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Add Dimension To Your Walls With Ancient Wall Reliefs
I visited a friend recently and, though I don't usually notice, I was fascinated by his decor. The style is something called steam punk, a sort of futuristic Victorian, which sounded like it came straight from Jules Verne, a sort of Captain Nemo meets Robur the Conqueror, all shining brass, leather, futuristic technology, and clockwork. My friend's version was a lot more 'Indiana Jones', with his steamer trunk table, collection of interesting artifacts, statues and intriguing ancient wall reliefs. It went with his home, originally built in the 1920's and created a warm, interesting interior well suited to his huge collection of books.
My home is rather more modern, so when I thought about ways of furnishing my den (something I was told was 'up to me') I rejected the steam punk idea. While I'm no interior designer I can see that a certain harmony between interior and exterior is useful. While modern homes are spacious they can be really bland, then I realized this gave me more scope to stamp my own personality on the room, and that thought gave me the idea to use wall art and wall sculptures to give my room some character, but what to choose?
Ancient Greek buildings were not what we see today. Most people realize that they were beautiful buildings which stood, in many cases for centuries, before taking the damage we see now, but did you know that they were colorful? You wouldn't think so to look at the remains in a museum. I used to eat my lunchtime sandwiches while admiring the huge Assyrians gateways in the British Museum in London, just along from room 18, the home of the 'Elgin marbles'. These famous sculptures were removed from the Parthenon in the first years of the 19th century by the Earl of Elgin, the Greek government is still trying to get them back. The sculptures are stark, white and very beautiful, exactly what we think of when we think 'classical art' but what would the ancients have thought of them? Euripides give us a clue in his play 'Helen of Troy' when Helen says 'If only I could shed my beauty and assume an uglier aspect, the way you wipe paint off a statue'. Those stunning marble statues in their gleaming white were once bright and multi-colored. So different from what we see now and associate with the ancient world, that it's really difficult to imagine.
We view the ancient gods as abstract, the result is that ancient wall sculptures like Poseidon in his chariot are 'classical' and perfectly at home in a modern room. It was only at the Renaissance that, finding classical statues stripped of their color by time, the sculptors believed they had originally been white marble, and set out to emulate them. In antiquity the Greeks believed in living breathing Gods;their statues were painted brightly to reflect that. While we admire the amazing craftsmanship of the Parthenon sculptures the ancients admired their lifelike quality so much so that it was said that at certain times of the day it was as though the gods in their friezes actually moved. The sculpture and paint techniques were designed to come together and enhance the three dimensional quality or the stone, bringing the subject to life. Archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann is working hard to analyse ancient statues and create authentic reproductions. These, complete with complex paint techniques and pigments are as close as possible to those used in ancient times and the results are fascinating; the ancient world will never seem the same again.
So what should I do? I could decide on classical white wall reliefs and create a modern room, making my choice on a basis of symbolism. Hercules wrestling the lion could remind me that even when my todo list is a bit long, it's not the Labours of Hercules, while Dionysus on a donkey would remind me that the point of work is to fund the fun to come. As an inhabitant of the New World I could turn to Mayan wall reliefs,
but I think my choice will be more ancient still. From Ramses who drove out the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh, to the concept of Maat, goddess of justice and order, the wall sculptures of the Ancient Egyptians hold an endless fascination. We are more accustomed to color when it comes to Egypt, and hence see these more as they really were, bold and brilliant in the desert sun. So there was my choice, Egyptian decor
.
For my Den my primary choice is obvious; Thoth, the god of writing and wisdom, to keep me right at all times!
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About the Author
On a quest for the perfect spot online to find a huge selection of ancient art? Find a museum gift that's sure to bring beauty and splendor to any home at Your Museum Store.
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