I had been to a friend’s house recently and, although I don’t usually take note of such things, I became interested in his room decoration. The style was something he described as steam punk, a type of futuristic Victorian, which seemed like it came directly from Jules Verne, a kind of Captain Nemo meets Robur the Conqueror, all shining brass, leather, futuristic technologies, and clockwork. My friend’s variation was much more ‘Indiana Jones’, with his steamer trunk table, assortment of fascinating artifacts, sculpture and interesting ancient wall reliefs. It went along with his home, originally built in the 1920’s and created a comfortable, interesting inside well suited to his large collection of books.
My home is instead more modern, so when I pondered options for furnishing my living area (something I had been advised was ‘up to me’) I turned down the steam punk idea. While I’m no interior designer I can see that a certain harmony between interior and outside is beneficial. Although modern day homes are usually roomy they may be really bland, then i realized this gave me more range to be able to put my character on the room, and that notion gave me the concept to make use of wall art and wall sculptures to provide my room some personality, but what would work best?
Old Greek structures weren’t what we understand today. Many people understand that they are wonderful structures which were standing, in many cases for centuries, before suffering deterioration we know now, but do you realize that they had been multi-colored? You wouldn’t think so to examine the remains in a museum. I used to eat my lunch while admiring the huge Assyrians gateways in the British Museum in London, just near room 18, the home of the ‘Elgin marbles’. These famous sculptures were stripped away from the Parthenon in the initial years of the 19th century by the Earl of Elgin, and the Greek government is still seeking to get them back again. The sculptures are stark, white and intensely beautiful, precisely what we think of when we consider ‘classical art’ yet what might the ancients have thought of these? Euripides provide us with a hint in his play ‘Helen of Troy’ when Helen says ‘If only I could shed my beauty and assume an uglier aspect, the way you wipe paint off a statue’. Those stunning marble statues in their sparkling white were once bright and multi-colored. So totally different from what we observe today and connect with the ancient world, it’s truly difficult to picture.
We look at the ancient gods as abstract, consequently historical wall sculptures like Poseidon in his chariot are ‘classical’ and completely at home in the modern room. It was only at the Renaissance that, finding ancient statues stripped of their color by time, the sculptors thought they’d originally been white marble, and attempted to emulate them. In antiquity the Greeks believed in living breathing Gods;their statues were colored brightly to echo that. While we enjoy the incredible workmanship of the Parthenon sculptures the ancients adored their realistic quality so much so it had been said that at certain times during the day it was as if the gods in their friezes actually moved. The sculpture and painting techniques had been designed to bond and enhance the three dimensional quality of the stone, bringing the subject alive. Archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann is working hard to analyse ancient statues and build authentic reproductions. These, complete with intricate paint techniques and colors are as close as it can be to those used in ancient times and the final results are intriguing; the ancient world won’t ever appear the same again.
So what should I do? I could choose time-honored Greek wall art and create a modern room, making my personal choice on the basis of symbolism. Hercules wrestling the lion might remind me that even if my todo list is often a bit lengthy, it isn’t the Labours of Hercules, whereas Dionysus on a donkey would certainly point out to me the point of work is to pay for the pleasure in the future. As an inhabitant of the ” new world ” I could turn to Mayan wall reliefs, but I think my choice could be more ancient still. From Ramses who drove out the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh, to the thought of Maat, goddess of justice and order, the wall sculptures of the Ancient Egyptians carry a limitless fascination. We’re much more familiar with color in relation to Egypt, and hence see these more as they really were, vibrant and remarkable in the desert sunlight.
For my Den the main options are obvious; Thoth, the god of writing and wisdom, to help keep me right at all times!