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The ceiling of the Hypostyle Hall at Dendera Temple is enriched with an incredible amount of figurative detail carved in low relief and painted in subtle shades against a blue background. The subjects include numerous deities and hybrid figures (some familiar, others much less so) and even astrological elements, such as recognisable figures from the zodiac.
Over the centuries the ceiling had become so darkened by dirt and soot to become heavily obscured and hard to read, and this is how I saw it for the first time in the 1990s, when many visitors probably missed it altogether. Now it has been fully cleaned and restored it shines again not only as one of the glories of the temple but one of the most remarkable surviving decorative schemes of ancient Egypt. The contrast with its previous blackened, unrestored condition is dramatic, giving an entirely different impression from our previous visit.
The Temple of Hathor at Dendera is one of Egypt's best preserved and most beautiful ancient shrines. This magnificent edifice dates to the Ptolemaic period, late in Egyptian history, though the site long had been the cult centre for the goddess Hathor for centuries before (the earliest extant remains date to c360BC but a temple is recorded here as far back as c2250BC). Most of the main building dates to the reigns of the last Cleopatras and further decoration and building work within the complex continued in the Roman period up to the reign of Trajan.
The dominant structure in the complex is the Temple of Hathor, an enormous structure with a rectangular facade punctuated by the Hathor-headed columns of the hypostyle hall within. This hall is an architectural wonder, a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian design and decoration, which covers every surface and has been recently cleaned, revealing a superb astrological ceiling in all its original vibrant colours.
Sadly there was much iconoclasm here during the early Christian period and most of the reliefs of the walls and pillars have been defaced. Worse still is the damage to the 24 Hathor-head capitals: not one of the nearly a hundred huge faces of the goddess that once smiled down on this hall has been left unblemished, most with their features cruelly chiselled away.
The main temple building is otherwise structurally intact, and extends into further halls and chapels beyond, again with much relief decoration (much of which is again defaced). In one corner is an entrance to a crypt below, an unusual feature in Egyptian temple architecture consisting of several narrow passages adorned with carved relief decoration in good condition.
There are further sanctuaries and chapels above on the roof of the temple, accessed by a decorated staircase and including the room where the famous Dendera Zodiac was formerly located (today its place in the ceiling taken by a cast of the original, now displayed in Paris). The highest part of the roof complex is no longer accessible to tourists, but I can still recall making the ascent there on our first visit in 1992.
Several other buildings surround the main temple, the most impressive of which is the mammisi or 'birth-house'. This consists of a large rectangluar hall surrounded by a colonnade near the entrance to the site and has some well preserved relief decoration on its exterior. Most of this structure dates to the Roman period, but the ruins of its predecessor built under Nectanebo II (Egypt's last native pharoah) stand nearby.
Dendera temple is one of the most rewarding in Egypt and shouldn't be missed. It is one of the most complete and evocative ancient monuments in the country and its recent restoration has revealed a surprisingly extensive amount of colour surviving within (we were amazed by the dramatic contrast with the soot-blackened ceiling we'd beheld on our previous visit in the 1990s). Despite its relative youth (in Egyptian terms at least!) it is easily one of my favourite sites in Egypt.
Tokyo Station, on the Marunouchi business district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, near the Imperial Palace grounds and the Ginza commercial district, had just gone through a major refit. This is the restored ceiling.
It is the main intercity rail terminal in Tokyo, the busiest station in Japan with over 3,000 Trains per day and is the starting point and terminus for most of Japan's Shinkansen high-speed rail lines as well as being served by many local and regional commuter lines of Japan Railways, along with the Tokyo Metro network.
Blue light filtering from the outside in contrast with yellow light from the bulb inside ... Chicago Cultural Center, Washington St. side. The building originally housed the Chicago Public Library.
Additional information: This basically is the ceiling of the lobby of the Washington St. side of the Cultural Center - one of the building's showpieces described in their new brochure as "a dazzling light-filled space finished with Cosmati work, or mosaics set into stone in the style of the Italian masters in the palaces of Europe."
More from the brochure:
"The soft-surfaced marble is white Italian Carrara marble, the most expensive available, taken from the same quarries used by Michelangelo for his sculptures. It was selected for its non-reflective finish to contrast witht he sparkling mosaics of glass, gold leaf, mother-of-pearl, and precious stone. The space extends up three stories with a symphony of cris-crossing staircases and expanding spaced decorated with themes relating to books and authors."
And to think this building was scheduled for demolition to accommodate larger library facilities.
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. The ceiling is that of the large Sistine Chapel built within the Vatican by Pope Sixtus IV, begun in 1477 and finished by 1480.
Its various painted elements comprise part of a larger scheme of decoration within the Sistine Chapel which includes the large fresco of The Last Judgment on the sanctuary wall, also by Michelangelo, wall paintings by several other artists and a set of large tapestries by Raphael, the whole illustrating much of the doctrine of the Catholic Church.
An example of one type of suspended ceiling system, showing cross-sectional view, from bottom: 1'x 1' ft. square adhered ceiling tile; dark brown adhesive for ceiling tile ("glue pod"); coarse-textured plaster ceiling substrate; gypsum panel ceiling substrate.
A pair of Eurostars sit under the Lofty Clouds sculpture waiting for departure to either Paris or Brussels.
The ceiling of the satellite in Terminal A at Ronald Reagan Washington National airport.
The satellite was built by Northwest Airlines and TWA as part of their unit terminal at National, opening in 1970. It was designed by Giuliani & Associates.
Built in 537 C.E. at the behest of Justinian, the Hagia Sophia is considered the apex of Byzantine architectural achievement, and appears to be the only building in the world to serve three religions: Pagan, Christian Orthodox and Sunni Muslim. Here's an interesting article about the many legends of Hagia Sophia from Istanbul's daily English language paper: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/the-many-legends-of-the-hagia-s...
The ceiling of the Hypostyle Hall at Dendera Temple is enriched with an incredible amount of figurative detail carved in low relief and painted in subtle shades against a blue background. The subjects include numerous deities and hybrid figures (some familiar, others much less so) and even astrological elements, such as recognisable figures from the zodiac.
Over the centuries the ceiling had become so darkened by dirt and soot to become heavily obscured and hard to read, and this is how I saw it for the first time in the 1990s, when many visitors probably missed it altogether. Now it has been fully cleaned and restored it shines again not only as one of the glories of the temple but one of the most remarkable surviving decorative schemes of ancient Egypt. The contrast with its previous blackened, unrestored condition is dramatic, giving an entirely different impression from our previous visit.
The Temple of Hathor at Dendera is one of Egypt's best preserved and most beautiful ancient shrines. This magnificent edifice dates to the Ptolemaic period, late in Egyptian history, though the site long had been the cult centre for the goddess Hathor for centuries before (the earliest extant remains date to c360BC but a temple is recorded here as far back as c2250BC). Most of the main building dates to the reigns of the last Cleopatras and further decoration and building work within the complex continued in the Roman period up to the reign of Trajan.
The dominant structure in the complex is the Temple of Hathor, an enormous structure with a rectangular facade punctuated by the Hathor-headed columns of the hypostyle hall within. This hall is an architectural wonder, a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian design and decoration, which covers every surface and has been recently cleaned, revealing a superb astrological ceiling in all its original vibrant colours.
Sadly there was much iconoclasm here during the early Christian period and most of the reliefs of the walls and pillars have been defaced. Worse still is the damage to the 24 Hathor-head capitals: not one of the nearly a hundred huge faces of the goddess that once smiled down on this hall has been left unblemished, most with their features cruelly chiselled away.
The main temple building is otherwise structurally intact, and extends into further halls and chapels beyond, again with much relief decoration (much of which is again defaced). In one corner is an entrance to a crypt below, an unusual feature in Egyptian temple architecture consisting of several narrow passages adorned with carved relief decoration in good condition.
There are further sanctuaries and chapels above on the roof of the temple, accessed by a decorated staircase and including the room where the famous Dendera Zodiac was formerly located (today its place in the ceiling taken by a cast of the original, now displayed in Paris). The highest part of the roof complex is no longer accessible to tourists, but I can still recall making the ascent there on our first visit in 1992.
Several other buildings surround the main temple, the most impressive of which is the mammisi or 'birth-house'. This consists of a large rectangluar hall surrounded by a colonnade near the entrance to the site and has some well preserved relief decoration on its exterior. Most of this structure dates to the Roman period, but the ruins of its predecessor built under Nectanebo II (Egypt's last native pharoah) stand nearby.
Dendera temple is one of the most rewarding in Egypt and shouldn't be missed. It is one of the most complete and evocative ancient monuments in the country and its recent restoration has revealed a surprisingly extensive amount of colour surviving within (we were amazed by the dramatic contrast with the soot-blackened ceiling we'd beheld on our previous visit in the 1990s). Despite its relative youth (in Egyptian terms at least!) it is easily one of my favourite sites in Egypt.
Charlecote Park (near Stratford upon Avon, England) has been the home of the Lucy family since the 15th century. The current house was extensively remodelled in the Victorian times by Mary Elizabeth Lucy and it is presented today as it was when she was the mistress of the house.
The Lucy family history is brought vividly to life by the portraits of each generation; from Sir Thomas Lucy, the local magistrate who allegedly flogged the young William Shakespeare for poaching the Lucy family heard of fallow deer, to the family living in the house in the early 20th century.
It is operated by the National Trust.
The name "Lateran" goes back to the Lateranus family, that once owned the place. The Laterani lost their properties when one of the Laterani was accused by Nero of conspiracy against the Emperor.
The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran as well as the Lateran Palace next to it are part of Italy, but as a result of the 1929 Lateran Treaty, a a property of the Holy See and so have extraterritorial privileges.
The Lateran Palace was donated to the "Bishop of Rome" by Constantine I. The palace was converted and extended, becoming the residence of Pope Silvester I.
During the Avignon Papacy (1309 - 1377) Palace and Basilica crumbled and burnt down. When the Papacy returned from Avignon to Rome, the Archbasilica and the Palace were deemed inadequate considering their severe damage. So the Popes resided at the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere and later at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran underwent many rebuildings over the centuries. Some parts like the apse still are medieval. The ciborium with the heads of Saint Peter and Saint Paul dates from 1369. In front of that stairs run down to the crypt. In the center of the apse is the golden "cathedra", where the Pope used to sit.
Here the macabre "Synodus Horrenda" (aka "Cadaver Synod", "Cadaver Trial") took place in 897.
End of the 9th century, the western world seemed to fall apart. What Charlemagne had created had crumbled into small fractions.
At that time Formosus was bishop of a Roman suburb, but as well a very successful diplomat and missionary in the Bulgarian kingdom. Maybe he was just too successfull. Pope John VIII turned on Formosus and accused him of aspiring to the papacy. John had him excommunicated.
John then was the first pope to be murdered by his own people. He was poisoned - and when the poison worked slower than expected, his head was smashed with a hammer. Pope Marinus I succeed John and re-installed
Formosus as bishop. The following year Pope St. Adrian III succeeded Marinus, but he died already in 885 on a trip to the Frankish King Charles III (aka "the Fat"). Pope Stephen V followed shortly thereafter, but in 891it was Formosus’ turn. He managed to hold on to the papacy for five full years before dying of a stroke.
Formosus was succeeded by Boniface VI, who only ruled for 15 days before he died. Next was Pope Stephen VI., who ordered to dig up Formosus and force his corpse to stand trial for crimes Pope John VIII had excommunicated him for.
Formosus´ corpse was dragged out, dressed in papal robes, and propped up in a chair. During the trial an earthquake shook the basilica, damaging part of it. In the end Formosus was found guilty, stripped of his vestments, and had the three fingers he used for blessing on his right hand chopped off.
The corpse was buried, but then dug up and tossed in the Tiber. This was the point, when the people of Rome revolted against Stephen´s craze. A mob threw him in prison where he was strangled in his cell.
I saw these colourful paintings in the ceiling of a mandapam (hall with pillars) in front of the temple in Alagarkoil.
The Roman Catholic cathedral in Montreal made my jaw drop, my eyebrows rise, and I think I said 'Wow' for about 20 minutes straight, albeit very quietly. I think it might have been designed to do that.
in frank lloyd wright's office at taliesin west.
he would have had a similar view while sitting at his desk. [scroll down on page]