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Kwakiutl or Tlingit peoples (Northwest Coast, United States and Canada)
Medium: Painted wood with inlaid abalone shell
Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio
DSCF7673
A raised, gilded cup. The deep bowl is decorated with three-dimensional leaves on the exterior and is undecorated within. Calyx decoration covers the lower half of the body, which is composed of an eight-petaled calyx of four acanthus-like leaves with bent tips. Interspaced are four nymphaea-like leaves that function as frames for an incised scale pattern. The foliage tips were made separately and have been soldered on. Blossoms with stone inlays grow on curved stalks between the tips of the calyx. The entire decoration rises from a four-petaled rosette with elongated leaves and a single stone at center. The upper part of the exterior decoration consists of a flower tendril with large accompanying leaves framed by two three-dimensional beaded lines. The blossoms have stone incrustations.
Parthian, created in the Bactrian Empire, 1st century BCE. Gilt silver, inlaid glass, and semiprecious stones.
8.3 × 14 cm (3 1/4 × 5 1/2 in.)
Getty Villa Museum (86.AM.754.4)
巴基斯坦－Punjab省－Lahore－拉合尔博物馆－雕工精美的木门
Details of a wooden door inlaid with Hindu deities, on display inisde Lahore Museum, situated in the City of Lahore, in Punjab Province, Pakistan.
The Lahore Museum was originally established in 1865-66 on the site of the hall or building of the 1864 Punjab Exhibition, and later shifted to its present site located on The Mall, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan in 1894. The current building of Lahore Museum was designed by the well-known architect Sir Ganga Ram. The Museum is the biggest museum of the country. It has one of the best collections of arts and artifacts in its galleries in South Asia.
Lahore Museum contains some fine specimens of Mughal and Sikh door-ways and wood-work and has a large collection of paintings dating back to the Mughal, Sikh and British periods. It includes a collection of musical instruments, ancient jewellery, textiles, pottery, and armory. There are important relics from the Indus Valley civilisation, Gandhara and Graeco-Bactrian periods as well as some Tibetan and Nepalese work on display. The museum has a number of Greco-Buddhist sculptures, Mughal and Pahari paintings on display.The Fasting Buddha from the Gandhara period is one of the most famous objects of the museum.
© All rights reserved. You may not use this photo in website, blog or any other media without my explicit permission.
巴基斯坦－Punjab省－Lahore－拉合尔博物馆－雕工精美的木门
Details of a wooden door inlaid with Hindu deities, on display inisde Lahore Museum, situated in the City of Lahore, in Punjab Province, Pakistan.
The Lahore Museum was originally established in 1865-66 on the site of the hall or building of the 1864 Punjab Exhibition, and later shifted to its present site located on The Mall, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan in 1894. The current building of Lahore Museum was designed by the well-known architect Sir Ganga Ram. The Museum is the biggest museum of the country. It has one of the best collections of arts and artifacts in its galleries in South Asia.
Lahore Museum contains some fine specimens of Mughal and Sikh door-ways and wood-work and has a large collection of paintings dating back to the Mughal, Sikh and British periods. It includes a collection of musical instruments, ancient jewellery, textiles, pottery, and armory. There are important relics from the Indus Valley civilisation, Gandhara and Graeco-Bactrian periods as well as some Tibetan and Nepalese work on display. The museum has a number of Greco-Buddhist sculptures, Mughal and Pahari paintings on display.The Fasting Buddha from the Gandhara period is one of the most famous objects of the museum.
© All rights reserved. You may not use this photo in website, blog or any other media without my explicit permission.
This Mosque was built around the pre-existing Mausoleum of Sultan Kujuk, built in 1341. The buildings fell into such ruin, that they were extensively rebuilt, remodelled and expanded between 1652-54.
Patron, original mausoleum: Ala'a al-Din Kujuk (al-Ashraf Ala'a al-Din Kujuk (puppy) ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun, or al-Ashraf Kujuk), 1336-1345, Bahri Mamluk Sultan of Egypt & Syria (r.1341–1342). He was the son of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad.
Patron & Architect, mosque: Shams al-Din Aqsunqur, son-in-law of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (al-Malik al-Nasir Nasir al-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun or al-Nasir Muhammad or Abu al-Ma'ali, al-Nasir Muhammad, Abu al-Ma'ali, or Ibn Qalawun) 1285-1341, Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt & Syria (r.1293–1294, 1299-1309 & 1310-1341). Aqsunqur supervised the project and participated in its construction.
Renovation & expansion 1652-54: Amir Ibrahim Agha al-Mustahfizan, an Amir & commander of the Janissary Citadel guards (mustahfizan), who added a splendid tomb for himself.
Restoration: Aga Khan Cultural Services 2015
Islamic Monument #123
Bronze hammered sculpture with inlaid bone eyes. It is not known whether it was only a bust or part of a statue. The female figure can be interpreted as a divine or daemonic being: Artemis, Nike or as a Sphinx.
This “hammer-elongated” archaic Greek bronze statue – or “Sphyrelaton” - is one of the rarest and most valuable example of hammered free-standing works indicative of the early technique of bronze statues. The “Sphyrelata” were made of hammering sheet nailed to a wooden core. This technique seems to be of oriental origin, probably imported from north-Syrian workers arrived in Greece around the seventh century BC.
Hammered bronze statue
Archaic Period
590 – 580 BC
From Ionian workshop
Olympia, Archaeological Museum
"Date: 2015–2016. Artist: Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann. Medium: Bronze.
These reconstructions represent two exquisite Classical Greek bronze statues found near Riace, Italy, in 1972. Research conducted during the reconstruction has led to important discoveries about the original appearance of the nude warriors. Sulphur residue in the corrosion layers shows that an artificial bronze patina was used to indicate skin color. As here, the eyes featured inlaid stone, lips and nipples were copper, and the teeth of these figures were silver sheet. Surviving fitting elements indicate that Riace B wore a fox-skin cap (alopekis) and Riace A wore a Corinthian helmet that was likely gilded, according to ancient custom. This representation of the lost cap of Riace B was modeled by Christoph Bergmann based on depictions in a relief from the Athenian Parthenon.
"Two Greek bronze statues of nude warriors were found in 1972 off the south coast of Calabria. Most likely they stood originally on the Athenian Acropolis in Greece. The reconstructions were carried out in various stages. In 2012, the head of Warrior A was scanned and a bronze cast was outfitted with a Corinthian helmet. This was followed, in 2013-2015, by a complete reconstruction of Riace A. In 2015-2016, Riace B was scanned, cast in bronze, and reconstructed.
Sulphur residue was observed in the layers of corrosion of the originals and interpreted as the remains of an artificial patina that was applied to the freshly cast bronze.
According to ancient sources, bitumen (asphalt) and patination were used for coloring and would have made possible a distinction between the skin and the hair colors of the two warriors, though for now any determination is largely hypothetical. The bronze cast of Riace A was therefore given a reddish patina by means of a sulphur reagent and asphalt lacquer in an oil-based solution, to represent deeply tanned skin and brown hair, while Riace B was given a blueish patina by means of asphalt lacquer mixed with indigo.
The hair of the Thracian warrior (Riace B) was given a reddish hue by means of a mixture of madder and asphalt lacquer. The eyes were fashioned from colored stones, just as in the original statues. The lips and the nipples were worked in bronze and inlaid separately, also matching what can be observed on the originals. The teeth of the original Riace A were formed from a sheet of silver, so a similar silver sheet was used for inlaying the teeth for the reconstruction. It can be shown that Riace A originally wore a Corinthian helmet. The bronze helmet from the tomb of Denda (Staatliche Glyptothek und Antikensammlungen, Munich) was recreated for the reconstruction. The gilding of the reconstructed helmet was added on the basis of literary references and representations in Roman painting. Warriors A is clutching the long staff of a lance in his right hand, and he once carried a heavy Greek round shield, which has been restored
No other type of ancient helmet besides the alopekis, a fox-skin cap, would have fit the head of the sculpture with the surviving elements of the raw and undefined surface of Warrior B’s skullcap, which include three copper plates with a dotted structure and a rectangular plate located above the forehead. The Munich artist Christoph Bergmann fashioned the missing fox skin cap (alopekis) of Riace B using examples on the Parthenon Frieze in Athens as a model.
An analysis of both the arms and hands of Warrior B indicates that he also carried a light shield and two different weapons. He is holding in his right hand the short staff of a weapon that is pointed forward and downward like swinging a double-bladed axe.
The index finger of Riace B's left hand is extended outward and obviously held an arrow that had been lost in the meantime. Consequently, the figure also held a bow in his closed left hand. This equipment, consisting of a light shield (pelta), arrow, bow and fox-skin cap, was added to the reconstruction in 2022 and suggests that Riace B represents the Thracian king Eumolpos as he encounters and is murdered by Erechtheus, the mythical king of Athens, in the so-called Eleusinian War. Finally, it is likely that the two bronze warriors from the sea off the coast of Riace, Calabria in southern Italy formed a statue group that was originally set up on the Athenian Acropolis."" - info from the Met.
"The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 Fifth Avenue, along the Museum Mile on the eastern edge of Central Park on Manhattan's Upper East Side, is by area one of the world's largest art museums. A much smaller second location, The Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, contains an extensive collection of art, architecture, and artifacts from medieval Europe.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 with its mission to bring art and art education to the American people. The museum's permanent collection consists of works of art from classical antiquity and ancient Egypt, paintings, and sculptures from nearly all the European masters, and an extensive collection of American and modern art. The Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, and Islamic art. The museum is home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes, and accessories, as well as antique weapons and armor from around the world. Several notable interiors, ranging from 1st-century Rome through modern American design, are installed in its galleries.
The Fifth Avenue building opened on March 30, 1880. In 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the museum attracted 1,958,000 visitors, ranking fourth on the list of most-visited art museums in the world.
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. The city is within the southern tip of New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area – the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous megacities, and over 58 million people live within 250 mi (400 km) of the city. New York City is a global cultural, financial, and media center with a significant influence on commerce, health care and life sciences, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, dining, art, fashion, and sports. New York is the most photographed city in the world. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy, an established safe haven for global investors, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world." - info from Wikipedia.
The fall of 2022 I did my 3rd major cycling tour. I began my adventure in Montreal, Canada and finished in Savannah, GA. This tour took me through the oldest parts of Quebec and the 13 original US states. During this adventure I cycled 7,126 km over the course of 2.5 months and took more than 68,000 photos. As with my previous tours, a major focus was to photograph historic architecture.
Now on Instagram.
St. Hilda’s By The Sea is a small Anglican church in Sechelt. Set among the verdant green trees of the temperate rainforest, it is an eclectic mix of old and new: retired British pensioners polish the altar crystal and set out flowers for Sunday services, presided over by a gay Chinese-Canadian priest. Tai chi mixes with Celtic mysticism in a melange that is somehow stronger than its parts. And isn’t that what community is all about?
From the official website:
Walking the labyrinth is an ancient spiritual act that is being rediscovered during our time.
Usually constructed from circular patterns, labyrinths are based on principles of sacred geometry. Sometimes called “divine imprints”, they are found around the world as sacred patterns that have been passed down through the ages for at least 4,000 years. When a pattern of a certain size is constructed or placed on the ground, it can be used for walking meditations and rituals.
Labyrinths and their geometric cousins (spirals and mandalas) can be found in almost every religious tradition. For example, the Kabbala, or Tree of Life, is found in the Jewish mystical tradition. The Hopi Medicine Wheel, and the Man in the Maze are two forms from the Native American labyrinth traditions. The Cretan labyrinth, the remains of which can be found on the island of Crete, has seven path rings and is the oldest known labyrinth (4,000 or 5.000 years old).
In Europe, the Celts and later the early Christian Celtic Church revered labyrinths and frequently built them in natural settings. Sacred dances would be performed in them to celebrate solar and religious festivals. During the Middle Ages, labyrinths were created in churches and cathedrals throughout France and Northern Italy. These characteristically flat church or pavement labyrinths were inlaid into the floor of the nave of the church.
The Chartres Labyrinth
The labyrinth constructed at St. Hilda’s is an 11-circuit labyrinth. It is a replica of the one embedded in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. The design of this labyrinth, and many of the other church labyrinths in Europe, is a reworking of the ancient labyrinth design in which an equal-armed cross is emphasized and surrounded by a web of concentric circles. As with many Christian symbols, this was an adaptation of a symbol; that is known to have predated the Christian faith. This medieval variation is considered a breakthrough in design because it is less linear than the preceding, more formal, Roman design that developed from quadrant to quadrant. The medieval design made one path as long as possible, starting at the outer circumference and leading to the centre. Fraught with twists and turns, the path’s meanderings were considered symbolic representations of the Christian pilgrim’s journey to the Holy City of Jerusalem and of one’s own journey through life. This classical design is sometimes referred to as “the Chartres Labyrinth” due to the location of its best known example. The labyrinth was built at Chartres in the early 13th century (~ 1215 A.D.). No one knows the source of this classical 11-circuit labyrinth design, and much of its spiritual meaning and use has been lost.
The Chartres Labyrinth is located in the west end of the nave, the central body of the cathedral. When you walk in the main doors and look towards the high altar, you see the center of the labyrinth on the floor about 50 feet in front of you. It is approximately 42 feet in diameter and the path is 16 inches wide. At Chartres, the center of the Rose Window mirrors the center of the labyrinth. The cathedral is perfectly proportioned, so that if we put the west wall of the cathedral on hinges and folded it down on the labyrinth, the Rose Window would fit almost perfectly over the labyrinth.
Labyrinth or Maze?
The difference between a labyrinth used for meditation and mazes can be confusing. Mazes often have many entrances, dead-ends and cul-de-sacs that frequently confound the human mind. In contrast, meditation labyrinths offer only one path. By following the one path to the center, the seeker can use the labyrinth to quiet his or her mind and find peace and illumination at the center of his or her being. “As soon as one enters the labyrinth, one realizes that the path of the labyrinth serves as a metaphor for one’s spiritual journey. The walk, and all that happens on it, can be grasped through the intuitive, pattern-discerning faculty of the person walking it. The genius of this tool is that it reflects back to the seeker whatever he or she needs to discover from the perspective of a new level of conscious awareness.”
The Labyrinth is a Universal Meditation Tool
Anyone from any tradition or spiritual path can walk into the labyrinth and, through reflecting in the present moment, can benefit from it. A meditation labyrinth is one of many tools that can be used for spiritual practice. Like any tool, it is best used with a proper, good, intention. A church or temple can be used simply as a refuge from a rainstorm, but it can be so much more with a different intention. The same is true of the labyrinth. The seeker is only asked to put one foot in front of the other. By stepping into the labyrinth, we are choosing once again to walk the contemplative spiritual path. We are agreeing to let ourselves be open to see, to be free to hear, and to becoming real enough to respond. The labyrinth is a prayer path, a crucible of change, a meditation tool, a blueprint where psyche meets soul.
The best way to learn about the labyrinth is to walk a well-constructed one a few times, with an open heart and an open mind. Then allow your experience to guide you as to whether this will be a useful spiritual tool for you.
The Chartres Labyrinth and the Pilgrim’s Journey
Pilgrims are persons in motion – passing through territories not their own – seeking something we might call completion, or perhaps the word clarity will do as well, a goal to which only the spirit’s compass points the way.
Richard R. Niebuhr in Pilgrims and Pioneers
“The tradition of pilgrimage is as old as religion itself. Worshippers on pilgrimage traveled to holy festivals whether to solstice celebrations, to Mecca to gather around the Ka’aba for the high holy days of Islam, or to Easter festivals in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Pilgrimages were a mixture of religious duty and holiday relaxation for the peasant, the commoner and rich land owner alike. The journey was often embarked on in groups with designated places to stay at night. The pilgrims were restless to explore the mystical holy places, and many were in search of physical or spiritual healing.
The Christian story, which emphasized the humanity of Christ, fascinated the pilgrims. In the Middle Ages, most people did not read. As a result, they were much more oriented to the senses than we are today. They learned the story by traveling to Jerusalem to walk where Jesus walked, to pray where he prayed, and to experience, in a solemn moment, where he died. Unlike today, Pilgrims encountered the truth of the Christian mystery through an ongoing intimacy with all their senses.
When a person committed his or her life to Christ in the early Middle Ages, they sometimes made a vow to make a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem. However, by the 12th century when the Crusades swept across Europe and the ownership of Jerusalem was in tumultuous flux, travel became dangerous and expensive. In response to this situation, the Roman Church appointed seven pilgrimage cathedrals to become “Jerusalem” for pilgrims. Consequently, in the pilgrimage tradition, the path within the labyrinth was called the Chemin de Jerusalem and the center of the labyrinth was called “New Jerusalem”.
The walk into the labyrinth marked the end of the physical journey across the countryside and served as a symbolic entry-way into the spiritual realms of the Celestial City. The image of the Celestial City – taken straight out of the Book of Revelation to John – captivated the religious imagination of many during the Middle Ages. The wondrous Gothic cathedrals, with painted walls either in bright, even gaudy colours, or else white-washed, were designed to represent the Celestial City. The stained glass windows – when illuminated by the sun – created the sense of colourful, dancing jewels, allowing the pilgrim to experience the awesome mystery of the City of God.”
The Journey of Life
A fundamental approach to the labyrinth is to see it as a metaphor for life’s journey. The labyrinth reminds us that all of life, with its joys, sorrows, twists and turns, is a journey that comes from God (birth) and goes to God (death). It is a physical metaphor for the journey of healing, spiritual and emotional growth and transformation. Following the path is like any journey. Sometimes you feel you are at or nearing your destination, and at other times you may feel distant or even lost. Only by faithfully keeping to the path will you arrive at the physical center of the labyrinth, which signifies God, the center of our lives and souls.
Applying the Three Fold Mystical Tradition to the Labyrinth
In the Christian mystical tradition, the journey to God was articulated in the three stages. These stages have become recognized as being universal to meditation: to release and quiet; to open and receive; and to take what was gained back out into the world.
The Three Stages
The first part of the Three- Fold Mystical Path is Purgation. This archaic word is from the root word “to purge”, meaning to cleanse, to let go. Shedding is another way of describing the experience. The mystical word is empting or releasing. It is believed that monks journeyed the first part of the labyrinth Purgation on their knees as a penitential act. This was not done for reasons of punishment as we might think, but as a way to humble oneself before God.
The second stage of the Three-Fold Path, Illumination, is found in the center of the labyrinth. Usually it is a surprise to reach the center because the long winding path seems “illogical” and cannot be figured out by the linear mind. After quieting the mind in the first part of the walk, the center presents a new experience: a place of meditation and prayer. Often people at this stage in the walk find insight into their situation in life, or clarity about a certain problem, hence the label “illumination”. As one enters the
center, the instruction is simple: enter with an open heart and mind; receive what there is for you.
The third stage, Union, begins when you leave the center of the labyrinth and continues as you retrace the path that brought you in. In this stage the meditation takes on a grounded, energized feeling. Many people who have had an important experience in the center feel that this third stage of the labyrinth gives them a way of integrating the insights they received. Others feel that this stage stokes the creative fires within. It energizes insight. It empowers, invites, and even pushes us to be more authentic and confident and to take risks with our gifts in the world. Union means communing with God.
The Monastic Orders experienced a union with God through their community life by creating a fulfilling balance between the work that was assigned, sleep and the many hours of worship attended daily. Our times present a similar challenge: we struggle to find balance between work, sleep, family and friends, leisure and spiritual life. The lack of structured communities in which people share work responsibilities and the “every person for himself or herself” mentality (or every family for itself) prevalent in our highly individualistic society makes the task of finding balance even more difficult.
Monastic communities offered a mystical spirituality that spoke to highly intuitive and intensely introverted people and (paradoxically to some) at the same time provided an economic structure throughout Europe. Monasteries during the Middle Ages provided schools and hospitals managed by monks; yet, at the same time, cloistered life helped the monks stay inwardly directed. Today, without any reliable structure directing us, the way of union needs to be re-thought. Our times call for most of us to be outer-directed. We are called to action in every aspect of our society in order to meet the spiritual challenges that confront us in the 21st century. Gratefully, there are still people in religious orders holding the candle for deep contemplation, but the majority of people involved in the spiritual transformation are searching for a path that guides them to service in the world in an active, extroverted, compassionate way. The third stage of the labyrinth empowers the seeker to move back into the world replenished and directed – which makes the labyrinth a particularly powerful tool for transformation.
Walking the Labyrinth: The Process
The purpose of all spiritual disciplines – prayer, fasting, meditation – is to help create an open attentiveness that enables us to receive and renew our awareness of our grounding and wholeness in God.
The Experience of Walking Meditation
Many of us have trouble quieting our minds. The Buddhists call the distracted state of mind the “monkey mind”, which is an apt image of what the mind is frequently like: thoughts swinging like monkeys from branch to branch, chattering away without any rhyme or conscious reason. When the mind is quiet, we feel peaceful and open, aware of a silence that embraces the universe.
Complete quiet in the mind is not a realistic goal for most of us. Instead, the task is to dis-identify with the thoughts going through our minds. Don’t get hooked by the thoughts, let them go. Thomas Keating, a Cistercian monk who teaches Centering Prayer (meditation) in the Christian tradition, described the mind as a still lake. A thought is like a fish that swims through it. If you get involved with the fish (“Gee what an unusual fish, I wonder what it is called?”), then you are hooked. Many of us have discovered through learning meditation how difficult it is to quiet the mind; yet, the rewards are great.
In the labyrinth, the sheer act of walking a complicated, attention demanding path begins to focus the mind. Thoughts of daily tasks and experiences become less intrusive. A quiet mind does not happen automatically. You must gently guide the mind with the intention of letting go of extraneous thoughts. This is much easier to do when your whole body is moving – when you are walking. Movement takes away the excess charge of psychic energy that disturbs our efforts to quiet our thought processes.
Two Basic Approaches to the Walk
One way to walk the labyrinth is to choose to let all thought go and simply open yourself to your experience with gracious attention. Usually – though not always – quieting happens in the first stage of the walk. After the mind is quiet, you can choose to remain in the quiet. Or use the labyrinth as a prayer path. Simply begin to talk to God. This is an indication that you are ready to receive what is there for you, or you allow a sincere part of your being to find its voice.
A second approach to a labyrinth walk is to consider a question. Concentrate on the question as you walk in. Amplify your thoughts about it; let all else go but your question. When you walk into the center with an open heart and an open mind, you are opening yourself to receiving new information, new insights about yourself.
Guidelines for the Walk
Find your pace. In our chaotic world we are often pushed beyond a comfortable rhythm. In this state we lose the sense of our own needs. To make matters worse, we are often rushed and then forced to wait. Anyone who has hurried to the bank only to stand in line knows the feeling. Ironically, the same thing can happen with the labyrinth, but there is a difference. The labyrinth helps us find what our natural pace would be and draws our attention to it when we are not honouring it.
Along with finding your pace, support your movement through the labyrinth by becoming conscious of your breath. Let your breath flow smoothly in and out of your body. It can be coordinated with each step – as is done in the Buddhist walking meditation – if you choose. Let your experience be your guide.
Each experience in the labyrinth is different, even if you walk it often in a short period of time. The pace usually differs each time as well. It can change dramatically within the different stages of the walk. When the labyrinth has more than a comfortable number of seekers on it, you can “pass” people if you want to continue to honour the intuitive pace your inner process has set. If you are moving at a slower pace, you can allow people to pass you. At first people are uncomfortable with the idea of “passing” someone on the labyrinth. It looks competitive, especially since the walk is a spiritual exercise. Again, these kinds of thoughts and feelings, we hope, are greeted from a spacious place inside that smiles knowingly about the machinations of the human ego. On the spiritual path we meet every and all things. To find our pace, to allow spaciousness within, to be receptive to all experience, and to be aware of the habitual thoughts and issues that hamper our spiritual development is a road to self-knowledge.
Summary of How to Walk the Labyrinth
Pause at the entry way to allow yourself to be fully conscious of the act of stepping into the labyrinth. Allow about a minute, or several turns on the path, to create some space between yourself and the person in front of you. Some ritual act, such as a bow, may feel appropriate during the labyrinth walk. Do what comes naturally.
Follow your pace. Allow your body to determine the pace. If you allow a rapid pace and the person in front of you is moving slower, feel free to move around this person. This is easiest to do at the turns by turning earlier. If you are moving slowly, you can step onto the labyrs (wide spaces at the turns) to allow others to pass.
The narrow path is a two-way street. If you are going in and another person is going out, you will meet on the path. If you want to keep in an inward meditative state, simply do not make eye contact. If you meet someone you know, a touch of the hand or a hug may be an important acknowledgement of being on the path together.
Symbolism and Meanings Found in the Chartres Labyrinth
Circles and Spirals
The circle is the symbol of unity or union and it is the primary shape of all labyrinths. The circle in sacred geometry represents the incessant movement of the universe (uncomprehensible) as opposed to the square which represents comprehensible order. The labyrinth is a close cousin to the spiral and it, too, reflects the cyclical element of nature and is regarded as the symbol of eternal life.
The labyrinth functions like a spiral, creating a vortex in its center. Upon entering, the path winds in a clockwise pattern. Energy is being drawn out. Upon leaving the center the walker goes in a counter clockwise direction. The unwinding path integrates and empowers us on our walk back out. We are literally ushered back out into the world in a strengthened condition.
The Path
The path lies in 11 concentric circles with the 12th being the labyrinth center. The path meanders throughout the whole circle. There are 34 turns on the path going into the center. Six are semi-right turns and 28 are 180° turns. So the 12 rings that form the 11 pathways may symbolically represent, the 12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel or 12 months of the year. Twelve is a mystical number in Christianity. In sacred geometry three represents heaven and four represents earth. Twelve is the product of 3 x 4 and, therefore, the path which flows through the whole is then representative of all creation.
The obvious metaphor for the path is the difficult path to salvation, with its many twists and turns. Since we cannot see a straight path to our destination, the labyrinth can be viewed as a metaphor for our lives. We learn to surrender to the path (Christ) and trust that he will lead us on our journey.
The path can also be viewed as grace or the Church guiding us through chaos.
The Cruciform and Labyrs
The labyrinth is divided equally into four quadrants that make an equal-armed cross or cruciform. The four arms represent in symbol what is thought to be the essential
structure of the universe for example, the four spatial directions, the four elements (earth, wind, water and fire), the four seasons and, most important, salvation through the cross. The four arms of the cross emerging from the center seem to give order to the would-be chaos of the meandering path around it.
The Chartres labyrinth cross or cruciform is delineated by the 10 labyrs (labyr means to turn and this is the root of the word labyrinth). The labyrs are double-ax shaped and visible at the turns and between turns. They are traditionally seen as a symbol of women’s power and creativity.
The Centre Rosette
In the Middle Ages, the rose was regarded as a symbol for the Virgin Mary. Because of its association with the myths of Percival and the Holy Grail at that time, it also was seen as a sign of beauty and love. The rose becomes symbolic of both human and divine love, of passionate love, but also love beyond passion. The single rose became a symbol of a simple acceptance of God’s love for the world.
Unlike a normal rose (which has five petals) the rosette has six petals and is steeped in mysticism. Although associated with the Rose of Sharon, which refers to Mary, it may also represent the Holy Spirit (wisdom and enlightenment). The six petals may have corresponded to the story of the six days of creation. In other mystical traditions, the petals can be viewed as the levels of evolution (mineral, plant, animal, humankind, angelic and divine).
The Lunations
The lunations are the outer ring of partial circles that complete the outside circle of the labyrinth. They are unique to the Chartres design.
Celtic Symbols on the St. Hilda’s Labyrinth
The Celtic peoples have given us seven enduring spiritual principles:
1. A deep respect of nature, regarding creation as the fifth Gospel.
2. Quiet care for all living things.
3. The love of learning.
4. A wonder-lust or migratory nature.
5. Love of silence and solitude.
6. Understanding of time as a sacred reality and an appreciation of ordinary life, worshipping God through everyday life, and with great joy.
7. The value of family and clan affiliation, and especially spiritual ties of soul friends.
To show our respect for such wisdom, two Celtic designs adorn the St. Hilda’s labyrinth.
To mark the entrance to the labyrinth is a Celtic zoomorphic design painted in red. Traditionally, Celtic monks used intricate knotwork and zoomorphic designs (odd animals intertwined in uncomfortable ways) as mere filler for their illuminated gospel texts. They had no discernible meaning.
However, because of their unique design components, zoomorphs are now associated with transformations.
Transformation, change, action, and passion are also associated with red, the colour of fire. Therefore, this entrance symbol may well be an appropriate sign for the journey ahead.
At the labyrinth’s centre is a Celtic triquetra. This interlocked knotwork design of three stylized fish (whales) is often interpreted as the Trinity knot. It is a perfect representation of the concept of "three in one" in Christian trinity beliefs. Having the design enclosed within the centre circle further emphasizes the unity theme.
The triquetra can also be considered to represent the triplicities of mind, body, and soul, as well as the three domains of earth- earth, sea, and sky.
Final Reflection: The Labyrinth as a “Thinning Place”
In Celtic Christianity, places where people felt most strongly connected with God’s presence were referred to as thin places. It was these places in nature (forest groves, hilltops and deep wells) that the seen and unseen worlds were most closely connected, and the inhabitants of both worlds could momentarily touch the other. Today our churches, temples and sacred sites are the new thin places to meet the Divine. Here, at St Hilda’s, we have opportunities to encounter many thinning places – whether it be during Eucharistic or Taize services, while singing or praying, or through the love of a welcoming inclusive community. The labyrinth is a welcome addition; and with the right intent can also become a new thinning place for the modern pilgrim/spiritual seeker.This outward journey is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience. We can walk it. It can serve to frame the inward journey – a journey of repentance, forgiveness and rebirth, a journey that seeks a deeper faith, and greater holiness, a journey in search of God.
This 360° High Dynamic Range panorama was stitched from 66 bracketed photographs images with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, processed with Color Efex, and touched up in Aperture.
Original size: 20000 × 10000 (200.0 MP; 1.04 GB).
Location: St. Hilda’s By The Sea Anglican Church, Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada
Statue of a Victorious Youth (Greek), 300–100 B.C.E., bronze with inlaid copper, 151.5 x 70 x 27.9 cm (Getty Villa Museum)
Inside, the enormous dome above the shrine is inlaid with hundreds of thousands of pieces of finely crafted tiles, and the interior walls are covered with myriad pieces of dazzling glass intermixed with multi-colored tiles – green, yellow, red and blue, interspersed with glasses of paler shades sometimes. High and large windows down to the ground are largely made up of mosaics of stained glass which are reflected in the mosaics of mirrors. Embedded in the walls everywhere are verses from the Quran written on silk paper and framed. The green marble floor is covered with thick red Iranian carpets and magnificent crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling above.
Taken @Shiraz, Teheran, Iran
The wooden anthropoid coffin of a man called "Aba son of Ankh Hor", ruler and governor of Upper Egypt and the Head of the treasury.
The coffin is fully decorated in the shape of a mummy resembling Osiris with the upturned ceremonial false beard and a wig. The eyes are inlaid with ivory and ebony. Iba wears a large multicoloured necklace, and the sky-goddess Nut appears on the chest area. The goddess Isis with wide-spread wings is portrayed on the feet, while the goddess Nephtys appears at the head. The three goddesses offer protection to the deceased. The coffin lid is also decorated with texts from the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the base shows hieroglyphic inscriptions.
Organic material, sycamore wood
Late Period, 26th Dynasty, Saite Period
Provenance Upper Egypt, Luxor (Thebes), West Bank, Qurna
BAAM 829
Antiquities Museum of Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Ornate arch and gateway, Charlemont House, Parnell Square North, Dublin - Catalogue description
Todays shot looks more like the entrance to a Spanish Grandee's dwelling in Madrid than Dublins North side with the ornate arch and coat of arms overhead.
We got that wrong in the cataloguing department, Not Parnell Square but St James's Street to be exact. The location was identified by O Mac in jig time. He then linked us to the buildingsofireland record of the gate - as follows:
Description
Freestanding pedimented gateway, erected c.1865, comprising round-arched opening with carved voussoirs and dropped keystone, flanked by rusticated cut granite piers, with double-leaf steel gate having spoked cast-iron panel over. Scrolled consoles supporting carved granite cornice over carved inlaid plaque with military symbols. Scrolled volutes over plain pilasters to east and west elevations. Cast-iron wheel-guards to piers bases. Flanked by later steel railings.
Appraisal
Several sites south of James's Street and Thomas Street were acquired by Guinness in the late nineteenth century to expand the brewing enterprise, and were mainly used for cooperage, racking and dispatching. This gateway is one of a number attached to the Guinness brewery site in the Thomas Street and James's Street area. It displays fine stone cutting in its construction and detailing, notably in its consoles and cornice, and provides an interesting focal point on the streetscape. The carved plaque provides artistic interest.
How did beachcomberaustralia identify the vehicle from the slight glimpse available in this photo? You guys are amazing!
Photographer: Elinor Wiltshire
Date: 1966
NLI Ref: WIL 20[10]
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
Brass Box inlaid with silver and copper with combination lock by Muhammad bin Hamid al-Asturlabi al Isfahani. Isfahan, Iran (Persia). Dated 1201 AD. From the David Collection, Copenhagen. Special Exhibition: Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljucs. Metropolitan Museum. New York, New York, USA. Copyright 2016, James A. Glazier.
calyx-krater [350BC-340BC]
London BM 1870,0710.2 Side A
(Side A)
1.) On the upper row:
Phaedra's love-sickness:
In the centre is a large couch, the legs inlaid with palmettes, and volutes and Gorgoneia above; along the front, spirals and other patterns; on the couch is a mattress with lozenge-pattern and an embroidered purple cushion at each end; beneath it is a large low stool with inlaid patterns in white, yellow, and purple. In front of it are two female attendants confronted; the one on the left holds up a large white fan in right hand and extends left hand to the other, whose hands are placed behind her head. The first wears earrings, double necklace, bracelets, long chiton and apoptygma to hips with border of dots, and sandals; her hair is gathered under a close cap. The other wears earrings, double necklace, long transparent chiton, and shoes; her hair rises in a mass over the forehead and falls on the shoulders. On the left is Phaedra, seated on a four-legged cushioned stool to right, with downcast face; her legs are crossed and her hands clasped on her right knee; her feet rest on a footstool. Her hair is gathered up under an ampyx and veil, and she wears earrings, double necklace, bracelets, long chiton, and sandals; behind her, above, hangs an Apulian sistrum, tied with a purple taenia. Before Phaedra hovers Eros to left, represented on a smaller scale, with long hair and sandals, holding out a taenia; behind her is the nurse to right, with white hair, long girt chiton, and himation, right hand supporting her chin, left extended. On the right is a paidagogos to right, with white hair and beard, short girt chiton, bordered himation, endromides with white tops turned over, and crook in left hand; his right hand is extended as if conversing with a female figure confronting him. She wears earrings, necklace, veil, long chiton, and himation; her right hand is placed under her chin. Above, behind the old man, hangs a cista, on which are painted human figures in white.
2) On the lower row
Combat of Centaur and Lapithae: A Centaur advancing from right with wreath, panther-skin knotted in front, ridge of thick hair below waist, and a branch in left arm, seizes Laodameia by left arm and round neck; she has just stepped down to right from a chair, which has highly ornamented legs and cushion (as above). She has long hair with stephane, earrings, triple necklace, long transparent embroidered chiton, and sandals; her right foot is placed on a footstool, and she looks back at Peirithoos, who advances and seizes the Centaur's right arm. He is beardless, with short curly hair, chlamys over left arm, and sword in right hand. Above them is incised respectively: ΛΑΟΔΑΜΕΙΑ, Λαοδάμεια, and ΠΕΙΡIΘΟΟΣ, Πειρίθοος. Behind Peirithoos is a female figure retreating and looking back, with white taenia in her hair, long bordered chiton with apoptygma, and broad white scarf floating behind, sandals, bracelet on right arm; both hands are extended in astonishment. On the right Theseus advances, beardless, with chlamys over left arm, his left hand extended to seize the Centaur, whom he is about to strike with a club in right hand; he is inscribed: ΘΗΣΕΥΣ, Θήσευς. Behind him is a female figure retreating and looking back, with ampyx, hair tied in a knot with taenia, earrings, double necklace, bracelets, long chiton and himation drawn forward in left hand, and sandals. Below the Centaur is a yellow situla or cotyle. The ground-lines of both scenes are indicated by white dots.
Just blogged about this card using the inlaid die cutting technique and the Corbel Heart die from Simon Says Stamp 💗 😀
limedoodledesign.com/2016/12/heartfelt-thanks-inlaid-die-...
Thanks for looking!
Debby
Bronze chariot inlaid with ivory
2nd quarter of the 6th century B.C.
Scenes from the life of the Greek hero Achilles
In 1902, a landowner working on his property accidentally discovered a subterranean built tomb covered by a tumulus (mound). His investigations revealed the remains of a parade chariot as well as bronze, ceramic, and iron utensils together with other grave goods. Following the discovery, the finds passed through the hands of several Italian owners and dealers who were responsible for the appearance of the chariot and related material on the Paris art market. There they were purchased in 1903 by General Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the first director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Monteleone chariot is the best preserved example of its kind from ancient Italy before the Roman period. The relatively good condition of its major parts--the panels of the car, the pole, and the wheels--has made it possible to undertake a new reconstruction based on the most recent scholarship. Moreover, some of the surviving ivory fragments can now be placed with reasonable certitude. The other tomb furnishings acquired with the chariot are exhibited in two cases on the south wall of this gallery.
...On the Italian peninsula, the largest number of chariots come from Etruria and the surrounding regions. They are datable between the second half of the eighth and the fifth centuries B.C. and represent several varieties. None seems to have been used for fighting in battle. Most came to light in tombs; after serving in life, they were buried with their owners, male and also female. The Monteleone chariot belongs to a group of parade chariots, so called because they were used by significant individuals on special occasions. They have two wheels and were drawn by two horses standing about forty-nine inches (122 centimeters) apart at the point where the yoke rests on their necks. The car would have accommodated the driver and the distinguished passenger. The shape of the car, with a tall panel in front and a lower one at each side, provided expansive surfaces for decoration, executed in repoussé. The frieze at the axle, the attachment of the pole to the car, and the ends of the pole and yoke all have additional figural embellishment.
...The iconography represents a carefully thought-out program. The three major panels of the car depict episodes from the life of Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War. In the magnificent central scene, Achilles, on the right, receives from his mother, Thetis, on the left, a shield and helmet to replace the armor that Achilles had given his friend Patroklos, for combat against the Trojan Hektor. Patroklos was killed, allowing Hektor to take Achilles' armor. The subject was widely known thanks to the account in Homer's Iliad and many representations in Greek art. The panel on the left shows a combat between two warriors, usually identified as the Greek Achilles and the Trojan Memnon. In the panel on the right, the apotheosis of Achilles shows him ascending in a chariot drawn by winged horses. The subsidiary reliefs partly covered by the wheels are interpreted as showing Achilles as a youth in the care of the centaur Chiron and Achilles as a lion felling his foes, in this case a stag and a bull. The central axis of the chariot is reinforced by the head and forelegs of the boar at the join of the pole to the car. The deer below Achilles' shield appears slung over the boar's back. The eagle's head at the front of the pole repeats the two attacking eagles at the top of the central panel, and the lion heads on the yoke relate to the numerous savage felines on the car. While the meaning of the human and animal figures allows for various interpretations, there is a thematic unity and a Homeric quality emphasizing the glory of the hero.
The three panels of the car represent the main artistic achievement. Scholarly opinion agrees that the style of the decoration is strongly influenced by Greek art, particularly that of Ionia and adjacent islands such as Rhodes. The choice of subjects, moreover, reflects close knowledge of the epics recounting the Trojan War. In the extent of Greek influence, the chariot resembles works of virtually all media from Archaic Etruria. Contemporary carved ambers reflect a similar situation. The typically Etruscan features of the object begin with its function, for chariots were not significant in Greek life of the sixth century B.C. except in athletic contests. Furthermore, iconographical motifs such as the winged horses in Achilles' apotheosis and the plethora of birds of prey reflect Etruscan predilections. The repoussé panels may have been produced in one of the important metal-working centers such as Vulci by a local craftsman well familiar with Greek art or possibly by an immigrant bronze-worker. The chariot could well have been made for an important individual living in southern Etruria or Latium. Its burial in Monteleone may have to do with the fact that this town controlled a major route through the Appenine Mountains. The vehicle could have been a gift to win favor with a powerful local authority or to reward his services. Beyond discussion is the superlative skill of the artist. His control of the height of the relief, from very high to subtly shallow, is extraordinary. Equally remarkable are the richness and variety of the decoration lavished on all of the figures, especially those of the central panel. In its original state, with the gleaming bronze and painted ivory as well as all of the accessory paraphernalia, the chariot must have been dazzling.
After the parts of the chariot arrived in the Museum in 1903, they were assembled in a presentation that remained on view for almost a century. During the new reconstruction, which took three years' work, the chariot was entirely dismantled. A new support was made according to the same structural principles as the ancient one would have been. The reexamination of many pieces has allowed them to be placed in their correct positions. Moreover, the bronze sheathing of the pole, which had been considered only partially preserved, has been recognized as substantially complete. The main element that has not been reconstructed is the yoke. Although the length is correct, the wooden bar simply connects the two bronze pieces.
[Met Museum]
In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5th Avenue, New York
The Renaissance castle Quedlinburg with its sumptuous rooms. Clear Highlight for me are the inlaid floor and the high-quality silk fabrics of the walls.
Developed with Lightroom CC and VSCO Fuji Fortia.
Gold and silver inlaid into heavily oxidized steel creates this black-and-gold effect.
Toledo has not one but two of the handful of surviving pre-expulsion synagogues in Spain, and is a must-see stop on many Jewish tourists' itineraries. The local artisans, famous for their metalwork, have apparently tapped into a rich market in souvenirs aimed at them. In general, we got the feeling that modern residents romanticize Spain's Jewish past as a colorful lost era -- almost in the way that Americans tend to romanticize our country's Native American past.
St. Hilda’s By The Sea is a small Anglican church in Sechelt. Set among the verdant green trees of the temperate rainforest, it is an eclectic mix of old and new: retired British pensioners polish the altar crystal and set out flowers for Sunday services, presided over by a gay Chinese-Canadian priest. Tai chi mixes with Celtic mysticism in a melange that is somehow stronger than its parts. And isn’t that what community is all about?
From the official website:
Walking the labyrinth is an ancient spiritual act that is being rediscovered during our time.
Usually constructed from circular patterns, labyrinths are based on principles of sacred geometry. Sometimes called “divine imprints”, they are found around the world as sacred patterns that have been passed down through the ages for at least 4,000 years. When a pattern of a certain size is constructed or placed on the ground, it can be used for walking meditations and rituals.
Labyrinths and their geometric cousins (spirals and mandalas) can be found in almost every religious tradition. For example, the Kabbala, or Tree of Life, is found in the Jewish mystical tradition. The Hopi Medicine Wheel, and the Man in the Maze are two forms from the Native American labyrinth traditions. The Cretan labyrinth, the remains of which can be found on the island of Crete, has seven path rings and is the oldest known labyrinth (4,000 or 5.000 years old).
In Europe, the Celts and later the early Christian Celtic Church revered labyrinths and frequently built them in natural settings. Sacred dances would be performed in them to celebrate solar and religious festivals. During the Middle Ages, labyrinths were created in churches and cathedrals throughout France and Northern Italy. These characteristically flat church or pavement labyrinths were inlaid into the floor of the nave of the church.
The Chartres Labyrinth
The labyrinth constructed at St. Hilda’s is an 11-circuit labyrinth. It is a replica of the one embedded in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. The design of this labyrinth, and many of the other church labyrinths in Europe, is a reworking of the ancient labyrinth design in which an equal-armed cross is emphasized and surrounded by a web of concentric circles. As with many Christian symbols, this was an adaptation of a symbol; that is known to have predated the Christian faith. This medieval variation is considered a breakthrough in design because it is less linear than the preceding, more formal, Roman design that developed from quadrant to quadrant. The medieval design made one path as long as possible, starting at the outer circumference and leading to the centre. Fraught with twists and turns, the path’s meanderings were considered symbolic representations of the Christian pilgrim’s journey to the Holy City of Jerusalem and of one’s own journey through life. This classical design is sometimes referred to as “the Chartres Labyrinth” due to the location of its best known example. The labyrinth was built at Chartres in the early 13th century (~ 1215 A.D.). No one knows the source of this classical 11-circuit labyrinth design, and much of its spiritual meaning and use has been lost.
The Chartres Labyrinth is located in the west end of the nave, the central body of the cathedral. When you walk in the main doors and look towards the high altar, you see the center of the labyrinth on the floor about 50 feet in front of you. It is approximately 42 feet in diameter and the path is 16 inches wide. At Chartres, the center of the Rose Window mirrors the center of the labyrinth. The cathedral is perfectly proportioned, so that if we put the west wall of the cathedral on hinges and folded it down on the labyrinth, the Rose Window would fit almost perfectly over the labyrinth.
Labyrinth or Maze?
The difference between a labyrinth used for meditation and mazes can be confusing. Mazes often have many entrances, dead-ends and cul-de-sacs that frequently confound the human mind. In contrast, meditation labyrinths offer only one path. By following the one path to the center, the seeker can use the labyrinth to quiet his or her mind and find peace and illumination at the center of his or her being. “As soon as one enters the labyrinth, one realizes that the path of the labyrinth serves as a metaphor for one’s spiritual journey. The walk, and all that happens on it, can be grasped through the intuitive, pattern-discerning faculty of the person walking it. The genius of this tool is that it reflects back to the seeker whatever he or she needs to discover from the perspective of a new level of conscious awareness.”
The Labyrinth is a Universal Meditation Tool
Anyone from any tradition or spiritual path can walk into the labyrinth and, through reflecting in the present moment, can benefit from it. A meditation labyrinth is one of many tools that can be used for spiritual practice. Like any tool, it is best used with a proper, good, intention. A church or temple can be used simply as a refuge from a rainstorm, but it can be so much more with a different intention. The same is true of the labyrinth. The seeker is only asked to put one foot in front of the other. By stepping into the labyrinth, we are choosing once again to walk the contemplative spiritual path. We are agreeing to let ourselves be open to see, to be free to hear, and to becoming real enough to respond. The labyrinth is a prayer path, a crucible of change, a meditation tool, a blueprint where psyche meets soul.
The best way to learn about the labyrinth is to walk a well-constructed one a few times, with an open heart and an open mind. Then allow your experience to guide you as to whether this will be a useful spiritual tool for you.
The Chartres Labyrinth and the Pilgrim’s Journey
Pilgrims are persons in motion – passing through territories not their own – seeking something we might call completion, or perhaps the word clarity will do as well, a goal to which only the spirit’s compass points the way.
Richard R. Niebuhr in Pilgrims and Pioneers
“The tradition of pilgrimage is as old as religion itself. Worshippers on pilgrimage traveled to holy festivals whether to solstice celebrations, to Mecca to gather around the Ka’aba for the high holy days of Islam, or to Easter festivals in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Pilgrimages were a mixture of religious duty and holiday relaxation for the peasant, the commoner and rich land owner alike. The journey was often embarked on in groups with designated places to stay at night. The pilgrims were restless to explore the mystical holy places, and many were in search of physical or spiritual healing.
The Christian story, which emphasized the humanity of Christ, fascinated the pilgrims. In the Middle Ages, most people did not read. As a result, they were much more oriented to the senses than we are today. They learned the story by traveling to Jerusalem to walk where Jesus walked, to pray where he prayed, and to experience, in a solemn moment, where he died. Unlike today, Pilgrims encountered the truth of the Christian mystery through an ongoing intimacy with all their senses.
When a person committed his or her life to Christ in the early Middle Ages, they sometimes made a vow to make a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem. However, by the 12th century when the Crusades swept across Europe and the ownership of Jerusalem was in tumultuous flux, travel became dangerous and expensive. In response to this situation, the Roman Church appointed seven pilgrimage cathedrals to become “Jerusalem” for pilgrims. Consequently, in the pilgrimage tradition, the path within the labyrinth was called the Chemin de Jerusalem and the center of the labyrinth was called “New Jerusalem”.
The walk into the labyrinth marked the end of the physical journey across the countryside and served as a symbolic entry-way into the spiritual realms of the Celestial City. The image of the Celestial City – taken straight out of the Book of Revelation to John – captivated the religious imagination of many during the Middle Ages. The wondrous Gothic cathedrals, with painted walls either in bright, even gaudy colours, or else white-washed, were designed to represent the Celestial City. The stained glass windows – when illuminated by the sun – created the sense of colourful, dancing jewels, allowing the pilgrim to experience the awesome mystery of the City of God.”
The Journey of Life
A fundamental approach to the labyrinth is to see it as a metaphor for life’s journey. The labyrinth reminds us that all of life, with its joys, sorrows, twists and turns, is a journey that comes from God (birth) and goes to God (death). It is a physical metaphor for the journey of healing, spiritual and emotional growth and transformation. Following the path is like any journey. Sometimes you feel you are at or nearing your destination, and at other times you may feel distant or even lost. Only by faithfully keeping to the path will you arrive at the physical center of the labyrinth, which signifies God, the center of our lives and souls.
Applying the Three Fold Mystical Tradition to the Labyrinth
In the Christian mystical tradition, the journey to God was articulated in the three stages. These stages have become recognized as being universal to meditation: to release and quiet; to open and receive; and to take what was gained back out into the world.
The Three Stages
The first part of the Three- Fold Mystical Path is Purgation. This archaic word is from the root word “to purge”, meaning to cleanse, to let go. Shedding is another way of describing the experience. The mystical word is empting or releasing. It is believed that monks journeyed the first part of the labyrinth Purgation on their knees as a penitential act. This was not done for reasons of punishment as we might think, but as a way to humble oneself before God.
The second stage of the Three-Fold Path, Illumination, is found in the center of the labyrinth. Usually it is a surprise to reach the center because the long winding path seems “illogical” and cannot be figured out by the linear mind. After quieting the mind in the first part of the walk, the center presents a new experience: a place of meditation and prayer. Often people at this stage in the walk find insight into their situation in life, or clarity about a certain problem, hence the label “illumination”. As one enters the
center, the instruction is simple: enter with an open heart and mind; receive what there is for you.
The third stage, Union, begins when you leave the center of the labyrinth and continues as you retrace the path that brought you in. In this stage the meditation takes on a grounded, energized feeling. Many people who have had an important experience in the center feel that this third stage of the labyrinth gives them a way of integrating the insights they received. Others feel that this stage stokes the creative fires within. It energizes insight. It empowers, invites, and even pushes us to be more authentic and confident and to take risks with our gifts in the world. Union means communing with God.
The Monastic Orders experienced a union with God through their community life by creating a fulfilling balance between the work that was assigned, sleep and the many hours of worship attended daily. Our times present a similar challenge: we struggle to find balance between work, sleep, family and friends, leisure and spiritual life. The lack of structured communities in which people share work responsibilities and the “every person for himself or herself” mentality (or every family for itself) prevalent in our highly individualistic society makes the task of finding balance even more difficult.
Monastic communities offered a mystical spirituality that spoke to highly intuitive and intensely introverted people and (paradoxically to some) at the same time provided an economic structure throughout Europe. Monasteries during the Middle Ages provided schools and hospitals managed by monks; yet, at the same time, cloistered life helped the monks stay inwardly directed. Today, without any reliable structure directing us, the way of union needs to be re-thought. Our times call for most of us to be outer-directed. We are called to action in every aspect of our society in order to meet the spiritual challenges that confront us in the 21st century. Gratefully, there are still people in religious orders holding the candle for deep contemplation, but the majority of people involved in the spiritual transformation are searching for a path that guides them to service in the world in an active, extroverted, compassionate way. The third stage of the labyrinth empowers the seeker to move back into the world replenished and directed – which makes the labyrinth a particularly powerful tool for transformation.
Walking the Labyrinth: The Process
The purpose of all spiritual disciplines – prayer, fasting, meditation – is to help create an open attentiveness that enables us to receive and renew our awareness of our grounding and wholeness in God.
The Experience of Walking Meditation
Many of us have trouble quieting our minds. The Buddhists call the distracted state of mind the “monkey mind”, which is an apt image of what the mind is frequently like: thoughts swinging like monkeys from branch to branch, chattering away without any rhyme or conscious reason. When the mind is quiet, we feel peaceful and open, aware of a silence that embraces the universe.
Complete quiet in the mind is not a realistic goal for most of us. Instead, the task is to dis-identify with the thoughts going through our minds. Don’t get hooked by the thoughts, let them go. Thomas Keating, a Cistercian monk who teaches Centering Prayer (meditation) in the Christian tradition, described the mind as a still lake. A thought is like a fish that swims through it. If you get involved with the fish (“Gee what an unusual fish, I wonder what it is called?”), then you are hooked. Many of us have discovered through learning meditation how difficult it is to quiet the mind; yet, the rewards are great.
In the labyrinth, the sheer act of walking a complicated, attention demanding path begins to focus the mind. Thoughts of daily tasks and experiences become less intrusive. A quiet mind does not happen automatically. You must gently guide the mind with the intention of letting go of extraneous thoughts. This is much easier to do when your whole body is moving – when you are walking. Movement takes away the excess charge of psychic energy that disturbs our efforts to quiet our thought processes.
Two Basic Approaches to the Walk
One way to walk the labyrinth is to choose to let all thought go and simply open yourself to your experience with gracious attention. Usually – though not always – quieting happens in the first stage of the walk. After the mind is quiet, you can choose to remain in the quiet. Or use the labyrinth as a prayer path. Simply begin to talk to God. This is an indication that you are ready to receive what is there for you, or you allow a sincere part of your being to find its voice.
A second approach to a labyrinth walk is to consider a question. Concentrate on the question as you walk in. Amplify your thoughts about it; let all else go but your question. When you walk into the center with an open heart and an open mind, you are opening yourself to receiving new information, new insights about yourself.
Guidelines for the Walk
Find your pace. In our chaotic world we are often pushed beyond a comfortable rhythm. In this state we lose the sense of our own needs. To make matters worse, we are often rushed and then forced to wait. Anyone who has hurried to the bank only to stand in line knows the feeling. Ironically, the same thing can happen with the labyrinth, but there is a difference. The labyrinth helps us find what our natural pace would be and draws our attention to it when we are not honouring it.
Along with finding your pace, support your movement through the labyrinth by becoming conscious of your breath. Let your breath flow smoothly in and out of your body. It can be coordinated with each step – as is done in the Buddhist walking meditation – if you choose. Let your experience be your guide.
Each experience in the labyrinth is different, even if you walk it often in a short period of time. The pace usually differs each time as well. It can change dramatically within the different stages of the walk. When the labyrinth has more than a comfortable number of seekers on it, you can “pass” people if you want to continue to honour the intuitive pace your inner process has set. If you are moving at a slower pace, you can allow people to pass you. At first people are uncomfortable with the idea of “passing” someone on the labyrinth. It looks competitive, especially since the walk is a spiritual exercise. Again, these kinds of thoughts and feelings, we hope, are greeted from a spacious place inside that smiles knowingly about the machinations of the human ego. On the spiritual path we meet every and all things. To find our pace, to allow spaciousness within, to be receptive to all experience, and to be aware of the habitual thoughts and issues that hamper our spiritual development is a road to self-knowledge.
Summary of How to Walk the Labyrinth
Pause at the entry way to allow yourself to be fully conscious of the act of stepping into the labyrinth. Allow about a minute, or several turns on the path, to create some space between yourself and the person in front of you. Some ritual act, such as a bow, may feel appropriate during the labyrinth walk. Do what comes naturally.
Follow your pace. Allow your body to determine the pace. If you allow a rapid pace and the person in front of you is moving slower, feel free to move around this person. This is easiest to do at the turns by turning earlier. If you are moving slowly, you can step onto the labyrs (wide spaces at the turns) to allow others to pass.
The narrow path is a two-way street. If you are going in and another person is going out, you will meet on the path. If you want to keep in an inward meditative state, simply do not make eye contact. If you meet someone you know, a touch of the hand or a hug may be an important acknowledgement of being on the path together.
Symbolism and Meanings Found in the Chartres Labyrinth
Circles and Spirals
The circle is the symbol of unity or union and it is the primary shape of all labyrinths. The circle in sacred geometry represents the incessant movement of the universe (uncomprehensible) as opposed to the square which represents comprehensible order. The labyrinth is a close cousin to the spiral and it, too, reflects the cyclical element of nature and is regarded as the symbol of eternal life.
The labyrinth functions like a spiral, creating a vortex in its center. Upon entering, the path winds in a clockwise pattern. Energy is being drawn out. Upon leaving the center the walker goes in a counter clockwise direction. The unwinding path integrates and empowers us on our walk back out. We are literally ushered back out into the world in a strengthened condition.
The Path
The path lies in 11 concentric circles with the 12th being the labyrinth center. The path meanders throughout the whole circle. There are 34 turns on the path going into the center. Six are semi-right turns and 28 are 180° turns. So the 12 rings that form the 11 pathways may symbolically represent, the 12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel or 12 months of the year. Twelve is a mystical number in Christianity. In sacred geometry three represents heaven and four represents earth. Twelve is the product of 3 x 4 and, therefore, the path which flows through the whole is then representative of all creation.
The obvious metaphor for the path is the difficult path to salvation, with its many twists and turns. Since we cannot see a straight path to our destination, the labyrinth can be viewed as a metaphor for our lives. We learn to surrender to the path (Christ) and trust that he will lead us on our journey.
The path can also be viewed as grace or the Church guiding us through chaos.
The Cruciform and Labyrs
The labyrinth is divided equally into four quadrants that make an equal-armed cross or cruciform. The four arms represent in symbol what is thought to be the essential
structure of the universe for example, the four spatial directions, the four elements (earth, wind, water and fire), the four seasons and, most important, salvation through the cross. The four arms of the cross emerging from the center seem to give order to the would-be chaos of the meandering path around it.
The Chartres labyrinth cross or cruciform is delineated by the 10 labyrs (labyr means to turn and this is the root of the word labyrinth). The labyrs are double-ax shaped and visible at the turns and between turns. They are traditionally seen as a symbol of women’s power and creativity.
The Centre Rosette
In the Middle Ages, the rose was regarded as a symbol for the Virgin Mary. Because of its association with the myths of Percival and the Holy Grail at that time, it also was seen as a sign of beauty and love. The rose becomes symbolic of both human and divine love, of passionate love, but also love beyond passion. The single rose became a symbol of a simple acceptance of God’s love for the world.
Unlike a normal rose (which has five petals) the rosette has six petals and is steeped in mysticism. Although associated with the Rose of Sharon, which refers to Mary, it may also represent the Holy Spirit (wisdom and enlightenment). The six petals may have corresponded to the story of the six days of creation. In other mystical traditions, the petals can be viewed as the levels of evolution (mineral, plant, animal, humankind, angelic and divine).
The Lunations
The lunations are the outer ring of partial circles that complete the outside circle of the labyrinth. They are unique to the Chartres design.
Celtic Symbols on the St. Hilda’s Labyrinth
The Celtic peoples have given us seven enduring spiritual principles:
1. A deep respect of nature, regarding creation as the fifth Gospel.
2. Quiet care for all living things.
3. The love of learning.
4. A wonder-lust or migratory nature.
5. Love of silence and solitude.
6. Understanding of time as a sacred reality and an appreciation of ordinary life, worshipping God through everyday life, and with great joy.
7. The value of family and clan affiliation, and especially spiritual ties of soul friends.
To show our respect for such wisdom, two Celtic designs adorn the St. Hilda’s labyrinth.
To mark the entrance to the labyrinth is a Celtic zoomorphic design painted in red. Traditionally, Celtic monks used intricate knotwork and zoomorphic designs (odd animals intertwined in uncomfortable ways) as mere filler for their illuminated gospel texts. They had no discernible meaning.
However, because of their unique design components, zoomorphs are now associated with transformations.
Transformation, change, action, and passion are also associated with red, the colour of fire. Therefore, this entrance symbol may well be an appropriate sign for the journey ahead.
At the labyrinth’s centre is a Celtic triquetra. This interlocked knotwork design of three stylized fish (whales) is often interpreted as the Trinity knot. It is a perfect representation of the concept of "three in one" in Christian trinity beliefs. Having the design enclosed within the centre circle further emphasizes the unity theme.
The triquetra can also be considered to represent the triplicities of mind, body, and soul, as well as the three domains of earth- earth, sea, and sky.
Final Reflection: The Labyrinth as a “Thinning Place”
In Celtic Christianity, places where people felt most strongly connected with God’s presence were referred to as thin places. It was these places in nature (forest groves, hilltops and deep wells) that the seen and unseen worlds were most closely connected, and the inhabitants of both worlds could momentarily touch the other. Today our churches, temples and sacred sites are the new thin places to meet the Divine. Here, at St Hilda’s, we have opportunities to encounter many thinning places – whether it be during Eucharistic or Taize services, while singing or praying, or through the love of a welcoming inclusive community. The labyrinth is a welcome addition; and with the right intent can also become a new thinning place for the modern pilgrim/spiritual seeker.This outward journey is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience. We can walk it. It can serve to frame the inward journey – a journey of repentance, forgiveness and rebirth, a journey that seeks a deeper faith, and greater holiness, a journey in search of God.
This High Dynamic Range panorama was stitched from 84 bracketed images with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, and touched up in Aperture.
Original size: 18160 × 9080 (164.9 MP; 194 MB).
Location: St. Hilda’s By The Sea Anglican Church, Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada
錯金銀提梁盉 南宋至明
Gold and silver-inlaid he spouted ewer with loop handle
Southern Song to Ming dynasty 12th-17th century
銅器 高49.5 口徑24.5 公分
西元12-17世紀
隆蓋，圓口，直頸，腹一側帶流，扁圓腹外鼓，平底下接三足。蓋鈕為雙手交握的坐姿猴形，提梁作獸形，梁的兩端分別為獸首和後肢，梁身以鏤空的蟠虺紋盤繞而成。曲頸流為鳥首形，雙翼伸展至腹壁，器足作立猴負鳥形獸。腹壁以兩圈寬帶紋為界，填滿細密帶凸點的類蟠虺紋。 此器基本形制仿自戰國銅盉，鑄造精良，原型或來自於《西清古鑑》卷三十一頁五十九〈周螭梁盉〉。然而，此器量體巨大，全器局部紋飾使用錯金銀，以勾勒獸鱗和三角紋、雲紋等，表現顏色對比和層次，造型繁複華麗，雖迥異於東周銅盉，卻充滿想像。
國立故宮博物院 National Palace Museum (NPM)
Taipei, Taiwan
2023/3/17
hx22883
dans.photo@gmail.com
Tutankhamun's exquisite gilded throne, adorned with a wonderful inlaid scene of the young king with his queen Ankhesamun in attendance. The scene includes the Aten disc between the figures, reflecting the Amarna cult of his father Akhenaten and thus must date from early in his reign whilst the royal couple still used their original names, Tutankhaten and Ankhesapaten.
The most celebrated part of the Cairo Museum's collection has for the best part of a century been the incomparable treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb housed in two long galleries on the upper floor. The greatest archaeological discovery of all time, the virtually intact tomb of the young pharaoh was discovered in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings, undisturbed since antiquity owing to the King's relative obscurity.
Tutankhamun was born Tutankhaten, son and successor of the 'heretic' pharaoh Akhenaten who dispensed with Egypt's centuries old religion in favour of his new god, the sun disk he called Aten. At Akhenaten's death Tutankhaten was only nine years old and early in his reign was persuaded to restore Egypt's religion and traditions, abandoning the cult of Aten and restoring the prominence of Amun, god of Thebes, thus changing his name to Tutankhamun. His early death barely a decade later and association with his reviled father led to the young pharaoh sharing his fate in being struck from the records and lists of Kings (an act of damnatio memoriae), thus his tomb itself was quickly forgotten and hidden beneath later structures whilst those of more famous rulers were stripped bare, probably within decades.
Howard Carter's discovery of the still sealed tomb in 1922 caused a sensation, nothing so complete had ever been found before. The tomb itself was small by pharaonic standards, prepared in a hurry as the king died in his late teens with two main chambers and a further two side chambers crammed with artworks, treasures and furnishings, along with the king's body sealed within four gilded-wooden shrines, three superbly rich coffins and the incomparable golden mask upon his head. Better still, the pharaoh's reign in the 18th Dynasty coincided with a particularly high period for artistic achievement, meaning that so much was of the highest quality. One can only imagine the riches that must have disappeared from the much larger tombs of the more famous rulers, compared to this tiny treasure-trove!
Tutankhamun's collection has resided in Cairo's Egyptian Museum ever since its discovery, but by the end of 2018 will have moved again to the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza (currently being prepared for partial opening later this year). The treasures will be displayed in their entirety for the first time, and many pieces have already been transferred. This visit offered us a last opportunity to view most of the major pieces in their central Cairo home for one last time.
For more on the 'obscure' pharaoh who millennia later became Egypt's most celebrated, see the link below:-
St. Hilda’s By The Sea is a small Anglican church in Sechelt. Set among the verdant green trees of the temperate rainforest, it is an eclectic mix of old and new: retired British pensioners polish the altar crystal and set out flowers for Sunday services, presided over by a gay Chinese-Canadian priest. Tai chi mixes with Celtic mysticism in a melange that is somehow stronger than its parts. And isn’t that what community is all about?
From the official website:
Walking the labyrinth is an ancient spiritual act that is being rediscovered during our time.
Usually constructed from circular patterns, labyrinths are based on principles of sacred geometry. Sometimes called “divine imprints”, they are found around the world as sacred patterns that have been passed down through the ages for at least 4,000 years. When a pattern of a certain size is constructed or placed on the ground, it can be used for walking meditations and rituals.
Labyrinths and their geometric cousins (spirals and mandalas) can be found in almost every religious tradition. For example, the Kabbala, or Tree of Life, is found in the Jewish mystical tradition. The Hopi Medicine Wheel, and the Man in the Maze are two forms from the Native American labyrinth traditions. The Cretan labyrinth, the remains of which can be found on the island of Crete, has seven path rings and is the oldest known labyrinth (4,000 or 5.000 years old).
In Europe, the Celts and later the early Christian Celtic Church revered labyrinths and frequently built them in natural settings. Sacred dances would be performed in them to celebrate solar and religious festivals. During the Middle Ages, labyrinths were created in churches and cathedrals throughout France and Northern Italy. These characteristically flat church or pavement labyrinths were inlaid into the floor of the nave of the church.
The Chartres Labyrinth
The labyrinth constructed at St. Hilda’s is an 11-circuit labyrinth. It is a replica of the one embedded in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. The design of this labyrinth, and many of the other church labyrinths in Europe, is a reworking of the ancient labyrinth design in which an equal-armed cross is emphasized and surrounded by a web of concentric circles. As with many Christian symbols, this was an adaptation of a symbol; that is known to have predated the Christian faith. This medieval variation is considered a breakthrough in design because it is less linear than the preceding, more formal, Roman design that developed from quadrant to quadrant. The medieval design made one path as long as possible, starting at the outer circumference and leading to the centre. Fraught with twists and turns, the path’s meanderings were considered symbolic representations of the Christian pilgrim’s journey to the Holy City of Jerusalem and of one’s own journey through life. This classical design is sometimes referred to as “the Chartres Labyrinth” due to the location of its best known example. The labyrinth was built at Chartres in the early 13th century (~ 1215 A.D.). No one knows the source of this classical 11-circuit labyrinth design, and much of its spiritual meaning and use has been lost.
The Chartres Labyrinth is located in the west end of the nave, the central body of the cathedral. When you walk in the main doors and look towards the high altar, you see the center of the labyrinth on the floor about 50 feet in front of you. It is approximately 42 feet in diameter and the path is 16 inches wide. At Chartres, the center of the Rose Window mirrors the center of the labyrinth. The cathedral is perfectly proportioned, so that if we put the west wall of the cathedral on hinges and folded it down on the labyrinth, the Rose Window would fit almost perfectly over the labyrinth.
Labyrinth or Maze?
The difference between a labyrinth used for meditation and mazes can be confusing. Mazes often have many entrances, dead-ends and cul-de-sacs that frequently confound the human mind. In contrast, meditation labyrinths offer only one path. By following the one path to the center, the seeker can use the labyrinth to quiet his or her mind and find peace and illumination at the center of his or her being. “As soon as one enters the labyrinth, one realizes that the path of the labyrinth serves as a metaphor for one’s spiritual journey. The walk, and all that happens on it, can be grasped through the intuitive, pattern-discerning faculty of the person walking it. The genius of this tool is that it reflects back to the seeker whatever he or she needs to discover from the perspective of a new level of conscious awareness.”
The Labyrinth is a Universal Meditation Tool
Anyone from any tradition or spiritual path can walk into the labyrinth and, through reflecting in the present moment, can benefit from it. A meditation labyrinth is one of many tools that can be used for spiritual practice. Like any tool, it is best used with a proper, good, intention. A church or temple can be used simply as a refuge from a rainstorm, but it can be so much more with a different intention. The same is true of the labyrinth. The seeker is only asked to put one foot in front of the other. By stepping into the labyrinth, we are choosing once again to walk the contemplative spiritual path. We are agreeing to let ourselves be open to see, to be free to hear, and to becoming real enough to respond. The labyrinth is a prayer path, a crucible of change, a meditation tool, a blueprint where psyche meets soul.
The best way to learn about the labyrinth is to walk a well-constructed one a few times, with an open heart and an open mind. Then allow your experience to guide you as to whether this will be a useful spiritual tool for you.
The Chartres Labyrinth and the Pilgrim’s Journey
Pilgrims are persons in motion – passing through territories not their own – seeking something we might call completion, or perhaps the word clarity will do as well, a goal to which only the spirit’s compass points the way.
Richard R. Niebuhr in Pilgrims and Pioneers
“The tradition of pilgrimage is as old as religion itself. Worshippers on pilgrimage traveled to holy festivals whether to solstice celebrations, to Mecca to gather around the Ka’aba for the high holy days of Islam, or to Easter festivals in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Pilgrimages were a mixture of religious duty and holiday relaxation for the peasant, the commoner and rich land owner alike. The journey was often embarked on in groups with designated places to stay at night. The pilgrims were restless to explore the mystical holy places, and many were in search of physical or spiritual healing.
The Christian story, which emphasized the humanity of Christ, fascinated the pilgrims. In the Middle Ages, most people did not read. As a result, they were much more oriented to the senses than we are today. They learned the story by traveling to Jerusalem to walk where Jesus walked, to pray where he prayed, and to experience, in a solemn moment, where he died. Unlike today, Pilgrims encountered the truth of the Christian mystery through an ongoing intimacy with all their senses.
When a person committed his or her life to Christ in the early Middle Ages, they sometimes made a vow to make a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem. However, by the 12th century when the Crusades swept across Europe and the ownership of Jerusalem was in tumultuous flux, travel became dangerous and expensive. In response to this situation, the Roman Church appointed seven pilgrimage cathedrals to become “Jerusalem” for pilgrims. Consequently, in the pilgrimage tradition, the path within the labyrinth was called the Chemin de Jerusalem and the center of the labyrinth was called “New Jerusalem”.
The walk into the labyrinth marked the end of the physical journey across the countryside and served as a symbolic entry-way into the spiritual realms of the Celestial City. The image of the Celestial City – taken straight out of the Book of Revelation to John – captivated the religious imagination of many during the Middle Ages. The wondrous Gothic cathedrals, with painted walls either in bright, even gaudy colours, or else white-washed, were designed to represent the Celestial City. The stained glass windows – when illuminated by the sun – created the sense of colourful, dancing jewels, allowing the pilgrim to experience the awesome mystery of the City of God.”
The Journey of Life
A fundamental approach to the labyrinth is to see it as a metaphor for life’s journey. The labyrinth reminds us that all of life, with its joys, sorrows, twists and turns, is a journey that comes from God (birth) and goes to God (death). It is a physical metaphor for the journey of healing, spiritual and emotional growth and transformation. Following the path is like any journey. Sometimes you feel you are at or nearing your destination, and at other times you may feel distant or even lost. Only by faithfully keeping to the path will you arrive at the physical center of the labyrinth, which signifies God, the center of our lives and souls.
Applying the Three Fold Mystical Tradition to the Labyrinth
In the Christian mystical tradition, the journey to God was articulated in the three stages. These stages have become recognized as being universal to meditation: to release and quiet; to open and receive; and to take what was gained back out into the world.
The Three Stages
The first part of the Three- Fold Mystical Path is Purgation. This archaic word is from the root word “to purge”, meaning to cleanse, to let go. Shedding is another way of describing the experience. The mystical word is empting or releasing. It is believed that monks journeyed the first part of the labyrinth Purgation on their knees as a penitential act. This was not done for reasons of punishment as we might think, but as a way to humble oneself before God.
The second stage of the Three-Fold Path, Illumination, is found in the center of the labyrinth. Usually it is a surprise to reach the center because the long winding path seems “illogical” and cannot be figured out by the linear mind. After quieting the mind in the first part of the walk, the center presents a new experience: a place of meditation and prayer. Often people at this stage in the walk find insight into their situation in life, or clarity about a certain problem, hence the label “illumination”. As one enters the
center, the instruction is simple: enter with an open heart and mind; receive what there is for you.
The third stage, Union, begins when you leave the center of the labyrinth and continues as you retrace the path that brought you in. In this stage the meditation takes on a grounded, energized feeling. Many people who have had an important experience in the center feel that this third stage of the labyrinth gives them a way of integrating the insights they received. Others feel that this stage stokes the creative fires within. It energizes insight. It empowers, invites, and even pushes us to be more authentic and confident and to take risks with our gifts in the world. Union means communing with God.
The Monastic Orders experienced a union with God through their community life by creating a fulfilling balance between the work that was assigned, sleep and the many hours of worship attended daily. Our times present a similar challenge: we struggle to find balance between work, sleep, family and friends, leisure and spiritual life. The lack of structured communities in which people share work responsibilities and the “every person for himself or herself” mentality (or every family for itself) prevalent in our highly individualistic society makes the task of finding balance even more difficult.
Monastic communities offered a mystical spirituality that spoke to highly intuitive and intensely introverted people and (paradoxically to some) at the same time provided an economic structure throughout Europe. Monasteries during the Middle Ages provided schools and hospitals managed by monks; yet, at the same time, cloistered life helped the monks stay inwardly directed. Today, without any reliable structure directing us, the way of union needs to be re-thought. Our times call for most of us to be outer-directed. We are called to action in every aspect of our society in order to meet the spiritual challenges that confront us in the 21st century. Gratefully, there are still people in religious orders holding the candle for deep contemplation, but the majority of people involved in the spiritual transformation are searching for a path that guides them to service in the world in an active, extroverted, compassionate way. The third stage of the labyrinth empowers the seeker to move back into the world replenished and directed – which makes the labyrinth a particularly powerful tool for transformation.
Walking the Labyrinth: The Process
The purpose of all spiritual disciplines – prayer, fasting, meditation – is to help create an open attentiveness that enables us to receive and renew our awareness of our grounding and wholeness in God.
The Experience of Walking Meditation
Many of us have trouble quieting our minds. The Buddhists call the distracted state of mind the “monkey mind”, which is an apt image of what the mind is frequently like: thoughts swinging like monkeys from branch to branch, chattering away without any rhyme or conscious reason. When the mind is quiet, we feel peaceful and open, aware of a silence that embraces the universe.
Complete quiet in the mind is not a realistic goal for most of us. Instead, the task is to dis-identify with the thoughts going through our minds. Don’t get hooked by the thoughts, let them go. Thomas Keating, a Cistercian monk who teaches Centering Prayer (meditation) in the Christian tradition, described the mind as a still lake. A thought is like a fish that swims through it. If you get involved with the fish (“Gee what an unusual fish, I wonder what it is called?”), then you are hooked. Many of us have discovered through learning meditation how difficult it is to quiet the mind; yet, the rewards are great.
In the labyrinth, the sheer act of walking a complicated, attention demanding path begins to focus the mind. Thoughts of daily tasks and experiences become less intrusive. A quiet mind does not happen automatically. You must gently guide the mind with the intention of letting go of extraneous thoughts. This is much easier to do when your whole body is moving – when you are walking. Movement takes away the excess charge of psychic energy that disturbs our efforts to quiet our thought processes.
Two Basic Approaches to the Walk
One way to walk the labyrinth is to choose to let all thought go and simply open yourself to your experience with gracious attention. Usually – though not always – quieting happens in the first stage of the walk. After the mind is quiet, you can choose to remain in the quiet. Or use the labyrinth as a prayer path. Simply begin to talk to God. This is an indication that you are ready to receive what is there for you, or you allow a sincere part of your being to find its voice.
A second approach to a labyrinth walk is to consider a question. Concentrate on the question as you walk in. Amplify your thoughts about it; let all else go but your question. When you walk into the center with an open heart and an open mind, you are opening yourself to receiving new information, new insights about yourself.
Guidelines for the Walk
Find your pace. In our chaotic world we are often pushed beyond a comfortable rhythm. In this state we lose the sense of our own needs. To make matters worse, we are often rushed and then forced to wait. Anyone who has hurried to the bank only to stand in line knows the feeling. Ironically, the same thing can happen with the labyrinth, but there is a difference. The labyrinth helps us find what our natural pace would be and draws our attention to it when we are not honouring it.
Along with finding your pace, support your movement through the labyrinth by becoming conscious of your breath. Let your breath flow smoothly in and out of your body. It can be coordinated with each step – as is done in the Buddhist walking meditation – if you choose. Let your experience be your guide.
Each experience in the labyrinth is different, even if you walk it often in a short period of time. The pace usually differs each time as well. It can change dramatically within the different stages of the walk. When the labyrinth has more than a comfortable number of seekers on it, you can “pass” people if you want to continue to honour the intuitive pace your inner process has set. If you are moving at a slower pace, you can allow people to pass you. At first people are uncomfortable with the idea of “passing” someone on the labyrinth. It looks competitive, especially since the walk is a spiritual exercise. Again, these kinds of thoughts and feelings, we hope, are greeted from a spacious place inside that smiles knowingly about the machinations of the human ego. On the spiritual path we meet every and all things. To find our pace, to allow spaciousness within, to be receptive to all experience, and to be aware of the habitual thoughts and issues that hamper our spiritual development is a road to self-knowledge.
Summary of How to Walk the Labyrinth
Pause at the entry way to allow yourself to be fully conscious of the act of stepping into the labyrinth. Allow about a minute, or several turns on the path, to create some space between yourself and the person in front of you. Some ritual act, such as a bow, may feel appropriate during the labyrinth walk. Do what comes naturally.
Follow your pace. Allow your body to determine the pace. If you allow a rapid pace and the person in front of you is moving slower, feel free to move around this person. This is easiest to do at the turns by turning earlier. If you are moving slowly, you can step onto the labyrs (wide spaces at the turns) to allow others to pass.
The narrow path is a two-way street. If you are going in and another person is going out, you will meet on the path. If you want to keep in an inward meditative state, simply do not make eye contact. If you meet someone you know, a touch of the hand or a hug may be an important acknowledgement of being on the path together.
Symbolism and Meanings Found in the Chartres Labyrinth
Circles and Spirals
The circle is the symbol of unity or union and it is the primary shape of all labyrinths. The circle in sacred geometry represents the incessant movement of the universe (uncomprehensible) as opposed to the square which represents comprehensible order. The labyrinth is a close cousin to the spiral and it, too, reflects the cyclical element of nature and is regarded as the symbol of eternal life.
The labyrinth functions like a spiral, creating a vortex in its center. Upon entering, the path winds in a clockwise pattern. Energy is being drawn out. Upon leaving the center the walker goes in a counter clockwise direction. The unwinding path integrates and empowers us on our walk back out. We are literally ushered back out into the world in a strengthened condition.
The Path
The path lies in 11 concentric circles with the 12th being the labyrinth center. The path meanders throughout the whole circle. There are 34 turns on the path going into the center. Six are semi-right turns and 28 are 180° turns. So the 12 rings that form the 11 pathways may symbolically represent, the 12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel or 12 months of the year. Twelve is a mystical number in Christianity. In sacred geometry three represents heaven and four represents earth. Twelve is the product of 3 x 4 and, therefore, the path which flows through the whole is then representative of all creation.
The obvious metaphor for the path is the difficult path to salvation, with its many twists and turns. Since we cannot see a straight path to our destination, the labyrinth can be viewed as a metaphor for our lives. We learn to surrender to the path (Christ) and trust that he will lead us on our journey.
The path can also be viewed as grace or the Church guiding us through chaos.
The Cruciform and Labyrs
The labyrinth is divided equally into four quadrants that make an equal-armed cross or cruciform. The four arms represent in symbol what is thought to be the essential
structure of the universe for example, the four spatial directions, the four elements (earth, wind, water and fire), the four seasons and, most important, salvation through the cross. The four arms of the cross emerging from the center seem to give order to the would-be chaos of the meandering path around it.
The Chartres labyrinth cross or cruciform is delineated by the 10 labyrs (labyr means to turn and this is the root of the word labyrinth). The labyrs are double-ax shaped and visible at the turns and between turns. They are traditionally seen as a symbol of women’s power and creativity.
The Centre Rosette
In the Middle Ages, the rose was regarded as a symbol for the Virgin Mary. Because of its association with the myths of Percival and the Holy Grail at that time, it also was seen as a sign of beauty and love. The rose becomes symbolic of both human and divine love, of passionate love, but also love beyond passion. The single rose became a symbol of a simple acceptance of God’s love for the world.
Unlike a normal rose (which has five petals) the rosette has six petals and is steeped in mysticism. Although associated with the Rose of Sharon, which refers to Mary, it may also represent the Holy Spirit (wisdom and enlightenment). The six petals may have corresponded to the story of the six days of creation. In other mystical traditions, the petals can be viewed as the levels of evolution (mineral, plant, animal, humankind, angelic and divine).
The Lunations
The lunations are the outer ring of partial circles that complete the outside circle of the labyrinth. They are unique to the Chartres design.
Celtic Symbols on the St. Hilda’s Labyrinth
The Celtic peoples have given us seven enduring spiritual principles:
1. A deep respect of nature, regarding creation as the fifth Gospel.
2. Quiet care for all living things.
3. The love of learning.
4. A wonder-lust or migratory nature.
5. Love of silence and solitude.
6. Understanding of time as a sacred reality and an appreciation of ordinary life, worshipping God through everyday life, and with great joy.
7. The value of family and clan affiliation, and especially spiritual ties of soul friends.
To show our respect for such wisdom, two Celtic designs adorn the St. Hilda’s labyrinth.
To mark the entrance to the labyrinth is a Celtic zoomorphic design painted in red. Traditionally, Celtic monks used intricate knotwork and zoomorphic designs (odd animals intertwined in uncomfortable ways) as mere filler for their illuminated gospel texts. They had no discernible meaning.
However, because of their unique design components, zoomorphs are now associated with transformations.
Transformation, change, action, and passion are also associated with red, the colour of fire. Therefore, this entrance symbol may well be an appropriate sign for the journey ahead.
At the labyrinth’s centre is a Celtic triquetra. This interlocked knotwork design of three stylized fish (whales) is often interpreted as the Trinity knot. It is a perfect representation of the concept of "three in one" in Christian trinity beliefs. Having the design enclosed within the centre circle further emphasizes the unity theme.
The triquetra can also be considered to represent the triplicities of mind, body, and soul, as well as the three domains of earth- earth, sea, and sky.
Final Reflection: The Labyrinth as a “Thinning Place”
In Celtic Christianity, places where people felt most strongly connected with God’s presence were referred to as thin places. It was these places in nature (forest groves, hilltops and deep wells) that the seen and unseen worlds were most closely connected, and the inhabitants of both worlds could momentarily touch the other. Today our churches, temples and sacred sites are the new thin places to meet the Divine. Here, at St Hilda’s, we have opportunities to encounter many thinning places – whether it be during Eucharistic or Taize services, while singing or praying, or through the love of a welcoming inclusive community. The labyrinth is a welcome addition; and with the right intent can also become a new thinning place for the modern pilgrim/spiritual seeker.This outward journey is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience. We can walk it. It can serve to frame the inward journey – a journey of repentance, forgiveness and rebirth, a journey that seeks a deeper faith, and greater holiness, a journey in search of God.
This High Dynamic Range panorama was stitched from 84 bracketed images with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, and touched up in Aperture.
Original size: 18160 × 9080 (164.9 MP; 194 MB).
Location: St. Hilda’s By The Sea Anglican Church, Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada
Statue of a Victorious Youth (Greek), 300–100 B.C.E., bronze with inlaid copper, 151.5 x 70 x 27.9 cm (Getty Villa Museum)
Gilded and inlaid wooden staff with Asiatic and Nubian captives. Found at the antichamber.
18th dynasty, from Valley of the Kings, tomb of Tutankhamun - KV62
JE 61732 = SR 1/1187 = Carter 50-uu
Upper floor, gallery 35
Cairo Museum
Hagia Sophia (Greek Orthodox church) 360-1453;
Ayasofya Camii (Mosque) 1453-1935;
Museum (Hagia Sophia Museum) 1935-2020;
Ayasofya Camii (Mosque) 2020.
Patron: Justinian I, the Great (Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus) 482-565, Chalcedonian Christian Eastern Roman Emperor (r.527-565); married to empress Theodora.
Statue of a Victorious Youth (Greek), 300–100 B.C.E., bronze with inlaid copper, 151.5 x 70 x 27.9 cm (Getty Villa Museum)
The inlaid outer case of a backgammon board originally owned by my father and now mine. I don't know where it was made but it's a beautfiul pattern.
Statue of a Victorious Youth (Greek), 300–100 B.C.E., bronze with inlaid copper, 151.5 x 70 x 27.9 cm (Getty Villa Museum)
The Hannah Cupboard. Lismore Regional Art Gallery.
Geoff Hannah was born in the Northern Rivers of NSW and has lived much of his life in Lismore. He is a woodwork craftsman. He spent six and a half years creating this magnificent inlaid antique style cabinet. It uses 34 different woods, and has finely detailed inlaid marquetry images which contain 4 different shell species and 17 semi-precious stones. The cupboard has many secret interior cupboards, draws and compartments.
Inlaid wooden cartouche box of Tutankhamun.
This chest is one of the small chests discovered in the Treasure Room of Tutankhamun´s tomb . These caskets were used for keeping jewelry. This casket is made of wood with ebony edging . It is distinguished by its cartouche form that depicts the name of the pharaoh on its cover while the sides are ornamented with the titles and victories of the pharaoh.
18th dynasty, from the tomb of Tutankhamun KV62
JE 61490 = SR 1/254 = Carter 269
Upper Floor, gallery 30
Cairo Museum
The Hannah Cupboard. Lismore Regional Art Gallery.
Geoff Hannah was born in the Northern Rivers of NSW and has lived much of his life in Lismore. He is a woodwork craftsman. He spent six and a half years creating this magnificent inlaid antique style cabinet. It uses 34 different woods, and has finely detailed inlaid marquetry images which contain 4 different shell species and 17 semi-precious stones. The cupboard has many secret interior cupboards, draws and compartments.
The wooden anthropoid coffin of a man called "Aba son of Ankh Hor", ruler and governor of Upper Egypt and the Head of the treasury.
The coffin is fully decorated in the shape of a mummy resembling Osiris with the upturned ceremonial false beard and a wig. The eyes are inlaid with ivory and ebony. Iba wears a large multicoloured necklace, and the sky-goddess Nut appears on the chest area offering protection to the deceased. The coffin lid is also decorated with texts from the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the base shows hieroglyphic inscriptions.
Organic material, sycamore wood
Late Period, 26th Dynasty, Saite Period
Provenance Upper Egypt, Luxor (Thebes), West Bank, Qurna
BAAM 829
Antiquities Museum of Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The terminal of this large Parthian silver rhyton takes the form of a lion with an open roaring mouth and wide eyes inlaid with garnets. A band of acanthus leaves and garnets decorates the body of the vessel above the lion, while a border of ivy circles the area below the rim. Gilding accentuates elements like the mane and the veins in the legs. The quality of workmanship and materials, as well as the subject, communicate the original owner's wealth and status. The lion had royal associations in Near Eastern art and was a symbol of nobility and courage.
The term rhyton comes from the Greek verb meaning "to run through," and depictions of rhyta on Greek vases show that they were used to aerate wine. Wine poured into the top of the vessel comes out of the spout between the animal's legs.
Stylistic features suggest that this rhyton was made in northwest Iran in the 1st century BCE. This region had been part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire until it was conquered by Alexander the Great. After his death in 323 BCE, the Hellenistic Greek Seleucid dynasty, whose kingdom stretched from Turkey to Afghanistan, ruled the area. In the later 3rd century BCE, however, a group of semi-nomadic people from the steppes of south central Asia called the Parthians began challenging the weakened Seleucid authority in the eastern part of their territory; by the mid-100s BCE, they had firm control of this area of Iran. The complicated political history of the region left its legacy in the local art and material culture. This rhyton’s floral motifs are drawn from Seleucid art, while the shape of the vessel had a long history in the earlier art of Iran.
The green oxidation pattern on the rhyton’s spout conforms to the shape of the shallow bowl decorated with rosettes (86.AM.754.5), suggesting that it was buried with the bowl lying upside down on top of it.
Parthian, 100-1 BCE. Silver with gilding and garnets.
Getty Villa Museum (96.AM.754.1)
Two Inlaid Bracelets of King Sheshonq II.
The two ornaments here are decorated with the Wadjet eye, above the hieroglyphic "Neb" sign.
The twin bracelets were found, with another identical five bracelets, around the wrists of the pharaoh.
22nd dynasty, from Tanis.
JE 72184A and B
Upper floor, room 2
Cairo Museum
This large American Victorian flat wooden desk, likely of walnut, has cove ogee scalloped corners, a red felt center with leather inlaid borders with the 'Greek Key' design. Pigeon hole secretary atop desk is removable. There is a carved escutcheon on front drawer, each side and back. Desk has one large drawer and four baluster legs with turned, stylized acorn shapes and muffin feet. The felt is heavily worn and apparently the legs once had casters, which are now missing, making the desk appear short. Small corner pieces on the apron are also missing. ___" x ___" x ___" tall.
This desk is attributed to John Ericsson (1803-1889), Swedish-born American engineer and inventor who perfected the screw propeller and designed and constructed the radically designed ironclad "Monitor". See biography.yourdictionary.com/john-ericsson for info about Mr Ericsson.
See more images of this desk at flic.kr/s/aHsmXdocEt.
Donated, disassembled, in October 2020 by Mary A. (Allie) Kubler, wife of the late Edward G.A. Kubler, Cornelius Bushnell's great-grandson and active MHS member in the 1970s. The desk was lightly cleaned and reassembled by Madison Historical Society's Vice President Dennis Flynn over the summer of 2021.
ACC# 2021.018.046
(Photo credit Bob Gundersen www.flickr.com/photos/bobphoto51/albums)
The wooden anthropoid coffin of a man called "Aba son of Ankh Hor", ruler and governor of Upper Egypt and the Head of the treasury.
The coffin is fully decorated in the shape of a mummy resembling Osiris with the upturned ceremonial false beard and a wig. The eyes are inlaid with ivory and ebony. Iba wears a large multicoloured necklace, and the sky-goddess Nut appears on the chest area. The goddess Isis with wide-spread wings is portrayed on the feet, while the goddess Nephtys appears at the head. The three goddesses offer protection to the deceased. The coffin lid is also decorated with texts from the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the base shows hieroglyphic inscriptions.
Organic material, sycamore wood
Late Period, 26th Dynasty, Saite Period
Provenance Upper Egypt, Luxor (Thebes), West Bank, Qurna
BAAM 829
Antiquities Museum of Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Bronze, Early Augustan, Allegedly from Asia Minor
H. 29 cm.
Hollow-cast by the lost wax method in five parts [1] joined to each other by fusion-welding, extensively cold-worked: patched, chased, burnished and polished. The eyes silver, the inlaid irises missing. Lips, nipples and button on pommel of sword inlaid in copper.
Condition: patina light olive green to blackish green, copper-coloured metal showing through in places, specks of light green cuprous chloride here and there, the odd spot of cuprite, traces of light-coloured earth incrustation; the surface, originally very smooth, in places scraped with superficial spots of pitting, a few pin-points - casting faults at join of arms and upper left thigh to body.
Missing the sword blade, the scabbard, the base on which he would have been seated, and at the join with the head a rectangular patch on the upper left side of his neck and a small one on the nape, at the hairline.
Ajax at daybreak comes to his senses. The instant when dawns upon him the terrible realization that only death can cleanse his honour. This is the Sophoclean version of Ajax [2].
Meditating his suicide, brooding and despondent, he would have been seated on a rock [3] probably cast at one with a small section of landscape figuring slain cattle and sheep. In his upraised right hand he held the unsheathed sword - maybe Hector's which he exchanged for his belt - of which the blade might have been of copper or silver, and in his left the scabbard.
Until recently [4], this was the only known representation of him in the round. The best previous comparison for the subject was a bronze patera in Lyon [5] with, on its omphalos in low relief, the same representation at this very pathetic moment of the drama. His right hand also in the same position holds the sword and he is seated on a draped rock with dead cattle at his feet; across his upper left thigh rests a scabbard and over his left forearm is the strap that would have held it. The latter an added indication, if one be needed, that the representation is Ajax, son of Telamon, King of Salamis; for Telamon means baldric in Greek. The Lyon patera has been dated by its handle and decorative elements to the 1st century A.D. Another revealing comparison is a terracotta lamp [6] reputedly from Naples in Vienna. The scene is almost identical but in addition there is a tree in the background. There are numerous gems illustrating the scene, among which one in Munich [7] shows a very similar representation.
In archaic times Ajax would have been shown in action, or dead. Only the great Black-Figure artist Exekias shows him contemplating suicide, and here, as with all the comparisons mentioned, we have a psychological study where the moment represented is before the action. Why a representation of Ajax at this time? B. Shefton [8] says: "It is very well possible that a Classical prototype, perhaps under the influence of Sophocles' play is indeed behind this particular iconography. It is then, however, puzzling that all its surviving precipitation should come at the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire". At first the author in his talk at Stara Zagora thought that this work harked back to a Classical original of the late 4th century, maybe a work by Lysippos, or in his tradition, though at his Getty conference he rhetorically asked "What is the date and what is the purpose or function of this admirable statuette? On account of its close parallel to the Belvedere Torso, its best comparison, its classical spirit and yet its Roman characteristics (such as the treatment of certain details, the left thigh, the shoulder-blades, the head and hair very well modelled and chiselled, the furrowed brow, also the stressed musculature, almost exaggerated, and the spinal groove, his beard and hair somewhat similar to the Boxer), we perceive between its classical inspiration and its execution reminiscences of baroque Pergamene art with eastern influences expressed in the muscles and thorax. I feel that we should place him in the second half of the 1st century B.C. and probably in the early reign of Augustus." The 1st century B.C. is a very eclectic period, but in spirit it is classicizing: Greek artists worked for Augustus. Ajax' expression bears strong resemblance with cameos of his time. J. Marszal, on a visit, pointed out that a detail such as his very severe eyebrows are characteristic of the Augustan Age. The subject of Ajax in a similar position was represented on a painting by Timomachos, one of the two paintings [9] which Julius Caesar brought back to Rome from Kyzikos for the temple of Venus Victrix. Whatever the date of the painting, whether 3rd or 1st century B.C., it reveals, with other examples such as the scene representing Ajax on the Tabula Iliaca Capitolina of the last quarter of the 1st century B.C., that Romans of the period were keenly aware of the subject.
The Torso Belvedere, contemporary in date, third quarter of the 1st century B.C., is the closest parallel and is also primarily to be seen from one viewpoint: "einansichtig".
Historically, psychologically and philosophically such a representation of Ajax is most appropriate for the period.
The last century B.C. was a terribly difficult time. There is civil war when Octavian becomes Augustus, with an atmosphere of perpetual uncertainty and insecurity. A representation of Ajax would have served a political purpose, have been a warning against dissension and disorder, and by inference would have been meant to be dissuasive.
Suetonius (Frgs. on the works of Augustus, 85,2) tells that Augustus was very interested in the psychology of Ajax and wrote a tragedy on the subject which he later destroyed. When his friends asked him what was becoming of his "Ajax", he answered "that he had thrown himself on a sponge". Augustus is here making a pun on the title of his tragedy, for Ajax threw himself on his sword, while Augustus has thrown himself on a sponge to erase any traces of his verses.
Historically both suicide and Ajax were in fashion just before and during the time of Augustus. Ajax was a very popular subject, for in a certain manner he incarnated the tragic condition of man, victim of the injustice of his peers. In philosophy the renewal of Stoicism honours the hero for his moral strength and will-power, thus serving as an example for all humans. As with Ajax who, shown in a moment of disarray and despair, feeling dishonoured, commits suicide; an act which the Stoics admitted, even approved of, if well planned. Suicide was an acceptable form of escape and served also as a mark of opposition to a bad prince or emperor.
Romans in official speeches, wishing to extol the virtues of an emperor, always referred to Ajax, Achilles or Hector.
In conclusion, it is probable that this work was made in the metropolis after an original of the 2nd century B.C. by a Greek artist, just as was his closest comparison, the Belvedere Torso, whose identity the author had suggested the Ajax might reveal. It is however R. Wünsche who appropriated the idea, developed and published it. It is, nevertheless, also possible that our Ajax was made in one of the great workshops of the Eastern Roman Empire for a Roman general or a philhellene prince or ruler.
On view: Antikenmuseum, Basel: 1988-1992
Mentioned: Wünsche, R.: Deutung und Wirkung des Torso vom Belvedere, Nürnberger Blätter zur Archäologie 8, 1991-92, pp. 61-69 ill. 57. - id.: Der Torso vom Belvedere. Denkmal des sinnenden Aias, MüJb 3. Folge, XLIV, 1993, pp. 7-46.
The author gave a twenty-minute exposé on this statuette of Ajax on 30 May at the VIIIth International Colloquium on Ancient Bronzes which took place at Stara Zagora on 28 May to 1 June 1984, and a one-hour talk at The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, entitled "Ajax contemplating suicide" on 25 April 1985. On these occasions he discussed different aspects and at the Malibu talk developed the historical context of the statuette covering the last two centuries that led up to it. But in both he drew attention to its closest parallel and comparison, the Belvedere Torso of which he showed several slides, matching views with the Ajax and said "en passant" that the present statuette could furnish the indication for the identification of the torso.
Subsequent to the author's 1985 talk and a visit to his collection by R. Wünsche when the author suggested the identification for the Belvedere Torso, Wünsche obtained photographs for study purposes only; but later he published a photograph and the identification in an article in 1991-92, neither acknowledging the paternity of the idea nor informing the author. This accomplished, a more thorough publication appeared in 1993, of which the author, once again, was not informed; but since he had written a letter of protest to Wünsche after the first publication, this time minimal acknowledgment was given.
At the closing of the George Ortiz Collection in the Hermitage, in a small symposium, George Ortiz spoke of Ajax, cat. no. 220, in detail, showing its closest comparison to be the Belvedere Torso and suggesting once again that the bronze could be the explanation for the latter's identification.
1 These are: the body with the right leg, the head (the join circling the base of the beard and continuing around at the hairline), both arms (the join below the shoulders), the left leg (the join running under the thigh where it meets the buttock following naturally the inguinal line and crossing on top at the back of the thigh and on its outer side). In fusion-welding the two parts are melted together at the join, adding superheated metal of similar composition. This is both a difficult and wasteful process: one has to fill the two parts with clay to avoid the hot metal running in (here it partially filled the left leg) and mount a mould inserting ducts and vents to allow the wax and gases to escape. Here, considerable cold-work has been carried out to attenuate the fusion-welding imperfections.
Below the buttocks traces of the soldering (probably soft solder - roughly 50% Pb & 50% Sn) that served to hold the figure on its base; a long oval opening below the right foot surely for the same purpose; the iron rod running down through the core of the right leg probably once extended into the base through the opening in the foot, though it may have been only to hold the core in place.
2 The tragedy (446-420 B.C.) of which a résumé of the argument is given us in F. Storr, Sophocles, Vol. II Loeb Classical Library (London/New York, 1919) as follows: "The arms of Achilles, claimed by Ajax as the bravest warrior in the host", bulwark of the Achaeans, erchos Achaion (Homer, Iliad III 229), the greatest hero after Achilles, whose body he recovered at great risk from under the walls of Troy that he might receive appropriate burial among his own "were through intrigue given to Odysseus, and Ajax vows vengeance both on the winner and on the awarders of the prize. But Athena, his patron goddess, whom his arrogance has estranged," for he committed the sin of hubris - he told her when she came to help him 'Go and look after other Achaeans, the line will never break where I stand' and to his father Telamon, King of Salamis, who asked him if he had sacrificed to the gods, that he could win glory without their help. He is punished for his arrogance and through intrigue the Achaean chieftains vote with a bare majority that the arms go to Odysseus, Athena's new protégé - "sends him a delusion so that he mistakes for his foes the sheep and cattle of the Greeks. Athena, when the play opens, is discovered conversing with Odysseus outside the tent of Ajax; she will show him his mad foe mauling the beasts within. The mad fit passes and Ajax bewails his insensate folly and declares that death alone can wipe out the shame. His wife Tecmessa and the Chorus try to dissuade him, but he will not be comforted and calls for his son Eurysaces. The child is brought, and after leaving his last injunctions for his brother Teucer, Ajax takes a tender farewell. He then fetches his sword from the tent and goes forth declaring that he will purge himself of his stains and bury his sword. Presently a Messenger from the camp announces that Teucer has returned from his foray and has learnt from Calchas, the seer, that if only Ajax can be kept within the camp for that day all may yet be well. The Chorus and Tecmessa set forth in quest of Ajax, and Tecmessa discovers him lying transfixed by his sword. Teucer finds the mourners gathered round the corpse and is preparing to bury him, when Menelaus hurries up to forbid the burial. After an angry wrangle with Teucer, Menelaus departs, but is succeeded by Agamemnon, who enforces his brother's veto and is hardly persuaded by Odysseus to relent." Odysseus says (Ajax 1357): "with me his worth outweighs his enmity.""Ajax is carried by his Salaminians to his grave, a grave (so they prophesy) that shall be famous for
all time."
3 As suggested by the comparisons and indicated by the uneven surface under his buttocks and the traces of soldering. The position also bears comparison with that of the Herakles in Tarentum, as described by Strabo (64 B.C.-A.D. 21).
4 The author was lucky enough to be offered from New York a small bronze statuette of Ajax (H: 6.75 cm), allegedly also from Asia Minor, seated on a draped rock, cast in one on a piece of landscape, its base, on which lie three dead animals, an ox, a ram and what appears to be a doe. His right hand in a similar position to that of the present statuette also holds the pommel of a sword, the blade missing, and in his left resting on the forearm is the scabbard, whereas on the present statuette it would have been held inside his arm.
5 Musée de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine à Lyon Br. 144: Armand-Caillat, L.: Patères en bronze trouvées près de Lyon à l'Ile-Barbe, RA, 1959, p. 65 ff. - Boucher, S., Tassinari, S.: Musée de la Civilisation Gallo-Romaine à Lyon. Bronzes Antiques I (Paris, 1976), no. 138, pp. 122-123.
6 Kunsthistorisches Museum V 3601: Armand-Caillat, L.: op. cit., fig. 4. - LIMC I,1, no. 101, p. 328 ill. I,2, p. 245 (O. Touchefeu).
7 Staatliche Antikensammlung und Glyptothek A 458: LIMC I,1, no. 99, p. 328 ill. I,2, p. 245 (O. Touchefeu).
8Agamemnon or Ajax? RA, 1973, pp. 217-218.
9 The other was of Medea reflecting on the assassination of
her children.
This elaborately decorated and inlaid chair was found within the Annex, along with several other pieces of furniture. Its form is the most unusual of all the thrones found within the tomb. The bottom takes the shape of a stool with a vertical backrest added. Like the golden throne of Tutankhamun, this piece was fashioned early on in the monarch's reign: in the middle of the cobra frieze, there are two cartouches of the Aten's name surmounted by a sun-disk representing the Aten. Additionally, the vulture goddess Nekhbet is set between cartouches of the pharaoh, which use his birthname Tutankhaten (The Living Image of the Aten). The cobra frieze and vulture goddess on the top of the backrest along with the depiction of the vulture on the reverse side, all served to protect the pharaoh. The top of the inlaid seat is spotted to imitate an animal skin, perhaps of a leopard. The legs of the chair end in the form of ducks heads, made out of ebony inlaid with ivory. The sema-tawy motif of intertwined lotus and papyrus stalks representing a unified Upper and Lower Egypt once stood between them.
Ebony, gold, ivory, glass
New Kingdom, 18th dynasty
Valley of the Kings, Tomb of Tutankhamun KV62
JE 62030=SR1/1067=Carter 351
Egyptian Museum, Cairo