The uncovered and restored ceiling in the Lawyer's Lounge of the Supreme Court (see posts passim). I rather fancy this sort of thing in my bedroom.
The two photos show the way cameras react to differing light (whereas our eyes - or more accurately, our brains - automatically compensate); the first one being lit by the old bronze fittings with incandescent bulbs and the second being reflected daylight.
8 comments:
Oh, I feel another poem germinating, Dive!
They are lovely
A poem about ceilings, Katherine?
Weird, yet intriguing.
Mum, they are expensive, too.
What is the symbolism behind the use of the strawberry motif, Dive? The most logical explanation I could find for use in a court building was "perfection and righteousness," but other reasons seem more earthy.
As with all the original decorations in the Supreme Court building, Speedway, there was no thought given to symbolism; instead, a mad Dutchman was employed to do all the carvings and decorations (his name escapes me but I'll ask Hugh next time he's down from London).
He included caricatures of politicians and royals of the period as gargoyles and got into quite a lot of trouble, but I find his madness quite inspired.
Remember that this was not originally the Supreme Court, but a district council office (back in the days when councils had imagination and budgets), so any trace of symbolism would refer to local politics, rather than justice.
Hand carved?
oh oh oh my
Such exquisite detail! (Even if it was done by a mad Dutchman who "portrayed" local politicians as gargoyles. We could use some of his dark humor...)
Also interesting to see how the difference in lighting tones each photo.
Hand-slapped wet plaster, Petrea. Much easier and gloriously messy.
Ms.M. I never think to set my camera to allow for different lighting sources, so incandescent-lit photos come with a yellow cast and fluorescent-lit photos come with a green cast. I'm lazy and find it much easier to just put it right in Photoshop.
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