(Not) Night at the Museum!
Oooh yes, that would be one of my dreams come true! Locked in a museum (or bookshop!) overnight, or even better for a weekend!
My sketchbook doublespread this week was done in a Roman museum, it wasn't night time, but the area I was drawing in was draped in black semi-transparent curtains, so drawing was interesting, I could only really see my sketches when I got out into daylight.
These are Roman perfume and oil bottles, the delicacy of the glass and the lovely colour of these vials really took my breath away!
The Romans arrived in Germany in about 2BC and stayed till around 6AD, Germania encompassed huge areas from west to east and from the North Sea to the Danube in the south. Cologne (Colonia Claudia Agrippinensium), Xanten, Mainz and Trier in the north down to Augsburg (Augusta Vindelicorum) are German cities where the Roman presence can be seen and felt (in our village we had a street called römergasse as do many other cities and towns) ; the Limes Germanicus (the German "Hadrian's Wall) streched for over 550km and although partially made with turf and wood is still very visible today.
In my sketch you can see those gorgeous glass bottles, along with Roman jewelry and shards of ceramics, plus a bronze military sign.
We lived in Günzburg for many years, which was a Roman fortress town known as Guntia and not far away in Aalen you can visit the Limes Germanicus with the remains of the fortress there and a great museum. My family have got used to me dragging them off to museums everywhere, however one trip to a Roman burial ground in Günzburg will forever remain in our collective memory!
We had just moved there and on a map I discovered a "Roman" burial site, which was listed as a tourist attraction. I kept chivvying my family on so that we could get going ( you never know how long you might need to see everything!) I also insisted on packing "victuals" and then we set off. We circled the area marked on the map for about an hour, there was even a sign, but no luck. I then got out of the car and wandered off to a stone pedestal with a carved artichoke on the top! Yes, you've guessed it, that was it; no visitor's centre, no T-shirts, no postcards! Five minutes and done. There was also a celtic cult site marked on the same map, after 17 years I still hadn't found it and my family refused to help me look!
As for my sketches, I really loved my "Roman" palette when I got out into the light. When I see artifacts like that I always wonder if the craftsman who made it could ever imagine that about 2000 years later, people would be staring at his work in wonderment!
My sketchbook doublespread this week was done in a Roman museum, it wasn't night time, but the area I was drawing in was draped in black semi-transparent curtains, so drawing was interesting, I could only really see my sketches when I got out into daylight.
The Romans arrived in Germany in about 2BC and stayed till around 6AD, Germania encompassed huge areas from west to east and from the North Sea to the Danube in the south. Cologne (Colonia Claudia Agrippinensium), Xanten, Mainz and Trier in the north down to Augsburg (Augusta Vindelicorum) are German cities where the Roman presence can be seen and felt (in our village we had a street called römergasse as do many other cities and towns) ; the Limes Germanicus (the German "Hadrian's Wall) streched for over 550km and although partially made with turf and wood is still very visible today.
We had just moved there and on a map I discovered a "Roman" burial site, which was listed as a tourist attraction. I kept chivvying my family on so that we could get going ( you never know how long you might need to see everything!) I also insisted on packing "victuals" and then we set off. We circled the area marked on the map for about an hour, there was even a sign, but no luck. I then got out of the car and wandered off to a stone pedestal with a carved artichoke on the top! Yes, you've guessed it, that was it; no visitor's centre, no T-shirts, no postcards! Five minutes and done. There was also a celtic cult site marked on the same map, after 17 years I still hadn't found it and my family refused to help me look!
As for my sketches, I really loved my "Roman" palette when I got out into the light. When I see artifacts like that I always wonder if the craftsman who made it could ever imagine that about 2000 years later, people would be staring at his work in wonderment!
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