Patricia Harden on thu 20 apr 00
-------------------
I'm going to be in Greece and would love to meet some potters. Any =
suggestions?
I will be visiting Athens, Delphi, Olympia, Epidaurus, Sparta, Mycenae, =
Corinth,
Crete, and Santorini.
thanks, p.
Jenny Lewis on wed 26 apr 00
Hi Patricia
Wonderful itinerary! I don't know of any potters in most of those
areas, but there are usually shops around selling "real" pots, as
opposed to the stuff churned out for the many many tourist shops.
Even they are worth looking at, just in case.
I was on Santorini about 6 years ago, still haven't recovered, it's a
wonderful place. There was a gallery, hope it is still there, run by
an artist called Giorgio Assimis and his (potter) wife. I bought a
couple of prints of his, couldn't afford the originals unfortunately.
The pottery was very nice but not really my taste so I didn't buy
any of her work. The museum on the island has a fantastic
collection, of course, of ancient pots, and don't miss Akrotiri, the
city being excavated from the layers of volcanic ash. It's
fascinating, and there are dozens of beautiful pots lying around all
over the place.
In the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, they have the
pottery and wall paintings that were excavatated on Santorini,
waiting for the island's new museum to be built when the stuff will
all be transferred there. They have been saying that for as long as
I have been visiting Greece .... I first went in the 70s! So,
unless something has happened in the last few years, Athens is where
you will still see these treasures, among all the others in the NAM.
Also in Athens, the Benaki and the Goulandris museums are well worth
seeing, both small and do-able in succession as they are near each
other. The Goulandris collection is my favourite, full of pots and
those fascinating white marble figurines from the Cycladic islands.
If you have been to Greece before then I'm boring you with what you
already know. If this is your first trip, enjoy - I'm sure you will.
The only place I haven't been to on your list is Olympia, for some
reason, must correct that omission next time. But I love the
country, the wine, the food, the pots, the famous clear light. And
now I think I will have to plan on going again soon, I feel
withdrawal symptoms starting up!
jl
Janet Kaiser on thu 27 apr 00
Jenny,
Something HAS happened in recent years and if you have not heard, prepare
yourself for a nasty shock...
The earthquake they had in Greece and Turkey this time last year shattered
thousands of ceramic exhibits in the major museums in Athens. At the time,
it was reported it would take years of painstaking sorting and
reconstruction to get anything like a reasonable ceramic exhibition back on
the shelves.
It seemed many were broken "unnecessarily" because they were on glass
shelves in glass vitrines... You know the kind with just a little knob
holding them at each corner? A good knock is enough to send a shelf
crashing, never mind 9 on the Richter Scale.
Anyone visiting the area should be prepared for the worst... Whole museums
without a pot in sight. On the other hand, perhaps they have brought new
exhibits out from secure stores? It would be good to hear first hand how the
authorities have coped with the problem. I know there was a lot of
buck-passing going on.
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art, Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales
Home of The International Potters Path
TEL: (01766) 523570
WEB: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
EMAIL: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
>snip<
> In the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, they have the
> pottery and wall paintings that were excavatated on Santorini,
> waiting for the island's new museum to be built when the stuff will
> all be transferred there. They have been saying that for as long as
> I have been visiting Greece .... I first went in the 70s! So,
> unless something has happened in the last few years, Athens is where
> you will still see these treasures, among all the others in the NAM.
> Also in Athens, the Benaki and the Goulandris museums are well worth
> seeing, both small and do-able in succession as they are near each
> other. The Goulandris collection is my favourite, full of pots and
> those fascinating white marble figurines from the Cycladic islands.
>snip<
Jenny Lewis on fri 28 apr 00
Hi Janet
Thanks for that somewhat depressing info. I hadn't realise how bad
the damage had been. When I read reports of the earthquake I got the
impression that some things had been thrown around but would be
restorable. I had hoped that pots that had got through 2,500 years,
or more, might just keep going a bit longer!
Patricia - I'm now even more keen to read what you have to say about
your trip and what you find there. Damage or not, have a lovely
time.
jl
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