Jan 2015: New York Met: The fantastic Faberge Collection

then I come to something that is just amazing, the Faberge collection of eggs and other curios. Faberge was a Russian Jeweller and used to make the most amazing jewellery collection for the great and good of Russian and European society back when it was a society. When the czars roamed. (I have to tell you this joke...if the king was a Czar and the queen was a Czarina, what are the kids called? Czardines) 

the exquisite work is amazing, i fogged up the glass trying to peer closely at these amazing pieces of jewellers art. 

Jan 2014: New York: The old courtesan

this statue is a Roman copy around 1st century BC of a Greek Statue dating back to the 2-3rd C BC. Whilst it is commonly known as the Old Woman of the Market, experts now believe that she was a an old courtesan and a worshiper of Dionysus. She is too well dressed to be a common market place vendor. but that is not why I fell in love with her. The statue has been battered around the past 2 millennium, the nose has been struck off, the arms are missing. But then, she was an aged courtesan. They live a very difficult life, after 25-30 years, they are well over the hill so unable to really keep on earning their keep by selling their bodies. And looking at her, she would be say 70 years? so for 50 odd years, she would survive on her wits after a very difficult life. You can see the body bent at the spine, one exposed breast drooping, the brow furrowed in thought while carrying that heavy basket. I just stood there and looked at her silently, she spoke to me so much. Did she have a granddaughter? was she warm in winter? Did she have an old paramour with whom she would talk and laugh in her thin reedy voice? remember old friends and warriors who have now passed on? would she close her rheumy eyes and remember those days when she was the toast of Athens or the Peloponnese?  When men would throw themselves at her feet just to receive one tilted head small secret smile?

what a girl.

Jan 2014: New York. Alexander

I was struck by this bronze representation of Alexander dating back to 150 BC, couple of hundred years after his time. The man was very forceful and had a very strong character, well, you needed to be, right? And after his death, he became a God and was worshipped for many many moons afterwards. Statues and sculptures like these were used in temples. Such a young looking face, very strong, sensual face. Those heroic flowing locks and all this in bronze. The sculptor would be a wonderful artist indeed.

Jan 2014. Faces on Wood

After my wander around in Central Park, I met up with my friend, Katie, and wandered around the metropolitan museum. These faces were painted on wooden panels and were inserted into the mummies, as an indication to show what the deceased looked like. No Golden Mask like King Tut, these are in the post Grecian age of Egypt and some into the Roman Egyptian time.

but the paintings are just so lifelike. How exquisite. Look at the faces. They are so lifelike, hundreds of years later. The paintings of the boy are so lifelike....and the girl...gosh, one would fall in love with her.

Jan 2014: New York: Earth and Rivers - the couple for life

this was an extraordinary sarcophagus lid for a family grave dating back to the Roman period of AD220. It shows Earth as the woman, holding some sheafs of wheat. the man is holding a reed, a representation of river gods. there is a lizard like creature on his left elbow while an animal with a little Eros on top is at the bottom. Extremely lifelike but note one thing, the man's face is well carved, but what happened to the woman? So the theory goes, he died before her and nobody bothered to carve her head after she died.

And I just stood there looking at the unfinished head of the woman. everything else was so beautifully finished, the feet, the arms, the draped clothes, the hand under the chin, but not the head. What an extraordinary sight.