World-Class Museums – Late Blooms

“We know we are a species obsessed with itself and its own past and origins. We know we are capable of removing from the sanctuary of the earth shards and fragments, and gently placing them in museums. Great museums in great cities—the hallmarks of civilisation.” ~ Kathleen Jam

A casual glance at crystals may lead to the idea that they were pure sports of nature, but this is simply an elegant way of declaring one's ignorance. With a thoughtful examination of them, we discover laws of arrangement. With the help of these, calculation portrays and links up the observed results. How variable and at the same time how precise and regular are these laws! How simple they are ordinarily, without losing anything of their significance! The theory which has served to develop these laws is based entirely on a fact, whose existence has hitherto been vaguely discerned rather than demonstrated. This fact is that in all minerals which belong to the same species, these little solids, which are the crystal elements and which I call their integrant molecules, have an invariable form, in which the faces lie in the direction of the natural fracture surfaces corresponding to the mechanical division of the crystals. Their angles and dimensions are derived from calculations combined with observation. — René-Just Haüy — A casual glance at crystals may lead to the idea that they were pure sports of nature, but this is simply an elegant way of declaring one’s ignorance. With a thoughtful examination of them, we discover laws of arrangement. With the help of these, calculation portrays and links up the observed results. How variable and at the same time how precise and regular are these laws! How simple they are ordinarily, without losing anything of their significance! The theory which has served to develop these laws is based entirely on a fact, whose existence has hitherto been vaguely discerned rather than demonstrated. This fact is that in all minerals which belong to the same species, these little solids, which are the crystal elements and which I call their integrant molecules, have an invariable form, in which the faces lie in the direction of the natural fracture surfaces corresponding to the mechanical division of the crystals. Their angles and dimensions are derived from calculations combined with observation. (Rene-Just Hauy – French Mineralogist)

Visiting our own Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto for ROM Revealed was thrilling for me. I hadn’t been to the Museum for years and when visiting in the past, there were always others with me. On this occasion, I consciously decided to go alone. It was great deciding for myself just which areas I wanted to go visit and hurrying and scurrying around trying to take in all the great galleries and activities for ROM Revealed. Minerals have always had a special appeal to me for their color and geography and the above collage depicts this.

In the collages below, you will see some of the other museum pieces and areas that are definitely worth seeing on a visit to the Museum. Hope you enjoy!

The sculptor must paint with his chisel; half his touches are not to realize, but to put power into, the form. They are touches of light and shadow, and raise a ridge, or sink a hollow, not to represent an actual ridge or hollow, but to get a line of light, or a spot of darkness. (Quote by - John Ruskin) — The sculptor must paint with his chisel; half his touches are not to realize, but to put power into, the form. They are touches of light and shadow, and raise a ridge, or sink a hollow, not to represent an actual ridge or hollow, but to get a line of light, or a spot of darkness. (Quote by – John Ruskin)

Classical Antiquity has always been fascinating to me so I thoroughly enjoyed the Ancient Greek and Roman collections. Many beautiful works of art were produced during this time – “any period before the Middle Ages (476–1453), but still within the period of Western Civilization-based human history or prehistory. The term is most often used of Classical Antiquity, the classical civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.” (Wiki)

I admired these mosaics as I myself sometimes put pieces of glass and ceramic tile together to make a picture. It is inherent in our human nature to want to try out things we admire and to see what we can create ourselves.

The history of mosaics goes back over 4,000 years.

Monuments and archaeological pieces serve as testimonies of man's greatness and establish a dialogue between civilizations showing the extent to which human beings are linked. Vincente Fox — *Monuments and archaeological pieces serve as testimonies of man’s greatness and establish a dialogue between civilizations showing the extent to which human beings are linked.* (Vincente Fox)
I was reading that bits of pottery were used in the making of early mosaics – shards of terracotta and brick. Now on to my Asian collages.

The ROM has a large Asian collection. Having travelled to many Asian countries myself and visited museums abroad, I was impressed with the collection here. I thought that I had seen all the Buddhas in the world in Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and India – but there were many here. The collections in this area are well laid out.

ROM - Asian Collection — ROM – Asian Collection

One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, novelist and dramatist.

ROM Revealed was a great extravaganza of the finest of the fine from all civilizations and cultures – all under one roof. One must not forget the gold!

A gold coin worth 1 million dollars! (Collage below) It was awesome to view this. Incredible, but true: in 2007 the Royal Canadian Mint produced the world’s first million dollar coin. The 100 kg, 99999 pure gold bullion coin with a $1 million face value was originally conceived as a unique showpiece to promote the Mint’s new line of 99999 pure 1 oz Gold Maple Leaf bullion coins. After several interested buyers came forward, the Mint decided to make a very limited quantity available for sale.

This million dollar coin is in the Mineralogy and Gem Gallery - in the Barrick Gold Gallery. — This million dollar coin is in the Mineralogy and Gem Gallery – in the Barrick Gold Gallery.

The reverse features an elegant, hand-polished maple leaf design by Royal Canadian Mint artist and senior engraver Stan Witten, and the obverse bears the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by celebrated Canadian portrait artist Susanna Blunt.

Specifications
Face value: $1,000,000
Composition: 99999 fine gold
Weight (in troy oz.): 3215
Weight (kg): 100

The above information about this coin is from the Canadian Mint Store website.

On to the Egyptian Collection and to some wise words from Akhenaton.

“If thou be industrious to procure wealth, be generous in the disposal of it. Man never is so happy as when he giveth happiness unto another.” Akhenaton quotes (King of Egypt, 14th century BC) — “If thou be industrious to procure wealth, be generous in the disposal of it. Man never is so happy as when he giveth happiness unto another.”
Akhenaton quote (King of Egypt, 14th century BC)

Kudos to all the ROM staff and volunteers who made this a Special Event for so many people. Very much appreciated!

ROM staff were dressed up in some gallery areas and visitors were able to try on some of the pieces worn by persons in that era. In the above collage, this gentleman actually posed for me. Lots of fun!

My last collage below is what I saw on my arrival at the Museum – this huge dinosaur. It made me remember fondly the days when I went on field trips with my son`s class and all the kids wanted to head for the dinosaurs or the bat cave first. The good old days, as we usually refer to them. I wondered what would be a fitting end to this post and was lucky enough to find the poem below by May Kendall.

I abide in a goodly Museum,
Frequented by sages profound:
‘Tis a kind of strange mausoleum,
Where the beasts that have vanished abound.
There’s a bird of the ages Triassic,
With his antediluvian beak,
And many a reptile Jurassic,
And many a monster antique.