Sunday, June 21, 2009

"The Excellence of Everything They Made"
5:16pm

It's been mostly a quiet weekend. We did take advantage of cooler morning hours for park walks both days. It's surprising how few people we see out there that early. And of course, Saturday morning was for visiting the library. Having received a request from Smithsonian Magazine to denote $19 so some suffering library somewhere could get needed funds, I decided to keep it local. I'd heard they accept donations. I had some duplicate items, having clicked the 'buy' button twice by mistake. Deciding there was no better time than the present, I took those two books and CD to our very spacious new main library, which needs items to fill that space.

By lucky chance, I found John Ray's _Reflections of Osiris: Lives from Ancient Egypt_ at our local library. It features a chapter on "The First Egyptologist", Ramses II's fourth son Khaemwaset, (aka Khaemwise, Setem Khaemwaset or Setne Khaumuast). Ray writes in an engaging style. One passage he quotes certainly reveals the heart of those who study ancient things:

"It was the High Priest and Prince Khaemwise who delighted in this statue of the king's son Kawab, which he discovered in the fill of a shaft (?) in the area of the well of his father Khufu. (He acted) so as to place it in the favour of the gods, among the glorious spirits of the chapel of the necropolis, because he loved the noble ones who dwelt in antiquity before him, and the excellence of everything they made, in very truth, a million times."

'The excellence of everything they made', yes that's partly why I love seeing those old pieces.

I spent more time this weekend going through my museum photos. I'd been concentrating on getting Old Kingdom pieces in the online gallery, but decided today to just go with whatever struck my eye.


These were small glass vases from the later period. Unfortunately, I can't be any more specific than that.


This bronze piece featuring Hathor and many uraei is also from the later period.


When I say 'many uraei', I mean it, for even the top border is composed of little tiny uraei!


I don't think this red faience piece is "red faience statuette of the god Hapi inscribed for Thutmose",
but it is likely of Early Ramesside period


Nor am I certain this winged goddess is "a faience plaque of the goddess Nut from the wrappings of a mummy",
but it too is likely of Early Ramesside period

Monday, June 22, 2009

"Going South"
7:31pm

We're leaving the Egyptian galleries and going 'south' to South America. One of the oddest things I saw this year at the Metropolitan museum was the odd Peruvian earrings. These exquisitely crafted things are over three inches across. The posts on them are nearly an inch wide!


Pair of Earflares
Peru; Moche, 3rd-7th century
Hammered gold, turquoise, sodalite and shell inlay, Diam. 3 3/16 in. (8 cm)
Gift and Bequest of Alice K. Bache, 1966, 1977 (66.196.40, .41)

(From the info card)
"Large circular ear ornaments were popular personal adornments of prominent ancient Peruvian lords and a symbol of their status and wealth. the weight of the frontal was counterbalanced by a long tubular shaft worn in the distended hole in the earlobe. Particularily impressive are those earflares with colorful mosaics. On this pari, bird-headed (or masked) winged runners, worked in turquoise, sodalite, and spondaylus shell, hold bags in their outstretched hands. Their eyes and beaks are sheathed in gold. They may be depictions of mythological messengers."

The following fellow intriques me, does it have mythological portent, or is he just for whimsy?


Masked Figure
Mexico; Veracruz
Ceramic, 7th-9th century
Anonymous Loan, 1996

The following piece is especially elegant:


Lime Container (Poporo)
Colombia, Quimbaya, 5th- 10th century
Gold, Size H x W: 9 x 5 1/4in. (22.9 x 13.3cm)
Jan Mitchell and Sons Collection, Gift of Jan Mitchell, 1991 (1991.419.22)

(From the info cards)
"The gold bottles of extraordinary 'shoulder shape' made during Quimbaya times are as spectacular as any object produced in the Precolumbian world. The bottles, known in Columbia as poporos, held the powdered lime that was added to coca leaves chewed during rituals. While it is known how the poporos were used, the meaning of the nude female images on the bottles is not. Other poporos of the same period, but of slightly different form, depict nude male figures. Their meaning, too, is not understood."

"Cross-section of mold with wax model of bottle formed over a clay core. Wax rods provide air vents and pouring channels. The core is secured with four pegs to prevent slippage when mold is heated and wax melts. The empty space is filled with molten gold. After cooling, the mold is broken to free the cast."

Next I share a 'musical' piece. I have a fondness for art that depicts music:


Panpiper Vessel
Peru, Chimu
Hammered silved, turquoise inlay, 14th-15th century
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1969 (1978.412.219)

(From the info card)
"Music was essential to religious and political ceremonies in many ancient American cultures. It was also preformed for entertainments and accompanied daily activities, such as herding and working in the fields. Many depictions of musicians in various media survive, and finds of actual instruments, such as panpipes, drums, horns and rattles, are frequent in burials. The panpiper forming this vessel is impressively outfitted in a loincloth, a tunic, and a shoulder bag decorated with a geometric pattern."

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

"Showing the Process"
5:46am

I'm going to show the 'before and after' of the photos I shared in yesterday's entry. Rarely do I just take what comes out of the camera without significant editing.

BEFORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AFTER
   
Pair of Earflares

   
Pair of Earflares (Side View)

   
Masked Figure

   
Panpiper Vessel

   
Panpiper Vessel

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