I visited a friend’s house not too long ago and, even though I don’t typically take note of such things, I was fascinated by his interior decoration. The style is something called steam punk, a sort of futuristic Victorian, that seemed as if it arrived directly from Jules Verne, a a bit like Captain Nemo meets Robur the Conqueror, all shining brass, leather, futuristic technology, and clockwork. My friend’s variation was much more ‘Indiana Jones’, with his steamer trunk table, assortment of interesting artifacts, statues and interesting ancient wall reliefs. It went together with his home, originally constructed in the 1920’s and made a comfortable, fascinating interior nicely suitable for his huge collection of books.
My house is rather more contemporary, so when I considered ways of furnishing my living room (something I had been advised was ‘up to me’) I declined the steam punk concept. Although I am no interior designer I can tell that a certain proportion between interior and exterior is beneficial. While modern day homes tend to be spacious they are often really bland, then i noticed this gave me a lot more range to stamp my personality on the space, and that thought gave me the idea to use wall art and wall sculptures to give my room some personality, but what would work best?
Ancient Greek structures weren’t what we understand today. Most people realize that they are stunning structures which were standing, in many cases for centuries, prior to suffering damage we see now, but did you realize that they had been bright colored? You probably would not think so to examine the remains inside a museum. I used to take my lunch while appreciating the huge Assyrians gateways within the British Museum in London, just near room 18, the home of the ‘Elgin marbles’. These famous sculptures were removed from the Parthenon in the first years of the 19th century by the Earl of Elgin, and the Greek government continues trying to get them back again. The sculptures are stark, white and very beautiful, precisely what we think of when we consider ‘classical art’ yet exactly what would the ancients have thought of them? Euripides give us 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 spectacular marble statues in their sparkling white were once vibrant and multi-colored. So totally different from what we observe now and connect with the ancient world, that it’s really difficult to envision.
We all look at the ancient gods as abstract, the result is that historical wall sculptures such as Poseidon in his chariot are ‘classical’ and completely at home in the modern room. It was only at the Renaissance that, finding ancient sculpture removed of their paint by time, the sculptors thought they had originally been white marble, and set out to emulate them. In antiquity the Greeks believed in living breathing Gods;their statues were colored brightly in order to indicate that. Although we appreciate the awesome craftsmanship of the Parthenon statues the ancients adored their realistic quality so much so that it was said that at certain times during the day it was like the gods in their friezes actually moved. The statues and painting techniques were made to come together and boost the three dimensional quality of the stone, bringing the subject to life. Archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann is working hard to analyse ancient statues and create authentic reproductions. These, complete with intricate paint techniques and pigments are as near as it can be to those found in ancient times and the final results are intriguing; the ancient world won’t ever seem the same again.
What exactly should I do? I could decide on traditional Greek wall art that will create a modern room, making my choice on the basis of meaning. Hercules wrestling the lion could remind me that even if my todo list is a tad long, it’s not the Labours of Hercules, while Dionysus on a donkey would certainly point out to me the point of work is to finance the fun to come. As an inhabitant of the ” new world ” I could decide on Mayan wall reliefs, but I believe my selection could be more ancient still. From Ramses who drove out the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh, to the concept of Maat, goddess of justice and order, the wall sculptures of the Ancient Egyptians hold a never-ending captivation. We’re more accustomed to color when it comes to Egypt, and therefore observe these more as they really were, vivid and extraordinary in the desert sunlight. Egyptian decor could definitely work.
For my Bedroom the main choice is clear; Thoth, the god of writing and wisdom, to help keep me right at all times!