Birmingham Museum of Art (II)

Continuing with our tour of Birmingham Alabama’s Museum of Art… As I mentioned previously, many of my photos of plaques describing the objects just didn’t come out using my sports setting… Those objects will have to speak for themselves.

Entitled “Harbor at Lormont”, this Impressionistic painting is the work of Eugene Louis Boudin.  It was completed in 1875.  Boudin was the son of a harbor pilot, hence his love of seascapes and ships.  He was one of the first French landscape painters to actually paint outdoors!

To view many of this prolific artist’s works, go to https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Paintings_by_Eug%C3%A8ne_Boudin.

I was really attracted to these beautiful leaded glass windows…

The Adoration of the Magi was painted by Claude Vignon between 1624 and 1626.  Vignon is well known for the vibrant colors and lighting in his works.  In addition to his paintings, he was also known as an excellent printmaker and illustrator. 

To learn more about Vignon and to see a few more of his paintings, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Vignon.

We love Asian art objects and this cabinet and these over sized vases certainly stood out for me… 

This entire display was filled with an assortment of very old and beautiful Asian metal work objects.

…and then there was this assembly of Chinese pottery objects.  The beautiful camel and the horse in the front center of the display date back to ca. 700.

We both love classic old Chinese blue and white ceramics and this grouping was a bit overwhelming.  Unfortunately, years ago during a move I dropped a beautiful large vase, the best blue and white Chinese piece we’d ever purchased.

During the 1600’s, Chinese export of blue and white porcelain became big business.  That business continued on well into the early 1800’s when European (especially English) pottery makers became major blue and white producers in their own right…

This amazing stone carving depicting of Uma-Mahesvara was created ca. 1250.  These Hindu deities are also known as the Great Goddess Paravati (Uma) and the Great Lord Shiva (Mahesvara). 

Shiva is known as the Supreme Being, God of Destruction and Destroyer of Evil as well as God of Yoga, Meditation and Arts.  Paravati, Shiva’s wife is known as Mother Goddess and the Goddess of Creative Power, Fertility, Love and Devotion.

Beautiful jar isn’t it?  This piece of Vietnamese glazed stoneware dates back to sometime during the 12^th – 14^th centuries.

This cylinder vessel is from the Mayan Culture in the area that is now Guatemala.  It was made sometime in the 700’s or 800’s.  It has a procession of 3 animals around its sides.  Pictured here is the jaguar while the other 2 are a monkey and coatimundi.  Note the red scarf around the jaguars neck…the same accessory adores the other animals as well.  The scarves and other decorations identify them as supernatural creatures rather than actual animals.    

This exhibit of Tlingit Peoples objects includes (from the left) a Staff, a Killer Whale Fin Totem Crest, a Dancer’s Wand and a Bentwood Box.  The items were created in the late 1800’s although the box might have been a little later into the 1900’s.

The Tlingit are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America.  Their society is divided into 2 moieties, the Raven and the Eagle.  In turn, these 2 groups are divided into clans, lineages or house groups.  They have a matrilineal kinship system, with descent and inheritance passed through the mother’s line.  Today, there are about 17,000 Tlinkit in Alaska with between 200 and 400 still fluent in the Tlingit language.

There are a number of displays showing ceremonial and day to day objects and related artwork from various African cultures.  They are quite spectacular…

This early 2oth Century Maasai Shield is the type that was used by the warriors of the Maasai culture as they guarded their cattle.  These semi-nomadic people have historically based their culture on raising cattle.  The Maasai inhabit central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.  There are about 2,000,000 million Maasai. 

To learn more about the Maasai and their culture, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai_people.

This was another tile I noted that I really coveted.  I didn’t capture any information about it though…

This large display of English Wedgwood blue and white Jasperware certainly grabs one’s attention!

Jasperware is a type of pottery developed by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1770’s.  Usually described as stoneware, it’s noted for its matte and unglazed biscuit finish.  White relief decorations are characteristic of Wedgwood Jasperware.

These style pieces are named after Jasper, a mineral or stone that is an aggregate of micro-granulate quartz and/or chalcedony.  However, research has determined that the key ingredient in Jasperware is barium sulfate…

Terrific examples of Staffordshire Pottery were just around the corner.  We do have a weakness for these items!  Note the fantastical Veilleuse Teapot (2^nd from the left on the top shelf).  It incorporates a ‘face jug’ or ‘face mug’ design into a ‘night light’ tea pot. 

These teapots held herbal tea, soup, etc. for the sick and the godet in the stand provided a ‘night light’ too.  The combination produced healing vapors in the sick room.  The teapots were created in many ornamental shapes including animals, people and mythological images.

In my research I discovered that the world’s largest collection of antique porcelain veilleuse theieres (night light teapots) has its home in Trenton Tennessee.  The collection of 525 teapots is available for viewing (at no charge) in Trenton’s Municipal Building.  Hours are 9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday.  For more information about this attraction, go to http://www.teapotcollection.com/teapot/teapot-information/museum. 

This is a close-up of a Wedgwood Majolica Oyster Barrel that was manufactured in 1875.

This creation is part of the Museum’s Third Space Exhibit.  The exhibit presents over 100 contemporary works of art that are part of the Museum’s collection.

This particular work is titled “The Sign of the True Cross”.  It was created by Mel Chin, a conceptual visual artist, back in 1988.  To learn more about Mel Chin and his work, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Chin.

Whitfield Lovell created “Rise of the Delta” in 2013.  His conte art on wood integrated with metal ‘plates’ did grab my attention…very creative.  Lovell is a contemporary African-American artist known primarily for his drawings of African-American people from the first half of the 1900’s.  To learn more about him, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitfield_Lovell.  

I had to look it up but Conte (sticks or crayons) are a drawing medium that are manufactured using natural pigments such as iron oxides, carbon black or titanium dioxide, kaolin (clay) and a binder (cellulose ether).  

I thought that I’d end with this display of ornate Betel Nut Nutcrackers.  Given the close-up horse version, it’s easy to tell that Laurie took these photos… All of these nutcrackers date back to ca. 1900.

Betel nuts… The areca nut (commonly called the betel nut) is the fruit of the areca palm.  It grows in much of the tropical Pacific, South Asia and parts of East Africa.  Widely consumed…and even part of the culture through much of this area…consumption of betel nuts has many negative effects on health and it is carcinogenic.  The use of betel nuts by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, especially in southern and eastern Asia, has been described as a “neglected global public health emergency”. 

Another little discovery…  The Nutcracker Museum is located in Leavenworth Washington.  Visitors can view over 7,000 nutcrackers ranging in age from Roman times to the present!  Yes, they do have a selection of these interesting betel nutcrackers or cutters too… Check out this museum at http://www.nutcrackermuseum.com/index.html.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for part 2 and the conclusion of our tour of the Birmingham Alabama Museum of Art.  The museum, with its wide variety of artistic objects, is located at 2000 Reverend Abraham Woods, Jr. Boulevard.  Phone: 205-254-2565.  Website: http://artsbma.org.  

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave