Medieval History
I have a pear tree in my backyard, and this year I truly took care of it well. The 'fruits of our labors' did not disappoint, over September-October we had over 200+ ripe, green-brown, delicious pears. We had our own fête de la Poire, and I made everything I could think of with those pears. Pear cakes, pear muffins, pear with roquefort, grilled pear, baked pear, caramelized pears, pears with meat and pears with sweets. I just made a delicious batch of spiced vanilla pear butter with the very last bunch of pears from this season. In honor of my tree, may I present to you representations of the pear in art:
Joris Hoefnagel, Flemish / Hungarian, 1542-1600, and Georg Bocskay, Hungarian, died 1575. Fly, Caterpillar, Pear, and Centipede, 1561-1562; illumination added 1591-1596. Watercolors, gold and silver paint, and ink on parchment. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Ms. 20, fol. 7.
Fountain of Mahmud I at Tophane, detail of a pear tree, Ottoman, 1732, Istanbul, Turkey.
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Medieval History
Fête de la Poire
I have a pear tree in my backyard, and this year I truly took care of it well. The 'fruits of our labors' did not disappoint, over September-October we had over 200+ ripe, green-brown, delicious pears. We had our own fête de la Poire, and I made everything I could think of with those pears. Pear cakes, pear muffins, pear with roquefort, grilled pear, baked pear, caramelized pears, pears with meat and pears with sweets. I just made a delicious batch of spiced vanilla pear butter with the very last bunch of pears from this season. In honor of my tree, may I present to you representations of the pear in art:
Joris Hoefnagel, Flemish / Hungarian, 1542-1600, and Georg Bocskay, Hungarian, died 1575. Fly, Dragonfly, Pear, Carnation and Insect, 1561-1562; illumination added 1591-1596. Watercolors, gold and silver paint, and ink on parchment. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Ms. 20, fol. 7.
Hsan Ch'ien, 1235-?, Li shu zhi tou shang de ge zi (Two Doves on a Branch Blooming Pear). Handscroll, ink and colors on paper. University of California, San Diego.
Hans Sebald Beham, Madonna and Child with a Pear, engraving, 1520. London.
Robert Gates, Landscape with a Pear Tree, 1965. Acrylic on canvas, The Phillips Collection.
- Top 10 Strange Medieval Terms You've (probably) Never Heard Of
Most likely, you're aware that before it was a chemical to spray into the face of an evil-doer, "mace" was the name of a lethal medieval weapon. Unfortunately, today it's considered a bit of overkill to fight off a mugger or thief off with a blunt,...
- Cease Your Toils
During the time that Brillat Savarin wrote The Physiology of Taste (for the 30 years prior to his death from pneumonia in 1826 after standing in the glacial abbey of Saint-Denis to attend the 30th anniversary commemorating Louis XVI's execution),...
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I recently watched a lecture on Armenian churches by professor William R. Cook, and am fairly obsessed with Armenian art and architecture! It is breathtaking...Malnazar, Armenian, active about 1630s, and Aghap'ir, Canon Table Page, 1637-38. J. Paul...
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Nautilus cup Nagyszeben, mid-17th century About 30 precious silver and goldsmith works from Hungary and Transylvania will be auctioned off at Christie's New York tomorrow (17 May 2011). (Sale 2447: Important English, Continental and American...
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Chalice with filigree enamel Hungary, 1462 Metropolitan Museum of Art One of the most important collection of Hungarian goldsmith works outside Hungary was assembled by financier Nicolas M. Salgó, former US ambassador in Budapest. Salgó collected...