CHATTER: Lattice Think About This ...

There's a garden column which sprang up in a zillion newspapers this weekend ... the incipit of the version in the Sun Herald runs thusly:

Go to the house of Maecenas in Rome or the House of the Wedding of Alexander in Pompeii, Italy, and you will see them in frescoes.

"They" are little trellis-work fences painted in garden scenes on two thousand year old Roman walls. Although the fences have long vanished we have these visual records to prove lattice as we know it comes to us from ancient Rome.

The lattice work of Pompeii was composed of a giant reed, Arundo dondax, which closely resembles bamboo. The assembly yielded an open square or more often the diamond pattern to create little planter edging within gardens. Then as now, these keep children, pets and wayward feet from crushing the flowers. Lattice was also used on the sides of larger arbors and pavilions for privacy and shade without sacrificing air circulation.

In Latin, this kind of Roman work was known as trichila, and later in French treille, and in English it is trellis. The art surged again in the Middle ages when woven wattle fencing was used decorative in castle and monastic gardens. The French took this old Roman art to new heights with the elaborate 17th century treillage structures at Chantilly and Versailles. These enormous constructions of fine wood lath featured columns, domes, and even temples with unbelievably intricate designs and patterns.

So ... these lattice-festooned houses ... anyone know what they are? (Auditorium of Maecenas? House of the Silver Wedding? House of the Faun?). I suspect practically any third-style decoration from Pompeii would work ...

::Saturday, January 10, 2004 7:38:24 PM::
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CHATTER: Er ... okay

Not often Plato's Myth of Er gets mentioned in the press, so we have to include it, even if it does impart a somewhat strange image. This comes from the Jerusalem Post:

I used to love flying. I really did. I even loved the taxi ride to the airport with its weightless sensation of all things earthly - duties, obligations, responsibilities, deadlines, bills, debts - jettisoned like ballast. I loved the solemnity of airports, with their travelers just descended or about to ascend like the souls in Plato's myth of Er and their fateful announcements like, "Will all passengers answering the last call for Alma-Ata kindly proceed to the boarding gate."

::Saturday, January 10, 2004 7:22:25 PM::
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NUNTII: Elgin Marbles

Here's the latest in the Elgin/Parthenon Marbles saga:

A new pressure group is pushing the British Museum to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

The group, Marbles Reunited, wants the ancient sculptures to be taken back to their original home, with the Olympic Games in Athens only months away.

A poll commissioned by the organisation, which consists of British academics and broadcasters, is expected to suggest public approval for the return. [more]

Not sure if the group takes its name takes its name from the exhibition which was (still is?) touring the U.K., but it seems likely.

::Saturday, January 10, 2004 7:14:22 PM::
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::Saturday, January 10, 2004 7:05:22 PM::
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AWOTV: On TV Today

7.00 p.m. |DCIVC| The Emperor of the Steppes
dna

DCIVC = Discovery Civilization (Canada)

::Saturday, January 10, 2004 7:24:56 AM::
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