Museum Earrings

Apr 13
2011

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Museum+Earrings

Tasty Delight: The American Museum Of Natural History's 'Chocolate' Show Is Full Of Empty Calories.

The "chocolate" exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History (on view till Sept. Four) is no surprise, a trifle. It softens in your mouth, not in your cerebral cortex. Charmingly undemanding (if dear at $17 a pop), it's the dispensable summer hit of museum exhibits, an academic moneymaker targeted at the sweet-toothed babe in us all.

I've got to admit that I become that baby when it comes to dark chocolate. After following the floor stickers ("This way to Chocolate!") to a Wonka-esque gold-scripted arch, I found myself winding thru a maze of basic history. I made my way thru the exhibit dutifully taking notes, but one thought pulsed within my one track mind : At the end of this exhibit, there is a chocolate cafeteria. A chocolate cafe. A chocolate cafeteria. Around the time Spain was spreading the sweet stuff from the Mayans to Europe, I gave in and cheated.

I scuttled thru the exhibit, past the antique candy wrappers, and purchased a big bar of organic dark chocolate. Then I snuck back to the beginning. I was careful to hide the candy bar in my coat as I past the curators since this was totally against the rules. Nobody wants visitors smearing Mars bars on the museum's spotless glass cases. But as a critic, I thought it was vital that I'm employed with all my senses.

Loaded up on the sweet stuff, I realized that the exhibit does indeed cover the basics of chocolate history. You've got your wrinkly cocoa pods, your Mayan pottery, your business history of the cocoa trade. You have your antique pellet of 1,500-year-old chocolate. Even better you've got your photo of a gigantic Easter bunny, circa 1890. 5 feet tall, the rabbit possesses the chalky grace of an Egyptian sarcophagus, and it stands, god-like, beside it is its creator, Robert L. Strohecker. The label explains Strohecker is "the pop of the chocolate Easter bunny"pretty much the best epithet one could hope for in this life.

Some of the exhibit's historical sections were a little on the obscure side. "Nearly one hundred years passed before other EU nations caught the chocolate craze," read one display's label. "Were the Spanish attempting to keep chocolate to themselves? And how did news of chocolate spread? We are not sure." But there's just about enough setting to keep an intellectual candy-lover occupied. Among stuff I learned without targeting too intently : The traditional Mayans offered the god Quetzalcoatl ritual chocolate that was "a deep blood-red color." By 1930, there were 40,000 different types of chocolate bars. Chocolate contains the love-chemical phenylethylamine. (Though the poster rather primly asserted that there is "no conclusive proof it stimulates the libido.") And do not feed your dog chocolate, it can be deadly, and it is a waste of good chocolate.

At one or two junctures, the facts-to-dramatics ratio dipped too low for even phenylethylamine-addled me. In one alcove, visitors find a film screen displaying the swirly legend "Chocolate meets sugar in Spain." This silent-movie caption is immediately followed by a video illustration : a giant brown tongue of liquified chocolate pours down from the pinnacle of the screen, followed by a spinning drift of sugar. Then the solemn words appear again : "Chocolate meets sugar in Spain." That is the maximum extent of the display.

More successful is the panoply of defunct candy wrappers, each beaming promises of pleasure. "Keep the party perkin '! Lady, take a bow! Serve 'em nuggets, serve 'em chips! Wonderful and wow!" reads one. Taken together, the wrappers form a record of cultural trends, from Brach's Swingtime (named after the dance craze) to the Mr. Enormous Shaq Snaq (named after the hoops player). There's also a telephone-shaped chocolate mold, a hand-carved coffin in the shape of a cocoa pod, and a vending machine that once dispensed Hershey bars for a penny each. There's not very much sociological depth hereI found myself thinking about oddball subjects the curators might have covered, like the way chocolate images has been utilized to refer to black skin or the whole Cathy cartoon notion that ladies have some special biological need for chocolate, but a few of these tchotchkes are fun to look at.
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An ?intriguing? oral portrait of the people behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art ( Entertainment Weekly ) Using more than fifty interviews, award-winning writer Danny Danziger creates a fascinating mosaic of the people behind New York?s magnificent Metropolitan Museum of Art. From the aristocratic, acerbic director of the museum, Philippe de Montebello, to the curators who have a deep knowledge and passionate appreciation of their collections, from the security guards to the philanthropists who keep the museum?s financial life blood flowing, Danziger brings to life this extraordinary world through the words of those who are devoted to making the Met the American institution it surely is.

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This critical bibliography of museum studies comprises an organized collection of essays on the various types of museums--art, natural history, history, science and technology, and folk--and on general aspects--collections, education, exhibitions, etc.--that cut across the media. Most of the essays are cogent, substantial if not comprehensive, and clear. The editor has taken care to see that they follow a similar format of historical essay followed by a full bibliography of items discussed. Library Journal As the number of museums in the United States has grown to more than 6500 in this century, the museum profession has experienced similar growth. In addition to academic training and accreditation programs in the field, an expanding body of literature on museum history, philosophy, and functions has evolved, little of which has received the critical attention it deserves. This reference volume serves as an up-to-date guide to this wealth of literature, identifying and evaluating works that introduce the general reader, the museum studies student, and the beginning professional to the history, philosophy, and functions of museums. The volume presents a series of informative, historical outlines and critical bibliographic essays on all aspects of museum history, philosophy, and functions. Contributors treat such subjects as art museums, natural history museums, science and technology museums, history museums, collections, exhibition, education and interpretation, and the public and museums. Each chapter consists of an introductory historical narrative, a survey of sources, and a bibliographic checklist that contains cited and additional sources. A set of appendices include a geographically organized bibliography of museum directories, a guide to archives and special collections, and a selective list of museum-related periodicals. The book concludes with a comprehensive general subject index. This work will be an important reference tool for museum professionals and cultural historians, as well as for courses in museum studies. It will also be a valuable addition to both academic and public libraries.

Elizabethan Garnet Earrings

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Stunning jewelry from the Museum of London collection. This earring design was inspired by jewelry in the Cheapside Hoard collection, the greatest array of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewelry ever found. These gems were discovered in an old wooden casket beneath Cheapside, a busy London street, where they had been hidden for nearly 300 years! Made of garnets and enamel with a gold finish, the earrings measure 1¾" x ¼". Story card included. Part of the proceeds from the sale of these earrings goes to support the Museum of London.