Today's photography focus was quite interesting, the task was to replicate a photo we found appealing from a publicly shared photo site called flickr. Starting this adventure I typed-in the main keyword tag of “britishmuseum” which offered a slew of neat photos. Of course, I was instantly drawn to the Egyptian antiquities holdings, where I knew I could find the likeness of Bastet, the Egyptian goddess linked to so many things, like dancing and joy and was worshiped as the protectress of home and fertility. She is always portrayed with the head of a black cat, although sometimes she has the body of a human or a cat. That, of course, reminded me of own male, black cat at home “the Buddha” whom I miss dearly on this trip! To delve further into this theme, not only has Egyptology always been a fascinating area of study for me, but I also have a passion for protecting and caring for my own felines.
Thus, I keep a lovely 14” statue of Bastet in my office at work. The leisurely four hours I spent wandering through the museum today reminded me of how when I was a small child, I desperately wanted to become an archeologist. I always loved digging in the dirt, hoping to unearth some artifact in my backyard in south Florida. When my mother would drive us down to Ft. Lauderdale as a child to see my sister Annie, I would crane my neck to see the Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens cemetery, since it is literally a huge pyramid. I remember telling her that when I died I wanted to be mummified, and my mother would tell me I was only five and it was really strange for a little kid to say something like that!
Thus, I keep a lovely 14” statue of Bastet in my office at work. The leisurely four hours I spent wandering through the museum today reminded me of how when I was a small child, I desperately wanted to become an archeologist. I always loved digging in the dirt, hoping to unearth some artifact in my backyard in south Florida. When my mother would drive us down to Ft. Lauderdale as a child to see my sister Annie, I would crane my neck to see the Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens cemetery, since it is literally a huge pyramid. I remember telling her that when I died I wanted to be mummified, and my mother would tell me I was only five and it was really strange for a little kid to say something like that!
The next step in my amateur Egyptologist career happened at age ten, when I was given a book about the explorations of Howard Carter. He was the British chap who discovered the hidden tomb of King Tut. Carter, like me, shared a May birthday and maybe it is that Taurean drive that makes us so tenacious in doing the things we feel compelled to do. Carter, of course, did so much more than I could ever dream of in my own lifetime; yet here I am in London, living-out one of my own academic dreams! Sadly, my enthusiasm to become an actual Egyptologist faded with that book after I read the final chapter regarding the speculation of the “mummy’s curse” whereby this particular Carter biographer believed that by unearthing King Tut’s tomb he unleashed an ancient evil… Thus, my Egypt-inspired childhood desires made for some interesting moments of personal reflection at what the local Londoners simply call "the Museum." The photos I took below are of a Bastet icon called the "Gayer-Anderson" cat from the Bronze late period about 664-332 BC:
Ahh, so much information in such a small commentary. It is like getting to know you all over. Juanita
ReplyDeleteWow, chick, I wish I was there to experience it with you! Make sure you get lots of "cool" pics. And you can email me some you know! Have a blast!
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited about your travel buddy in all of these pictures... would he travel to work with you when you return. I hope your trip is going well. We miss you here at the office though.
ReplyDelete