Art & Culture

Wisteria Lamps 1901

Can I just say “JEALOUS!” I pretty seriously love these! **DB

“2 Wisteria Lamps Centerpiece of Tiffany Auction”

by “Washington Times“

The Associated Press

Two nearly identical Tiffany wisteria lamps designed in 1901 have sold for over $1 million each at auction.

They sold at Sotheby’s on Wednesday. One sold for $1,205,000, the other for $1,145,000.

They were part of a group of seven Tiffany lamps collected by dealer Sandra van den Broek over three decades. The current owner acquired them over the past 10 years.

The two leaded-glass lamps are successively numbered, indicating the 2,000 pieces for each were cut from the same sheets of glass. They came into Van den Broek’s possession 15 years apart.

The shade was designed by Tiffany Studios artist Clara Driscoll.

The auction also featured 34 other Tiffany lots. Among the highlights was a 25-light lily chandelier owned by descendants of the Havermeyer family. It sold for $149,000.

“In the Wild North”

“in the Wild North” by Ivan Shishkin (1891)

“Clearing Rain” – Poetry I Love

“Autumn in the Big City” by Spirosart

“Clearing Rain” by Du Fu (758)

The sky’s water has fallen, and autumn clouds are thin,
The western wind has blown ten thousand li.
This morning’s scene is good and fine,
Long rain has not harmed the land.
The row of willows begins to show green,
The pear tree on the hill has little red flowers.
A hujia pipe begins to play upstairs,
One goose flies high into the sky.

雨晴（一作秋霁）

天水秋云薄
从西万里风
今朝好晴景
久雨不妨农
塞柳行疏翠
山梨结小红
胡笳楼上发
一雁入高空

yǔ qíng（yī zuò qiū jì）
tiān shuǐ qiū yún báo
cóng xī wàn lǐ fēng
jīn zhāo hǎo qíng jǐng
jiǔ yǔ bù fáng nóng
sāi liǔ háng shū cuì
shān lí jiē xiǎo hóng
hú jiā lóu shàng fā
yī yàn rù gāo kōng

Paul Revere’s Time Capsule

“Samuel Adams and Paul Revere time capsule unearthed in Boston”

by Douglas Ernst via “Washington Times”

Samuel Adams and Paul Revere buried a time capsule in 1795. A Boston crew at the Massachusetts State House is now digging it up.

Repair work on a water leak of the State House prompted a crew to remove the cornerstone of the building, which encases the capsule. The Museum of Fine Arts will present the artifacts when the artifact is opened.

“As soon as the box is freed from the stone, we will show the box, then send it to the MFA, they will X-ray it over the weekend and open it sometime there next week,” Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said Thursday, CNN reported.

The capsule, which was dug up during repairs in 1855, is said to house rare coins and papers dating back to the 1600s.

“There were some coins that were tossed in the 1855 ceremony in the mix of the mortar. They are in good condition so we are optimistic that the box itself has withstood the test of time and that it will therefore be holding the contents securely,” Mr. Galvin said, CNN reported.

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Artist takes Hit Show Dynamic Yunnan to the Capital Stage

“Artist takes Hit Show Dynamic Yunnan to the Capital Stage”

via “Xinhuanet“

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhuanet) — The well-loved dance musical, “Dynamic Yunnan” is returning to the Chinese stage on its 10th anniversary. Directed by one of China’s most celebrated dancers, Yang Liping, the show recreates the indigenous musical culture of Yunnan’s diverse minority groups that is slowly effaced by modern life.

Yang has been called the ‘Peacock Princess.’ A title that is far from an exaggeration. Born in China’s Yunnan province, Ms. Yang has created numerous dances inspired by both the rich natural life and ethnic diversity of the region. Yet, no matter what she dances, she’s always strong and poised, much like the spirit of the Peacock.

A peacock dancing to the full moon, one of the enduring images of “Dynamic Yunnan”.

Of course, the dancer isn’t Yang Liping, but one of her successors; Yang Wu. But Yang Wu is ethereal in her portrayal of a young Yang Liping, of many full moons ago.

At the age of 11, she was the youngest of eight dancers selected by Xishuangbanna Prefecture Song and Dance Troupe from her village, to tour the region with the troupe. This tour through the local minority groups, laid the foundation of her aesthetics and became the inspiration for many of her works later in life.

“The Spirit of the Peacock,” choreographed and performed by Yang Liping, is one of them. This dance brought the girl from a Yunnan village to prominence and remains one of the most memorable dances of the last century.