248 / museum

Out past Xian, last year in China.. sorry, can't remember 

where, but a good museum

oddly, people had left money at this group

of sculptures

some lovely pieces, or were they copies?

the real deal, I'd say

am thinking these were from burial sites, along the Silk Road,

could they be Scythian? The dry air & sand kept some artifacts

in amazingly good condition, I recall from reading

 all Sir Aurel Stein's books.

221 / Topkapi

Here at Topkapi, you know that some of the

skills are still alive

as it seems to have a continuous restoration

happening

& its truly an exquisite palace

I keep returning to the marvellous photographs

of Nuri Bilge Ceylan,

it is a Turkey that one glimpses, even as a visitor

& falls in love with, as in a dream

220 / over time

These photos are from what were originally christian churches,

then maybe mosques, & now museums

its nice to think that all the differences calm down

eventually

the great Sinan was born into a christian family,

obliged to convert, & ended up designing some of the great

masterpieces in Constantinople or anywhere

the above mosaic was inside the curve of a high domed ceiling

- hard to reach -

or perhaps even vandals could appreciate it

& I loved these ceilings, too.

219 / & more

Tried to photograph some so that I could stitch together later

the angles were too difficult

The calligraphy in these was incredibly fine

Wished I could have learnt more about their making

it was probably available, but I only know english

someone said this above was a deed to property  

!!!

I couldn't tell whether these 2 books were by the hand of one person;

if it was by two or more, they were in truly remarkable accord

those artists loved what they did.

(passion is a drastically over-used word these days..)

218 / more

Most of the time I'm painting, but on the Mac I'm back

in Istanbul: looking at the dazzling books, & craft

at the museum of Turkish & Islamic arts

click for a little more detail, though with the glass cases, lights,

etc, the photos give more of an impression only

astonishingly fine details

I love all the variations of how humans write

though Arabic is close to being my favourite

~ if it is even possible to compare ~ 

each says so much about the culture that gave birth to it

Have read about people in pre-literate cultures who could recite

whole sagas from memory ~ but how wonderful to turn a page

from long ago & understand what it says.

217 / museum pieces

an astrolabe, I think?

click to see the intricate detail

(I'm busy painting,  so posting photos from my time in Turkey

in 2010)

I think that artists might often find the same designs,

when starting with a particular plant

& these have something of the innocence of

Romanesque carvings..

a lovely delicate wood carving 

one of my favourite pieces

& who wouldn't want to store their brushes in these?

I wonder if such splendid craftspeople are still at work?

216 / calligraphy

These were all in a marvellous Istanbul museum where photos were allowed; 

there were few signs I could read, so I trust its not

offending anyone to show them. 

Each is the most wonderful

masterpiece

possibly most would be a group effort, with paper makers, binders,

calligraphy, painters, gilders, marbellers etc

even without understanding a word, its possible to recognise a certain hand,

or time/script

& to enjoy the pleasure they found

in their work

also how all these books were so carefully preserved

& valued to this day for their beauty

some covers were tooled leather 

I was there for days, not ideal lighting, yet they

must have been painted by candlelight, sometimes. 

(more coming)

a good site for history of Istanbul & all over Turkey

213 / nearby

We stayed in Sultanahmet, & had this great view from the hotel,

I was instantly hooked

also close by, this marvellous church, then mosque,

now museum

in the opposite direction, a large mosque, though I only saw the 

fountains once

I took hundreds of stone walls, probably..

As you may have noticed, I like decaying buildings, too,

& loved how the pigeons echoed the colouring

212 / museums

Still going through my 2010 Istanbul photos, 

may as well add here

it was ok to take photos in the archeological museum,

I'd have enjoyed to draw, but there was just so much

its such a fascinating history lesson, everyone came through here

I didn't always know who they were, 

but am so glad they were saved - in fact are still 

being found, buried beneath centuries of forgetting

hadn't seen these kind of wings before

the light was often poor, but click to enlarge

the Griffon had a very extensive territory..

from France to the Gobi desert;

lots of good information on the web.