Roger Farrant Bland, (born 3 April 1955) is a British

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

and

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...

. At the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, he served as Keeper of the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure from 2005 to 2013, Keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europe from 2012 to 2013, and Keeper of the Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory from 2013 to 2015. Since 2015, he has been a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

at the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

and a

Senior Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

.'BLAND, Dr Roger Farrant', '' Who's Who 2017'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 18 July 2017
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Career

In 1979, Bland joined the

as a

in the Department of Coins and Medals. From 1994 to 2003, he was seconded to the Department of National Heritage (DNH) and then the

Department for Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for Culture of the United Kingdom, culture a ...

as British Museum advisor. He was deputy keeper of the Department of Coins and Medals from 2001 to 2005, and then keeper (ie head) of the Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure from 2005 to 2013. He was additionally Keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europe from 2012 to 2013, before serving as Keeper of the newly created Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory from 2013 until his retirement from the British Museum in 2015. Bland was 34th President of the Royal Numismatic Society, from 2018 to 2023. On 11 August 2020, it was announced that he would chair the Treasure Valuation Committee for a five year term from August 2020 until August 2025.

Personal life

Bland is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Christian. He was a

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

and treasurer of St Margaret's, Cley from 2015 to 2020, and has been a

lay reader In Anglicanism, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a bishop to lead certain Church service, services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral ...

in the

Diocese of Norwich The Diocese of Norwich is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Church of England, forming part of the Province of Canterbury in England. Its origins trace back to the early medieval bishopric of See of Elmham, Elmham and Thetford, which were ...

since 2018.

Honours

Roger Bland identifying coins at his desk

* 6 May 1993:

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

(FSA). * 2008:

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) "for services to Heritage" during the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours. * 2014:

Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society The Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society was first awarded in 1883. It is awarded by the Royal Numismatic Society and is one of the highest markers of recognition given to numismatists. The president and Council award the medal annually to an "in ...

. * 2016: President's Medal by the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

"for his contribution to the protection, and academic and public understanding, of Britain’s cultural heritage". * 2017: Archer M. Huntington Award

Selected works

* * * * * * * *

References

External links

Curriculum Vitae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bland, Roger 1955 births Living people British curators British numismatists Employees of the British Museum Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Presidents of the Royal Numismatic Society Recipients of the President's Medal (British Academy) Anglican lay readers People associated with the Portable Antiquities Scheme