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Posts filed in art

Color Your World Almond

05/14/2019•art, Egypt, religion

Avenue of the Sphinxes

Avenue of the Sphinxes, Luxor, Egypt

An avenue of sandstone sphinxes stretches over 1.5 miles from the Temple of Luxor to the Temple of Karnak. At one time, over 1300 statues lined the road, which was used annually for the Opet Festival honoring the ancient Egyptian god Amun, his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu. The the sacred pathway was used as early as the 15th century BCE.  The pharaoh Nectenabo I (380-362 BCE) built the existing avenue and lined it with sphinxes bearing his name. Most of the sphinxes have human heads, but some earlier statues near Karnak have rams heads. In 2004, the Egyptian government began a massive excavation and restoration project to restore the road and its sphinxes, many of which had deteriorated, been buried in the sand, or used for other projects by the Romans and others.  Large sections of the avenue linking the two temples have been completed.

Join Tourmaline’s Color Your World: Almond

Street Corner Art

05/12/2019•art, Travel, Zanzibar

Jaws Corner

Jaws Corner, Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Jaws Corner is part of a community gathering place in the back streets of Stone Town, the main city of the island of Zanzibar. A large screen television hangs in the opposite corner and game tables are in the center of the small square.

Join Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #45: Street Art

Connecting The Tiles

04/29/2019•art, design, Rhode Island

Mosaic Ceiling Tiles

Detail of Ceiling Mosaic, Billards Room, The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island

The Billiards Room ceiling was designed in the style of ancient Rome, with marble, alabaster, and other semi-precious stones covering the walls, floor, and ceiling. Mosaics one the ceiling included sea motifs.  Dolphins, which can be found as decorative elements in several rooms, are an ancient symbol of hospitality. The room was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt.

Join Frank’s Tuesday Photo Challenge: Connections

On the Road: Newport, Rhode Island

04/25/2019•architecture, art, Rhode Island

Chateau-Sur-Mer

Once of the earliest grand houses in Newport, Chateau-Sur-Mer was built in 1852 and later expanded and remodeled.

The ballroom is one of two rooms that retain the original French style. Most of the main rooms of the house were redone in the Eastlake style when it was expanded by architect Richard Morris Hunt.

The Chateau was built by William Wetmore, who made his fortune through the China trade, an occupied by his family until the early 1960s. The grand hall was added by Hunt.

The library was designed and built by Luigi Frullili, an Italian designer. The ceiling was constructed in Florence, disassembled, and reassembled in the Chateau.

Frullili also designed the dining room, which had leather wallpaper.

The lower side of the staircases are painted with a continuous tree of life that grows to the third floor. Jut was used for the surface to paint.

Spiked Spark Plugs

03/03/2019•Africa, art, Kenya

Spiky Reuse

Detail from unlabeled metal sculpture made of recycled materials. Nairobi National Museum, Nairobi, Kenya.

Join Becky’s month of Spiky Squares: Spiky. Two rules. Must be Spiky somehow; there is a wide range of interpretations. The photo must be square. Thanks, Becky for another inventive challenge.

Black & White in Color

02/18/2019•art, Photography, Travel

Silver Fish on a Silver Dish

Detail, Dish Cover, Antoine- Sebastian Durand, (master in 1740), Paris c. 1745-1755, Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, Portugal

 

Join Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Made by Humans

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