A Little Gay History

<p>How old is the oldest chat- up line between men? Who was the first ‘lesbian’? Were ancient Greek men who had sex together necessarily ‘gay’? And what did Shakespeare think about cross- dressing?</p> <p>A Little Gay History takes objects ranging from Ancient Egyptian papyri and the erotic scenes on the Roman Warren Cup to images by modern artists including David Hockney and Bhupen Khakhar to consider questions such as these. Explored are the issues behind forty artefacts from ancient times to the present, and from cultures across the world, to ask a question that concerns us all: how easily can we recognize love in history?</p> <p>Concise and beautifully illustrated with objects from the British Museum’s far- ranging collection, <em>A Little Gay History</em> provides an intriguing and valuable insight into the range, diversity and complexity of same- sex experiences.</p> <p><strong>More about the author</strong></p> <p><strong>R. B. Parkinson</strong> is Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Queen's College Oxford. Formerly a curator in the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum, he is internationally known as a specialist in Ancient Egyptian poetry. His publications include<em> Voices</em> from <em>Ancient Egypt, The Tomb-Chapel of Nebamun</em> and <em>The Pocket Guide to Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs </em>for British Museum Press, and the prize- winning <em>The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems (Oxford World's Classics)</em> as well as <em>Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry Wiley- Blackwell</em>).</p>

Winner of the Best New Publication at the Cultural Enterprise Awards 2014.

What was the first chat-up line between men? Who was the first lesbian? And what exactly did Shakespeare think about cross-dressing?

A Little Gay History takes historical objects ranging from ancient Egyptian papyri and the erotic Warren Cup, to images by modern artists including David Hockney and Bhupen Khakhar, to consider questions such as these. Forty artefacts from cultures around the world are explored to consider the study of recognising and appreciating love in art history.

Concise and beautifully illustrated with objects from the British Museum’s far-ranging collection, A Little Gay History provides an intriguing and valuable insight into the range, diversity and complexity of same-sex experiences.

R.B. Parkinson is Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Queen’s College Oxford. Formerly a curator in the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum, he is internationally known as a specialist in ancient Egyptian poetry. His publications include Ancient Egypt, The Tomb-Chapel of Nebamun and The Pocket guide to Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs for British Museum Press, and the prize-winning The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems (Oxford World’s Classics).