At the Detroit Institute of Arts

On our recent visit to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) we began with a special exhibit
titled “The Art of Dining: Food Culture in the Islamic World.”

Many amazing works of arts and crafts appeared in the exhibit, which borrowed items from many museums around the world.
I was impressed by the numerous images of birds and other animals on the many art works.
These bird-head jugs are from Iran (around 1200) and China (618-907)

One case featured musical instruments that would have been played during formal dinners.
This instrument was called a peacock, and was made in 19th century India.

This bowl decorated with birds and fish is from 9th-Century Egypt.

Another dish featuring bird images. From Iran in the late 1400s.

More birds on an elegant dish from Iran or Iraq (224-651)

I found this bird-headed spoon made of jade and precious stones amazing! (India, 17th C)

The focus of this exhibition was on the lives of the richest and most upper class people of several Islamic countries and on their possessions, not on the poor or the middle-class. The emphasis was on the art of tableware and presentation, not on the food. However, the food for one banquet was described with recipes for several of the dishes that would have been served (link to recipe page). See the DIA website for more images of the artifacts. 

The Great Hall

The tile work in the main part of the museum is fascinating. The tile was made by Pewabic Pottery, a local studio that has been creating art tile since 1903. This is a small section of the floor.

The entrance to the Great Hall where the Diego Rivera Murals are located.

We always visit the famous Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera; I often show photos of them.

Ofrendas for the Day of the Dead

“The 11th installment of Ofrendas: Celebrating el Día de Muertos 
features 13 ofrendas, or offerings, by local artists and community members”

 

We looked at several of this year’s offerings during our visit to the museum.

Another Day of the Dead Image

A Day-of-the-Dead Cake from this week’s Great British Baking Show.

DIA Puppet Collections

A few puppets from “A Christmas Carol” made by Lilian Owen Thompson.

The DIA has a world-class collection of over 1,000 puppets with state-of-the art storage for them. It also owns many props, backdrops, puppet stages, and puppet heads. Unfortunately, the museum has only one case for puppet display in a hallway near the coffee shop. Each time we visit, we check this out, as the puppets on display are changed very frequently. 

This month, several women puppeteers and puppet-makers are featured. The puppets in the case above are the work of Lilian Owen Thompson, “one of the most innovative puppet makers of the 1920s. She was skilled in sculpting, carving, sewing, and painting, and she used many other methods depending on the character. Thompson was also an engineer in puppet mechanics. A puppet's movements can appear haphazard if it's not created thoughtfully. Thompson attached each string and constructed each joint so that a marionette's gestures expressed its personality-without getting tangled up, of course.” (Quote from the documentation in the case.)

  

Blog post and original photos © 2024 mae sander