Day 250 - Silver kettle drum



 June 17, 2021

Gallery 683 also contains only two main items. The first is a spectacular pair of silver kettle drums, each perhaps 28 inches in diameter and 16 inches high, that was made in Germany in 1779 for the Hanoverian Life Guards of King George III. The placard informs me that George was not only king of England but also an elector of Hanover. The drums bear the royal coat of arms, and,  as one might imagine, were ceremonial instruments that were used in processions marking state events.  The refinement of the silver work is remarkable; you can see the musculature in the bodies of the rampant lion and the unicorn that flank the coat of arms I'm struck by the fact that the coat of arms is replete with fleur-de-lis (a design element that clearly wasn't uniquely French) and bears the French inscriptions "Honi soit qui mal y pense" and "Dieu et mon droit." It's a reminder of the complex interconnections between the Brits and the French. 

The second instrument is an organ made by Thomas Appleton of Boston. I struggle to understand a nearby display case that shows how an organ works, and I can't say I really get it. But I do take away the point that the organ is a wind instrument. I think of the Appleton Chapel at Harvard. I'v'e got to assume it's the same family.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflections 1 - The Egyptian galleries

When I dreamt up this project sometime last year, I had no idea that there are 37 galleries in the Egyptian wing, and perhaps that is a good thing; I might have felt less committed to the enterprise. But I can honestly say that in every gallery I have found things that surprised or fascinated or maybe just pleased me, and I could never have imagined how important and meaningful this effort has become to me. Egyptian art is a fitting place to begin a project that marks the beginning of the last phase of my life.  I hope, of course, that that phase will be a long and happy and rewarding one, but there is no way to know that.  But it will ultimately come to an end, so it is appropriate to start with a culture whose art reveals a preoccupation with death and the afterlife.   It's also a good starting point because it's a topic I knew a bit about, having traveled in Egypt and done some prep work before that trip. But I've quickly come to realize that there is far, far ...
Read more

Day 77 - Plate with "reclusive landscape"

Image
August 1, 2018 Gallery 211 contains works illustrating another theme, the "landscape of reclusion."  The works represent the idea of landscape as a retreat from the world's dangers and from the hurly-burly of politics and professional service. According to a wall sign, such works frequently depict retired gentlemen and scholars seated in pavilions sipping tea, surrounded by majestic mountains -- an altogether peaceful, meditative, and beautiful environment. (Of course,I suppose these scholars would have had to be men of means to afford such retreats.)  A poem by Lu Yin, a 3rd century C.E. poet, that is reproduced on a wall placard, expresses this notion perfectly:  Living in retirement beyond the world,  Silently enjoying isolation,  I pull the rope of my door tighter, And grip tight the wine jug. My spirit is tuned to the spring season; At the fall of the year there is autumn in my heart, Thus following the ways of heaven and earth. ...
Read more

Day 159 - Lute player bowl

Image
June 7, 2019 Gallery 453 contains works from Iran and central Asia made between the 9th and 13th centuries.  Near the entrance to the gallery stands a three-feet-high incense burner from the Seljuk period and dated 1181-82. Made of cast bronze that was then engraved and pierced, it takes the form of what looks to me like a dog, its ears pricked up, its tongue lolling out. I then read the caption and discover that the dog is really a lion. Oh well... It's a good introduction to some of the gallery's visual treats and objects of interest. I note, for example, a blue- and-white striped ewer with a polychrome top in the shape of a rooster's head, along with a nearly complete chess set -- one of the oldest in the world -- from 12th century Nishapur.  There's also a large ceramic figure of a harpy, which, I learn, was seen as an auspicious figure in Seljuk Iran, although not in other cultures.  I'm struck again by the presence of Arabic inscriptions on everyda...
Read more