This is Kubota from Adan Staff.♪
Happy New YearOh my god!!!
It was a warm New Year's Day this year and very easy to spend.
I hope those who went out enjoyed themselves to the fullest.
I had a very relaxing holiday, going to the cinema, going to exhibitions, etc.**
I tend to miss out on exhibitions that are long in duration every time,
I went to the "Golden Legend Exhibition: Treasures of the Ancient Mediterranean World," which had been on my mind for a long time, just in time for the last minute!Oh my god!!!
I'm glad I made it in time...!
The exhibition is on view at the National Museum of Western Art from October 16, 2015 to January 11, 2016.
Ancient treasures that can be seen at the Golden Legend exhibition are
The oldest ones are over 6,000 years old (!!!).
The workmanship is elaborate, and you think to yourself, "This is rather new age stuff,
Still, it can be enjoyed all the way back to the 4th century B.C. and so on.
The entrance to the exhibition hall begins in the basement, so I felt like an explorer,
One more descent to the basement on the way down, and (somewhat spoiler alert)...
Without warning, the grave was suddenly!
I was a bit surprised by this.
Good thing it was somewhat crowded (^^;)
The tombs were excavated in the 5th millennium B.C.(!). The tombs are reproduced in the condition in which they were excavated in the
The contrast between the gleaming burial goods and the buried deceased is a bit jarring, but makes you want to take a peek.
Along with the excavated ornaments, there were also a few tools and other items from that period on display,
I was shocked to see that for those still in the olden days it was made of animal bone.
There were quite a few elaborate ornaments, though,
If it was pure, thin gold, it would have been soft and could be worked.
I can't help but think about that because of my profession (^^)
As we moved forward, we entered the "Etruscan Period" zone, which we had been looking forward to the most.!
The area is crammed with ornaments made by the Etruscans, who were famous for their extremely high goldsmithing skills.
I was especially surprised by the finesse of the "grain gold" technique, which far exceeded what I had imagined.
I was so amazed that I bought a postcard on my way home.
You will be healed by his ridiculous technology and his target, loose and easygoing.
The grained gold technique is a technique of decorating with small gold grains,
With the decline of the Etruscans, the technique died out, and it was said to be impossible to reproduce.
This is because if you try to heat weld such small grains of gold to a broach plate, etc,
Inevitably, the temperature of the grain rises first and the grain melts before it is welded.
It's so hard,
I had heard about it, but this was the first time I had seen real Etruscan grain gold,
I was fascinated by the light emitted by the glittering collection of grains, which was finer than I had imagined.
The smallest ones are said to be less than 1 mm in size.
A close-up of the postcard I just showed you,
A tight grain of gold!
This ornament is so small that the entire piece is about 4 cm in length,
Can you see how small these grains are?
In recent years, research has been conducted on the mysterious technique, apparently a compound of glue and bronze.
They have found that the welding may be done using a chemical reaction.
Still, there's no discoloration, such as bronze protruding from the sides of the grain,
For my part, I feel that the mystery has deepened.
The exhibition at Ueno will soon be over,
I heard that it will be touring Miyagi and Aichi Prefectures, so..,
If you can go, please go and see it!
It is well worth a look.
Golden Legend Exhibition - Treasures of the Ancient Mediterranean World
National Museum of Western Art
October 16, 2015 - January 11, 2016
http://www.nmwa.go.jp/jp/exhibitions/2015gold.html
