Becky Wallower

@bwallower

archaeology, history, environment, quirky stuff -- love London, arts, travel -- writer, organiser, modest activist/stirrer 🏺

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Becky Wallower@bwallower· 14d

#FrescoFriday 🏺 Warriors in bloody combat, perhaps to the death in elite funerary rite. Such battles may be origin of gladiatorial games: Livy says 1st games were in Campania 310BC and schools also started there. Fresco painted in situ on tomb slabs below-ground in Poseidonia (later Paestum) C4 BC.

Two warriors clash with shields and spears, shoeless and wearing only briefs and helmets. One on the left has bleeding wound in his chest, one on left has one on his left thigh.
Colours are a deep red and gold on white background, and the figures have shading and lines to emphasise their strong physiques.
The ground is a lighter red and there is a band with black and dark red, top and bottom of a light red continuous arrow shaped motif.
Greco-Lucanian culture of C4 BC.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 15d

#GlassObjectThursday 🏺 BM's Portland Vase c. 15BC-AD25: one of world's top #Roman cameo glass pieces. Interpretations both mythological and historical are legion. Maybe marriage of Peleus and sea goddess Thetis?? Visitor deliberately smashed it into >125 bits in 1845: BM restoration lasted 100 yrs.

Very dark cobalt blue glass vessel with two handles and white glass relief carving. It originally had another decorated band beneath current manifestation, with a pointed amphora-like bottom.
The relief on this side shows group of four persons. A young man is emerging from a rustic shrine behind which grows a shrub. His right arm held behind him clasps his cloak that is draped around the pillar of the shrine; his left arm stretched before him clasps the right arm of a half-draped woman seated on the ground turning back towards him and caressing a serpent-like creature that rises up towards her face. Eros flies towards the right, above the woman, holding a bow in the left hand, a torch in his right. To the right stands a bearded man resting his chin on his right arm that itself rests on his right bent knee, the foot supported by a ledge below a tree that spreads out its branches; behind him is another tree.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 16d

Light relief for #ReliefWednesday 🏺 Structor ('master builder') Diogenes signed his limestone panel showing tools of his trade, eg trowel, plumb line, cudgel or axe/hammer, scalpel - and the essential apotropaic phallus. Clearly proud of his trade... From Casa del Marinaio, Pompeii, in Antiquarium

A thick stone slab, crudely carved to illustrate the tools of a builder's trade in low relief, eg trowel, plumb line, cudgel or axe/hammer, scalpel. There is also an apotropaic phallus.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 17d

#TombTuesday Early 11th C tomb cover in Ringerike style popular in Scandinavia/Saxon England. Stylised serpent and lion fighting w inscription on left edge: 'Ginna and Toki had this stone made'. Found at St Paul's Cathedral 1852. BM loan to London Museum: but will we see it in new one in Nov?

Red stone carved in relief with a beast facing right with head pointed back, portraying a lion fighting a serpent. Legs are highly stylised in Scandinavian/Saxon style, using coil shapes for hips and curves.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 18d

#MedievalMonday #MosaicMonday Fridianus, 6th C Irish bishop of Lucca, had a church built here in Lucca, dedicated to St Vincent, martyr of Zaragoza. When he died, name changed to Ss Frediano + Vincenzo. Current basilica form is of 12th C, with dazzling mosaic of Ascension + saints from 13th C.

A Romanesque style church with a smooth white stone facade extending over nave, two side naves and aisles/chapels towards the outside. The centre section is much taller with a huge, very arresting golden mosaic of the Ascension.
At the base of the facade, a tall central door and two smaller side aisle doors are each topped with an arched tympanum, the central one with a decorated lintel.
Beneath the Ascension mosaic is a row of 8 columns, with two windows.
The church faces an open square with shops and cafes.

Photo shows the huge mosaic over top section of the facade above the nave. It depicts Christ the Redeemer ascending to heaven, in a mandorla held by two angels with wings extended upwards and robes flowing behind and below. The figure of Christ is all in darkish blue robes.
Beneath the Ascension is a row of Apostles, with the figure of the Virgin now missing from the centre, having been removed when a modern window was installed. The artwork is in the Byzantine style and is attributed to the Lucca-based school of Berlinghieri.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 18d

Love that: what wondrous colours with the 3D effect. Reminded me of a small perspective meander #MosaicMonday from Taranto's #Roman period, placed as doorstep to a room with a monochrome mosaic, 2-1 C BC. In MArTA.

Mosaic in dark red, gold, dark and light grey-ish blue with white outlines - creating an illusion of 3 dimensions.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 20d

#SteepleSaturday St Giles in the Fields in London has seen it all: *Queen Matilda's C12 leper hospital *burial of Catholic martyrs *gallows site *plague, gentrification, notorious squalor *rookeries, romantic poets *WWII bombing *music, theatre, entertainment, business And it's quite lovely.

North side of church in Holborn area with very high multi-storey steeple with decorative conical steeple above a round storey with narrow arched windows, a clock level, bell ringing storey, and three further levels down to the ground.
Green leafy trees line the churchyard that has iron railings and gate, along the road in front.
Blue sky with big clouds behind.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 21d

Timely #Roman #FrescoFriday from #Pompeii 🏺 Tied to the mast of his ship, Odysseus aka Ulysses resists the songs of the Sirens. Sirens perch on high rocks, w bones of earlier victims around them. One siren plays the twin pipes, another the lyre, with the third presumably singing. @British Museum

Painting on black wall has thin white and wider dark red border. On the left one siren atop a cliff of rocks plays a lyre, and on the right are two others, one on higher rocks with twin pipes, the lower one singing. There are skeletons and bones around the sirens on the right. Between the rocks is a ship on the sea, with an elaborate figurehead on the bow, a mass of oarsmen along the side and Odysseus/Ulysses tied to the mast.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 22d

#GlassObjectThursday 🏺 Western #Greek culture in Italy left us a striking alabastron (perfume bottle) c. 400-300 BC, found in Ruvo, Puglia. Bequeathed to British Museum by Sir William Temple, British Ambassador in Naples, in 1856.

A long thin glass perfume bottle with orange, black and light blue trails, tapering to a bulbous bottom. It has a cylindrical neck topped with a flat rim disk with orange edge.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 23d

#Woodensday #ReliefWednesday 2 #medieval fragments of 1400s featuring angels: only clue to origins of such rare remnants, survivors of London's 1666 Gt Fire, given on label as 'From a church in the City'.... Displayed in Museum of London shut in 2022. Will they feature in new London Museum in Nov?

Two small panels that once would have decorated a church in the City of London - rare survivors as 1666 fire wiped out most of the churches there.
One panel has a single angel, wings outstretched, the other has similar angel and evidence of other carvings, perhaps a tree and another figure. Both have decorative carved band on top edge.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 24d

Indeed - quite lovely, especially after restoration several years back. It's just especially good to see it without the distractions of so many people milling about and taking the classic holding-up-the-tower shot.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 24d

#TowerTuesday A different take on *that* tower, from a different angle than the usual tourist-laden one. It's the view from the cloisters of what was once the seminary attached to Pisa Cathedral, now the Opera del Duomo museum. A quiet viewpoint in lovely light leaves a very different impression.

The Pisa Cathedral bell tower - the leaning tower - is shown across a quiet lawned garden with trees and planters. The cathedral itself is behind the tower, its south transept under scaffolding.
The sky is bright, partly cloudy, and a warm afternoon light shines on the left side of the tower and casts long shadows across the lawn.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 25d

#AllMetalMonday 🏺 Larger than life-size #Roman bronze bust of Dionysus, C1 BC from House of Golden Bracelet, Pompeii. Delicate crown of flowers in his hair no doubt indicative of dissolute life - or visit to San Francisco? In Pompeii Antiquarium.

Head and shoulders of Dionysus with three flowers protruding from curly hair. One (?) glass eye remains in place.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 26d

#SundayCeiling Post Henry VIII dissolution, London's medieval Charterhouse went to #Tudor aristos. In its Great Chamber, recently restored, Elizabeth I met w Privy Council before her coronation and James I created 130 knights. L: splendour of full room R: glazed niche w added #gold bling on ceiling

View along long axis of large rectangular hall, originally created 1540s, with wooden floor, deep green walls hung with many paintings, a fireplace on the left, a door in far left corner, a glazed leaded window at the far end, a glazed niche in the far right corner and a grand piano, looking quite small due to the size of the hall.
The plasterwork ceiling has elaborate interlaced patterns, mainly white with some coloured panels, mostly with arms, or armorial symbols.

The view is mainly focused on the ceiling, similar to the main hall but with the interwoven patterns gilded with brightly shining gold leaf. This is in the smaller rectangular niche off the corner of the main hall, with leaded glazed windows, some paintings visible hanging on the walls. One square ceiling panel with a multi-coloured round coat of arms of Thomas Howard can be seen just beyond the centre, as can 4 rectangular panels, each with a ?lion coloured red.
The decorative plasterwork ceiling was installed by Thomas Howard, the fourth Duke of Norfolk in 1570. The coat of arms is surrounded by emblems of thistles and roses, perhaps revealing his secret admiration for Mary Queen of Scots.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 28d

#FindsFriday Fiesole is best known for its #Roman site, a cool resort in the hills above Florence for many centuries. But Archaeological Museum there also has just fabulous antiquities accumulated from local collections. This goosey wonder is an earlier #Etruscan aryballos (flask) from C 7 BC.

A tan terracotta flask in the shape of a sitting goose, with head raised high to the left. A spout is attached to the back, and the rest of the body, neck and head of the goose are elegantly represented with black stylistically painted feathers, wings, eyes and beak.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· 29d

#IronworkThursday Something diverting. It's a dairy, and it's at Ham House on the Thames, so of course you need cast iron cow legs to go with the hand-painted Wedgewood tiles. Part of 1670s extension by Duchess of Lauderdale whose great grandson Wilbraham added these fine embellishments early 1800s.

Corner of a room with a white glass panelled door at the back and a long marble shelf on the right. This is supported by 3 iron cow's legs painted white. The brackets on top of them supporting the shelf have small panels with cows' heads on them.
Above this fixture, and to the left of the door is tiling of green leaves on brown vines on white background.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 14

This little piggy went to the BM.... #Roman 2-3 C AD #TerracottaTuesday ?rattle w blue glass inserts in barbotine vines + a ridge back. Part of the 1756 bequest that established the Museum, from Sir Hans Sloane: collector; physician to Queen Anne + Georges I and II; president Royal Society. 🏺

An orangey red terracotta pig, with simple pointed legs, ears up, blue glass eyes, chipped nose, broken tail, and a ridge along its back. Also decorated on its back with swirls of barbotine clay decoration with added pieces of blue glass. On a plain background at BM.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 13

#MosaicMonday 🏺 Celebrating the season w #Roman floor: July standing at a plinth casually picks mulberries from a glass bowl, and summer makes her mark wreathed w ears of corn. One corner of huge 8.5 m sq mosaic from luxurious c. 375 AD townhouse excavated in Carthage in 19th C. In British Museum.

A complex mosaic in warm shades of brown, red, tan, red. One corner of a large floor is shown with a ribbon lotus band around the periphery within thin tan, black, and white borders. On the corner is a medallion with an image of summer with ears of wheat in their hair. From the roundel toward the centre is a feature with leaves pointed outwards and forward, becoming narrower as it progresses away. Either side of that are round swirls of flowery designs decreasing in size from corner of mosaic to centre.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 12

#SaxonSunday 🏺 Among fine #Saxon works from Prittlewell royal burial chamber are 2 drinking horns, placed beside bottles, to see Prince on his way. Gilded copper alloy rims set above bands of triangles, both with interlaced animals, fixed to possible [extinct] auroch horn. Central Southend Museum.

Tops of two drinking horns - one upside down, one laid sideways - with copper alloy rims featuring interlacing animals. Beneath each rim is a row of copper alloy triangles that would have draped over remains of horns. The horns are considered to be of (now extinct) aurochs because of their large size.
Site discovered in 2003 at Prittlewell during MOLA excavation prior to roadworks.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 10

/2...meanwhile in Herculaneum another #Roman woman collected pendants in bone - body parts, mini-amphorae, animals, Aphrodite. Spotted an odd connection between the assemblages while making stock from Guinea fowl carcass: carpometacarpus wing bones feature in both. But for what purpose🤔??

A selection of small bone objects are set out on a neutral display board, all with hole for hanging as pendant. They include figures of animals eg fish and rabbit, a small Aphrodite, anatomical parts, and a diamond shape.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 10

#FindsFriday Among treasures from recent excavations in Regio V #Pompeii was a woman's small chest of wood and metal. It held this lg #Roman selection of beads + amulets of crystal/faience/bone/amber/metal, in shapes eg phallus, scarab, amphorae to repel sickness, ill fortune, evil. Plus...see /2

A large selection of small objects is displayed. These include human figures; various body parts including phalluses and a ?liver; mini amphorae; numerous rings and discs; bones and teeth; shells and beads.
They are displayed as an array around four pieces on a metal plaque.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 9

#AdoorableThursday An obviously much re-used door that now seems to go nowhere more than a cupboard in the marvellous medieval church of St Neot in Cornwall where religious foundation existed from 9th C.

A wooden door is set in a rounded arch in the corner of a church. It has long ironwork strap hinges and latch, and is studded all over the surface.
The surface shows water staining, cracks and holes and evidence of ironwork having been refixed.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 8

Van Gogh painting shown on panel at site of replacement for original #Woodensday Langlois Bridge, with women washing clothes. Note extract from letter from Van Gogh to brother describing it. Langlois was name of the bridge keeper. 2/2

A painting by Van Gogh of Langlois Bridge near Arles, France. A wooden framed bridge rests on two stone-built piers, and has a horse and cart crossing over in the centre. The canal is a bright blue, reflecting an equally blue sky. on the bank to the left a group of women are washing clothes in the river. There is also a small boat on the shore, and a strip of reeds/grass in the foreground.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 8

#Woodensday Van Gogh's studies of Langlois bridge over canal near Arles were so iconic that, when original finally perished, a new drawbridge was built. His 4 oil paintings, 1 watercolour + 4 drawings of Langlois reflect his study of Japanese art and reference bridges in Netherlands. Example in /2.

The rebuilt Langlois Bridge near Arles, France. The photo shows the two halves of the bridge lifted so that small boats can pass through on the river beneath. On the far shore is a white stone built house with a red tiled roof. The sky is a light blue with soft clouds in the distance. The shores of the river are behind stone walls, and topped with a grassy verge, worn away nearest the river.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 8

#ReliefWednesday It's July: in Tuscany it's time for threshing wheat by swinging your grain flail. And storing it very tidily. Medieval labours of the month Iike this series on façade of Lucca's Cattedrale di San Martino point to what most occupied people through the year. With complementary zodiac.

Part of relief of a figure, in his right hand a flail (two pieces of wood loosely attached to facilitate swinging round to beat wheat to separate out grain). He is under an arch supported by two marble columns, the left in green, the right in white. On the floor in the lower right is a neatly placed stack of wheat sheaves. Above the arch on the left is a woman in a circular marble plaque with 'Virgo' engraved above. On the right in a rectangle is a lion, with 'Leo' above.
The figures are part of a two series under the portico of Lucca's Cattedrale di San Martino, set in pink and green marble backgrounds, alongside many other relief and inlay decorations.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 7

#TombTuesday Top tomb in London's Brompton Cemetery: Frederick Leyland, collector and supporter of Victorian avant-garde artists eg Whistler and Rossetti. And Burne-Jones, who designed this. Portland stone, with roof and floral decoration in copper work, within ornate railings topped w lilies.

Decorated whitish grey Portland stone tomb with gabled ends and standing on four pillars with rounded capitals.
The copper roof tinged in green has scalloped overlapping design, like decorative roof tiles.
The tomb is placed within iron railings with decorative lily tops.
A gabled end is visible covered with elaborately, naturally intertwining stems with flowers and leaves.
The long side visible at an angle has floral designs in natural leafy circles, six each above and below the dedicatory panel that extends the whole length.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 7

#TilesOnTuesday Ring a bell for #StBenedict whose feast day is tomorrow. Medieval tile from Benedictine Abbey La Trinità della Cava in Cava de' Tirreni in Campania, founded in a cave in 1011 by noble hermit St Alferius. Bells were central to monastic life under the governing Rule of St Benedict.

Ceramic tile decorated in light and dark blue, and yellow. Dark blue and yellow bands around border frame a bell - a symbol of the saint. It is decorated in yellow and light blue stripes and dark blue dashes. It has yellow strands/ropes extending at the bottom from within the bell. At top either side of the bell is an 'S' on the left and a 'B'on the right in dark blue.
Bells were central in observations set out in the Rule of St Benedict that governed the lives of monks.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 5

#SundayStonework #StandingStoneSunday #Celtic crosses haven't always been treasured: c. 8th C wheel-headed granite one in Warleggan Cornwall was once used as a gatepost. Moved in 19th C to churchyard from Carburrow, it may have been wayside cross marking path across moors from Warleggan to Temple.

Granite 'wheel-headed' cross covered in lichen. It has a thick rounded shaft, with a slightly broader, flatter, circular head containing a cross.
It sits at the corner of the church of St Bartholomew in Warleggan, Cornwall, alongside the path that goes around the west end, through the grassy lawn of the churchyard, dotted with wildflowers.
It was brought from Bodmin Moor in the 19th C.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 5

#StainedGlassSunday Just the place for cool and calm on a hot day I think. Thomas Denny created this immersive, joyful chapel to celebrate @gloucestercathedral.org.uk 900th anniversary in 1992. On a theme of praise, St Thomas kneels before risen Christ in centre + on sides all creation praises God.

Beyond the arch of a smallish chapel, three stained glass windows curve round under a domed, frescoed ceiling. The windows are predominantly blue, set in arched stonework; each of the three has four long lights and tracery at the top. Figures emerge in a swirl of shades of blue, depicting St Thomas kneeling before risen Christ in centre, while the side windows are based on Psalm 148, with all creation praising God.

Becky Wallower@bwallower· Jul 2

#AdoorableThursday 🏺 #Roman doors/not doors in luxurious salon led to portico around garden w views to sea through large windows. In Villa Poppea, possible home of Nero's 2nd wife or her family in Oplontis Campania. The imprint of beautifully made panelled wooden doors, still open, was preserved.