Sydney Bernard Burney (20 March 1878''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 3 January 1951)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a British art and antiquities dealer and collector based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was responsible for organizing an exhibition of

African art African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, su ...

in 1933 in which African art was depicted as equal to the art of other cultures. He donated a limestone Etruscan urn to the British Museum.

Questionable Artefacts

Burney owned the crystal skull, later known as the Mitchell-Hedges skull, which was later sold by his son at auction at Sotheby's. He sold an artefact known as the

Burney Relief The Burney Relief (also known as the Queen of the Night relief) is a Mesopotamian terracotta plaque in high relief of the Isin-Larsa period or Old- Babylonian period, depicting a winged, nude, goddess-like figure with bird's talons, flanked by ...

, later called "Queen of the Night," when it was acquired by the British Museum in 2003. The authenticity of this artefact has been questioned by some on stylistic grounds, though most reject this assertion.

References

External links

British Museum database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burney, Sydney Art dealers from London 1878 births 1951 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire