I love it passionately.
Last week I went on MetMonday, 12/31/07. Normally the Met is closed on Monday, but they open on certain Monday holidays. Of course, every tourista in New York was there. It was PACKED. I escaped to the Etruscan wing.
Can you guess what this is?
Illegal isn't it? You're not allowed to take pictures in the Met :-)
ReplyDeleteNo FLASH photos at the Met. This was done with a cell phone in natural light.
ReplyDeleteSome galleries have no-photo rules, but as far as I could tell, this one doesn't.
I'm not about to jeopardize my Met membership by being stupid!
Egyptian?
ReplyDeleteSome kind of a brooch for fastening clothes? It's lovely!
ReplyDeleteIs it a safety pin? The person who patented the safety pin....was an archaeologist.
ReplyDeleteScott
Given the swans depicted and the Roman's love of swan's tongue soup, I'm going to guess that the item in the phot is the ladel part of a stirring mechanism used to stir large vats of soup.
ReplyDelete???
An Etruscan...
ReplyDeleteWait, give me a minute, an Etruscan...
hook for holding a pot over a fire?
head of a bed?
really big-ass hair clip?
{sigh} I was never good at those questions.
an ancient paper clip?
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteHmmm...the handle of an oar?
I would love to visit NY soon (haven't been in 15 years). And would LOVE to see the Met!!
Who's your favorite artist?
I'm going to guess a baby's headboard for a cradle. And those look like cranes, not swans. :)
ReplyDeleteEither that and it's more morbid and it's a headstone. I know the Etruscans were obsessed with death, but I believe they used tombs rather than graves.
/nerd
How big is it? I can't tell from the photo. That woven basket behind doesn't really provide scale. I love the Etruscan exhibit, also. Otherwise, presuming that's a handle attached to it, I'll go with ancient rug beater or a clasp for a cloak. If it's a device used by Etruscan midwives to help bring Etruscan babies into the world, I'd say the mystery of how the Romans replaced the Etruscans comes clear.
ReplyDeleteI have only been to New York a couple of times, but the Met has definitely been the highlight for me. I get a shiver up my spine just thinking about it. If you ever want a museum buddy, I'm your girl.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have no intelligent idea of what that thing is, but I love it anyway. Very, very cool.
Maybe to hold a fishing net over the side of a boat?
ReplyDeleteBill E. Goat: Wuzzat?
ReplyDeleteMe: Since when did you start speaking ghetto? ... It's an Etruscan thing of some sort. I don't know what.
Bill E: Can you eat it?
Me: No, it's a museum exhibit.
Bill E: Is it salty? Can I lick it?
Me: I'm pretty sure they'd have you arrested if you tried. ... About that ghetto thing ...
Bill E: I'm getting in character. My new character is a hard-boiled, homeless goat who grew up on the streets of Seattle. ...
Me: Seattle?
Bill E.: We all come from somewhere, you know. Hey! Seattle is a tough place to grow up if you're a goat. Not near enough grass down town. And goats don't like fish too much. They eat fish there don't they? ... Why can't you eat something with a name like that? E-crust-an sounds like pastry.
Is it a hat? Or a headboard for an Egyptian bed?
ReplyDeleteHow can they put something in a museum and not tell you what it is? Don't people go to school for that kind of stuff? Like... archeology school or sumpin'.
ReplyDeleteDear chumplet,
ReplyDeleteYes there are umm archaeology schools ... it's a subset of anthropology. You know, bones and such?
(Say, did you know they discovered pixie-sized human bones in tennessee in the 19th century?)
The trouble with this photo is scale. I can't judge scale at all. If this is small, I'd be inclined to guess broach pin. I've seen similar Roman broach pins. But, I get the feeling this isn't small.
If it's large, it would remind me of my sister's really guady head board for her bed.
But neither my goat nor I know what the heck it is. Janet should just tell us what it is and end the suspence before we pull out all our hair.
You know those gag arrows-through-the-head?
ReplyDeleteSteve Martin once used one to class up his guest host gig on Saturday Night Live:
http://www.urbanhonking.com/greatestband/archives/Steve_Martin_250.jpg
That's what this is.
The Etruscans were ahead of their time.
Either that, or it's a static dissipation brush for a laser printer imaging drum.
In which case, the Etruscans were very ahead of their time.
Sha'el, I guess one woman's gaudy headboard really is another's woman's gem. I think the thing, whatever it is, is beautiful. I'd love to have it top my garden gate, or hold a hand towel in the bathroom. I can't wait to hear what its real purpose is.
ReplyDeleteDear South*,
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful. I agree. I was calling my sister's headboard gaudy. There are similarites in shape, but the description fits my sister's furnishings not this item.
And as I understand the word "gaudy," it's not a refelection on artistic merit, but on one's taste in display. It reflects a certain garishness in choice of setting.
I've always been under the impression that the word "gaudy" was derived from the name of the famous spanish architect, Antoni GaudÃ.
ReplyDeleteI am just going to be this has something to do with writing. It's a query shuffler! Either that or an ancient etruscian refrigerator magnet.
ReplyDeleteAntoni GaudÃ? It's possible. I only know that some of my relations seem to live in eternal anticipation of the next bow-wearing Country Goose or white aluminum Christmas tree.
ReplyDeleteThat's right, they're Waiting for Gaudy.
So, what is it? I looked through all the online archives of the Met Museum and their Etruscan collection and couldn't find it. Are you going to tell us or is this your idea fun - torturing your reading public?
ReplyDeleteI have bow-wearing country goose curtains soaking up airborne grease in my kitchen as we speak.
ReplyDeleteIs it a double-wide?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the goose-grease draperies are okay, as long as the aluminum Christmas tree isn't in the same room.
Etruscan safety pin (or clasp).
ReplyDeleteSomeone is going to say it; it may as well be me.
ReplyDelete"They sure don't make 'em the way they used to."
HA! aka "broach pin" ... do i know my stuff or what? mostly what, huh?
ReplyDeleteVery cool. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAh-ha!
ReplyDeleteWhat'd I tell you?
When the original fuser drum anti-static brush breaks on your laser printer, what better replacement than a safety pin?
The Etruscans really were ahead of their time.
Used to go to the Met every week for at least 50 minutes - while my girlfriend was across the street with her shrink.
ReplyDelete