Royal Ontario Museum Blog
Monthly Archive: December
Rhinoceros Reminder that Conservation Requires Continued Commitment
![Bull the Southern white rhinoceros at the Entrance to the Life in Crisis: Schad Gallery of Biodiversity | Image by the ROM A large make Southern white rhino dominates the entrance to the ROM's biodiversity gallery](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/rom2011_11856_39.jpg?itok=lxMBOVEj)
A surge in the poaching of Southern White Rhinoceros made the ROM reconsider the presentation of our iconic specimen.
ROM Ideas: Ancient Cultures
![ROM Ideas](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/romideasfinal_2.jpg?itok=bXbaSgej)
Explore civilizations of the past with ROM Ancient Cultures, featured this Sunday, May 4th at ROM Ideas. Here’s a sneak peak of what you’ll hear at ROM Ideas.
ROM Ideas: Contemporary Culture
![ROM Ideas, formally know as the Colloquium](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/romideasfinal.jpg?itok=lBtJFR5c)
On May 3rd, the Center of Contemporary Culture will join the Museum in unpacking their research initiatives. Check out this sneak peak of what you’ll hear at ROM Ideas
Of India and Modernism: Youngo Verma
Youngo Verma (1938-2014), Tantra 21, New Dehi, India, Graphite on Paper, 1981, 36 x 48 inches. ROM 2014.14.1
ROM Ideas: Fossils & Evolution
![](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/romideasfinal_0.jpg?itok=qAbTwYiu)
Join ROM Fossils & Evolution this Sunday May 4th as they unearth their discoveries, and highlight the treasures within our collections. Here’s a sneak peak of what you’ll hear at ROM Ideas.
ROM Ideas: Biodiversity
![](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/romideasfinal_1.jpg?itok=vD3-WcHD)
This free two-day event (May 3rd & 4th) highlights the latest global discoveries and ongoing research within each of our eight Centres of Discovery, delivered in TED x-style 12-15 minute talks. Check out this sneak peak from the Center of Biodiversity.
Weapon Wednesday: Preparing for ROM Revealed
![Middle Eastern helmets Middle Eastern helmets](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/p4110084web.jpg?itok=BDGuuA4b)
For ROM Revealed, part of our 100-year celebrations, we undertook a major re-organisation in some Collections and Research departments. Here we can see the improvements made in the storage of Asian Arms & Armour in anticipation of this momentous occasion.
Chinese Hat Spheres
![Image of Hat Spheres.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/hat.jpg?itok=DN4RvP4G)
How Chinese hat spheres became a visible means of social indentification.
Rare Chinese Chicken Cup Auctioned for $36 million
![This cup represents the most exquisite and rare of Ming porcelain wares. Made in the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen for the court of Emperor Chenghua (r.1465-1487), it depicts two scenes featuring a family of chickens. Today, only two original Chenghua chicken cups remain in the Palace Museum. Image of rooster depicted on the porcelain cup.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/chickencup1.jpg?itok=ARi38xdP)
An original and very rare Chicken Cup, that was created as part of a set, was recently sold at an auction hosted by Sotheby's. The ROM is currently displaying another cup from this set in The Forbidden City: Inside the Court of China’s Emperors.
The ROM ‘Minoan’ Goddess: The Minoan Relations
![The ROM 'Minoan' Goddess Detail of the head of the ROM 'Minoan' Goddess](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/katec_thumbnail_0.jpg?itok=QFfhH77L)
After looking at the best known of the dubious ‘Minoan’ figurines (which may be modern) in my last post, here I show some of the genuine Minoan objects discovered in archaeological excavations on Crete.