To mark the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s first voyage, the British Museum opened a new exhibition which re-examines the explorer’s relationship with the people of the Pacific. Reimagining Captain Cook: Pacific Perspectives looks at the ways Cook’s explorations are viewed in the places he visited and by descendants of the people he encountered. Objects from the British Museum’s collection associated with Cook’s voyages are displayed alongside contemporary artworks made by artists from the region. Together, these works demonstrate that the impact of his voyages remains complex, contentious and largely unresolved. The exhibition has seven sections which each focus on a place where Cook is remembered: Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, New Caledonia, Hawaii, Vanuatu and Tahiti, as well as Great Britain. Cook’s experience of each place was different and these sections not only explore his encounte

The Israel Antiquities Authority on Wednesday unveiled what it said was a rare 9,000-year-old stone mask linked to the beginnings of agricultural society. The pink and yellow sandstone object was discovered in a field at the Jewish settlement of Pnei Hever, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the IAA. The artefact was handed in to authorities in early 2018. “The mask is very naturalistic in the way it was made,” said IAA archaeologist Ronit Lupu. “You can see the cheekbones, you can see a perfect nose.” “It’s a rare mask,” she told AFP. “The last one that we know was found 35 years ago. It’s an amazing find, archaeologically speaking.” The West Bank is a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Disputes over ownership of artefacts discovered there are just part of the long-running conflict with the Palestinians over the land.

Police are searching for three men after the theft of a painting by French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir from an auction house in central Vienna, police said Wednesday. The landscape was due to go under the hammer on Wednesday but is thought to have been taken from the Dorotheum auction house late on Monday afternoon. Police have released security camera images of three men who entered the auction house at around 5:15 pm (1615 GMT). After making straight for the painting on the second floor they are thought to have left through different exits. “They were probably professionals,” Vienna police spokesman Patrick Maierhofer told the APA agency. The landscape painting, “Bay, Sea, Green Cliffs”, dates from 1895. It measures 27 centimetres by 40 centimetres (10 by 15 inches) and was valued at 120,000-160,000 euros ($136,000-180,000).