Ancient Egyptian Gallery - Joan Lennon

This month marks the 200th anniversary of the National Museum of Scotland (then the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland*) acquiring its very first ancient Egyptian artefact.**  So it is fitting that they are opening the new Ancient Egyptian Gallery ...

... and it is fabulous!  Every cabinet and display has something riveting.  From Nubian horses -

c1550-1295 BCE

c1390-1186

to a long-kilted wealthy man -

c1855-1650 BCE

to a tiny bewigged woman -

c1550-1295 BCE

But perhaps, as many of us are writers, I should share the headless scribe with the lovely ripply belly, with these words on the information board:

"In an ancient Egyptian poem, a father advises his son to become a scribe to avoid hard physical labour, declaring, 'I will make you love writing more than your mother!'"

c1479-1425 BCE

Says it all.

The next time you are in Edinburgh, give it a visit if you possibly can.  If that isn't likely to be anytime soon, the links below offer a taste of what's on offer, and also some more in-depth information about individual objects.

Explore Our Collections: Ancient Egyptian Collection
Things to See and Do:  New Ancient Egyptian, East Asia and Ceramics Galleries


* Founded 1780.
** The Egyptian collection now contains around 6,000 objects.

Joan Lennon's website.
Joan Lennon's blog.
Silver Skin.

Tiny Beauties by Joan Lennon

I remember seeing them first in the old Chambers Street Museum in Edinburgh, before its transformation into the National Museum of Scotland.  Then they were tucked into an old-fashioned display case in a side gallery.  Now they are part of the Grand Gallery's Window on the World - a three storey high Cabinet of Curiosities.  They are the Blaschka models - tiny beauties in glass -

(my photos, taken through glass on a sunny day, but I did my best!)

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scientists interested in studying hard-to-preserve invertebrate animals and sea plants had to depend on 2D drawings.  The Blaschkas, father (Leopold Blaschka 1822-1895) and son (Rudolf Blaschka 1857-1939), took on the challenge of making 3D educational models in, of all things, glass.  They are painstakingly, astonishingly accurate and they are minute.  Many are smaller than the length of my thumb - the biggest are less than the length of my hand.  And I have dinky hands. 

I visit them every time I go to the Museum, and I would love to see more.  The Blaschkas were commissioned by museums far and wide - Harvard Museum of Natural History, for example, has an entire section dedicated to Blaschka flower models, and the Natural History Museum in London has examples like this utterly gorgeous tiny octopus -

(Wikipedia)

Knowledge of the techniques the Blaschkas used to create these undeniable works of art died with them.  Part of me is sad about that.  But part of me finds it oddly satisfying.  Sometimes mystery can be exquisite too.


P.S. More about the Blaschka story can be found here and here. 
P.P.S. I call dibs on writing the graphic novel version!


Joan Lennon's website.
Joan Lennon's blog.
Walking Mountain.

The Voice of the Carnyx was Heard in the Land - Joan Lennon

A few months ago, Mary Hoffman posted about The Celts: Art and Identity - a fabulous exhibition at the British Museum.  Luckily for me, the exhibition then headed north, to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, where I got the chance to see it.

Wow!

Mary's favourite piece was the silver Gundestrup cauldron and I agree it is absolutely spectacular - and so cleverly displayed - in the round, so that you can see all of the carved images, inside and out.  

 

(photograph of the cauldron in Berne by Rosemania - Wiki commons)

But what most caught my imagination was the carnyx - the Celtic horn.  You can see three of them being played on a detail from the cauldron -

(photograph by Bloodofox - Wiki commons)

These towering, beast-headed horns, braying out across ancient valleys and hills - just imagining the sound can raise the hairs on the back of your neck.  But you don't have to just imagine.  Musician John Kenny was part of a project to recreate the Deskford carnyx, with its "skull in bronze, with a soft palate, a throat, a jaw that moves and a tongue that moves on a leaf spring" (Celts: Secrets of the Carnyx).  And then, clearly fascinated, he composed a modern piece of music for the instrument, scored for 4 multi-tracked carnyces.  Have a listen - I love it!

Let me know what you think - and if you are within striking distance of Edinburgh, do go to the exhibition.  It's on until the 25th September and you can get all the details here.



Joan Lennon's website.
Joan Lennon's blog.
Silver Skin.

Modern Takes on the Cabinet of Curiosities - Joan Lennon

Here at History Girls, we have an occasional series loosely based around Cabinets of Curiosities.  So far we've had Celia Rees' fascinating overview, Laurie Graham's succulent samovar, Paul Dowswell writing about Rudolph II's cabinet, Penny Dolan's beautiful coronation shell and Caroline Lawrence's report on the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge.

And today it's me with one of my favourite museums - The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh - and its take on the theme.  The renovated Grand Gallery was re-opened in 2011 with one whole side of its beautiful white ironwork expanse given over to A Window on the World.  Which is basically a gigantic Cabinet of Curiosities - hard to photograph but stunning to look at!  And the fact that the glass elevators are placed the way they are make visitors who travel in them part of the Cabinet as well - such a neat idea!  

And in the Early People gallery, Eduardo Paolozzi, Scottish sculptor, made these statue-exhibit-cases.   

Modern meets ancient, sculpture wears artefacts, cabinet becomes curiosity!  If you get the chance, come and have a look for yourself - you won't regret it!

Joan's website.

Joan's blog.

(photos by Joan Lennon)