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Matthew Howles @MatthewHowles

Associate Curator of Exhibitions @sciencemuseum. Bowerbird in human form. Lover of London/History/Art/Science/Nature. All views my own. 🏛 🎨 🔭 🌍 🌈 🇬🇧

Joined July 2020
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Matthew Howles@MatthewHowles
9 Apr 2025
PSA: on #NationalUnicornDay Louis XV’s very own ‘Rhinoceros unicornis’ would like to remind you that you have JUST OVER 1 WEEK left to see ‘Versailles: Science and Splendour’ at the @sciencemuseum !!! 🦏🦄
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It’s World Microscope Day! 🔬 This fabulous rococo microscope was made by Claude-Siméon Passemant - King Louis XV had an identical one. On loan from @CVersailles, you can see it on display in ‘Versailles: Science and Splendour’ at London’s @sciencemuseum until 21 April 2025!
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Optical microscope, by Claude-Siméon Passemant with bronze-work attributed to Jacques and Philippe Caffieri, ca. 1750. National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon, inv. V.2021.42. All photos my own.
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Completed in 1679, this stunning map of the #moon took almost a decade to produce! And it hides a quirky flight of fancy in plain sight… Read on! 🌕♥️ #history #science #space #paris #art #museum #exhibition #london #astronomy #STEM #france #map #otd @Obs_Paris @sciencemuseum
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Cassini presented his Moon map to the French Royal Academy of Sciences on this day (18 Feb) in 1679. Invited to work for the Academy by King Louis XIV, Cassini left his native Bologna to study the Moon from the recently founded Paris Observatory.
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On display in London at the Science Museum’s exhibition ‘Versailles: Science and Splendour’, until 21 April 2025! Jean-Dominique Cassini’s Map of the Moon, 1679 Paris Observatory Library, inv. I.1576 All photos my own (excuse the occasional moiré effects - not part of the OG!)
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Glorious gilded decoration from one of Louis XVI’s private rooms at Versailles - complete with secret en-suite toilet! 🤩 A short 🧵… #history #France #art #interiordecor #Science #museum #London @CVersailles
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This gilded imagery contains scientific symbols and motifs, a reminder of Louis’ keen interest in the sciences. Find out more at the @sciencemuseum exhibition ‘Versailles: Science and Splendour’, on in London until 21 April 2025!
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Decoration by Jean-Siméon and Jean-Hugues Rousseau, 1788 1. Owl of Athena/Minerva, goddess of wisdom and science 🦉 2. Armillary sphere (model of the heavens) and telescope 🔭 3. Celestial globe with zodiac band ✨ All photos my own
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Fireworks inspo for #NYE Versailles-style💥 With an explosion of ribbons, festoons and squiggles of light, this print depicts a spectacular fireworks display which took place at #Versailles on 18 August 1674. You can almost hear the fizz, bang, and screech of the pyrotechnics.
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The celebrations were staged on the canal in the palace grounds. You can see men in boats lighting fireworks, while King Louis XIV watches from beneath a canopy. On display in London at the @sciencemuseum exhibition ‘Versailles: Science and Splendour’ until 21 April 2025.
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Engraved by Jean Lepautre, 1676 (detail - photo my own) National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon, INV.GRAV 65 @CVersailles
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Come see the painting for yourself at the Science Museum’s exhibition ‘Versailles: Science and Splendour’!
Science Museum
@sciencemuseum
25 Dec 2024
Merry Christmas from all of us at the Science Museum! 🎄 📷 Image: Pineapple in a pot, by Jean-Baptiste Oudry, 1733. 🎁 Did you know on Christmas Day 1733, King Louis XV received a royal treat: the first pineapple grown in the gardens of Versailles! 🍍 © Château de Versailles, Dist. RMN © Christophe Fouin
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Meet King Louis XV’s rhino - the OG chonky boi! 🦏 👑 #OnThisDay in 1769, he was sent from India to France as a gift for the French king. And until April 2025 you can see him in London at the Science Museum’s #Versailles exhibition which I helped to curate! 🧵…
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The naturalist Buffon came to observe the rhino living at Versailles, describing his hide like the bark of an old elm tree and commenting on his, er, apparently v small penis for such a large animal… 🍆
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Like the menagerie’s other animals, the rhino was dissected after death for anatomical study. And if he looks a bit rotund now, it’s because he was overstuffed when he was taxidermised in 1793! His permanent home is the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris. Photo my own.
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