We visited the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in 2009, and were sufficiently impressed to want to return in 2017. It's a beautiful purpose-built museum/museum campus, a park in the middle of North Lisbon, displaying items from Gulbenkian's extensive collections. In 2009, it would have been the paintings that attracted us. In 2017, it was more the Muslim stuff we enjoyed. Though not Muslim himself, Gulbenkian was Armenian and born in Istanbul and had a life-long interest in Islamic arts. I blogged about the Gulbenkian in 2010 (
http://roadeveron.blogspot.pt/2010/01/calouste-gulbenkian-museum.html), and posted many of the same pix I took in 2017. (This happens more than I like).
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"Our founder" shot; apparently he had an
eagle thing, like Napoleon; on the other hand,
throughout his life he "tithed" 10% of his
income to art; and his Foundation continues
that tradition (he died in 1955) |
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| In the extensive gardens |
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| Roman medallions, gold, depicting the life of Alexander |
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Found in the Egyptian desert; as rare as anything one can
imagine |
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| Parthian shot |
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| Of a Parthian vase |
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| Persian rug depicting a "Grotesque" (Roman) theme |
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| Detail |
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14th century Persian bowl; there were times and sects in which
Muslims could depict things other than geometrical abstractions |
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| Big hall of Islamic and near eastern art |
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| 14th and 15th century lamps |
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| 14th century Syrian bottle |
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| Now in the far eastern hall |
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If nothing else, the Gulbenkian has the most comfortable chairs
of any museum we have encountered |
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| With a view, too |
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Franz Hals represented as well as most of the
other greats |
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| Rembrandt, Not a Self-Portrait, 1634 |
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| One of the burglars of Calais |
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Like other coastal cities, Lisbon gets its share of cruisees, and
even in the museums one is subject to being trampled now and
then; they never stay for long, though |
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A whole hall of priceless furniture, too; Gulbenkian collected
widely and intelligently; great museum |
