Needlework

See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is looking for creativity  in crafts, fabric art and textiles

Man's informal cap (Satin with embroidered pattern and silk tassels)

There was once an advertising slogan from the days when people always wore hats that said "If you want to get ahead get a hat" and this one worn today would certainly get you noticed. A postcard from an exhibition of 'Imperial Chinese Robes from the Imperial City' with objects loaned from the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Detail of costume for the Prince in L'Oiseau d'or worn by Nijinsky

Of course ballet is all about the bling and here the tunic worn by Nijinsky in 1910 when The Firebird was first performed in Paris (June 1910). Designed by Leon Bakst it is a short sleeved tunic of old gold silk, embroidered with ovals and silk circles, with jersey inner sleeves set with metal studs and a cream panel embroidered with flowers and rose ending in a drop pearl. Created in St Petersberg. When Baskst settled in Paris in 1910 he found his preferred costume maker Mme Muelle with whom he worked with on his productions for Diaghilev and Ida Rubinstein until his death in 1924. Bakst created vibrant stage sets so he would appreciate

Detail 'Trojan War' tapestry, Turnai, 1475-90 Wool and silk woven tapestry

one of the most spectacular examples of those Medieval tapestries which survive, The War of Troy was created in Tornai, a place that has experienced many wars and has been part of  France, Southern Netherlands and recently Belgium.  A huge tapestry, the postcard shows a detail of Queen Penthesilea and King Priam.

Shepherd and Shepherdess (1741) Lady Lever Art Gallery - Embroidered in silks and seed pearls

On a more domestic scale, and unlike the unknown makers of the Trojan war tapestry the card says this was "worked by Eliz. Tole" I'm guessing she wisely embroidered her name somewhere.

Colours

 

2012: 225th Birth Anniversary - Joseph on Fraunhofer

Jospeph Faunhfer was the inventor of the spectroscope and in 1814 discovered the optical absorption solar spectrum. Today the lines are named after him - Fraunhofer lines.  The stamp is his spectrum of the sun.

2016: Northern Lights

We are going through a period of high solar activity

so it is a good opportunity to see the northern lights. So far I have have missed them all!  I wonder what the Northern Lights look like to other fauna

2015: Flowers - Festive Bouquet

who perceive ultraviolet light and see a very different world of colour.  Interestingly no two species see the world in the same colours.  Bees perceive ultraviolet light but are as blind to red as humans are to UV light (human eye receptors are sensitive to red)

2003: Post - Rural House Postbox

This spectrum blindness is no impediment to bees when they occasionally decide to set up home in a postbox.  This one is bee free although happily the flowers will not be.

Sunday Stamps theme - colours - See It On A Postcard

Sculped

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is looking for Sculptures

Walking Woman (1984) bronze - Lynn Chadwick

Walking Woman, combining the abstract with figurative, was a theme that Lynn Chadwick returned to in many variations. This card is from a temporary exhibition of his work at Blackwell (a 19th century art and crafts house) which, as can be seen, overlooks a lake (Winderemere). Here his woman with her billowing cape could be looking at the view or gliding towards it.

The Horse is a Noble Animal - Marcia Farquhar

The performance artist Marcia Farquhar lives the dream and rides a life sized rocking horse she imagined as a child. This was part of the Tatton Park Contemporary Art Biennial which takes place in both the mansion, the formal gardens and the deer park; combine a walk with art what could be better. Unfortunately I did not see Marcia ride her horse but she has provided context  here.

Winter Bears (1988) Polychromed wood - Jeff Koons

Not a big fan of Jeff Koons but I couldn't resist this card. Winter Bears was a series of sculptures created for Koons based on  children's miniature ornaments. The craftsmen employed the same techniques used to produce rococo ceramics and Bavarian wood carving. I've not seen them but the card tells me they are 124cm (4 ft) high which I guess makes them a little bit scary or maybe I've seen too many Dr Who episodes when things like these come to life, and not in a good way. 

Patterns

 

The type of water powered cotton spinning mill and its factory system Richard Arkwright invented in 1771 at Cromford powered the industrial revolution.  The stamps celebrate textile design.

1982: British Textiles (Design - Peter Hatch)

I start with the most famous of them which was the 

15½p 'Strawberry Thief' (1883) pattern created by William Morris and printed in his factory.  It took days to produce and  was Morris and Co's most expensive fabric but also the most popular, the 19½p of scarlet tulips is an anonymous and untitled design printed in 1906 by F Steiner and Co, a company sometimes called the William Morris of the 20th Century.
26p a design by the artist Paul Nash who was commissioned by Eresta Silks to produce seven designs, this one he called 'Cherry Orchard' and was screen printed on silk in 1930, 29p Andrew Foster's 1973 design 'Chevron' for Textra Furnishing Fabrics. Used for curtains it was screen-printed cotton, a method that eliminated the production of expensive engraved rollers. 

1976: Europa - Handicrafts

Away from the sound of the factory floor some floral embroidery from Switzerland and

2012: Geometric Shapes

time to have  fun with an octahedron

large or small

Sunday Stamps theme - Patterns -  see them everywhere at See It On A Postcard

Angels and Penguin

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is looking for Public Art or murals...

2011: UK A-Z

The Angel of the North over time has become a symbol of North East region of England.  It stands on a hill (the site of an old mine) near two main roads and the East Coast Main railway line. Like all Anthony Gormley's sculptures the body is based on his own, although they are all more life sized than this enormous sentinel.  The ribbed wings break the strength of the wind.

St John's Garden (Sculptor - Thomas Brock)

An angel sits at the bottom of a statue to William Gladstone (19th Century prime minister) as a symbol of Justice.

Evel Penguivel at the Chinese Arch, China Town, Liverpool (Artist - Harry Harris)

Penguins appeared all over Liverpool in 2009 as the finale to their Year of the Environment and the effects of climate change.  Called 'Go Penguin' there were over 200 of them, all different, this one is dressed as daredevil Evel Knieval.  At the end of the event they were sold off for charity so some can still be seen around the area such as the the four Merseybeaks at the ferry terminal and Superpenguin at Lime Street underground station dressed in yellow Mersey rail colours.

Olympics

 

1965: City Arms

We alas say goodbye to Paris.  The sailing ship on the city's coat of arms originates from the symbol of the 12th Century Marchands de l'eau guild who were given the rights to navigate the Seine. The Paris Olympic sailing however took place in the Mediterranean by the shores of Marseilles  

1976: Olympic Games, Montreal, Canada

At the Montreal Olympics they were on Lake Ontario.

1996: 100th Anniversary of the Modern Olympic Games

In 1996 the Olympic venue was in Atlanta and, looking forward, today's  athletes will be putting Los Angeles in their diaries for 2028. The UN must have had a presentiment for surely that is LA's coliseum on the mini sheet

1984: Olympic Games, Los Angeles - USA Gold Medalists

A venue where Carl Lewis won four of his gold medals. An evergreen athlete that would eventually win 9 gold medals and 1 silver in both track and field from three Olympic Games

1932: Summer Olympics, Los Angles

The 2028 games will be using the iconic LA Memorial Coliseum for the third time but it will be given an ambitious upgrade. The plan seen here.

1961: Tourist Publicity - Olympia

The Olympic flame will be extinguished in Paris and the Olympic flag passed on to the next hosts.  Once again Olympia waits for the flame to be reignited.

Sunday Stamps theme is - the Olympics - See It On A Postcard

Flowers and Art

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is looking at paintings

Lily of the Valley, St Bees, 1940s - Winifred Nicholson (1893-1981)

and my theme is flowers.  One of Winifred Nicholson's favourite themes was flowers in pots. Here she is in St Bees on the coast of Cumberland where on a clear day the Isle of Man can be seen across the Irish Sea.  Nicholson travelled extensively (although lived most of her life in Cumberland) so I wonder if this was a pot from her sojourn in Greece.  In the language of flowers Lilly of the Valley represent the return of happiness.  Nicholson's flowers in this painting look to be on a table outside but

Le Tombeau des Lutteurs, 1960 - René Magritte

René Magritte is on the other side of the window with 'The Tomb of the Wrestlers'.  This is a card I picked up at a Tate exhibition which was called 'René Magritte: The Pleasure Principle' and they always do postcard sized booklets that comes with your ticket. (Handy for tucking into ones album when returning home).  On the front page it quotes Magritte - "Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist"

In the Rector's Garden, Queen of the Lilies, 1877 - John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893)

Grimshaw is best known for his moonlit scenes and what probably does not show up on this scan is the slight tinge of red behind the trees, sunset

The Gardener - Jenny Montigny (1875-1937)

Flowers require a gardener, this painting also has the name "The Begonias",  an abundant flower as happy in sunlight as in shade.

Sports

 

1956: Sports (Design - Raoul Seres; Engraver Charles-Paul Dufresne)

The sevens version of rugby appeared at the Olympics (the French won gold)

and basketball is yet to be decided

but Basque pelote was only an official sport at the 1900 Paris Games where only two teams took part, France and Spain, in essence  the Basque Country.  So lets find some more small countries

2015: 15th Island Games (Photographs: Andy Le Gresley)

The first of what would become the  Island Games were first arranged as part of the Isle of Man's International Year of Sports to offer sports people the opportunity to compete against islanders of a similar standard. 700 islanders from the British Isles, Mediterranean, St Helena, Iceland and Scandinavia travelled  to take part.  It was such a success that the competition now takes place every two years with various islands playing host.  2015 was the second time Jersey had hosted the games and it welcomed 3000 competitors and 1000 officials.  Between 12 and 14 sporting events are selected by the host island. As you will notice the 14 sports chosen  all have a postcard rate to send a card home.

Handball

The Faroe Islands, who hosted in 1989, had a special combination of postcards and stamps.

Sunday Stamps theme this week - Sports - See It On A Postcard

Memorialised

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is in search of statues and memorials

Plaza de Espania

and in Spain with their heads in the clouds Don Quixote and the Sancho Panza ride out from the pages of Cervantes,  forever in the search of adventure.

Glentrool Forest Park

The clouds of  an ancient conflict settle over the Bruce Stone in remembrance of Robert the Bruce who defeated English forces in Glen Trool (1307).  A monument to look at and read before starting the popular walk up the boggy narrow valley to ascend The Merrick, southern Scotland's highest peak. A panorama of the Galloway Forest, Ireland and the Isle of Man is promised on reaching the top. It all depends on the weather. Many years ago we viewed and read the granite stone in sunshine however on reaching the top the clouds and mist had descended.

In Sri Lanka the seated Buddha of Gal Vihara teaches the lesson that all is impermanence and transitory. This is one of four images carved on a single large granite rock face in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.. It is thought that they were once coated in gold.  Time for contemplation over a nice cup of  Ceylon tea.