TV HISTORIAN Mary Beard stole the show at the launch of Haslemere Educational Museum’s British Museum Spotlight Loan exhibition Troy: Beauty and Heroism on Wednesday last week.

Four objects will be on display at the museum until May 7 focusing on significant moments from the lives of two central characters to the story of the Trojan War, Helen and Achilles, through the themes of beauty and heroism.

And the great and good of Haslemere attended the museum on February 9 to see Mary Beard, trustee of the British Museum and presenter of BBC Two’s Forbidden Art, launch the three-month show.

Items on loan from the British Museum include an Etruscan funerary urn, dating from around 125BC-100BC, portraying Helen’s embarkation for Troy with Prince Paris, and a 2,500-year-old black-figure Athenian amphora showing the brutal side of Achilles taking revenge on Prince Hector.

These ancient objects are supplemented with two artworks on paper. A drawing by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) entitled Cassandra, shows the prophetess Cassandra in anguish as the fate of her brother Hector looms.

And an etching by Pietro Testa (1612-1650) entitled The Birth and Infancy of Achilles shows a composite scene of episodes from Achilles’ early life.

The museum also has a raft of events planned to coincide with the Spotlight Loan, ranging from family pottery classes, to a well-being session making Trojan horses, and talks by the British Museum’s Victoria Donnellan on Helen and Achilles, and by Haslemere Museum’s patron sculptor Philip Jackson on the Changing Face of Beauty.

Specially-created 3D scans will also provide close access to the objects, a first for the British Museum’s touring programme.

These will be available at Haslemere Museum through a collaboration with Sketchfab, enabling visitors to access the objects on their devices through QR codes, reflecting the ever-increasing value of digital content.

The touring Troy: Beauty and Heroism exhibition follows on from the British Museum’s major exhibition, Troy: myth and reality.

Through a competitive application process, Haslemere Museum was one of only three venues in the UK selected for the loan.

See www.haslemeremuseum.co.uk for full listings and ticket details. Haslemere Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Entry is by donation.