Taking advantage of free entry to National Museusms on the First Sunday of each month, I today I visited the Musée Guimet, the French National Museum of Asian Arts, with a friend. It looked small from the outside but was huge inside and despite staying for the best part of three hours didn’t manage to cover it all and will have to return another day to finish up. It’s a great museum with some fascinating old and rare objects. My favourite, based soley on age (since it was such a shock) was this pot:
From the North of China, which was 4800 BC.
Another favourite was this well-armed-chap, Le Bodhisattva Avolokitesvara (Guanyin) aux mille bras et mille yeux, Sahsrabhuja sahasrantera. Which is again from China and was produced during the Conq Dynasties, neary 6,000 years after the pot was! (c. 907-960 AD).
To my shock I discovered that Polo was not infact a British invention, as I had previously assumed (not entirely unreasonably since Britain is credited with spreading the game worldwide) but rather older and from Persia. (I have had this confirmed by the ever reliable Wikidpedia!) Even more interesting is that it was played by women in the Tang Dynasty.
So my blog has entered a new phase. You’ve actually learnt something. Well, that is presuming that you didn’t know about Polo already I suppose.
I have now nearly finished my book and so am considering what else I can read next. Classic Literature in English is very cheap here but I do think it’s about time I started an essay on NATO and European Security that I’ve yet to consider, since I’ve been putting it off. There is a good chance therefor that I may be ‘J-storing’ later to find some background info. OK, I decree After the current book on the History of Paris, leisurely reading is suspended until this essay is complete. There, that was assertive, eh?
I did a bit more learning today too, since I have a friend going into hospital tomorrow for three days to have a operation on his eyes so I learnt a little about eye operations.
So how come Museums & Art galleries (obviously containing gift shops etc.) are welcomed to be open on Sundays, but all the useful places – shops, banks etc. are required to close or pay a fine? Religion – a mystery to me.