An Evening at the Met

Rather than following my usual patterns, I headed up to check out the Met's visible storage area, where things are mostly grouped by material and type, rather than as more traditional exhibits.

Rabbits...

I really liked the collection of items made of pressed purple marble glass, from Pennsylvania in the late 1800's.  I hadn't heard of this material before, but it made sense (they'd looked like maybe they were carved out of marble, but seemed somehow too fluid).  

 

There were some nice seascapes among the paintings:

Frederick J. Waugh, The Roaring Forties (1908)

Angled view

Frank Myers Boggs, On the Thames (1883)

A wonderful trompe l'oeil by Chalfant

Again, a wonderful illusion of depth on a totally flat surface...

Compare this one by William Michael Harnett (Still Life - Violin and Music),
which was deemed worthy of display in a regular gallery

 Back in the regular galleries, I took some pitchers - oops, I mean pictures:

There were a lot of works by the Tiffany Studios in this passage, some beautifully ornate all-metal tea pots, chocolate pots, and pitchers.  I'll have to go back and take some photos another time.

Cthulu Chatelaine

This painting was almost modern in its photorealism:

Charles Sprague Pearce, Arab Jeweler (ca 1881)

Other paintings struck me with their extraordinary light:

Martin Johnson Heade, Newburyport Meadows (ca 1876-81)

A delicate Victorian funereal sculpture:

And Queen Victoria herself:

Thomas Scully, Queen Victoria

 Then a quick detour through the Asian galleries:

Vase with butterflies:
"The Chinese term for butterfly ... is also a rebus for the accumulation of blessings"