First Bristol meeting (2)
I spent the afternoon at the Museum and then returned the next day. I wanted to see the Egyptian exhibition and also the China temporary show. I went first to the Egyptian one to look specifically at the way their designer had developed the space. I liked the way he had created a 3D timeline with a collection of small scale mummy models, suspended in blue –lit space, linked by symbolic lines of history that you had to peek through hard to get the whole picture of.
There was an Egyptian ball… made of old cloth and bound round with twine-it had charisma and strange to think it was a plaything now sitting behind a glass panel. I was drawn to it as am looking for objects that haven been wrapped or bound or relate to ancestry, personal power or have changed radically in use.
The Assyrian panels were the real pull. Of course there was an instant recognition, with my Iranian heritage of these huge figures carved into stone, in profile with their eagle eyes and coiled locks. I have seen such figures at Persepolis in Iran when I went there with my mother in 1992 . An extraordinary woman appeared at one of the doorways – a local gypsy who looked like she had time travelled there, with the eagle profile, darkest black hair and pitch black eyes Mainly it was her charisma I was so struck by –that of a living goddess. Of course, pure romantic projection on my part. It was a fleeting moment which I have always wanted to develop a painted image from but haven’t so far.
So, back to the panels,. I sensed my mother’s interest from beyond the grave as I stopped to sketch these powerful winged beings, the Apkalle. They were there to guard the King from evil influences’ and carried a bag/bucket containing a ‘magical substance ‘. What was this? Was it a physical thing or an invisible charm? They also carried a pinecone, to ‘scatter magic’…How do you imbue something with such power, is it mainly the taught belief that it is powerful that makes it so?
I read through the text about the piece and what struck me the most was that when the city, Nimrud (where these were found) which was the northern capital of the expanding Assyrian empire was finished in 860BC, the King Ashnurasipal II gave a feast lasting 1 days for 69,574 guests! How did they count the guests, how long did it take to cook the food? What did they eat? I love feasts as part of the ritual of art, but this takes the cake.
