HASLEMERE Educational Museum is one of only three venues in the UK chosen to host a prestigious British Museum Spotlight Loan, Troy: beauty and heroism.

The loan will be hosted by the museum from February 10 to May 7 as part of the British Museum’s national programmes.

This touring exhibition follows on from the British Museum’s major exhibition, Troy: myth and reality.

Haslemere Museum chairman Melanie Odell said: “Haslemere Museum is thrilled to have been chosen as one of only three museums in the country to host this British Museum Spotlight Loan.

“It will also be a great opportunity for us to display our own artefacts, related to and complementing the subject, and we look forward to welcoming regular and new visitors attracted by the loan.

“We are most grateful to the British Museum for their support in helping us to put this exhibition together and I must thank and congratulate the staff from both museums for their hard work in bringing the project to fulfilment.”

Helen and Achilles are central characters to the story of the Trojan War. The touring show will convey key moments in the story of the war which define the lives and character of these two figures, as interpreted by ancient and modern artists.

Focusing on significant moments through the themes of beauty and heroism, four objects will be on display – an Etruscan funerary urn dating from around 125BC to 100BC, a 2,500-year-old black-figure Athenian amphora, a drawing by Dante Gabriel Rossetti entitled Cassandra, and an etching by Pietro Testa entitled The Birth and Infancy of Achilles.

Specially created 3D scans will also provide close access to the objects, a first for the British Museum’s touring programme.

These will be available at Haslemere Museum through a collaboration with Sketchfab – visitors will be able to access the objects on their devices through QR codes and for viewing at home.

Co-curator of the exhibition Victoria Donnellan said: “Following the success of the Troy exhibition at the British Museum, it is very gratifying to be able to bring an exciting selection of related objects to audiences around the UK thanks to the Museum’s National Programmes.

“The ancient story of Helen and Achilles is a fascinating one and I’m so pleased we can portray the various facets of beauty and heroism through these rich objects – especially with the 3D offering.”