors to the Middle East also noted costume dictated the status of the wearer. Due to this interest, costume books became a popular source of exotic portraits, which in turn allowed western artists to create oriental-style portraits of European sitters.

The Kaempfer Album is an example of a costume book by a Persian artist known as Jani. The album contained 44 drawings of characters from Persian literature and life, including a Qizilbash, a woman and two storytellers. Qizilbash was a label given to a variety of militant groups, particularly those living in Anatolia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Kurdistan during the latter 15th century onwards. The term also became associated with the foundation of the Safavid Empire.

Although Jani was Persian, his illustrations cannot be used as an example of Persian art. His nickname Farangi Saz, which means “Painter in the European Style”, suggests he had been heavily influenced by European visitors. It also reveals that the western world was as much an inspiration to the east as it was the other way around.

In Europe, drawings of eastern costumes began as early as the 16th-century, evidenced by Peter Paul Rubens‘ (1577-1640) sketches of eight women from Turkey. Since the drawings were produced in Rubens’ studio in Belgium, it is uncertain whether he ever met a Turkish woman. It is thought his inspiration came from an Ottoman costume book rather than real life.

Some Europeans experienced eastern costume and culture first-hand, often dressing in the appropriate fashion as part of the European diplomatic corps in Constantinople. Diplomats were invited to attend ceremonies and gain a privileged insight into the political sphere of the East. Dragomans (interpreters and translators) were employed to act as intermediaries between Turkish, Arabic and Persian-speaking countries and Europe.

The Flemish-French painter Jean Baptiste Vanmour (1671-1737) accompanied the French Ambassador to Constantinople in 1699 where he was commissioned to produce 100 oil paintings of the local people. Some of these, such as Dinner Given by the Grand Vizier, revealed the lives of the elite during the Tulip Era (1718-30) of the Ottoman Empire. The Grand Vizier was the equivalent of a prime minister and the French Ambassador was invited to attend the meal along with two dragomans. The main purpose for these grand dinners was for the Vizier to demonstrate his wealth and power.

Dragomans featured in costume books, such as the example on display that belonged to the Prussian ambassador to Constantinople. The reports from the dragomans were one of the key methods of spreading Islamic culture throughout the west during the 17th and 18th centuries. Due to their influence, the Quran was available in French by 1647, having been translated by the diplomatic envoy André du Ryer (c.1580-c.1660). This was shortly followed by the French translation of One Thousand And One Nights by Antoine Galland (1646-1715), who was attached to the French embassy. This is a collection of stories by various authors, translators, and scholars across West, Central, and South Asia and North Africa, and come from a variety of roots: Persian, Arabic, Indian, Greek, Jewish and Turkish.

One Thousand and One Nights, also known as Arabian Nights, has been extremely influential since its translation into a European language and in 1926 it became the earliest full-length stop-motion film under the title The Adventures of Prince Achmed. The original stories have inspired numerous projects, most famously Disney’s Aladdin, and has been a great stimulus for authors such as Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49), W.B. Yeats (1865-1939), James Joyce (1882-1941) and Marcel Proust (1871-1922).

Based on the “tyrannical world of the ‘Orient'” is Irish poet Thomas Moore’s (1779-1852) Lalla Rookh (1817). Lalla Rookh, which means “tulip cheeked” is a set of four narrative poems about an Indian princess of the Mughal Empire. Engaged to the king of Bukhara in Central Asia, Lalla Rookh sets off to meet her future husband, however, along the way, falls in love with the poet Feramorz. The poems have inspired operas and music hall performances, such as Their Customs are Very Peculiar and Feramors by Anton Rubinstein (1829-94).

Other aspects of Middle Eastern culture have influenced operatic works, for instance, Aida by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). Told through four Acts, Aida is an Ethiopian princess who has been captured by the Egyptians. Radamés, an Egyptian military commander falls in love with the princess and is torn between his feelings towards Aida and his loyalty to the king of Egypt. To make things more complicated, the king’s daughter Amneris is in love with Radamés. As with most operas, Aida does not end happily and they sing their final duet O terra addio whilst suffocating from being buried alive.

One of the reasons for the sudden burst of “oriental” themed operas, plays and books was the opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The canal, which stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, allowed watercraft an easier route from the North Atlantic to the Indian ocean. As a result, a great number of tourists were able to visit the East. The increasing developments of steamships and railways made it far easier to reach places such as Constantinople, Cairo and Marrakesh than ever before, thus opening up the world to anyone who wished to explore.

Amongst those who travelled to the East were artists and photographers who wanted to capture the visual culture of the Orient. Whilst some were successful, others discovered that reality did not fit with their imagination and stretched the truth in their artwork to complement European ideas. Many paintings of the Middle East were produced by artists who had never left Europe, relying on photographs and drawings by those who had visited the region.

Islam was a foreign religion in Europe and Muslim life became something exotic and intriguing to the western world. Paintings were produced of people at prayer or at religious schools to highlight the differences between the Middle East and the Christian faith of Europe and America. It is not certain how accurate these artworks were since the main purpose was to maintain the “oriental vision”.

Alfred Dehodencq (1822-82) was a French Orientalist painter known for his vivid oil paintings of North African scenes. He travelled to Morocco in 1835 where he lived for at least ten years, completing some of his most famous works. One of these works is called The Hajj, which depicts an annual pilgrimage to Mecca in modern Saudi Arabia. Whilst Dohodencq had plenty of experience of Islamic life in Morocco, the scene is entirely fictionalised because he had never seen the Arabian Peninsula he depicted in his painting.

In the Madrasa by the Austrian painter Ludwig Deutsch (1855-1935) shows a group of young boys partaking in religious learning in a school (Madrasa). Whether Deutsch was privy to this scene is unknown, however, he made journeys to the Middle East in 1885, 1890 and 1898 during which time he visited Egypt three times. Deutsch is mostly remembered for his depiction of life in Cairo, particularly the colours, scenery and customs.

Swiss painter Otto Pilny (1866-1936) travelled the caravan route from Cairo to Tripoli when he was only 19 years old. Later, he became a court painter for the Ottoman Empire, suggesting that his work was accurate enough to please the Ottoman authorities. Pilny was particularly captivated by the Bedouins, a nomadic Arab group, and often travelled with them into the desert where he sketched their activities. One example of this is Evening Prayers in the Desert, which Pilny completed in 1918.

With new technologies available, artists and photographers were able to produce more up-to-date versions of the earlier costume books. The initial sketches of these artists have proved to be more accurate than their final outcomes, which tended to be enhanced with exotic colours and aspects of their imagination. Jean-Léon Gérôme was one such artist whose finished paintings were often highly imaginative. His sketch of a girl playing a stringed instrument, however, captured the true appearance of the model and showed how close an observation Gérôme conducted of the Middle East and North African cultures.

Eugène Delacroix’s (1798-1863) sketch of a seated Arab was produced on the spot during his second trip to Morocco. His first trip was with the first French ambassador to Morocco, Charles-Edgar de Mornay (1803-78) during which time he was profoundly affected by what he saw, likening the Arabs to the people of Classical Greece and Rome. Whilst it was easy to find Arab men to pose for him, Delacroix resorted to painting Jewish women instead of Muslim because of Muslim rules requiring that women be covered.

Women of Algiers in the Apartment is an example of a painting Delacroix painted using Jewish women instead of Muslim. A merchant in Algiers had allowed Delacroix to look into his harem to get an idea of the interior, including textiles, ornaments and other props. Whilst the setting is authentic, the women in the picture are ambiguous and their activities unknown.

European men were fascinated with the goings-on in a harem. A harem was merely a private domestic space that unfamiliar men were not allowed to enter, however, due to this secrecy, the minds of the artists went wild. Using their imagination, many artists used the backdrop of a harem to paint naked women, however, this was not always the case. The Italian painter Cesare dell’ Acqua (1821-1905), who never visited the Middle East, used his imagination to paint a sensual portrait of an Ottoman woman burning incense. The model is fully clothed but wears the decorative textiles that Dell’ Acqua probably saw in costume books or other artists’ paintings.

Women Amongst Themselves with Sculpted Voyeur – Picasso 1934

Although many artists attempted to portray the Muslim woman, it is impossible to tell how accurate they were or whether they were far off the mark. Those who copied ideas from other paintings added extra elements, making the result even further from the truth. None took this as far as Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), however, who used his surrealist style to produce Women Amongst Themselves with Sculpted Voyeur, which was loosely based on The Turkish Bath by Jean-August-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867).

Les Femmes du Maroc – Lalla Essaydi 2005

The theme of women in the Middle East and North Africa continues to the very end of the exhibition. Today, the term “Orientalism” is contested by many, some arguing that the ideals of the Orient were entirely inaccurate – more like “Disorientalism”. To close the exhibition, the British Museum displays contemporary artwork by four female artists from Iran, Turkey, Morocco and Palestine that comment on female identity and undermine the way women were portrayed by Orientalist artists.

One artwork that particularly stands out is the photographic triptych Les Femmes du Maroc by Moroccan artist Lalla Essaydi. Her portrayal of Muslim women is in stark contrast to the brightly coloured paintings of the 19th century. Fully clothed in white with only their eyes and hands showing, the three photographs are covered with strings of Arabic letters, emphasising that they are human beings and not the passive objects in the voyeuristic imaginings of European painters. Nonetheless, Muslim women still have a long way to go before they fully shake off their identities as possessions rather than independent women.

“There is a great deal of self-contradiction in strong and proud women, participating in the revolutionary process, willing to go to war with rifles across their back, and yet still [they] endure the laws of the harem.” – Shirin Neshat

The British Museum has curated a fascinating exhibition about the way the “Orient” became popular throughout Europe. It also highlights the inaccuracies that developed as a result, however, it shines little light on the truth. Then again, with so many paintings, ceramics and objects in existence it is difficult, if not impossible, to subtract the false from the truth.

Inspired by the East: how the Islamic world influenced western art is open until 26th January 2020. Tickets cost £14, however, members and under 16s can visit for free.

Buddhism: Morality, Wisdom & Meditation

Types of Buddhism in Asia

Shakyamuni Buddha

Magga-vagga (The Path), Sutra Pitaka

Twenty-Eight Buddhas

Gandhāran Scroll

Pema Chödrön, 1991

Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, 2018

Jewish Britain

Ann Kirk, Kindertransport refugee

Barking Abbey

– Genesis 28:16

Sunday Services:
8:30am – Said Eucharist
11am – Sung Eucharist
6:30pm – Evensong

I Object!

Who better to curate an exhibition about dissent than Private Eye editor Ian Hislop (b1960), the most sued man in Britain? Rummaging through the collection at the British Museum, Hislop has uncovered over 100 controversial items revealing physical evidence of past protest. After three years of careful examination, the museum exhibits his findings to the public in a temporary display, I object: Ian Hislop’s search for dissent.

As editor of the leading satirical current affairs magazine, Ian Hislop is constantly asking whether the stories and supposed facts are true. The majority of objects in the British Museum celebrate the lives of past rulers and societies, often admiring their strengths and successes, however, Hislop was determined to uncover objects that challenged these histories. The exhibition investigates the other side of the story, looking at the downtrodden, the protestors and those with a different point of view.

The exhibition begins with Ian Hislop’s favourite items before going on to explore objects of dissent from all over the world and time. Given the nature of his magazine, it is unsurprising that Hislop was drawn to satirical cartoons, particularly Treason!!! drawn by Richard Newton in 1798. Sketches of this nature are mostly harmless and only mock the subjects depicted rather than physically attack. A few examples of cartoon prints, including this one, make a mockery of the British monarchy in the late Georgian Period.

Newton’s caricature shows a stout, middle-aged man breaking wind at a portrait of King George III (1738-1820), the reigning monarch at the time. The man is labelled “Mr Bull”, referring to John Bull, the name of the national personification of the United Kingdom, England in particular, who was often depicted in political cartoons to represent the nation. George III is the “mad king who lost America” who was intermittently “mad” for the last 11 years of his reign. Although this etching was published before he succumbed to his mental illness, George’s quarrels with his American subjects resulted in the loss of the American Colonies in 1776. This may have contributed to the public’s dislike of the king, prompting magazines to publish satirical images of their “unfit ruler”.

Ian Hislop included a handful of other cartoons from this era, for example, a hand-coloured etching by James Gillray (1756–1815) titled A voluptuary under the horrors of digestion (1792). Gluttony, sexual amorality and avarice were frequent topics for caricaturists during the 18th and 19th century. Gillray attacked the Prince of Wales, later George IV, (1762-1830) with a portrait revealing him to be an obese and ungainly man, surrounded by items that expressed his desires for women, money, drink and food. Whilst this may seem a nasty attack on the royal family, it was widely known that Prince George was frequently bailed out by the government.

“A fantastic, very ancient, small act of rebellion.”

Some of Ian Hislop’s findings date back to the ancient world, objects of which the British Museum has in abundance. Most people would assume that graffiti is a modern issue, however, Hislop found evidence of a piece that is at least 3000 years old. With an estimated date of 1300-1100 BC, an ostracon, or stone fragment from the ancient Egyptian village Deir el-Medina, is defaced with a crude drawing of a sex scene. Whilst this may not show dissent as such, Hislop included this “very silly” object as evidence that people of the past are not much different from people of today.

Another stone, this time dating from 650 BC, contains another form of graffiti. This brick formed part of King Nebuchadnezzar II’s (c.634 BC – c.562 BC) Babylonian building and is stamped with his names and title. The brickmaker, however, has cheekily added his own name in Aramaic in the top-right corner. It is not possible to tell what “Zabina’s” intentions were with this small act of rebellion but Hislop likes to think the gesture made the culprit feel good.

42707514_1229925277132806_7316189399589322752_nSticking with the theme of ancient wall graffiti, Hislop included a primitive example of wall art from the Post-Catatonic era amongst his favourite objects. The accompanying description states that the image is thought to depict an early man venturing towards his “out-of-town hunting grounds”. If the shopping trolley in the drawing and the term “Post-Catatonic” has not triggered alarm bells, the name of the primaeval artist “Banksymus Maximus” is a dead giveaway that the item is a fake.

The wall art or Peckham Rock, as it is now known, was created by the anonymous street artist Banksy. Although the style of art may resemble those found in caverns, this hoax cave painting was produced with a marker pen on a piece of concrete. Whilst clearly a fake, it is the story behind its creation that earns it a place in the I Object exhibition. In 2005, the artist secretly installed the stone in one of the British Museum galleries where it remained undiscovered for a number of days. Although amusing, Banksy was, in some way, ridiculing ancient artefacts.

Frequently, religion has caused wars and unrest throughout the ages, a fact that is evidenced many times throughout this exhibition. Whether being forced to worship a god they do not believe in or, alternatively, being banned from worshipping one they do, people have responded in a number of different ways.

After the Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England, Henry VIII (1491-1547) banned the Catholic faith, going as far as to execute those who refused or tried to continue to worship in secret. Many Catholic relics and buildings were destroyed during this period of time, however, some had the foresight to hide or bury their belongings for safety. As a result of this, numerous Catholic artefacts still exist, as evidenced in the display cases of the exhibition.

Ian Hislop’s favourite example of Catholic dissidence is the Stonyhurst Salt. To the untrained eye, it looks like an elaborate, but secular, salt-cellar, however, it was made out of recycled fragments of religious reliquaries. As well as using the silver from the church plate, embellishments were added to emphasise its religious connotation. Silver and crystal may have been used to symbolise Christ’s purity, and the rubies and garnets, Christ’s blood.

By disguising items in this way, Catholics were silently protesting against Henry VIII’s rules. Although at risk of arrest or death, these Catholic dissenters helped to preserve a part of English history, as well as amuse Ian Hislop. “I can imagine the rich (and obviously Catholic) owners of this object saying to their guests, ‘of course, Catholicism has been banned, we wouldn’t dream of having such items of Catholic worship here. By the way, this is a salt-cellar – would you like some?’”

The other religious object Ian Hislop draws attention to is known as the “Wicked Bible”. Published in 1631 under the names of Robert Barker and Martin Lucas, this edition of the King James Bible earned its name due to a printing error that changed the Seventh Commandment (Exodus 20:14) to “Thou shalt commit adultery.” Printing errors are common and this could be the case of an unfortunate slip, however, Hislop remains unconvinced. He thinks it is a rather big coincidence that the printing error just happened to be in that particular verse. Nonetheless, regardless of the circumstances, the publishers were fined £300.

If it is not religion, it is politics that becomes the target of ridicule and objection. There is no politician in existence, past or present, that has been loved and admired by everyone. General elections prove the point with debates and demonstrations that attempt to encourage people to “vote yes”, “vote remain”, “dump Trump” and so forth. These, however, are loud messages to the world but Hislop has uncovered quiet, even subliminal, methods.

Many countries acknowledge the commercial holiday Halloween, where tradition claims spirits of the dead come to visit on the eve of All Saints Day. No country celebrates this idea more than Mexico with their three-day festival Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead. Amongst other things, members of the public decorate cemeteries with bright coloured flowers and calavera or skull shapes. Mexican newspapers often dedicate cartoon skeletons to public figures in the style of the famous calaveras of José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican political illustrator.

As part of the I Object exhibition, Hislop has included two skeleton papier mâché figures used in celebrations from the 1980s. Day of the Dead has been celebrated for centuries, however, in its modern manifestation, the festival has become an opportunity to mock traditional hierarchies and authority figures. One of the figures represents a corrupt factory owner and the other ridicules Uncle Sam the personification of the American government.

This year, with the anniversary of female emancipation, the “votes for women” penny coin has become highly recognisable throughout the country. With the advent of social media, it is now easy to spread a message or opinion, however, in the early 1900s, people had other methods of expressing their thoughts across the nation. By stamping this slogan on one penny coins, suffragettes ensured hundreds of people would carry their messages in their own purses.

The suffragettes were not the first group of protestors to use defaced coins in their campaigns; the exhibition displays a few coins from other eras. The earliest example comes from 1797, which shows an engraving of a hanging man and the words “The Pope” on one side of a one penny coin. Although not certain, this could be interpreted as support for Napoleon Bonapart (1769-1821) who had imprisoned two popes during the French Revolution.

Nowadays, coins are no longer used to spread messages throughout the country, however, a few people have resorted to writing on paper notes. Examples from the USA and Britain, including a £20 note sporting the words “Stay in the EU”, reveal the strong opinions of an individual. Unlike the coins, which were cheaper and less costly to produce, there are unlikely to be many duplicates of these defaced notes, therefore, this method of protest is less effective.

Whilst defacing a paper note may not draw much attention, a rogue engraver managed to place permanent messages in the 10 and 50 rupee notes in Seychelles. Although not easy to see unless you are looking, the artist has hidden the words “scum” and “sex” within the design. It is not clear what the anonymous engraver aimed to achieve but, as Ian Hislop says, “This is so childish that it made me laugh.”

Many of the objects in the exhibition, such as these rupees, have hidden messages, which were less easily discovered, thus protecting the culprits from punishment. These concealed acts of resistance allow people to register their own protest and opinions in the safety of their own homes. In some ways, it is a method of coping for those who feel oppressed by those in power. On the other hand, some choose to be extremely vocal and expressive about their opinions.

Throughout time, people have taken to the streets in protest for all sorts of reasons. Within the past century, hundreds of marches have taken place in cities around the world demanding equality, peace, retribution and so forth. Many of these protests develop their own slogan and branding, which are displayed on banners and placards, however, some people go as far as to express their opinion with their clothing.

Hislop has included old and modern examples of clothing that expressed the views of the wearer. One of the oldest of these is a ring containing the portrait of Charles I (1600-49), worn by supporters of the king during the war against parliament. A silk garter, from 1745, also expressed an opinion about royalty. The wearer of the garter expressed his support for Charles Edward Stuart (1720-88), known as “Bonny Prince Charlie”, with an embroidered statement: “God bless PC and down with rump.” Prince Charlie attempted to reclaim the English throne for the House of Stuart during the Jacobite rebellion. “Rump” referred to parliament, the same parliament who had beheaded Charles I, also a Stuart.

When going to an exhibition at the British Museum, it is the expectation that the items on display will be fairly old, however, a few contemporary examples of dissent have found their way into the exhibition. Although not an item of clothing, a bright yellow umbrella featuring lyrics from John Lennon’s Imagine, hangs from the wall of the gallery. This belongs to the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong where students and other members of the public demonstrated outside government headquarters for genuine universal suffrage. In order to control the crowds, police used tactics such as tear gas, however, this did not deter the outraged protestors.

Protestors were quick to invent ways of protecting themselves from police tear gas raids by equipping themselves with umbrellas to shelter their faces. Whilst this began as a means of protection, the idea quickly caught on, and the umbrella became a symbol of the protest. Soon, branded yellow umbrellas were available and by merely holding one, people visually associated themselves with the movement.

“I’m quite pro-dissent. I think it leads to a healthier world.”
– Ian Hislop, 2018

Throughout the exhibition, Ian Hislop provides his observations and opinions about the objects he uncovered in written speech bubbles alongside general information about the items. This helps visitors make sense of the various forms of dissent and understand why Hislop felt it necessary to share with the public. Hislop greatly admires many of the people behind the ideas shown, stating, “I have spent my life risking no more than the odd libel writ or fine. I’m always impressed by people in other societies and in the past who have done this for real, risking their lives, livelihoods, places and families in order just to say ‘No’.”

It is easy to see why Hislop was so interested in these 100 or so objects, however, seeing them all at once with very little time to process information, becomes rather overwhelming for visitors. The exhibition is not set out in a clear order, leaving people confused about which sections to view first, often leading to clashes of people coming from opposite directions. From the entrance, perplexed visitors pass five objects and find themselves at the exit wondering where to go next. Incidentally, these five objects are Ian Hislop’s favourite items in the entire exhibition and, therefore, the best bits.

Ian Hislop set out to discover truths and opposing opinions, in which he has ultimately succeeded. His enthusiasm for his findings is clear throughout his commentary and it is, admittedly, interesting to discover the various methods of dissent employed throughout history. Many of the items look “normal” without explanation, however, their creators have been very clever and inventive. The exhibition raises questions about the history taught in schools and the true version of events.

I object: Ian Hislop’s search for dissent remains open to the public until 20th January 2019.  Tickets are £12 per adult and photographs may be taken throughout the visit. Under 16s may visit for free, however, some of the content is unsuitable for young children.


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Responding to Tenant Complaints and ‘Preventing Retaliatory Eviction’– The New Requirements

From 1st October 2015 the Deregulation Act 2015 has come into force. Various changes have come into force which directly impact any landlord’s ability to recover possession of a property.

What is ‘Retaliatory Eviction’?

Retaliatory eviction is where a tenant raises an issue or item with a landlord regarding poor property conditions and where the landlord then terminates the tenancy and claims possession of the property rather than dealing with that problem.

The argument for preventing retaliatory eviction is that landlords should be prevented from ending a tenancy where the tenant is only raising genuine poor property conditions that the landlord should simply resolve. Although that sounds very noble I’m not sure I agree with that rationale.

My experience is that tenants are frequently legally aided and many are ‘chancing’ disrepair claims knowing that commercially these claims are incredibly unattractive for landlords as they require landlords to incur costs defending them. Even if a landlord ‘wins’ against a legally aided tenant who is pursuing a spurious or minor claim, they will not recover their legal costs. This legislation will do nothing to help landlords, or agents, in that fight.

What is the relevant law?

There are really two key aspects.

Section 33(1) Deregulation Act 2015 applies where a ‘relevant notice’ is served by a local authority relating to the condition of a property. A ‘relevant notice’ will include an improvement notice relating to category 1 hazards served in accordance with section 11 Housing Act 2004; an improvement notice relating to category 2 hazards served in accordance with section 12 Housing Act 2004 or a notice served in accordance with section 40(7) Housing Act 2004 relating to emergency remedial action.

Where any of these notices are served by the local authority a section 21 notice may not be served within six (6) months beginning on the day of service of the relevant notice, or where operation of the relevant notice has been suspended, the day on which that suspension ends.

There will be no restriction on serving a section 21 notice if the relevant notice has been wholly revoked, quashed or the action in the notice has been reversed.

This means that landlords really must pay close attention to section 33(2) of the Deregulation Act 2015 which states that a section 21 notice is invalid where;

(a) before the section 21 notice was given, the tenant made a complaint in writing to the landlord regarding the condition of the property;

(b) the landlord;

  1. did not provide a response to the complaint within 14 days beginning with the day on which the complaint was given;
  2. provided a response to the complaint that was inadequate, or
  3. gave a section 21 notice in relation to the property following the complaint.

(c) the tenant made a complaint to the local authority about the same or similar subject matter as the complaint to the landlord;

(d) the local authority served a relevant notice in response to the complaint;

(e) if the section 21 notice was not given before the tenant’s complaint to the local authority, it was given before the service of the relevant notice.

For a response to be ‘adequate’ it must provide a description of the action that the landlord proposes to take to address the complaint and set out a reasonable timescale within which that action will be taken.

This second aspect is really a potential killer point for landlords. It means that landlords must reply within 14 days and even then must reply adequately meaning saying how and by when the issue is going to be resolved. If they fail to do so they are putting themselves at risk of being reported to the local authority by a tenant, and any section 21 notice being invalid.

– Landlords need to be alert to the condition of their property and conduct regular inspections detailing any issues;

– Landlord and letting agents need to respond quickly and adequately regarding any complaint received from a tenant;

– Where there is a risk of a complaint or improvement notice being served landlords would be well advised to serve a section 21 notice before any complaint is received in writing.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to

Laura Albon has been working in litigation for nearly 10 years. She works almost exclusively with property investors and agents across the whole country. She trained with the partners of Helix Law and has extensive experience in possession, service charge recovery, breach of covenant and commercial contract claims. She is able to pursue matters through the court and through The First Tier Tribunal (formerly the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal or LVT).


I conduct multi-disciplinary research that integrates sedimentology, stratigraphy, geochemistry, and paleontology to investigate the co-evolution of environment and life in Earth history.  All my projects are hypothesis-driven, and typically start with detailed field investigations. Fundamental in all my projects is the emphasis of first-hand field-based results and a hypothesis-driven approach. The multidisciplinary nature of my research requires a holistic understanding of the Earth-life system at both micro- and macro-scales in deep time.


Aveneu Park, Starling, Australia

Social And Environmental Auditing Is Gaining Popularity Accounting Essay

Social and environmental auditing is deriving popularity as one of the most effectual schemes to develop client trueness and support from local communities. Due to the addition in environmental debasement across the universe and the realisation of the menace from the same, many consumers demand that houses produce services and goods in environmentally friendly ways. The current coevals has realized that environmental pollution threatens the future endurance of humanity and consumers have begun back uping environmental preservation enterprises ( Hansen, 2000 ) . As a consequence, many consumers merely associate with houses and corporations which have environmental preservation enterprises. In add-on, houses have realized the importance of societal duty and moralss to society. Many corporate organisations have societal duty plans aimed at authorising local communities through economic and other signifiers of support. This encourages local communities to back up such houses and buy their merchandises. These environmental and societal concerns are the footing with which societal and environmental auditing is based.

Social and environmental audits hence strive to run into the outlooks from consumers that houses will run in environmentally friendly ways and that they will back up enterprises of the society through utilizing CSR plans and ethical patterns to give back to society ( Moizer, 2005 ) . This has proven to be an effectual manner of pulling and keeping consumers. It is of import to discourse societal and environmental auditing in more item. This paper will discourse societal and environmental auditing, impacts which it has in houses and benefits attributed to societal and environmental concerns. Practices across the United States and United Kingdom will be assessed and recommendations made on how houses can efficaciously use these signifiers of scrutinizing to run into corporate aims. The discussed issues will be summarized at the terminal.

Social and environmental auditing

Social and environmental plans have been seen to be some of the most effectual ways which houses can pull and retain consumers. Social and environmental scrutinizing therefore involves an audit of societal and environmental plans to measure whether they have achieved their aims ( Harrison, 2005. ) . Environmental audits are audits performed to quantify environmental place and public presentation. They are audits performed to analyse the extent to which the public presentation and operations of an organisation are consistent with environmental preservation concerns ( Bragg, 2006 ) . Social audits are audits which are performed to quantify the public presentation of an organisation sing its impacts on society in line with its organisational ends. These audits are of import to organisations since they enable corporate organic structures to measure their accomplishments every bit far as environmental and societal ends every bit good as ethical rules are concerned. This facilitates a alteration of scheme or care of current schemes depending on whether they are effectual or non ( Keeney, 2005 ) . Social and environmental audits will be discussed individually in more item below ;

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Social audits

Social audits have been seen to be audits which assess the effectivity of an organisation ‘s procedures with respects to the public assistance of the society at big. Social audits normally target corporate societal duty plans which are developed to authorise the local communities every bit good as encourage ethical patterns in the day-to-day running of organisations ( Friedlob & A ; Plewa, 2004 ) . These audits analyze the extent to which an organisation has achieved its societal and ethical ends and mileposts. Organizations normally have a duty towards the society and they are expected to execute their maps while detecting international norms, ethical criterions and legal demands ( Eamon, 2008 ) . Social audits hence aid in measurement, verifying, describing and bettering upon this public presentation. Social audits are representative of stakeholders including marginalized groups within society. It is closely linked to corporate administration and encouraging transparence and answerability in organisations. There are four major aims of societal audits. The first is appraisal of fiscal and physical spreads between resources available and demands in order to promote societal development ( Chambers & A ; Rand, 2010. ) . The 2nd is making consciousness among suppliers and donees of productive and societal services. The 3rd aim of societal audits is increasing effectivity and efficiency of societal development plans. Finally, societal audits purpose at size uping policy determinations in order to continue stakeholder precedences and involvements every bit far as societal development is concerned.

There are assorted benefits of societal audits. The first is that it trains communities on how to take part in societal planning or undertakings aimed at authorising them. This is a benefit enjoyed by local communities since it provides chances to these communities either through fiscal assistance, instruction, and employment or sponsorship activities. The 2nd benefit particularly to communities is that it benefits marginalise groups ( Bateman, 2010 ) . Projects or aid provided by houses on societal development normally marks marginalize groups which are the neediest in society. The 3rd benefit of societal audits is that they encourage ethical patterns by organisations and these benefit organisations and the society at big. Finally, human resource is developed through promoting societal audits particularly when houses use corporate societal plans such as preparation and instruction to authorise communities ( Wells, 2002 ) .

Environmental audits

It has been discussed that environmental audits aim at analysing whether organisations are run intoing their ends every bit far as environmental preservation is concerned when set abouting twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours operations ( Ruddiman, 2005 ) . Environmental audits purpose at guaranting operations of an organisation has the least inauspicious effects on the environment. There are three chief types of environmental audits. These are the functional audit, direction audit and liability audit. The functional audit buttockss specific countries of environmental preservation such as energy direction and waste direction within a house. Each house should hold an environmental scheme which deals with assorted environmental issues impacting it. These include direction of waste, H2O preservation, efficient resource use and others ( Downs & A ; Adrian, 2004 ) . Such a scheme aims at non merely guaranting the environment is conserved, but it besides encourages effectual use of resources therefore cut downing a house ‘s costs.

The direction audit is another audit aimed at comparing environmental public presentation of an organisation with the set environmental ends to measure whether these ends meet their aims ( Benbya, 2008 ) . Every organisation has a set of ends which are aimed at environmental preservation causes. It is imperative that organisations sporadically assess their success in run intoing these ends. The direction audit enables such organisations to reexamine their public presentation in environmental preservation and to set schemes which appear to be uneffective. Finally, the liability audit analyzes whether operations of an organisation are in conformity with legal demands every bit far as environmental preservation is concerned ( Elliot & A ; Elliot, 2004 ) . There are assorted minimum criterions which organisations are expected to run into by local governments every bit far as environmental preservation is involved. These include proper waste direction and lower degrees of air pollution among other signifiers of pollution. The liability audit analyzes whether an organisation is following with these demands. Failure to follow with these demands may pull punishments such as mulcts, or complete closing of the house ( Kaiser, 2002 ) . This makes liability audit an of import procedure in the life of any organisation.

How societal and environmental audits are conducted

Social and environmental audits are conducted through a assortment of ways including studies, feedback from clients and employees, observation, questionnaires among other methods. There are three phases involved in societal and environmental audits. These are the pre-audit, audit and post-audit phases. In the pre-audit phase, hearers explain the intent of the audit to all stakeholders involved and seek support in the procedure. The range of the audit is determined and benchmarks and prosodies used established ( Russell, 2004. ) . During this phase, the audit squad is chosen and this may embrace employees together with external advisers. It is of import to develop a “ no incrimination ” policy at this phase in order to promote cooperation by stakeholders. The 2nd phase is the auditing phase. In this phase, the house ‘s processs and policies sing societal development and environmental preservation are assessed in item. Observation and other informations garnering techniques such as employee interviews, community studies and others are besides used ( Morgan & A ; Raaum, 2001 ) .

It is of import to observe that this audit is done during normal concern hours in order to get an accurate representation of the world. Appropriate trials to measure environmental pollution are besides performed to set up the environmental processs and policies adapted by houses. The community undertakings developed to advance societal development are besides assessed through touring such undertakings and keeping duologue with stakeholders. This assists hearers in fixing a study on societal patterns of the house ( Russell & A ; Regel, 2000 ) . The 3rd phase is the post-audit phase. In this phase, informations gathered is analyzed and decisions developed on environmental and societal development enterprises. The findings on paperss collected are summarized and interpreted. After analysis of these findings, an action program is developed on the best manner the house can continue environmental and societal development concerns ( Rand & A ; Chambers, 2007 ) . The stakeholders involved are besides briefed on the study and recommendations made. Finally, a clip frame in which another audit will be undertaken is developed.

Role of societal and environmental audits

Social and environmental audits play an of import function in any organisation. Some of the functions played are briefly discussed below

Social and environmental auditing encourages answerability by houses. The devastation of the environment and the development of ethical and societal demands by houses have encouraged houses to be more accountable to the society at big. Firms are expected to adhere to ethical norms and environmental preservation enterprises. They are besides expected to give back to communities through authorising marginalized groups. In many provinces, ethical demands and environmental duty is supported by statute law and houses which flout these demands are punishable in a tribunal of jurisprudence. In add-on, consciousness by consumers on the function of houses to society has encouraged houses to follow societal and environmental preservation enterprises. This is due to the ground that consumers do non desire to be associated with houses which flout environmental and societal preservation attempts and such houses are improbable to pull and retain consumers.

Management control and determination devising

This is another of import function which societal and environmental audit dramas in organisations. Social and environmental audits facilitate the accomplishment of an organisation ‘s aims. There are assorted ways in which societal and environmental audits facilitate accomplishment of these aims. The first is through increasing information available for determination devising ( Hargie & A ; Tourish, 2000 ) . Social and environmental audits expose failings present in processs and patterns of houses. These failings may be either in environmental preservation, societal development or wholly different facets of the organisation such as fiscal direction. Exposure of these failings enables the direction to explicate schemes to work out them and heighten public presentation in the long tally. These audits besides analyze the effectivity of different policies and procedures. This information is used in determination devising by the direction and facilitates a timely determination doing procedure. Timely determination devising is a pattern which any houses has to use in the modern competitory universe in order to accomplish success.

Enhanced image

Another benefit of societal and environmental audits is an enhanced image. It has been discussed that consumers are cognizant of environmental devastation and the importance of houses to use environmental preservation enterprises ( Binder, 2007 ) . Consumers are besides cognizant of the ethical and societal duty which houses have towards the society. They therefore associate with houses which apply societal development and environmental preservation schemes when developing merchandises. Firms which undertake societal and environmental scrutinizing with the aim of heightening societal and environmental duty hence benefit from an enhanced image to consumers. Consumers are likely to buy merchandises developed by such houses particularly if they strongly believe in environmental preservation and societal development enterprises ( Kausek, 2006 ) . This is an sentiment held by an progressively big figure of consumers in developed societies.

Social and environmental auditing in US and UK

Social and environmental auditing is an constituted pattern across houses in the UK and US. Many corporate houses in these two developed states observe environmental and societal development plans due to market demand and ordinance enforcement by the authorities. In the US and UK, there are many anteroom groups which advocate for environmental preservation due to the realisation of the menaces environmental devastation airss to mankind. These groups are really powerful and they encourage consumers to eschew merchandises of houses which do non detect environmental preservation patterns ( Drucker, 2000 ) . These states besides possess regulative governments which assess conformity with ethical demands of houses runing within the UK and US. These governments are really rigorous in implementing ethical ordinances and houses are to a great extent fined if found non to be following them. The force per unit area to implement environmental preservation and operate in a socially acceptable and ethical manner is one of the factors which have encouraged demand for environmental and societal auditing in the US ( Innes & A ; Norris, 2005 ) . This will be discussed in more item below ;

Social and environmental auditing in the United states

In the United States, different provinces have diverse ordinances which govern the societal and environmental duty of corporate organic structures. These environmental ordinances are contained in several legislative Acts of the Apostless which include Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response Act, Toxic Control Act and Energy Policy Act among others. Congress normally approves Torahs regulating the environment and regulative governments such as the US Environmental Protection Agency normally enforce these Torahs ( Larry & A ; Bradley, 2008 ) . These regulative bureaus besides undertake instruction and public consciousness runs in order to promote corporate organic structures to follow environmental Torahs. The rigorous enforcement of these Torahs has motivated houses to transport out periodic environmental audits in order to measure their conformity with these Torahs.

In footings of conformity to ethical rules, the US besides enforces rigorous Torahs which discourage unethical Acts of the Apostless. Due to the addition in immense dirts by corporate organic structures including the Enron dirt where investors were defrauded of one million millions of dollars, corporate organic structures are required to follow rigorous ethical demands ( Beach, 2007 ) . One of the strongest Torahs which govern against unethical patterns in the US is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which governs against biased coverage of fiscal statements by direction of houses. The direction bears personal duty if such unethical Acts of the Apostless are performed when they are in control of a house ( Fred, 2009 ) . Other ordinances which advocate for ethical duty include HIPAA, Joint Commission, FISMA, GLBA and others. Failure to follow to these ordinances attracts condemnable or civil liability. This has encouraged the execution of societal audits by houses in order to measure their conformity to these ethical ordinances. The growing of societal and environmental audits in the US may hence be seen to hold been due to the strong Torahs which protect the environment and which encourage ethical patterns every bit good as immense demand by consumers.

Social and environmental auditing in the UK

The UK likewise has really rigorous Torahs which guide environmental preservation enterprises by corporate organic structures. These Torahs are contained in two chief Acts of the Apostless which are the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act. As in the US, there are rough reverberations for corporate houses which do non follow the environmental ordinances. This attracts civil or condemnable liability. There are besides ordinances which are enforced by the European Union which all member provinces are expected to implement. These ordinances aim at cut downing C emanations by houses and effectual direction of waste to cut down environmental pollution and the effects of planetary heating. Due to the importance attached to these Torahs, many houses undertake environmental audits on a regular basis in order to measure conformity to the Torahs and avoid paying punishments ( Stephen & A ; Ronell, 2009 ) . The strong demand by consumers and anteroom groups for corporate organic structures to conserve the environment besides motivates houses to set about the audits.

In analysing conformity to ethical demands in the UK, there are assorted ordinances and Torahs which are used to guarantee that houses comply with these demands. Some of these ordinances are contained within the European Union while others are built-in in the UK Torahs ( Miller, 2002 ) . The assorted regulators who enforce the ethical regulative Torahs and environmental Torahs include the Environmental Agency, Financial Services Authority, Information Commissioner ‘s Office and Scottish Environmental Protection Agency among others. There are rigorous punishments for corporate which flout these ordinances. This has led to regular societal audits by houses to observe any failings in following ordinances.

Similarities and differences between societal and environmental auditing in the two states

There are assorted similarities between societal and environmental auditing in the US and the UK. The first similarity is that in both states, there are rigorous Torahs which enforce ethical ordinances and environmental preservation by corporate houses. Failure to detect these ordinances normally attracts punishments in civil or condemnable tribunals. In the US, environmental ordinances are contained in several legislative Acts of the Apostless which include Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response Act, Toxic Control Act and Energy Policy Act among others. Ethical ordinances are enforced by HIPAA, Joint Commission, FISMA, GLBA and others ( Goodyear, 2003 ) . In the UK, environmental Torahs are contained in the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act. Another similarity is that public demand and lobbying has put force per unit area on houses to follow these ethical and environmental ordinances. Due to fears that consumers may eschew merchandises if corporate organic structures do non follow these ordinances, periodic audits are applied by houses to measure their advancement every bit far as environmental protection and societal patterns are involved. Finally, the phases which are followed when set abouting the audit, which were antecedently discussed in the paper, are similar in both the US and UK.

There are besides a few differences between societal and environmental auditing patterns in the US and UK. The first difference is that the assorted environmental and regulative Torahs which are implemented in the US vary between provinces while in the UK, they are standardized since they are developed by the same authorities. Another difference is that the UK is governed by EU ordinances particularly sing environmental preservation and ethical fiscal patterns by houses whereas the US is merely bound by domestic Torahs ( Bures, 2000 ) . However, these are minor differences and the overall purpose and scheme for societal and environmental auditing in the UK and the US is mostly similar.

Summary and decision

The function of societal and environmental auditing has been discussed in the paper. Social and environmental audits strive to guarantee that houses produce services or goods in environmentally friendly ways and in ways which are ethical and acceptable by society. There are many grounds why houses strive to set about societal and environmental auditing. These include force per unit area from the consumers and anteroom groups every bit good as regulative and legal demands by provinces. Consequently, there are many benefits which houses gain through set abouting societal and environmental audits. These include enhanced image through support from the populace, direction control and determination devising from information gathered during the audit and answerability due to the use of resources in efficient ways every bit good as operation in ethically principled ways ( Bates, 2003 ) . The US and UK are two states which have embraced societal and environmental auditing. Their application of environmental and ethical ordinances is similar since they are both enforced by condemnable and civil tribunals.

It is of import for the direction of any corporate organic structure to follow societal and ethical demands and environmental preservation attempts due to the many benefits associated with the pattern. Such corporations are likely to recognize higher gross revenues degrees due to back up from consumers and local communities which portion these positions on moralss and the environment. Audited accounts should be undertaken sporadically and non less than twice a twelvemonth. This will enable the direction to take equal stairss to rectify any defects every bit far as environmental and ethical concerns are involved. During the audit, all stakeholders should be involved in order to guarantee the procedure is successful. The direction should engage external hearers sporadically in order to avoid prejudice when describing the audit findings ( Lerner & A ; Wilmoth, 2006 ) . This will guarantee that more corporate houses enjoy the benefits of societal and environmental auditing. Finally, proper reading of audit findings is necessary for the audit procedure to be successful. Interpretation facilitates the development of new schemes or care of current schemes every bit far as societal and environmental auditing is involved, depending on the success of the present schemes. When all houses embrace societal and environmental auditing, the society will be empowered through societal plans and environmental preservation enterprises will be achieved.

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  1. Me, Myself and the Other. Melanesian and Western Ideas on Selfhood and Recognition.Anita Caroline Galuschek - unknown
    In my thesis I argue for a philosophical-anthropological approach which enables investigations in empathy and care by opening up a window on the motivation of recognition. I show how biographies as narratives can help to understand the other within her or his own life-world, even if the life-world is the very part of our personality as a dividually conceived relational self. Therewith, personhood can be conceived in a new concept of personhood that is understood as a category of the human (...)
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Video: Can UAE reach its carbon footprint goals?

About 148 countries have signed and ratified the Paris Climate Agreement and the UAE was the first to make its mark.

But last year, when the United Nations Framework of Climate control released a report stating that only 16 countries make the cut, UAE is nowhere to be seen on the list. Rather, it was far from it.

The Paris Agreement requires each country to submit its own Nationally Determined Contribution, as the targets it wants to achieve, which can be a bit vague. Climate Action Tracker, the media watchdog for greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint ranks the UAE places the UAE as highly inefficient in meeting its targets. UAE’s climate commitment in 2021 is not consistent with holding warming to below 2°C, let alone limiting it to 1.5°C. If the world follows the UAE’s approach, we may be heating the planet by 3°C and 4°C, rather than cooling down.

Last year, Dubai was on the front cover of the National Geographic July edition. And no, not for good reasons.

With the UAE ranking 7th among the highest CO2 emissions per annum per capita, Dubai's vision to have the least carbon footprint by 2050, gave it the title 'World's Most Improbable Green City' by the magazine.

In 1990, the UAE emitted 32.6 tonnes of CO2 per person per year. In 2010, the figure dropped to 21.9 tonnes per person per year. With implemented policies, the UAE’s greenhouse gas emissions projections reach 280 to 300 MtCO2e/in 2030, which is approximately a 45% to 57% increase above 2010 levels and are currently way above the carbon cap.

But who is to blame?

The UAE has launched a Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to produce 7% of all energy from renewable by 2021, 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050.

But can it get there?

A quick glance at the official report from DEWA shows that only 4% of all energy was produced from renewable in 2017.

In Abu Dhabi, the amount of electricity produced from renewable was 1%.

It has taken some major initiatives, such as the launch of the world’s largest on-site solar park, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, which with an investment of 50 billion USD aims to generate 5000 MW of energy by 2030.

Road Transport accounts for a quarter of all your carbon footprint in Dubai. With Dubai having the highest number of cars per capita and only 14% of the population using the public transport, can it really make carbon footprints disappear?

Seems like a long shot. Take electric and hybrid cars for instance. If you do the math, there are over 3.4 million cars registered, only 4,000 are hybrid, of which 1000 were fully electric, which means less than 99% of all cars run on petrol/diesel.

Dewa even doubled the number of charging points in the city, there are 200 charging stations for 4000 cars.

The government refuses to be complacent. RTA just added 200 new Tesla electric cars this year and plans to have half of all its taxis to be electric/hybrid by 2021.

But the only buyer of these cars is still the government. Even though early adopters have many incentives, from free green parking to no vehicle registration fees, and free charging. But if residents don’t make the move, they will have to pay a huge price.

(Source: YouTube channel)


Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie, Pharmazie - Institut für Pharmazie

Research assistent (PhD-candidat) 67%-part-time job limited to 3 Jahre Entgeltgruppe 13 TV-L FU Kennung: Klinger 003-2019

Bewerbungsende: 03.02.2020

One major research topic in the Klinger lab "Polymer Colloids & Nanomaterials" is the development of polymeric nanoparticles for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Special focus are "intelligent" particles that can change their properties in response to an external stimulus. In order to tailor these particles for specific therapeutic applications, we are working on the interface between polymer chemistry, organic synthesis, and colloidal chemistry: The starting point is always the molecular design of functional monomers and their integration into complex polymer systems. On this basis, control of the internal and external structure of the nanoparticles is of specific interest to us. The combination of chemical (molecular) and structural (colloidal) functionality enables the development of polymeric nanoparticles for a variety of biomedical applications, including drug delivery, bio-catalysis, and bio-mimetic structures.

Job description:
- Working on a research project for a PhD thesis/doctoral dissertation
- Participation in research projects regarding the synthesis and characterization of polymeric nanoparticles as drug delivery systems
- Participation in teaching (fluent German language skills required)
The candidate will be actively involved in the development of amphiphilic polymeric nanogels for pharmaceutical drug delivery applications. Based on amphiphilic aliphatic polycarbonate networks, these new biodegradable colloidal materials will enable the tunable loading and release of hydrophobic compounds. While conventional overall hydrophilic nanogel delivery systems are limited to hydrophilic cargoes, this concept will open up new therapeutic options for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs. Our approach will enable precise adjustment of nanogel amphiphilicity to different hydrophobic cargoes without affecting the colloidal features (size, shape, crosslinking) of the nanogel carrier. As a result, the carrier system to be developed will, in future, enable an ideal comparability between therapeutic efficiencies of different nanogel-drug combinations. For this purpose, the properties of the particles can be specifically designed to the needs of different biological targets: On one hand, we are developing new nanoparticles to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. On the other hand, we are studying nanogels for the transport of hydrophobic drugs into complex biological barriers, such as the skin/mucosa.
To realize such particles, concepts from synthetic macromolecular chemistry are combined with methods of colloidal chemistry and self-organization. This includes the synthesis and characterization of (macro) molecular building blocks, their assembly into nanoparticles, the characterization of the resulting colloidal materials, and the demonstration of the respective macroscopic function (also in the biological context).

The research project grants the opportunity for a doctorate.

- Completed university degree (Master, Diploma) in chemistry, polymer science, materials science or closely related fields

- Very good to excellent university degree
- Ability to independently work on a research project
- Experience in conducting goal orientated research and structuring research tasks
- Excellent ability to work in a team and enthusiasm for cooperative work
- Sound knowledge and practical expertise in organic chemistry / polymer chemistry / colloidal chemistry
- Teaching experience in organic chemistry and/or pharmaceutical chemistry
- Excellent English language skills and fluent German language skills

You are highly interested in multidisciplinary research and are motivated to independently engage with complex topics? Additionally, you are proactive and are able to solve problems together with co-workers in a team? You are able to investigate ideas and hypotheses through practical experiments, thereby advancing research projects? Furthermore, you enjoy presenting your work and are able to promote this with fluent English language skills in a professional international environment?
If these points match your profile, we would be happy to hearing from you.

For further information please contact Mr. Herr Prof. Dr. Daniel Klinger (daniel.klinger@fu-berlin.de / 838-60001).

Weitere Informationen

All application quoting the refrence code should be addressed as an e-mail to Prof. Dr. Daniel Klinger: daniel.klinger@fu-berlin.de or postal to

Freie Universität Berlin

Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie, Pharmazie

Institut für Pharmazie

Herrn Prof. Dr. Daniel Klinger

Königin-Luise-Str. 2 und 4

14195 Berlin (Dahlem)

By submitting an online application you as an applicant agree that your data will be electronically processed and stored.

We point out that in the case of unprotected sending of your application by electronic means the Freie Universität Berlin can not guarantee the security of personal data transmitted.

Stellenauschreibung vom: 16.12.2019


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Delhi Agra same Day Tour | same-day-tour-packages | Rajasthan Real Tours

Delhi Agra same Day Tour

Duration: 1 Day
Destination: Delhi - Agra

Agra is situated on the bank of the river Yamuna in the north Indian state, between Mathura and Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh. The major attractions of Agra are its monuments which display the majesty of Mughal architecture. Agra is the most visited destination in India and it is well known for its Mughal-era-buildings, most famous is the Taj Mahal which is one of the seven wonders of the world and built by the Shah Jahan in the memory of his beloved Mumtaz, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri all three are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The other monuments include Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Akbar's Tomb-Sikandra, Chini ka Rauza, Ram Bagh, and Keetham Lake etc. The main cultural events and festivals are Taj Mahotsav, Ram Barat, kund mela, Bhateshwar Fair and Kailash Fair etc. So with the Rajasthan Real tours grab the opportunity to experience, explore and discover the Mughal Empire city Agra, Single Day Tour Packages and make your day excellent.

Day 1:
Delhi (Arrival) - Agra

Warm welcome at Delhi airport by our representative in front of arrival hall with the placard board of your name. Have breakfast and drive towards the home of herirtage sites or city of love and romance. After reach visit magnificent Agra Fort which showcases the great art of mughal era. Have lunch and in the soft glowing light of evening when Tajmahal is perfectly depicting its title of 7th wonder of wonder of world explore it and capture the fascinating views. Drive back to Delhi and trip ends with unforgettable memories. From Delhi airport board flight to your home destinations.
Good Bye!!
Happy Journey.