Sembang walet swiftlets 59- An evening in Paris

deko,deko,deko, an evening in paris........(lagu hindustan zaman bila ye?)

Kota Paris adalah bandar yang terbesar diPerancis dan antara 3 bandar terbesar di Eropah. Ia mempunyai penduduk seramai 3 juta dan adalah pusat pelancongan, fesyen serta tempat terdapatnya institusi yang menarik serta struktur Eiffel tower. Ia menarik lebih kurang 50 juta pelawat dimana 30 juta adalah pelawat dari luar negeri.

Mengenai ibu kota fesyen, kedai-kedai butik disini menawarkan barang asli berjenama mahal dengan harga lebih murah dari harga diMalaysia. Barangannya pula adalah yang terkini. Diperhatikan yang ramai pelawat membeli beg tangan berjenama LV disini termasuk yang dari Malaysia. Diperhatikan juga terdapat barangan biasa yang dijual pada harga yang agak boleh tahan mahalnya. Terdapat lebihkurang 40% penduduk islam disini dan makanan halal senang terdapat disini, hanya kena bertanya dengan pekedai tersebut.
Apa pun, suasana diParis anda kurang merasakan yang anda disambut kerana mereka tidak bercakap bahasa inggeris walaupun mereka bercakap "I dont speak English" dengan petah. Mungkin mereka memang tidak tidak pandai bercakap serta menghafal ayat tersebut dan kita sepatutnya tidak ambil hati. Di ingatkan yang ada pelbagai bangsa menduduki kota Paris dan setengahnya memang amat pakar didalam menyelok saku dan hand bag. Mungkin duit kita patutnya tidak diletak di satu tempat sahaja dan passpot serta kad kredit patut dilekat pada badan kita didalam pouch. Hati-hati juga sekiranya ada orang hendak menolong anda pergi ke public toilet tanpa membayar atau tempat sunyi yang lain kerana mungkin kawan mereka sedang menunggu untuk merompak. Ketika kita sibuk hendak naik metro pun satu masa yang sesuai untuk mereka menyeluk beg kita dan lari sebelum pintu tertutup sepenuhnya. Sentiasa peka lah keadaan sebegini....

Grand Louvre

Museum Louvre adalah sebuah museum art yang mempunyai pengunjung tertinggi didunia. Ia terletak ditebing barat Sungai Seine di Paris.  Ia mula dibuka pada 1793 dan telah berkembang pada keluasan dan juga bilangan barangan Arts. Keanyakkan barang pada zaman itu  adalah barangan simpanan Raja-raja dan ada juga rampasan dari gereja.

Salah satu tarikan yang tiada bandingannya dimuzium lain ialah lukisan Mona Lisa yang dilukis oleh Leonardo Da Vinci. Agaknya. Apakah agaknya yang begitu menakjubkan ya? boleh lah baca di internet. Kalau nak tengok sendiri di Louvre pun tidak berapa terang kerana ada cermin kalis peluru dan hanya dibenar duduk 10 kaki darinya. Banyak lagi lukisan yang saya lihat amat menarik mempamirkan cara hidup mereka pada masa itu.

Pameran Egyptian Antiquities pula mempamirkan ribuan barangan lama Mesir dari kurun 4 sebelum mesihi, seperti keranda bersalut emas ini. Bagai manakah mereka mempunyai hak untuk menyimpan barang2 ini?. 50%-50% klausa kut dan mereka ambil yang bernilai. Perkara mereka mengumpulkan antik ini telah bermula pada awal tahun 1800 lagi dan pernah berlaku di Mesir dan Iran, agaknya.

Bahagian pertunjukkan Islamic Arts pula mula di tunjukkan dibawah tajuk Decorative arts mula ditunjukkan dibawah satu galeri pada 1922. Pameran Islamic Art adalah ditutup ketika ini dan akan dibuka semula pada 2012. Lebih kurang 2000 barang yang di dapati dinegara2 islam sejak 13 abad yang lalu akan dipamir pada tahun hadapan. Sebahagian dari nya seperti berikut, agaknya:

This elegant piece is a flask for the decanting of wine. Strikingly large (50 centimeters high), it combines a sizeable globular belly with a tall, elongated neck. Several other similar examples are known from the late Ayyubid and early Mamluk periods (c.1250-1350); the flasks were exported as far afield as the Yemen and China. The decor, executed using the enameled glass technique perfected in the last third of the 12th century, testifies to the virtuosity of its Syrian and/or Egyptian makers. Unusually, the large inscription does not indicate the name of the object's owner or the client for whom it was made. We know the identity of the flask's owner thanks to the white eagles depicted in heraldic shields on the shoulder: the symbol of Tuquztimur, viceroy of Syria from 1342-45. Arms of this type are characteristic of the Mamluk period. 

This bowl, discovered in two pieces, was brought to France by the celebrated archaeologist Jacques de Morgan from excavations he had begun at Susa in Iran in 1908. Like the other pieces in this vitrine, it has been carefully restored to its original state.
The piece is remarkable for the extraordinary delicacy of its motifs, epigraphic inscription, and surface.
Beaded friezes separate the molded decorative reliefs and floral motifs. The upper part of the bowl is decorated with a band of Arabic script (an extract from a poem).
The bowl's motifs and simple form (straight, slightly flared sides with an inwardly-folded rim, set on a small ring base) are reminiscent of Hellenistic and Roman wares. The inscription is in fact the only clue to its Islamic origin. Another striking feature is its lack of glaze: with no watertight finish, the bowl's practical use was limited. It may have been reserved for a specific but unknown function or, quite simply, left unfinished. 

Candleholders are common objects in Islamic art, but the present example, with its ring of three-dimensional ducks, is quite exceptional. Made in the late 12th or early 13th century from a single sheet of metal, the repoussé reliefs and three-dimensional figures were obtained by hammering from within. Astonishingly, the ducks around the shoulder are an integral part of the piece: they were not made separately and soldered onto the finished object. The candleholder is one of very few examples of this exceptionally skilled technique, which causes the hammered metal to become increasingly thin and brittle.
The highly original decoration features a striking combination of low- to middle-relief lions, engraved hares, repoussé wildfowl, silver inlay, red copper engravings, and votive inscriptions in Kufic and Naskhi script. The principal theme is that of light, juxtaposing the birds (denizens of the sky) with lions (associated with the sun in Islamic astrology) and round "solar" motifs. In this case, the theme has a particular relevance to the candleholder's function, but it is also represented on a wide variety of other objects in Islamic art, in reference to the Koran (chapter 24, verse 35: "Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth..."). 

This large, freestanding lion was discovered in the 19th century at Monzon de Campos in the province of Palencia in Castile. The lion's exact function is unknown, but a large hole in the underbelly, and its open mouth, suggest that it may have been a decorative waterspout. The Lions' Court at the Alhambra Palace in Granada features a celebrated fountain with 12 similar lions supporting a stone basin and spouting water-jets. The animal's body is completely covered with a finely-engraved, tapestry-like decor of vegetal scrolls. A Kufic inscription adorns its flanks. The articulated tail, finished with palmettes, is a light touch contrasting with the imposing mass of the rest of the body. The open mouth is suggestive of roaring; the slightly upturned hind feet evoke a sense of movement, as if the animal were walking. 

The ivory al-Mughira pyxis is remarkable for the finesse of its carving. During the 10th century, ivory — a rare and precious material — was used for diplomatic gifts from North Africa to the Umayyad caliphs of Cordoba in al-Andaluz (modern Spain). The Arabic inscription around the base of the lid reads: "God's blessing, favors, joy, beatitude to al-Mughira son of the Commander of the faithful, may God have mercy upon him, in the year 357."

Al-Mughira, son of the caliph 'Abd al-Rahman, received the pyxis as an 18-year-old prince in AD 968. We do not know how it was used, nor why it was presented to al-Mughira. A masterpiece of royal ivory-carving from the workshops at Madinat al-Zahra, the pyxis is decorated with a diverse repertoire of iconographic motifs. Four polylobed medallions contain the principal scenes, characterized by dynamic, detailed figures imbued with a striking air of monumentality. The central medallions are flanked by two decorative registers, mostly scenes depicting confrontations between human figures and animals. 
Arabic texts written at the court in Cordoba shed important light on the piece's political message, which is implicit in the decor of court figures and symbols of power (the peacock, falcon, and palm tree).       

Di sebelah malam memang elok ke menara Effiel. Sungguh cantik pemandangannya, seperti ini: 

Kemudiannya, bolehlah menaiki bot di Sungai Seine.

Apa pun selepas bersiar2 , balik hotel kita masak nasi dan lawan kan rendang daging dari pasar besar S Khadijah, KB. Puh sedap....