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Extract from "More Rough Travel Notes with an Architectural Eye - 2012":
London
A packed programme; so I was keen to get started, even on that first evening. Down the road to the British Museum and in through a quick back-entry. You may recall that recently in Tehran I’d visited the National Museum of Iran when the famous Cyrus Cylinder had been on loan there from the BM. But no photos had been allowed. Now it was back in Bloomsbury, and photos permitted, so I was keen to add to the earlier record (Iran - 1). It was in low light and a plastic display box, but I risked hurried hand-held as usual.
The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient fired-clay inscription of cuneiform text including an account of the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus in 539 BC. Cyrus also claims to have restored Babylonian temples and ordered other rebuilding. He was reputed to have served justly, and striven for peace.
Perhaps "First world's human-rights charter." ?
Alongside was a whole wall section of the fine bas-relief walls of Persepolis — Persian empire of 2,500 years ago. I’d taken successful photos of that quality line-work in the sun at Persepolis itself, but took a further shot at the BM for supplement.
P :-)
See also Irving Finkel.
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Cyrus - King of Persia (559-530 BC)
This is part of the "London - 2012" Set. I've linked to it from my "Iran -1" Set.
You might also be interested in this photo of the Tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae in my Iran - 2 Set:
www.flickr.com/photos/peteshep/5263124336/in/set-72157625...
British Museum link:
www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_data...
You Tube:
Top Ten Treasures in the British Museum:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZv6i01De2Q&t=1039s
You Tube British Museum
A new beginning for the Middle East: The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iokGgmrOj4Q
Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo Cyrus Cylinder Persia British Museum World's first human-rights charter
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Copyright photo.
Extract from "More Rough Travel Notes with an Architectural Eye - 2012":
And then in another room I found one of the beautiful 10th C plates of flowing calligraphic composition; kufic style with radial risers. [“He who speaks, his speech is silver; but silence is a ruby with good health and prosperity.”] Of course time has sifted out the best, but it’s always instructive to see how advanced, how visually refined and skilled, such ancient work was.
P :-)
"This is Kufi in Arabic. Kufeh is a city in Iraq."
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Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo central London - 2012 architecture hurried hand-held Fuji S6500 British Museum Bloomsbury calligraphic plate 10th Century calligraphy
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Foster's Great Court of the British Museum.
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wikimapia
Extract from "More rough Travel Notes with an Architectural Eye - 2012":
Back into the superb space of Foster’s Great BM Court. One of the best modern architecture interiors of the world, and ever more popular.
P :-)
In architectural triptych:
www.flickr.com/photos/peteshep/7330985050/
In You Tube:
The Top Ten Treasures in the British Museum:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZv6i01De2Q&t=1039s
Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo central London - 2012 architecture hurried hand-held Fuji S6500 Great Court British Museum Bloomsbury Norman Foster architect Queen Elizabeth II
© All Rights Reserved
Copyright photo.
wikimapia
Click diagonal arrows upper right and then press F11 Fullscreen.
Or
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Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo central London - 2012 architecture hurried hand-held Fuji S6500 British Museum Bloomsbury Norman Foster architect Queen Elizabeth II lat=51.5191522&lon=-0.1266754&z=17&l=0&m=b&search=Bloomsbury
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Renzo Piano workshops architects.
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Google purchasing.
Extract from "More rough Travel Notes with an Architectural Eye - 2012":
along the back streets of that area between Bloomsbury and Covent Garden. Suddenly a vertical flash of colour at end of the street — framed between the walls of greyed old buildings. That’s it! Central St Giles new building grouping by Renzo Piano. He said his aim was to create a “joyful heart” for the area, and at this moment he has. Closing in we find multi-storey planes of intense orange, lemon, and lime of a mixed-commercial development including advertising companies. Glazed ceramic colour with tech precision. The building group angles around an inner court; and the ground floor is glazed transparency of extra height — but commercial treatment at footpath level where the people are is neutral at best as with most modern commercial development. Isn’t that a general failure.
Well, I’d been impressed by the plan of the inner public-space court, so let’s head in. Good idea, but imagination was ahead of reality. After the bright outer colours, the inner court is uniformly dull grey, and the building-blocks too high to let in any sun. A tidy grouping, the lively external primary tints are refreshing, angled in townscape, precise in detailing, though you wouldn’t want to see the whole area turned into a bag of boiled lollies. Rightly, it’s the interplay that works.
P :-)
Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo central London - 2012 architecture hurried hand-held Fuji S6500 St Giles London Renzo Piano lat=51.5156538&lon=-0.1275981&z=17&l=0&m=b&search=Bloomsbury
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