Hamish Mackie reveals his dream time-travel destination and the artist he'd most like to meet

A distant camel caravan passes the majestic pyramids at Giza in Cairo at dusk — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Time travel is already happening. Granted, thus far it is only a simulation for subatomic particles, according to research by the University of Cambridge, but who is to say it won’t one day extend to people?

We could go back to see man make the first mark on a rock in a cave, Phidias shape the statue of Zeus for the temple at Olympia or 14th-century Sienese artists forge the art of painting.

There is a spanner in this plan’s works — well, another spanner — which is that some scientists believe time may in fact not exist, that all presents, pasts and futures can concur at once and even influence one another (raising the question as to whether, say, Dame Tracey Emin could have had an impact on pre-Renaissance Siena).

Until time’s inexistence is proven, however, one can dream of travelling to the foreign country that is the past.

Who? Hamish Mackie

What? Sculptor

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Where would you go if you could time travel?

Big camels sitting down, dressed in colourful saddle blankets, in front of Giza Pyramids — The construction of the Egyptian pyramids largely took place between 2670 BC and 2503 BC.

Back to the great era of exploration — Lewis and Clark’s (1804–06) would have been an exciting time to be alive.

Or whizzing around in 2600 BC, when Stonehenge was being built, and fast forward 50 years later to see the construction of the pyramids.

What’s the one thing you want to see?

Detail of The Winged Victory Of Samothrace — 'Winged Victory' is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era. This is a replica which resides in Samothrace, Greece. The original has been exhibited at the Louvre in Paris, at the top of the main staircase, since 1884.

Woolly mammoths within an untouched wilderness — I’ve always had a passion for elephants.

Because time-travel would allow, I’d cheat and also see Pythokritos (active 210BC–165BC) sculpting the Winged Victory of Samothrace, which is high in my list of favourite objects on the planet.

Who is the one artist you would want to meet?

Rodin's The Thinker Statue At Columbia University In New York City — A notable bronze cast of Auguste Rodin’s '*The Thinker'* sits on the lawn outside Philosophy Hall at Columbia University in Manhattan.

It would have to be [Auguste] Rodin (1840–1917) — not very original, but in my mind the greatest sculptor so far. He manages to get so much emotion across in cold hard metal or stone.

What would you bring back if you could?

Stone street in a bazaar with colourful wares hanging from the walls and vaulted ceiling — The historic Grand Bazaar of Isfahan is part of Meidan Emam, Esfahan (Naqsh-e Jahan Square) UNESCO World Heritage site.

I have been fortunate to travel widely across our present-day world and have encountered some remarkable artefacts along the way.

Many moons ago, visiting Iran with the idea of sculpting the nomadic Qashqai tribe, together with carpet dealer Nick Oundjian, I found myself in a bazaar in Isfahan.

There was a very beaten up 4th-century BC copper bread urn for sale. The asking price was $400. It was intriguingly beautiful and very tempting.

Yet, I’m not convinced that even time travel would excuse smuggling. In the end, I suspect I would return not with objects, but with memories.

Visit Hamish Mackie's work for more information on the artist and his work.

Carla must be the only Italian that finds the English weather more congenial than her native country’s sunshine. An antique herself, she became Country Life’s Arts & Antiques editor in 2023 having previously covered, as a freelance journalist, heritage, conservation, history and property stories, for which she won a couple of awards. Her musical taste has never evolved past Puccini and she spends most of her time immersed in any century before the 20th.