Postcard from London, England: Journeying inside the V&A

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Above: Reflections in the viewing mirror installed above the Ardabil carpet, a commission for the ruling Shah of Iran made by Maqsud Kashani about 1540

One of the most popular spots in the Victoria and Albert Museum is the long sofa next to the ancient Ardabil carpet. While the rug’s design is exquisitely executed with about 3,500 wool knots per square inch, for many, the bench is the main attraction. Ah, the chance to reflect and rest. We were fortunate to have the time to visit more than once during our stay.

It’s easy to be bowled over by the swirling, shimmering colors of Dale Chihuly’s immense contemporary glass chandelier suspended under the graceful dome of the grand entrance hall to the museum. The sheer size of the 1862 iron choir screen from the Hereford Cathedral addressing the space competes for your attention.

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Postcard from Amsterdam, Netherlands: Making room at the table

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Above: House of Vineyard exhibition reacted and related to historic artifacts in the Abraham and Louisa Willet-Holthuysen House Museum.

Historically, the voices and experiences of Black and Brown femme queens have often been marginalized. But their resilience, courage, and unyielding spirit have paved the way for progress both off and on the runway…. In the dining room, we honor five queens who not only fought for a seat at the table, but created their own.”

House of Vineyard curator notes for temporary contemporary art exhibition

Keeping a house museum fresh, appealing and relevant to diverse audiences is extremely difficult, speaking as someone who had chaired a committee running one. I wish my visit to the Abraham and Louisa Willet-Holthuysen House Museum, a house built on the Herengracht Canal in 1685, had been years earlier.

Instead of keeping its collection static, the house museum stimulates repeat visitation by weaving thoughtfully curated contemporary art throughout its rooms. Often times, house museums are filled with gray-hairs, but not everyone there had our same color hair. The House of Vineyard’s “Grand March: A Historic House through a Ballroom Lens” attracted a diverse, youthful group. And it worked. All ages appeared interested in both the old and the new.

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Postcard from Istanbul, Turkey: Tooting horn about restitution of artifacts

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Above: Stag rhyton, Milas, Turkey, 400 BCE, displayed in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum

The elegant stag rhyton pictured above must have been quite a status symbol for its owner in ancient Turkey. Today’s value of the combination wine aerator and drinking vessel, $3.5 million, probably made it even more so for the billionaire American collector who acquired it without verifiable provenance.

For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artifacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe. His pursuit of ‘new’ additions to showcase and sell knew no geographic or moral boundaries, as reflected in the sprawling underworld of antiquities traffickers, crime bosses, money launderers, and tomb raiders he relied upon to expand his collection.”

Cyrus Vance, Jr., District Attorney of Manhattan, December 2021 Statement

Now it is part of a growing collection of repatriated stolen antiquities proudly showcased in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

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