Art & Culture

Monthly Archive: December Art

Collection Care for Hellenistic Clay sealings from Edfu, Egypt

Posted: February 9, 2016 - 16:35 , by Kay Sunahara

Over a century after they were acquired Ptolemaic artifacts at the Royal Ontario Museum, Greek & Roman collection, get new homes

Valentine's Day at the ROM: Unique Painting of Lovers

Posted: February 9, 2016 - 10:57 , by royal
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Miniature painting showing Radha and Krishna, (gouache on paper), Mughal period, India, 18th century

Guest blog by Sudharshan Duraiyappah, a scholar and instruction at the University of Toronto and the ROM

A cursory glance at the 17th century Kangra painting featuring Radha and her lover Krishna, who according to Hindu mythology is considered an incarnation of the god Vishnu, might elicit a double take. This miniature painting in the ROM’s collection portrays the fair – skinned Radha in her male lover’s attire and the dark- skinned Krishna wearing his female lover’s garments.

Blue Whale Update: From Trenton with Love

Posted: December 22, 2015 - 11:25 , by ROM
It took a team of seven people to lift the blue whale heart enough to finish wrapping it. Photo by Stacey Lee Kerr

It’s that time of year where many of us are pretty focused on the holidays. Spending time with family and friends, baking and eating loads of treats, and - let’s be honest - the gifts. Finding them, buying them, wrapping them, and getting them to where they need to go, whether the destination is under the Christmas tree, or to be mailed to relatives somewhere else around the world.

So, given that everybody’s in this present-logistics state of mind, we have a gift-wrapping question for you… how do you ship a blue whale heart?

Weapon Wednesday: Pesh Kabz

Posted: July 14, 2015 - 22:07 , by Deepali Dewan
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Pesh Kabz, means ‘fore grip’ in Persian, a language from Iran where this style of dagger finds its origins. Written by Aruna Panday

 

Fashion Follows Winning Form

Posted: June 15, 2015 - 15:13 , by royal
Entrance view of the exhibition Fashion Follows Form

The ROM’s Fashion Follows Form exhibition, which was featured in ROM magazine in the Summer 2014 issue, has won The Richard Martin Exhibition Award, an annual award given by the Costume Society of America.   

'Globes Celestial and Terrestrial': the Science of Star-gazing

Posted: May 28, 2015 - 14:59 , by ROM
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The study of celestial bodies is one of the oldest sciences. Meticulous observations of the night sky were made by many early civilizations who used the information for various purposes, including determining the right time for planting, harvesting, ceremonial events and tides. 

Pompeii Saga: Last Day

Posted: April 13, 2015 - 14:14 , by ROM
Antique colour illustration (c. 1866) of Mount Vesuvious erupting

The horrors of the Mount Vesuvius eruption were buried under volcanic ash. Thankfully one scholarly young man wrote the story of his own survival.

By: Douglas Thomson

 

Getting Lost with Galloway

Posted: April 13, 2015 - 11:45 , by ROM
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Matt Galloway, the host of Metro Morning on CBC Radio.

We sat down with CBC's Matt Galloway to find out exactly what keeps bringing him back to the ROM

By: Douglas Thomson

Q: Do you visit the museum often? 

A: Yes, I have a couple of young kids. We come on a fairly regular basis. Sometimes if there’s a special event, but also sometimes we come just to wander around. It’s a great place to explore—one of the places we go to just spend time in the city. That’s a
big thing for our family, to be out and about in Toronto as much as we can.  

Cooking up History: Historical Recipe Books

Posted: April 1, 2015 - 14:08 , by ROM
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The cookbooks of the past provide information about diet and habits, as well as telling us which foods were expensive treats, and which were commonly available. Many of the foods that appear regularly through the centuries are not often eaten today, like pickled eel, fried lamprey, and cow-heel soup. Others are familiar, such as macaroni soup or an 1877 recipe for ‘Indian dal’. 

My Favourite Object: A "Tell Minis" Style Lustre-Ware Bowl

Posted: March 28, 2015 - 13:12 , by Robert Mason
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This beautiful bowl, ROM Accession number 960.219.2, was made in Syria between about AD 1075-1125, and if you read this story, you will find out why I would really like to meet the person that made it.