Washington, DC

usa/dc/smith_chokwe

Chokwe Mask, (Congo PDR), National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC

Chokwe masks are my favorite, and when I stumbled upon this one in the museum, I instantly knew its orgins. On that note, most every creative endeavor eminating from the Congo PDR (ex-Zaire) is fantastic including the ever-popular, heart-pumping infectious grooves of soukous and rumba music, but that, my friend, a different story.


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3rd-century Pakistan Buddha, Smithsonian, Washington, DC

This 3rd-century sculpture from ancient Gandhara (Pakistan) is the oldest Buddha image I have come across and also the one that most looks like a real person. Instead of beaded hair, a flame shooting from the head, and elongated ears, this image has real hair and proportional facial features. I am not saying that I like this one more, but what I am suggesting is this sculpture may be the closest representation of what Buddha actually looked like while on Earth; and that is neat.


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Bronze stallion, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC


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Chinese bronze ding (cooking vessle), Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Back in the days when this baby was made, only royalty and the elite could afford the luxury of cooking vessles. In fact, the amount of ding owned often dictated a persons heirarchy in society. Having to do with food, I grew to like the ding quickly. The best examples of ding can be found in the Shanghai National museum in China, the building of which happens to be in shape of a giant, four-story ding.


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Shiva, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC


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Hey, it’s Ganesh, Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC

This is my (and many others) favorite Hindu god. Ganesh is the overseer of journey and new business venture, and deserves attention when people undertake these risks. Being pot-bellied and half elephant, half human, I quite like him simply for who he is.


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Arabic Script, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC


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Giant man (untitled), Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture

This great piece stands over five feet (while sitting down) and is incredibly life-like considering it was made in Australia during the 1950s of rubber and wood.


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Greg’s other girlfriend, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC


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Indian stone sculpture, Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC


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Self portriat, Rembrantd van Rijn, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC


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Dancers and warriors (Indian Angkor period?), Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC

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