08.26.08
A Few Historical Stones
In light of all the other events happening around the world today such as the warfare in Georgia and Iraq, etc., I feel a bit guilty that things on this end are so tranquil that we can easily indulge in the luxury of watching the Olympics in the comfort of our own homes and part take in so many other frivolous things. But just as it has always been, life goes on no matter what atrocities are happening in any given part of the world. In one part of the world there is war, while another part there is starvation, and yet another part there is competition such as in the recent Olympics or competitions for offices such as the upcoming election for U.S. Presidency. Then there is also other activities taking place such as archaeological finds that unearth whatever artifacts are left behind by which we can piece together events of history (as all that is happening today will shortly be) be it of wars or of other existences of other civilizations since fallen and gone.
Today I read an article by the BBC called, “Huge Statue of Roman Ruler Found.” The article was dated August 25, 2008, and the ruler to which was being referred is Marcus Aurelius. Evidently, there is an archaeological research project in Sagalassos in Turkey, which has uncovered some statues in a Roman bath. About a year ago a large statue of Hadrian was discovered there. Apparently, recently they unearthed a large statue of Marcus Aurelius there, too. Some pictures of the find of Hadrian can be seen here.
I’m not sure why, but I really find history interesting. I guess I like it because it helps me to make sense of today. And I think it also helps me to appreciate other people to know how we all fit together. As part of my interest in history, I like to look at people and not only wonder about their current life or earlier life, but also to wonder what their ancestors were like. And I think that’s may be a reason why I enjoy looking at paintings and sculptures of historical figures. So when I read that a statue was recently unearthed of Marcus Aurelius, I wanted to compare it to the picture I took of a statue of Marcus Aurelius in the Izmir Efes Musezi in Turkey. I just think it’s so interesting to look at these as it’s kind of like photographs today because they didn’t have cameras back then. Here’s a pic of the recently discovered statue of Marcus Aurelius as shown on the BBC article mentioned above.
It makes me wonder how close to his real likeness this was.
And here’s a picture of what I took of a bust of Marcus Aurelius in the Izmir Efes Musezi in Turkey in 2005.
And just around the corner from this bust was a carved bust of his son, Commodus.
I really think these sculptures are so cool as when I look at them, I can see people I’ve seen today who kinda have these appearances. They are likenesses of real people. And I guess that’s why I was a bit disappointed when I found recently that the Terracotta Warriors were not sculptures of actual people. I had heard they were all different because they represented different people (not sure where I got that info now), but with our recent trip to see the exhibit, we found that the Terracotta Warriors are only artist renditions of 100 molds of other heads that they mixed and matched to get different looks. So provided that I make myself comfortable, I like to leisurely browse through paintings and sculptures when I get the chance.
Here’s another shot I took of heads at the Aydin Afrodisias Musezi in Turkey.
Unfortunately, we didn’t visit the Sagalassos area. I think the closest we got was Antalya, which is probably about 100 miles south of Sagalassos. A lot of the sculptures from the Perge baths were taken from their original sites and displayed in the Antalya Archaeological Museum. There were many amazing sculptures in there. Here’s one example of the carvings on some sarcophagi displayed in the Antalya Archaeological Museum.
The skill of the sculptors is amazing. I took many more pictures, and even took more pictures of sculptures this past May when we visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Brian and I originally trekked down to see the Natural History Museum, but weren’t too impressed with it. The building was impressive from the outside, but I was a bit disappointed of the displays on the inside. First of all it was extremely crowded, although I did enjoy the gem room. But on our way back, we stopped off at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which was only a few blocks away and found that we actually liked that one much, much better. Here’s the bust of George II displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
I should give credit to the sculptor, Michael Rysbrack, 1683-1760.
And here’s a bust of Oliver Cromwell by Joseph Wilton, 1722-1803 also displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
And finally, I thought I’d throw this last one in because I found it amusing. The plaque said this is Joshua Ward, a celebrated “quack doctor.” He was said to be a philanthropist and opened two hospitals for the poor. I took a pic of it because I wanted to look him up when I got home, but a quick Google search didn’t bring anything up. Oh well. But I am curious why they called him a quack doctor, and what hospitals did he open. Are they still open today? Hmm. Don’t know. . .
Well, in closing, I do want to comment that while I have an interest for sculptures, I do not worship them, nor do I worship any human as a god. I say this because I think of what happened in Biblical times and many other times before and after that people have a tendency to worship idols and even mere men. Because of my personal interest in sculptures, I can see the allure, but I only admire the sculptures as part of history and skill, but not as anything to pray to or worship. In that sense, I do find sculptures and idols strange. Why do images attract people so easily?
Anyway, I think that’s enough of my musings for now.
Marlakins
