NYC Museum trip!

[fbhjr]

The Morgan Library and Museum in New York city was having a special exhibit called Illuminating Fashion: Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands

We got there just after the museum opened and went in. (IF you want to hear about the trip details I put them in a different entry. http://fbhjr.livejournal.com/449210.html )


They have some cool stuff there.


This is supposed to have a piece of the true cross in it.


This was really cool.


But, when I turned to take a picture of the glass elevator and stairs, the guard told me no photos!
So, no more photos. Sad.

They were pretty strict about the no photos. I saw one woman take one in the costume exhibit and the guard not only told her to stop but made her go and erase the one she had taken.

The museum was the home of the Morgan family and it is their personal collection. Therefore it is the stuff they thought was cool and isn’t grouped by subject, age or style.
But, they have some REALLY cool stuff.
The things that really impressed me:
5 Gutenberg Bibles. 2 on vellum, 3 on paper. One of the paper ones on display with the pages open.
The letter Giovanni da Verrazzano sent back describing the nice harbor he had found that ultimately became New York harbor.
A letter from Albert Einstein to some publishers saying “I’ve had this great idea for physics that my physicist friends think is great, but I’d like to get word out to more people.”
The rough draft of George Washington’s farewell address. (Which remains my favorite presidential address of all time and I quote fairly often.)
2 (on display) originals of Mozart. One he only filled in the part for his right hand because he knew he’d remember the left hand when he played it before the emperor. The other a gift to the emperor in a very nice silver box.
A cast of George Washington’s face.
A whole room full of roller seals, which are my favorite kind of seal. (And, I like seals a lot.)

The special exhibit they had was interesting, but not for the reasons they seem to promote on line. The four “replicating clothing” examples they had really weren’t very impressive. A bit better than regular faire garb, but not really much better.
But, what is very impressive is they have a time line painted on the wall of the room, with books from the appropriate time under critical years open to pages showing examples of dress from that year. So, you can walk over to 1415, see what major event was going on and see what artists of that year showed people wearing.
It was a couple of dozen books laid out chronologically with magnified images over them so you could get a better look.
That was pretty cool.
I bought the book for the exhibit. And, a couple of others.
It was enough that the young women in the gift store were worried that only double bagging my purchase would be enough. It was. But, it was pretty heavy.

I had never been to that museum before. It has some really cool stuff in it. I want to go back at some point.

But, then we went back up to The Met where we had parked, but this time we went in.


I know they check bags when you came in. So, I expected them to check the bag with my books and my iPad case. When they did the inspector told me I had to go talk to a guard near the door.
“Why?” I asked.
“No computers in the museum and this is a computer,” he said.
“But, I’ve already been through here once today without problem,” I said, showing him my badge to get back in.
“Talk to the guard!”
I went over and talked to the guard.
“Am I allowed to bring my iPad into the museum?”
“Of course,” he said. “Why are you asking me this?”
“That inspector told me I had to clear it with you.”
“IPads are allowed!” the guard shouted across the line at the inspector.
I walked back to the inspector.
“He says I can go in with it.”
“But, it’s a computer!”
The guard plowed through the line and loomed over the inspector.
“It’s a big PDA,” he said. “They’re allowed in with them. Let this guy in unless something else was wrong with his stuff.”
I started walking into the museum.
“Wait, you have to have your bags inspected!” the inspector next to the one who questioned the iPad said.
“But, this guy just inspected it!” I said.
“Open it or leave,” she said.
So, I opened it up again. She didn’t question the iPad and let me in.
When I went to put the books in the car, I left the iPad in the museum with my wife so I didn’t have to get it inspected again.

Given the time frame that our group targets and the far more specific one that brickhousewench’s group targets we spent a lot of time in the medieval exhibits.
This is a seal that was in use between when Mair’s book came out and Meyer’s book came out.


This folding desk is from the same time period and might work well for us.

(A copy might even work better as it wouldn’t send us to jail for robbing the Met...)

At the symposium the arms and armor curator of the Met came and gave a talk on some of the pieces in the collection. So, I particularly wanted to look for those pieces.
This is one that was found in an attic of a house and the folks thought it was really old. But, they also took it out in the back yard and swung it at each other.
He showed us what it looked like when found, how they had traced it back to the time of King James (you know, the bible guy), and how it turned out to be an important piece.
I must say, it cleaned up quite well.


I really liked this small sword hilt.

I know this isn’t how it worked, but I picture someone carrying the hilt around and saying “do you have a blade I can borrow for this duel? I already have my favorite hilt with me.” But,it was just the storage case.


They did have a lot of small swords and rapiers out.

I went there 30 years ago before they redid the exhibit and they had many more of them out. It was case after case after case of small swords. I like swords, but even I was asking “another case of small swords?” Now they only show the best, which is still a few dozen, but probably only 10% of what they have.

I found this guy with the double bayonet interesting.


I’ve always found this suit of armor “interesting”.



Something in the arms and armor exhibit gave me an allergy attack and I had to walk off for a while while having a sneezing/coughing fit.
I’ve been to the Met many times and not had that happen before. My wife said she smelled different scents in different galleries. So, I hope they haven’t started pumping things to which I’m allergic to make it smell better.
Once I had that one attack I felt really run down in any of the galleries. But, the big open rooms I was just fine. So, I’m pretty sure that means allergies and not a sudden cold.

brickhousewench asked me if I knew what the knob on the back of the horse was for.


The only think I could think of was “to open the trunk.”

But, I do suspect it was for some sort of trailing flag or other heraldic thing.

After all, these folks love their flags.


When we went into the Japanese armor section I found the perfect helm for me.

I was born in the year of the rabbit, and this would be great.

My wife really liked the glass.

But, she always loves glass.

The new statue courtyard is very nice.

It has many cool things in it.



This might well be my favorite.


I really like this.


These bears, not as much.


This bear as some church guy’s pet was a bit weird.


My wife found more glass.


The glass stairs worried me a bit.

I am not the lightest person and was sure I felt them moving under my feet. But, we only went down one level on them.

Of course, there were benches!

(The MFA has much more artful benches in my opinion...)

This one of Time in a cart running over Fame I thought was really funny.


Why is Alexander the great riding an elephant?

We know enough about his horse to know it’s name, Bucephalus. Why show him on an elephant? Don’t know.

My wife really likes this statue, if not the subject matter.


I’ve got to say, those folks who went to see John the Baptist certainly were ahead of their time in clothes.


I really think this looks like one of our troupe members, but with a bigger beard.


Sausage as part of a costume?


My wife liked this one.


brickhousewench really seemed to like this one.


Saint Barbara was killed sometime in the late 200’s. Again, the clothing seems very ahead of its time.


Because of the allergy thing I was just shutting off at the end of it. (Which is often how my allergies effect me.) So I spent a lot of time waiting on benches for the other two to catch up with me. But, there are a lot worse places to wait then in the Met.

We did go to the gift store. For the first time I can remember I didn't buy anything.
But, I had already bought a lot of books so didn't feel an immediate need for more.

It was a very nice trip and we had a great time!

Comments

[ravena-kade.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the pics. It looks liek a great museum.

I love the Japanese Helm. I went to the MFA when they first exhibited Lethal Elegance-the art of Samari Sword fittings. I like how they have such gentle things on things meant for war.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Sorry I didn't take more photos in the Japanese section, but that's when my allergies were really getting to me.

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

That folding table is pretty awesome.

I was thrilled to come across the Tibetan armor & gun w/ the double bayonets, or "tusk bayonets" as I called them. (When I saw the Samurai exhibit last year) I found the whole ensemble very intriguing. The musket is almost entirely held together with leather ties, including those bayonets. I found that totally wild and never saw anything like it before. I also really liked the "composite" armor.

Sorry to hear about the allergy attacks. I suspect it may have been someone with a lot of "fragrance" on.

Also sorry to hear about the fiasco with the guards. That is just silly. But glad the "head guard" tried to set the Inspector straight.