Merrie Olde England TR - Read but Don't Reply! About This Page:

[cindybelle]

Yep, that's a McDonalds sign from China. Shanghai-based artist Li Lihong is from the great ceramic-producing city of Jingdezhen, and began his career in commercial design and advertising. These experiences come together in "McDonalds #1." While contemporary in theme, Li's piece also reminds us that Chinese porcelain has been a global product for centuries. This was created in 2007.




Now, did we think we'd somehow gotten transported to Florence? The V&A has an entire floor devoted to plaster casts of famous sculptures. They use these for teaching young artists. Hence this copy of Michelangelo's David.




We stayed until nearly 10:00 p.m. Then I begged for a quick stop at the South Kensington Tube station to purchase a bottle of pear cider, which we enjoyed back in our room.




This had been a long, full day: Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, a French feast, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Much satisfied, we took our showers and then
.

[DrDolphin]

Sounds like it was a very busy, and very wonderful Friday!!! Can't wait to see what Saturday brings. And I SO wish I was going to be in STL in July. We used to go to the Muny all the time when I was a kid!

[jennie622]

Your pics make me realize how young our country really is!

[chezp]

Wow, that was a really full day! I know you couldn't have fitted it in anyway, but I've done the Tower Bridge Experience a couple of times and really enjoyed it.

Love the purchases by the way and how cool you got to meet up with Kelly!

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures from the V&A! And dinner looked delicious too!

[cindybelle]

Originally Posted by DrDolphin

Sounds like it was a very busy, and very wonderful Friday!!! Can't wait to see what Saturday brings. And I SO wish I was going to be in STL in July. We used to go to the Muny all the time when I was a kid!

Well Terri, get your little behind up here then!

[cindybelle]

Another beautiful morning dawned, and after breakfast we headed back down Sumner Street to our Tube station. To let you see how large my "little elephant friend" is, I asked Rick to take my picture with him.



I just love that little elephant and would like to know the story behind him. We never saw anyone come out of that flat, or I would have asked them. (You know how painfully shy I am not. )

Another openin', another show -- in Philly, Boston, or Baltimo -- oh wait, that's "Kiss Me, Kate." And we weren't going to be seeing a musical anyway -- but tonight we would see. . . .




The box office was open, so we went ahead and picked up the tickets I had purchased by phone from the States.


Then we walked to Covent Garden, which is quite close to the Theater District. We found the place where we'd be meeting Cheryl and Mark the next day.




And then we walked just a bit further to the British Museum, which I think should be called the British Empire Museum, since it proudly displays so many acquisitions from ancient Egypt, Assyria, and Greece. As Rick Steves writes, "In the 19th century, the British flag flew over one-fourth of the world. London was the world's capital. And England collected art as fast as it collected colonies."

And here we are!




Admission is free, so even on a gorgeous Saturday, the museum sees a lot of visitors. The gorgeous "lobby," for lack of a better word, lets in natural light quite beautifully.

[cindybelle]

In that "lobby" area sits a magnificent marble sculpture of a youth on horseback. It's from Rome and believed to be from the 1st century AD.




Now, I am very much against the killing of elephants for their ivory tusks, but I must admit I was fascinated by this large ivory comb from 1080-1100. It was
thought to be used in religious ceremonies.









This photo below isn't very good, but I was determined to show something with Queen Victoria's likeness on it. I wouldn't mind owning this broach.





And I hinted to Rick that I would love a pin like this one, which shouldn't be terribly expensive because it's glass pastes in a silver open-back setting. Of course, it's rather old -- from about 1770. It's large -- I'd say about 5 inches long. Anyway, I really like it. But he didn't take the hint.

[cindybelle]

And since I'm a huge fan of mother-of-pearl, I would also like this bowl from early 17th century India. I'm just sayin'.





"The world is small: I mean that it is not as large as people say it is." (Christopher Columbus, 1503)

Well, after walking through this enormous museum, I must say I agree with Columbus. Great Britain certainly seemed determine to bring objects from all over the world to this great institution.



Gold cape, anyone? "In 1833 laborers discovered the remains of a skeleton in a stone-lined grave (in Wales). The cape was crushed around the chest area. It was successfully restored by the British Museum. Some of the missing portions were re-created from gilt copper using techniques similar to those of ancient craftworkers. The patterns were formed by pressing tools from the inside, a technique known as 'embossing.'"

The cape would have severely limited arm movement, so it's believed to have been used for religious ceremonies only.




Rick was fascinated by this carillon clock from 1589 (Strasbourg, Germany). It's based on the cathedral clock in Strasbourg. Both were designed by Isaac Habrecht. The cathedral clock is still in use today. "At the top are figures on flour levels. On the highest level are Christ and Death, the latter striking the hours. Below, the Four Ages of Man strike the quarter-hours. Next, angels process before a seated Madonna and Child when the music plays. Below, a carousel shows the days of the week, each represented by its ruling planet. There are three dials on the front. At the top is a 24-hour dial and in the middle is a dial showing quarter-hours and minutes. The lower dial is an annual calendar naming saints' days and feast days."

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures of the museum!

[cindybelle]

From Persepolis, between 518 and 339 BC. (Except for me -- I'm from 1955 AD. )




In keeping with our "War Horse" theme, here's a marble horse's head from 350-300 BC.




And now, for something completely different:



"Slotted, lockable money safe." Otherwise known as Hamm. I really think they should have John Ratzenberger's voice explaining all about the slotted money safe, don't you?


Colossal guardian lion, Assyrian, about 865-860 BC. And I heartily approve of the young woman demonstrating her own ferocity.





Hoa Hakananai'a Easter Island Statue about AD 1400:

[jennie622]

There is alot going on in the clock!!

[cindybelle]

Double-headed serpent, AD 1400-1521 (Mexico), turquoise, wood, shell. Created by the Aztecs. It may have been worn or carried during religious ceremonies.







Well, you get the idea. It's a magnificent museum and well worth several hours of your time. But it was getting close to lunchtime, and I wanted to break away to see Sir John Soane's Museum.

[Colexis Mom]

More great pictures from the museum!

[cindybelle]

Now, my structural engineer is also a do-it-yourselfer. He's helped relatives, friends and co-workers with electrical, plumbing, roofing, painting, you name it. We joke that his favorite place to be is the hardware store. So I didn't have to persuade him to pose for this photo as we walked toward the Soane Museum.



You see how Rick is so right for me, don't you?


We made our way up tree-lined streets to Lincoln's Inn Fields and this sign:




Free admission. No photography allowed, but take a look at these images from the web: Sir John Soane's Museum - Google Search

Also, I purchased a small booklet and took photos of the photos for you! Rick LOVED this little museum/house. As he says, "You don't need the V&A -- just go to the Soane Museum." We highly recommend adding this museum to your itinerary if you're going to London. It was one of the highlights of the trip.

This is the house & museum of Sir John Soane, one of England’s greatest architects. Soane died in 1837, the year of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne. In 1833, by means of an Act of Parliament, he had established the house as a Museum open to the public, stipulating that it be kept ‘as nearly as possible in the state in which he shall leave it'.

Soane designed the Bank of England in 1788. He married, had two sons and in 1792 he bought and rebuilt No. 12 Lincoln’s Inn Fields as a home for the family with an office at the back.

In 1813 he moved next door into No. 13, which he rebuilt as a new home but also as a Museum. By this point, Soane was Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy and displayed his collection to educate and inspire others. After his wife’s death in 1815 Soane lived alone here until his death, constantly adding to and rearranging the displays. In 1823 he bought and rebuilt a third house, No. 14. He rented out the house but used the stable yard at the back to extend his Museum. The facades of the three rebuilt houses form a symmetrical composition facing the Fields. The Museum was open in Soane’s lifetime, but visitors were not admitted in ‘wet or dirty weather’.

Opening up the Soane is a 7 million pound project to restore, refurbish and improve Sir John Soane’s Museum, described as the “supreme example of the house museum in the world.” Hundreds of artifacts will be redisplayed according to Soane’s original arrangement, while retaining and enhancing the special atmosphere. The spaces to be restored include:

- Soane’s exquisite and intriguing private apartments on the second floor, including his bedroom, bathroom and oratory and Mrs. Soane’s Morning Room .
- The Model Room on the second floor of No.l 13, the original setting for Soane’s collection of historical architectural models – the largest in Britain. They’ll be displayed on their original model stands.
- The Tivoli Recess – a tiny space containing works by Soane’s contemporaries which was London’s first ever gallery for contemporary sculpture.
- The Ante-Room on the ground floor with almost 200 works of art and views down to the Catacombs in the Crypt below.

You can hire the Museum for a private dinner or reception, become a Patron, & support the work in various ways. We donated 10 pounds.

Much of the furniture was built specifically for Soane. The carpets are exact replicas of Soane's original Axminsters.

The Crypt was intended to have an atmosphere reminiscent of Roman burial chambers or catacombs. Many of the sculptures on display are plaster models of famous marble monuments.

The Sepulchral Chamber contains the sarcophagus of King Seti I (1303-1290 BC), one of the most important Egyptian antiquities ever to be discovered. The hieroglyphics, still undeciphered in Soane’s time, tell the story of the soul’s passage through the underworld. The sarcophagus is carved out of a single piece of “Egyptian alabaster” (a calcite limestone). The London air has caused most of the composition to disintegrate, and the stone to turn yellow. The case dates from 1866. It's very cool to look down into the sarcophagus, both from that level and from the level above (Soane cut an opening through the floor above so you can look down).

The Colonnade contains a female torso from the frieze of the Erechtheion, a temple on the Acropolis at Athens (5th century BC).

Soane was educated in the Renaissance tradition which taught that near perfection in art had been achieved in a limited number of Greek and Roman sculptures and buildings. It's pretty obvious he believed that throughout his life and collected accordingly.

Soane wanted “a succession of those fanciful effects which constitute the poetry of architecture.” And I'd say he got just that! It's truly an amazing house and a wonderful collection. If I lived in London, I would be a member of the society supporting this work.


Here's a video describing the restoration and showing a bit of the house: Sir John Soane's Museum › Video footage of the Museum

OK, here are my "photos of the photos" from the booklet I purchased.




The house is artfully cluttered, just like you see in this picture:




He collected some absolutely stunning art objects from all over the world. I think of him as being Victorian in outlook, so it's ironic that he actually died the year Victoria became queen.