Things you will see while waiting in line for the Alexander McQueen show

I thought this was a pig head but Tom thinks it's a water buffalo.

We had a 45 minute wait for the Alexander McQueen show at The Met in which we snaked through Mesopotamian and Islamic art galleries, spending more time looking at art I'm afraid to say we would never have gone to see. There were quite a few interesting objects and lots of protective animals. Somehow serving as an introduction to the McQueen show, the art of ancient tribes, I want to call it primitive but in fact it was pretty sophisticated!

Look at this lion in a box! Try and replicate it!! About as big as the end of your pinky finger. Looks like something someone carried around with them, in their pocket, if they had pockets, I guess pouch!

Long reindeer. I wonder if it had a purpose, a foot rest, a rest for a tool of some kind? A spoon rest? i like the idea of having a tool for resting a tool. Not just purely decorative but elongated for some purpose.

Waiting in line.

Scythian gold- Tom knew what this was- he'd seen it at The Hermitage in Russia. I had to have him explain, it's the decorative art of an ancient tribe, the Scythians- predecessors of the Slavic tribes. Nomadic horsemen. Such sophisticated work for a nomadic tribe on the steppes of what is now Russia.

I did a google search and this is what I found:

Scythian jewellery features various animals including stags, cats, birds, horses, bears, wolves and mythical beasts. The gold figures of stags in a semirecumbent position are particularly impressive approximately 30.5 cm (12 in) long. These were often the central ornaments for shields carried by fighters

The use of the animal form went further than just ornament, these seemingly imbuing the owner of the item with similar prowess & powers of the animal which was depicted. Thus the use of these forms extended onto the accoutrements of warfare, be they swords, daggers, scabbards, or axes.

Lately I've been so interested in talismans! Creating my first cat necklaces and pins, hoping to imbue them with protective qualities. Tom carries all kinds of talismans. Every time he pulls his keys out of his pocket a talisman falls out !!

These tiny medallions were also fascinating

more (click to zoom in and see super big)

McQueen was referencing primitive tribes of Scotland, and although you couldn't take pictures of the exhibition itself, the accidental 'preshow' makes you wonder if someday you will be walking past his work on the walls of some obscure museum gallery while waiting to see some fantastic new exhibit..

Go see the show and the art that comes before it!