After touring Athens from the end of July to mid-August, we left Greece and flew to the US to visit family in one of my favorite cities in the world, Boston. While there, we roamed through the staples, and if you had been following me on Instagram at the time, you might have caught a “live tour” around the city. Here’s a more detailed account of what we’ve been up to: our first stop was the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Bass Drum. Boston, Massachusetts, about 1815. Made by Frederick Lane (American, 1791-1865). Ash, calfskin. Drums were essential signaling equipment for militia units in all early American towns. Records provided by the selectmen of Alna, Maine, indicate that a bass drum—quite possibly this one—was purchased for that town’s militia company in September 1820. The painted eagle and shield on this drum are typical decorations. Musical Instrument Gallery (Gallery 103D).Music Glasses (armonica). Probably Germany, early 19th century. Mahogany, lead glass. Invented by Benjamin Franklin in approximately 1761, the armonica consists of a set of granular bowls mounted concentrically on an axle and rotated using a foot pedal and flywheel. When the player lightly touches the moving glass rims with moistened fingers, the instrument produces an unusual, ethereal tone. Mozart and Beethoven wrote pieces for this instrument, which was briefly in vogue in both Europe and America. Musical Instrument Gallery (Gallery 103D).
The museum was founded in 1870 and opened in 1876. It was originally located in a brick Gothic Revival building on Copley Square. In 1907, plans were laid to build a new home for the museum on Huntington Avenue. Museum trustees hired architect Guy Lowell to create a master plan that could be built in stages as funding was obtained for each phase. The first section, completed in 1909, featured a 500-foot (150 m) facade of cut granite along Huntington Avenue, the Grand Rotunda, and the associated exhibition galleries. The museum moved in later that year. In the second phase of the construction, a wing was built along the Back Bay Fens to house painting galleries. It opened in 1915. Between 1916 and 1925, John Singer Sargent created the art that lines the Rotunda and its associated colonnade. Numerous additions and wings have enlarged the building over the years. In the mid-2000s, the museum undertook a major renovation and expansion effort. The work included a new Art of the Americas Wing that shows art from North, South, and Central America. Ultimately, the project added 133,500 square feet (12,400 m2) of space, enlarging the building by 28%. The Stairway leading to the Grand Rotunda & the Rotunda Dome can be seen below.
This is a “true” close-up shot of the Dome while looking straight up…
… and this is shot through the horizontal mirror installed at the center of the ground floor reflecting the Dome, from down below!
And then we got lost—both literally & metaphorically—for hours on end, through the innumerable galleries…
Elephant goad. South India, Nayaka period, probably early 17th century. Steel. In India, elephants are revered as symbols of royal splendor, often serving as the preferred mounts of gods and kings. Almost every surface of this extraordinary goad -an implement for steering elephants- is covered with mythical creatures, earthly animals, and gods. It was surely commissioned by royalty, who would have carried it during a courtly procession. The corridor between the Islamic Gallery and Huntington Lobby (183).
Ανάμεσα στα αμέτρητα εκθέματα που μου τράβηξαν την προσοχή στο Μουσείο Καλών Τεχνών της Βοστώνης, το παρακάτω Συριακό κηροπήγιο με άφησε ακόμα πιο άφωνη όταν διάβασα το ταμπελάκι με τις πληροφορίες: είναι διακοσμημένο με δύο τύπους αραβικής καλλιγραφικής γραφής, τη γωνιώδη κουφική γραφή και τη μεταγενέστερη, πιο στρογγυλεμένη και κυρτή, νάσκι αλλά και με αναπαραστάσεις των Ελλήνων Ολύμπιων θεών, καθώς και με τα σύμβολα των ζωδίων! Ο πολυπολιτισμικός χαρακτήρας της εποχής (το κηροπήγιο χρονολογείται περίπου γύρω στο 1250) αντικατοπτρισμένος σε ένα αντικείμενο, σε βάζει σε σκέψεις…
Candlestick. Syria, about 1250. Brass incised and inlaid with silver and copper. Arabic calligraphy encircles the body of this candlestick, offering wishes of wealth, power, and good fortune to the candlestick’s owner, sentiments that are often found in works of Islamic art. The artist used two styles of script: angular Kufic above and shapely Naskh below. Between the calligraphic bands are large roundels depicting classical Greek gods and symbols of the zodiac. Islamic Gallery (Gallery 175).Commemorative head of an Oba. Late 16th century. Copper alloy, iron. When the Oba [king] joins the ancestors, his senior son succeeds him. To honor his father and celebrate his accomplishments, historically, the new Oba would commission a bronze head representing ideal kingship. The heads were part of an ancestral altar ensemble in the palace and supported decorated ivory tusks—a valuable material associated with royal power. Through rituals and sacrifices at the altar, the living monarch communicated with the royal ancestors and assured the well-being of the kingdom. Benin Kingdom Gallery (Gallery 172).Drinking cup in the shape of a fist. Central Turkey, Hittite, probably the reign of Tudhaliyas III, about 1400−1380 BC. Silver. Surviving Hittite objects made of precious metals are very scarce. This cup was used in rituals connected with the weather god, Tarhuna, who is depicted holding a bull in the frieze around the rim. The named donor of the cup was “Great King Tudhaliyas,” who is shown leading priests and musicians from a city over a mountain, personified as a human figure covered with leaves. The fist shape probably evoked a Hittite hieroglyph meaning strength, and the cup may have been presented to the god so that he would grant strength to the royal donor when the contents were drunk. Ancient Near East Gallery (Gallery 110).Libation bowl. Inscription: The sons of Kypselos dedicated [this bowl] from Heraclea. Greek, reportedly found at Olympia, from the archaic period, 7th century BC. Gold. This bowl is an example of an extremely valuable offering made at Olympia. According to the inscription, it was dedicated by the ruling family of Corinth. Most precious offerings of this kind were later looted. Greek Archaic Gallery (Gallery 113).Bowl. Iran (Kashan), late 12th−early 13th centuries. Stonepaste body; overglaze decoration. The most common form of enameled ceramic is a bowl decorated with figures in the center. The figures are often grouped in scenes showing hunting, enthronements, and lovers. This one appears to depict the hero Feridun (who carries an ox-headed mace) surrounded by his court. Islamic Gallery (Gallery 175).[From left to right] •Mask (bikeghe). Fang peoples. Gabon, 20th century. Wood, pigment. Masks such as this one were part of Fang rituals that initiated young men into adulthood and also appeared on other ceremonial occasions — the community called upon them for protection in times of crisis. •Helmet mask (lipiko). Makonde peoples, Tanzania or Mozambique, 20th century. Wood, hair, pigment. Mapiko (singular: lipiko) is the name for male helmet masks and female face masks worn during initiation festivals. This male mask, crafted from thin, lightweight wood, features naturalistic details, including eyebrows and coiffure, inlaid with human hair. In performance, the costumed dancer looked through the small mouth opening. Masquerade and figurative carving traditions are rare in Eastern and Southern Africa, the region where this mask originates. •Double mask (enyi ima). Eket peoples, Nigeria, 19th-early 20th centuries. Wood, pigment. Members of the Ekong society, wearing enyi ima masks, appear at funerals and entertain during agricultural festivals and other celebrations. Studies suggest that the masks’ round shape may reference the moon, thought to be the creator goddess in Eket belief. Double masks such as this one are rare. Richard B. Carter Gallery (Gallery 171).Altar (asen). Fon peoples, Republic of Benin, late 19th-early 20th centuries. Iron, pigment. Forged iron staffs, called altars, served as memorials to the dead family shrines. This work originates from Quidah, a significant coastal trading town with close ties to Europe. The platform tableau consists of a central figure—a well-to-do gentleman with a European top hat and a pipe—seated on a Chippendale chair before a table arrayed with glass containers and flanked by sacrificial animals, flags, and a cross. This altar testifies to the connections of the African coast with Europe and other parts of the world, as well as the creative incorporation of foreign elements into the local visual repertoire. Richard B. Carter Gallery (Gallery 171).Beadnet dress, 2551–2528 BC. Depictions of women in Egyptian art occasionally feature garments decorated with an overall lozenge pattern. This design is believed to represent beadwork, which was either sewn onto a linen dress or worked into a separate net worn over the linen. This beadnet dress is the earliest surviving example of its kind. It has been painstakingly reassembled from approximately seven thousand beads found in an undisturbed burial of a female contemporary of King Khufu. Although their string had disintegrated, a few beads still lay in their original pattern on and around the mummy, permitting an accurate reconstruction. The color of the beads has faded, but the beadnet was originally blue and blue-green, imitating the colors of lapis lazuli and turquoise. Egypt: Old Kingdom Funerary Arts Gallery (Gallery 105B).
Oh, well… I wanted to leave with that dress—and I couldn’t care less if a mummy had worn it!
Το Μουσείο Καλών Τεχνών της Βοστώνης στη Μασαχουσέτη, είναι ένα από τα μεγαλύτερα μουσεία των Ηνωμένων Πολιτείων. Ιδρύθηκε το 1870 και λειτούργησε το 1876. Στεγαζόταν αρχικά σε ένα κτήριο στην πλατεία Copley αλλά το 1907, υπήρξαν οι πρώτες σκέψεις για ένα καινούργιο κτήριο στη λεωφόρο Huntington. Οι διαχειριστές του Μουσείου προσέλαβαν τον αρχιτέκτονα Guy Lowell για να δημιουργήσει ένα σχέδιο που θα επέτρεπε στο μουσείο να κατασκευαστεί σε στάδια, ούτως ώστε να εξασφαλίζονται οι χρηματοδοτήσεις που θα απαιτούνταν για την κάθε φάση. Το 1909 ολοκληρώθηκε το πρώτο τμήμα, που περιελάμβανε την 150 μέτρων, γρανιτένια πρόσοψη κατά μήκος της Huntington Avenue, τη Μεγάλη Ροτόντα [φωτό. 6,7 & 8] και συναφείς εκθεσιακούς χώρους. Το μουσείο μεταφέρθηκε από την πλατεία Copley αργότερα εκείνο το έτος.
H δεύτερη φάση της κατασκευής περιελάμβανε πτέρυγα κατά μήκος του πάρκου Back Bay Fens που στεγάσε γκαλερί ζωγραφικής και άνοιξε το 1915. Από το 1916 μέχρι το 1925, ο διάσημος Αμερικανός ζωγράφος John Singer Sargent φιλοτέχνησε την Ροτόντα. Με την πάροδο των χρόνων το μουσείο διευρύνθηκε. Στα μέσα της δεκαετίας του 2000, ξεκίνησε μια μεγάλη προσπάθεια για να ανακαινιστεί και να επεκταθούν περαιτέρω οι εγκαταστάσεις του. Τελικά, προστέθηκαν συνολικά 12.400 τετραγωνικά μέτρα (ανάμεσα τους και η πτέρυγα Εγγενούς Αμερικανικής Τέχνης με συλλογές από τη Βόρεια, Νότια και Κεντρική Αμερική) διευρύνοντας το κτήριο κατά 28%. Σήμερα το μουσείο περιλαμβάνει αμέτρητες μόνιμες συλλογές ανεπτυγμένες σε αναρίθμητες αίθουσες: Αμερικανικής Τέχνης, Ευρωπαϊκής, Ασιατικής, Τέχνες της Αφρικής & της Ωκεανίας, Τέχνες της Αρχαιότητας −με πάνω από 83.000 έργα από την αρχαία Αίγυπτο, τη Νουβία, την Ελλάδα, την Ιταλία, την Κύπρο & την Ανατολία, από το 6500 π.Χ. έως το 600 μ.Χ. από τη Βρετανία μέχρι το Αφγανιστάν− τη συλλογή Σύγχρονης Τέχνης, Φωτογραφίας, Χαρακτικών & Σχεδίων, Μουσικών Οργάνων, Υφασμάτων & Μόδας, Κοσμημάτων κ.ά., δύο βιβλιοθήκες και πάνω από 450.000 εκθέματα. Επισκεφθείτε το στο http://www.mfa.org/
All information on selected items is quoted from the museum’s section/object labels & credit panels – Οι πληροφορίες σε επιλεγμένα αντικείμενα/φωτογραφίες είναι ακριβείς παραθέσεις από τις ταμπέλες των εκθεμάτων.
*images by Athina D. Pantazatou for Kicking Back the Pebbles.
Purrfect shot of the stairs and dome 🙂 Pawkisses 🙂