At the British Museum

I was super lucky to be staying only a street away from the British Museum on my recent trip to Europe.
I could see the dome from my window – I know!

courtyard

There is so much to see and absorb.

One of the most exciting things was to see the Mildenhall Treasure in person. I wrote about these many many moons ago, as the shape of the spoons were inspiration for a silversmithing project.

spoons from the Mildenhall Treasure

I also tried, it seems in vain, to photograph the beautiful jewels in the Waddesdon Bequest. The enameling on the back of three of the gorgeous jewels was stunning … and naturally I failed to be able to photograph it, so below is the collection image.

click on image for original source

Love this place.

Bejewelled Treasures : The Al Thani Collection @ V&A

While in London I visited a favourite museum, the Victoria and Albert.

I was quite excited about seeing the exhibition ‘Bejewelled Treasures: The Al Thani Collection‘; I had booked my ticket many many months ago.

at the V&A

I went through it in less than 15 minutes.
It was overwhelming in the unfortunate way.

Too much ‘bling’. Too gaudy.
Someone else said it was too vulgar (so British).

It was basically a show of large stones put in, sometimes admittedly beautiful, metal settings.

It was just hit after hit; dazzling in the unpleasant way of feeling like you’ve been through a hurricane or repeatedly dumped in the surf (so Australian).

exhibition media; click on image for original source

And the exhibition design … when are curators going to tire of the ‘dark room with bright cabinet lighting’ trope?

I’ve said it before, this ‘jewel box’ exhibition design – where the only lighting is bright and on the objects, with the floor/walls/ceiling painted black – is exhausting and disorienting (not to mention headache-inducing).

I was so sadly disappointed. I have no idea how you could make this a more visitor-friendly exhibition … but it would have been lovely to see some of the objects in natural light and displayed against the kind of textiles they would have been worn on/with.

Lastly though: look closely at the first photograph above. The exhibition conditions included no photographs (understandable) and no sketching. The latter is quite unusual from my experience. And disappointing too – for I do like to sketch objects I’m not allowed to photograph (in pencil of course), for it allows time and room for a connection with the object.

Happily though, the remainder of the museum is still a total delight to visit.

Past exhibition: ‘The Jewels of JAR’

A recent post by Marcus Banyan (ArtBlart) pointed me to a current exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York – Jewels by JAR.

The photographs on his post, and the museum website, reminded me of the exhibition JAR pieces I saw in London many moons ago; apparently the only previous one of his work.

photograph of catalogue

From memory there was no lighting in the rooms, or perhaps only the barest to be able to navigate oneself safely about. My memory is of visitors being furnished with their own little flashlight to illuminate each piece in the wall-recessed display cabinets. Looking at photographs of the current show, it seems that the lighting is within the vitrines and no-one has flashlights – I wonder if I imagined that part?

photograph of catalogue

I especially liked this text from one of the catalogue essays: “Every piece, once it is ready to be sold, comes with the ghost of the person who will eventually wear it.” (‘Solace’ by Frederick Seidel, 2002, included text); while I’m not convinced I can see souls haunting these particular objects, I do like the idea in general.

However I do remember at the time realising that I would never make pieces like this – not the least because of the incredible technique I’d need to master, but due to my aversion to all things representative.

photograph of catalogue

If you do happen to go to the current JAR exhibition, prepare to be dazzled, metaphorically and physically (just do a simple google image search and you’ll know what I’m saying). It could almost be too much of a good thing with over 400 pieces. For interest, there was a rather brutal review of the show in the NY Times.

‘The Jewels of JAR‘ was held in the Gilbert Collection at Somerset House, London from 2nd November 2002 – 26 January 2003.

Another holiday snap

My lovely and thoughtful friend has sent me another image from the V&A British Museum in London (see my previous one).

They are striking and beautiful objects. Though the description below may be a bit creepy for some.

image with permission of photographer; not to be reproduced without permission

image with permission of photographer; not to be reproduced without permission

I did a little reading on St Eustace. He (yes, I thought it was a lady too) was subject to a “series of calamities followed to test his faith: his wealth was stolen; his servants died of a plague; when the family took a sea voyage, the ship’s captain kidnapped Eustace’s wife Theopista; and as Eustace crossed a river with his two sons Agapius and Theopistus, the children were taken away by a wolf and a lion” … that’s a bit rough, but apparently he never lost his faith, which is partly why he’s considered special.

I’m a bit worried that my friend now is under the impression that I like reliquaries … mmm, I don’t want that getting around! It is true though that I am fascinated by the work and dedication committed to creating an idol of the bones and bits from individuals considered special (though sadly the bones are often misattributed). The sociological aspect is interesting yes?