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pots in greece/greek pots in uk

updated tue 2 may 00

 

Marcia Selsor on sat 29 apr 00

Dear Janet,
This probably won't happen, but the amount of Greek pots in the British
Museum in London looked like a warehouse for department stores-row after
row of every type of Greek pot imaginable. Think some of those priceless
pots could go back to Greece to help the Greek Museums get pottery
displayed? -just a thought.
Marcia Selsor in Montana
- with one last kiln to fire of student work before Finals and my retirement!!!

Janet Kaiser wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> 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<

--
Marcia Selsor
selsor@imt.net
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls/spain99.html
http://www.silverhawk.com/ex99/selsor/welcome.html

Janet Kaiser on sun 30 apr 00

Marcia

Not only the British Museum... Any Museum of Antiquities worth its salt will
have a pretty impressive collection. Greek ceramics is comparatively
"common". The ceramic collection in Berlin is pretty extensive too... The
only thing about the British Museum is they have practically all the pots on
display... Not like other museums, where most of the collection is in store,
never seeing the light of day. The catalogue of the J. P. Getty Museum is
HUGE (even ignoring the famous fakes).

Should they be loaned to/given back to a insecure environment from
earthquake-free Northern Europe and elsewhere? Well... That is a really
tough question. It has taken many years for the museums and galleries and
their respective governments around the world to even start thinking about
returning stolen works of art after the war. Pots bought directly or under
license (not stolen or taken under duress) over several centuries would be a
difficult question to solve to everyone's satisfaction.

My mother warned me never to talk about religion or politics... And this is
a political question, so I better do what Mum said just this time...
Especially when the head and the heart say different things...

Janet Kaiser - On a beautiful spring day with the woodlands full of
bluebells and having seen the first swallows of the year... Life is sweet.
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 -----
From: Marcia Selsor > This probably won't happen, but the amount of Greek pots in the British
> Museum in London looked like a warehouse for department stores-row after
> row of every type of Greek pot imaginable. Think some of those priceless
> pots could go back to Greece to help the Greek Museums get pottery
> displayed? -just a thought.
> Marcia Selsor in Montana
> - with one last kiln to fire of student work before Finals and my
retirement!!!

Marcia Selsor on mon 1 may 00

Dear Janet,
If you ever get the chance to visit the De Young Museum in San Francisco
I think any potter would be impressed by the "earthquake readiness" of
their oriental ceramics collection. -tied and glued. I would never envy
the curator of any ceramics collection in an earthquake zone. I have not
been back to Istanbul since the quakes. I hope the Topkopki collection
of oriental cermaics survived. It is the best I have ever seen.
I agree with the conflict of heart and mind regarding these matters.
Best wishes to you. Hope Spring has arrived.
Marcia

Janet Kaiser wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Marcia
>
> Not only the British Museum... Any Museum of Antiquities worth its salt will
> have a pretty impressive collection. Greek ceramics is comparatively
> "common". The ceramic collection in Berlin is pretty extensive too... The
> only thing about the British Museum is they have practically all the pots on
> display... Not like other museums, where most of the collection is in store,
> never seeing the light of day. The catalogue of the J. P. Getty Museum is
> HUGE (even ignoring the famous fakes).
>
> Should they be loaned to/given back to a insecure environment from
> earthquake-free Northern Europe and elsewhere? Well... That is a really
> tough question. It has taken many years for the museums and galleries and
> their respective governments around the world to even start thinking about
> returning stolen works of art after the war. Pots bought directly or under
> license (not stolen or taken under duress) over several centuries would be a
> difficult question to solve to everyone's satisfaction.
>
> My mother warned me never to talk about religion or politics... And this is
> a political question, so I better do what Mum said just this time...
> Especially when the head and the heart say different things...
>
> Janet Kaiser - On a beautiful spring day with the woodlands full of
> bluebells and having seen the first swallows of the year... Life is sweet.
> 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 -----
> From: Marcia Selsor > > This probably won't happen, but the amount of Greek pots in the British
> > Museum in London looked like a warehouse for department stores-row after
> > row of every type of Greek pot imaginable. Think some of those priceless
> > pots could go back to Greece to help the Greek Museums get pottery
> > displayed? -just a thought.
> > Marcia Selsor in Montana
> > - with one last kiln to fire of student work before Finals and my
> retirement!!!

--
Marcia Selsor
selsor@imt.net
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls/spain99.html
http://www.silverhawk.com/ex99/selsor/welcome.html