Tourists this year have a typically eclectic and invigorating mix of the epic and the intelligent, with the British Museum taking the lead. Vikings, the BM's last big exhibition and first at their new, dedicated, Sainsbury's Exhibition Gallery, received a mixed reception from critics but still drew excellent visitor numbers. It is followed by Ming: 50 Years That Changed China (18th September 2014 - 5th January 2015), which will look at the incredible changes that occurred in China between 1400 and 1450 when the Ming dynasty established Beijing as the capital and built the Forbidden City. Contrary to prejudices about a mysterious China cut off from the world, Ming China was well connected and absorbed influences, the fruits of which will be explored with displays featuring some of the most beautiful porcelain, gold, jewellery, furniture, paintings, sculptures and textiles ever made. Many have never been seen outside China.
On a smaller - but no less fascinating - scale comes Witches And Wicked Bodies (September 2014 - January 2015), which examines the changing depictions of witches and witchcraft in art from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century. In this time, artists such as Dürer and Goya were drawn to the rich imagery and mythology that had built up around witches from classical times, with artists depicting them as anything from hideous hags to bewitching seductresses.