Category Archives: Museum Lust

Primitive scientific ephemera, analytical analog baubles, and old dead things.

Snakes on a plate! part deux

Posted on August 2, 2007 by cicada

Bernard Palissy, 1565-1585 As promised, here’s the Palissy snake serving dish from the Victoria and Albert Museum. It’s very similar to the one from the British Museum, except that the colors in this piece seem much brighter. I like the … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Museum Lust | 1 Comment

Damn you, Tate Gallery!

Posted on July 31, 2007 by cicada

The Lady of Shalott, 1888 John William Waterhouse I arrived at the Tate Britain (better known by its former name, the Tate Gallery) Monday morning, only to discover that their entire inventory of pre-Raphaelites had been removed from display a … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Destinations, Museum Lust | 4 Comments

Dinner snakes – I mean, dinner plates

Posted on July 29, 2007 by cicada

Lead-glazed polychrome-painted earthenware dish Workshop of Bernard Palissy, Paris, circa 1575-1600 British Museum Just in case you didn’t find Laura Zindel’s creepy-crawly place settings unusual enough, here’s a treasure from the British Museum: an antique dish embellished with sculpted snake, … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Museum Lust | 3 Comments

Poem of the Week: Sonnet 116

Posted on July 29, 2007 by cicada

Ah, the British Library. In one room: Shakespeare’s First Folio, Thomas More’s last letter to Henry III, Lewis Carroll’s diary, the Gutenberg Bible, a letter from Darwin to Wallace, a letter from Newton to Hooke, Shakespeare’s mortgage, Magna Carta, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Department of the Drama, Littademia, Museum Lust, Poetry | 1 Comment

I can’t stop watching this

Posted on July 19, 2007 by cicada

glumbert.com – Kinetic Sculpture The sculptures of Theo Jansen Via Endicott Redux

Posted in Artists & Art, Museum Lust | 2 Comments

The Holy Vending Machine of Alexandria

Posted on July 19, 2007 by cicada

Back when I was six or seven, my personal computer was a cassette-tape driven TRS-80, and my favorite game was Pyramid. Pyramid was an endearingly primitive choose-your-own adventure game, in which you gave the program commands it rarely understood, hoping … Continue reading →

Posted in Museum Lust, Retrotechnology, Science, Wonder Cabinets | 3 Comments

Jennifer Trask

Posted on July 18, 2007 by cicada

Coeleoptera Pendant Jennifer Trask Ornamentum Gallery Jennifer Trask’s reliquary-like ornaments contain natural specimens like feathers, beetles, wings, and snakeskin. She is represented in the collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and … Continue reading →

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Science in the dark

Posted on July 6, 2007 by cicada

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768) Joseph Wright of Derby An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump – detail (view zoomed image at the National Gallery of London) Wouldn’t it be excellent if science … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Museum Lust, Science | 2 Comments

DWM overload

Posted on July 6, 2007 by cicada

portrait of James Ferguson, astronomer Oh, look! Legions of Dead White Males with (natural laws, anatomical parts, minerals, equations, geological features, organisms, diseases, scientific societies) named after them! And some little prankster drew spectacles on Ferguson. Scientific Identity: Portraits from … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Museum Lust, Science | Comments Off

Gilding the bathroom

Posted on July 1, 2007 by cicada

This gorgeous glowing artifact is, believe it or not, the basin of the sink in the guest bath at Lakewold Gardens. It was also the closest thing to the sun that I saw all day. Love ya, Seattle!

Posted in Frivolity, Museum Lust | Comments Off