An Irish artist who happened to visit the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta was so impressed by its collections that he decided to leave the museum a gift: a set of contemporary paintings of the artefacts on display.

Tommy Barr has fallen in love with Malta and its history.

Barr’s artworks, inspired by the motifs, shapes and textures of prehistoric artefacts, are found alongside the museum’s Malta’s Temple Period and Bronze Age collections. 

Measuring one metre by one metre, they include abstract interpretations of the Sleeping Lady and pottery sherds. The prehistoric sites of Borġ in-Nadur in Birżebbuġa and Ħagar Qim, in the limits of Qrendi, where some of the artefacts were discovered, are also depicted.

The exhibition, Little Echoes, runs at the National Museum of Archaeology in Republic Street, Valletta, until the end of August. Admission to the exhibition is included in the museum’s entrance ticket. One may visit the museum daily from 9am to 5pm (last admission at 4.30pm).