Back to The Walters Round 1

I've mentioned that we could live at The Walters, right?

The Chamber of Wonders alone would make up for all the visiting school groups!

We listened to an audio book of The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in the early fall, and it was clearly on our minds!  If you haven't read it, it's the story of a brother and sister who run away to The Met, and it was one of my favorite books as a kid (that and My Side of the Mountain, do we detect a theme?).

Anyway, the Chamber of Wonders is what our museum wants to be when it grows up.

In the top picture, the table Leena is sitting at is covered with cases of butterflies, beetles, and magnifying glasses so you can see them better.

Klenda is looking at a dazzling display of jewelry and precious artifacts.

In the other picture, you can see a really large alligator, the mummy of a young girl, skulls of various bears, many amazing paintings and a white peacock. 

What you can't see is the beautifully carved cases that Mxyl is looking at.  They are filled with shells, crystals, snakes, and every imaginable natural wonder or curiosity!

 From there we went to the Knight's Hall, where Zorg and Klenda played checkers, Choclo and Oob played chess, and Leena and I played Medieval themed charades.

Meanwhile, Mxyl went through the Medieval galleries looking at all the art and artifacts.

 Next we went through the Egyptian stuff.  It wasn't part of our theme, but Choclo loves Egyptian stuff!  This time he was most interested in the animal mummies: cats, falcons, crocodiles, and baboons.  They also had a "mummy" that was actually dirt and seeds (wrapped up and painted like a mummy).  It would have been buried with someone to grow their food in the afterlife.

One of the things I love most about the Walters is how beautiful the whole museum is.  Just walking through the rooms is a treat. 

We went off through the main museum into the Hackerman House to see their Japanese collection.

The house itself is carefully restored mansion from the late 1800s.  Just gorgeous!

I am always taken with the graceful sweep of the main stairway.  Not only is the staircase itself breathtakingly elegant, it is topped by a dome appointed in carved plaster and crowned with stained glass.

The Zoomlians wanted to know why we couldn't live in a house like this!

 Hmmm... 

For starters, here are my very elegant children on this elegant stairway!

Interestingly, while most of the house is very "Gilded Age" with the items being shown as an American collector would showcase them, the upstairs rooms show Eastern restraint.  There the swords, armor, and other artifacts are displayed against a back drop of bare walls and tatami mats.