08-07-2015, 06:28 AM
The Met in NYC is overwhelming. Here are some highlights.
First, the boom...
Egypt. It's just amazing. We have not improved on this at all, neither from the perspective of design nor of construction.
First, the undamaged corner
now the 'cutaway' or damaged corner. Yes, that's a funky tongue/groove used in the construction. If you want your stool to last 3 millenia, this is apparently the way to do it.
The whole piece. Note the doweled in stretcher on the bottom. Pinned tenons are a main feature of egyptian work. Or...at least the work that has lasted this long.
I would imagine that, like the piece to the right, this once had a wicker cover. Unlike today's humans...the Egyptian's apparently did not have flat posteriors. Or maybe we don't either, but Chinese mass producers haven't got the message.
Toiletries box, ebony and ivory. By the way, today's younger somethings are as tragically stupid as any crowd of idiots you can imagine. I stood for maybe 5-10 minutes looking at this. The other passersby would read the didactic, which had the word 'toilette'. Many would look and make serious and puzzled comments to their friends along the lines of 'how do they go in those little jars and why do they save it?'
Dovetails...detail of the drawer in the previous box.
A more utilitarian piece. Give it a coat of varnish, and you could use it today. The back had been pinned on, that didn't last and the conservator had used a metal frame to reattach. Everything else was good. Note the tongue on the door. Just like today.
Ebony and ivory boxes. Just spectacular. The picture doesn't do it justice. The box is pinned tenon construction, and absolutely tight and perfect. As perfect as the most meticulous of today's craftsmen. The surfaces look like they were hand planed with the sharpest irons.
Detail of one of the corners,.
The didactic
And...proof you don't need fancy tools. These are mallets in the back, crucibles in the front. Let me know if you want me to post more. I have pictures of a spectacular egyptian chair, and bunches more. stuff.
First, the boom...
Egypt. It's just amazing. We have not improved on this at all, neither from the perspective of design nor of construction.
First, the undamaged corner
now the 'cutaway' or damaged corner. Yes, that's a funky tongue/groove used in the construction. If you want your stool to last 3 millenia, this is apparently the way to do it.
The whole piece. Note the doweled in stretcher on the bottom. Pinned tenons are a main feature of egyptian work. Or...at least the work that has lasted this long.
I would imagine that, like the piece to the right, this once had a wicker cover. Unlike today's humans...the Egyptian's apparently did not have flat posteriors. Or maybe we don't either, but Chinese mass producers haven't got the message.
Toiletries box, ebony and ivory. By the way, today's younger somethings are as tragically stupid as any crowd of idiots you can imagine. I stood for maybe 5-10 minutes looking at this. The other passersby would read the didactic, which had the word 'toilette'. Many would look and make serious and puzzled comments to their friends along the lines of 'how do they go in those little jars and why do they save it?'
Dovetails...detail of the drawer in the previous box.
A more utilitarian piece. Give it a coat of varnish, and you could use it today. The back had been pinned on, that didn't last and the conservator had used a metal frame to reattach. Everything else was good. Note the tongue on the door. Just like today.
Ebony and ivory boxes. Just spectacular. The picture doesn't do it justice. The box is pinned tenon construction, and absolutely tight and perfect. As perfect as the most meticulous of today's craftsmen. The surfaces look like they were hand planed with the sharpest irons.
Detail of one of the corners,.
The didactic
And...proof you don't need fancy tools. These are mallets in the back, crucibles in the front. Let me know if you want me to post more. I have pictures of a spectacular egyptian chair, and bunches more. stuff.
MAKE: Void your warranty, violate a user agreement, fry a circuit, blow a fuse, poke an eye out... www.makezine.com
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
