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Get in touch Back to top
For any media enquiries, please get in touch with the team:
Digital Communications Manager: Tilly Buckroyd - tbuckroyd@soane.org.uk
Press: Tracy Jones, Brera PR - tracy@brera-london.com
How to redeem your gift card Back to top
- Select the event you would like to attend. You can see all upcoming events on our What’s On page. Please note that tickets usually go on sale two months in advance.
- Click ‘Book Now’ and add a ticket for your desired event to the checkout basket on our online shop.
- Enter the unique code written on the back of your gift card when prompted.
- Check out as usual.
You can redeem your Soane Late gift card for any applicable event within a year of purchase.
Terms and Conditions Back to top
- Validity Period
Gift cards are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. - Redemption
Gift cards can only be redeemed through our online shop Sir John Soane's Museum Shop – Soane Shop - Usage
Gift cards can be used for booking any eligible event listed on the website, subject to availability. Gift cards are non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash. - Multiple Cards
Multiple gift cards can be used in a single transaction, subject to the website’s checkout functionality. - Lost or Stolen Cards
The Museum is not responsible for lost, stolen, or unauthorised use of gift cards. - Non-refundable
Gift cards are non-refundable and cannot be exchanged for cash or credit. - No Resale
Gift cards may not be resold or used for promotional, marketing, or commercial purposes without the Museum’s prior written consent. - Booking Terms
All tours booked using a gift card are subject to the Museum’s standard tour booking and cancellation policies. - Fraud Prevention
The Museum reserves the right to cancel any gift card or booking if fraud, misuse, or violation of these terms is suspected. - Modifications
The Museum reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time without notice. Any changes will be updated on our website.
Cancellation Policy Back to top
Gift tickets are only valid for your booked date and time and are non-refundable. Please check your tickets carefully when receiving them as we my not always be able to rectify mistakes. Once booked the usual cancellation policy for Soane Lates will apply.
Please note that gift cards must be used to book a ticket through our online shop and to gain admittance on the door.
If you have any questions please email events@soane.org.uk
Gift tickets are for personal use only and cannot be exchanged or resold.
The Sarcophagus Back to top
The sarcophagus is carved from a single block of alabaster, a pearly translucent stone that was incredibly valuable to the Egyptians. Across its surface, both inside and outside, are carved hieroglyphs describing spells and rituals that the dead pharaoh would need to safely pass through the underworld and reach the afterlife. Across the floor of the sarcophagus is the elegantly-drawn figure of Nut, goddess of the sky, whose role was to guide and protect the dead. Read a full description of the sarcophagus on our Collections online database.
Soane’s acquisition of the Sarcophagus Back to top
The Sarcophagus was discovered in 1817 by Italian explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni. Formerly a circus strongman, this charismatic archaeologist led a series of expeditions in Egypt, the most successful of which was his discovery of the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings. Graffiti bearing Belzoni’s name can still be seen on the rim of the sarcophagus today. Belzoni had planned to sell the Sarcophagus to the British Museum, but they could not afford the £2,000 price. Sir John Soane, greatly interested in ancient artefacts, acted quickly and purchased the sarcophagus for his own collection.
The sarcophagus was the most expensive object purchased by Soane for his collection, and his prized possession. Soane held three evening receptions at the Museum after acquiring the sarcophagus, attended by some of the leading figures in British art and society.
Explore a 3D scan of the sarcophagus and the Museum online Back to top
Today, you can view the Sarcophagus and its sepulchral chamber online as a 3D scan through our digital platform Explore Soane.
Book a Highlights tour Back to top
Want to learn more about Sir John Soane and the artefacts he collected? Book a Highlights Tour and explore the Museum with one of our expert guides. Tours include a chance to see the opening of the picture planes, and a visit to Sir John Soane’s Private Apartments.
A Grand Tour in Miniature Back to top
In 1776, the 23-year-old Soane, an architecture student at the Royal Academy, won the Royal Academy gold medal for his design for a Classical Triumphal Bridge. This would prove a pivotal moment in his life, leading to him receiving a bursary to embark on a Grand Tour, a trip across Europe that was something of a rite of passage amongst the British elite. Soane’s visits to the ruins of opulent Classical temples across Italy – Rome, Pompeii, and Paestum, to name a few – would provide inspirations for his designs throughout his career.
Later in life, Soane amassed a collection of architectural models of sites he visited on his Grand Tour, for the benefit of the pupils training as architects in his office, and for the students of architecture he taught at the Royal Academy. These models were assembled first in the attic of the Museum, before in 1834, just three years before his death, he arranged some of these models in the old bedroom of his late wife Elizabeth.
Cork Model of Pompeii Back to top
This sprawling topographic model, covering just under 8 square feet, depicts a section of the excavations at the Roman city of Pompeii. Famously buried beneath volcanic ash by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 72, Pompeii was a source of fascination to British architects seeking to revive the architecture of the Classical world.
Made by the model-maker Domenico Padiglione, the model depicts the southernmost segment of the Roman city as it was whilst still being excavated in the 19th century – the area covered by the model is only a small piece of the area excavated today. Visible on the model are the Grand Theatre, and the Quadriporticus, a large monumental structure thought to have been an exercise field.