Wednesday 21 June 2023

The loneliest woman in Britain is Greek?


Entrance to the British Museum is free. Gallery 19 is only open between 11-3. Why? Γιατί;

 
Gallery 19 is a mean little room. Visitors pass through on their way between 20 and 17: Lycians and Nereids.
 
Observing from a while from the attendant’s chair, it was clear: most don’t stop in Gallery 19, a few do, some slow while others walk on through.
 
Gallery 19 is not mentioned in the Guide: Short of time? In one hour – Must See.


In Gallery 19 an Ionian column towers like a man over two metres tall, stood by himself, without a drink, socially gauche at a party.
 
Also, in Gallery 19 the missing Caryatid: torn from her family, trafficked to a foreign land and still held captive. Unsure when she will be free.
 
It is possible to sit in the attendant’s chair In Gallery 19 and, when there’s a gap in the human flow, to sit alone for a moment with the Caryatid. She will come to life and will appreciate you reading to her a verse or two of Homer or a line of Sappho.
 
Richard Devereux

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