Laura commented on my previous post, noting her appreciation for the photograph above and, lo, I was motivated to write again of Europe. She mentioned the toothless nature of the sculpture, while I found its lack of eyes even more stirring (and appropriate to my recent discussion of Blindness). The British museum website has a concise but illuminating description of the Knidos lion and its history, dating back to 200 - 350 BC.
The photograph is from my final afternoon in London, spent wandering about the British Museum, the edifice in which the British Empire proudly displays all the artifacts that it has… collected from around the world. I walked into the very first display hall and was greeted by a thick crowd of tourists around one case. What could be in this case, I wondered.
I got closer and, oh, right, it was the Rosetta Stone.
Strong work.
I quite enjoyed the breadth and depth of art and artifacts the museum offered. Still, I found it somewhat difficult to accept the appropriateness of these works having been removed from their native cultures and countries. I find elitist the notion that “The White Man” conquering cultures or nations have a responsibility and unique capability to preserve the world’s wonders. On the other hand, I would not have wanted any of those works I perused to have been lost to age, weather, political turmoil or other unforeseen elements. How horrible is it that the Catholic church went around covering or knocking penises off of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture?1
Does anyone have any thoughts on this matter? Or did all my discussion put you to sleep:
1 I have heard this in the past but now I went looking for sources supporting this claim and am having difficulty finding any. Does anyone know if my claim is accurate? Or do you have examples of other regimes or groups destroying or inadequately preserving art and artifacts?
