Ontario Legislature building |
The museum itself it mixture of old and new, architecturally. The older parts reminded me of the Natural History Museum in London, with the added attraction of a Byzantine inspired mosaic ceiling in the main entrance way.
I like museums, and this was no exception. It has a nice collection of dinosaurs, a further Natural History section with a gallery of taxidermied birds, and sections on endangered species of the region.
There is also a small but well presented Egyptian section, and Greek and Roman artefacts.
Ancient Egyptian model of a cow giving birth |
Birch Bark freight canoe (made in 1971 to 1880s pattern) |
Cree women's hood, C1850 |
Sitting Bull's War bonnet |
Golden Eagle carving (1984) Ben Thomas (Mohawk, Six Nations of the Grand River ) |
Mention must also be made of the building itself, which now incorporates the dramatic and appealing Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, an extension to the building added in 2007.
St James' Cathedral |
That evening, we visited St James' Cathedral, where I was made very welcome at their bellringing practice.
The (12) bells are a recent addition, having been installed in 1997. The bells are older that that, having previously hung in St. James’ Church in Bermondsey, London, as a ring of 8, with the other 4 bells being cast from spare bell-metal, some of which was shaved from the inside of the other bells when they were re-tuned.
My ringing skills are a bit rusty, but I couldn't miss the chance to ring on a whole new continent! (and one of just 8 towers in Canada)
Video from the Cathedral's website
The following day we went in for more culture, with a visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario, which , unsurprisingly, has lots of Canadian art, as well as some pieces but European artists, including a rather nice Picasso.I liked the works of Lawren S Harris and the wood / lino cuts of Mary E Wrinch and Dorothy Haines Hoover.
There are also some wonderful examples of Inuit and indigenous sculpture, some very old, like these seals, some of which date back to 300 AD,
Walrus Ivory seals |
Others which are much more modern, like this standing bear.
Standing Bear, Pauta Saila, 1975 |
The Gallery also has some wonderful architecture. The spiral stair you can see (behind the Henry Moore)on the outside of the museum in the previous post, continues inside in wood.
There is also a lovely wood and glass gallery on the side of the building, which, from the inside, feels a little like being under the hull of a huge canoe.
It's very appealing. I'm not sure who the architect is, but I approve!
2 comments:
Totally wonderful. I especially like the idea of you as a bell-ringer; didn't know that about you. I also watched the wonderful little video. Thank you for including it.
I don't ring much these days due to my dodgy shoulder. But I was brought up on it - both my parents ring.
Ringers tend to be very welcoming to visitors, you can generally turn up at a practice and join in.
I thought the video was a good explanation of how it works :)
Post a Comment