Cherubs and Chariots Seeking New Homes

  
Lately I've become a little intrigued about the level of detail on the Wedgwood dish collectibles I have put up for sale on Ebay.  All these little dishes and plates and trinket boxes have little scenes on them.  For instance little cherubs dancing, or cherubs dashing about in a chariot drawn by a lion, or an angel type figure who is riding a horse.

 In some cases it is really hard to figure out what these figures are really up to. Handing flowers to each other?  There's other detail too like borders of ivy type leaves and daisies and trees.  So much detail goes into these!  I once watched someone make a Wedgwood piece and after the firing of the basic shape they then press on the little decal type images and which also seem to be made of some kind of clay. The little white colored scenes placed on top of the blue jasperware china clay is quite remarkable and distinctive and is probably what makes these pieces stand out from all the other collectibles out there. Most of them seem to have a classical reference, such as to Greek or Roman mythology.  Hoping there are many appreciators of this stuff in Ebay land who will buy these from me.  I'm really not a collector of them and have no place to display them, so all the pieces are looking for new homes.

One of the Big Friezes in Washington DC

Typical doorway at National Building Museum

The frieze traverses the entire building.

I nearly always have to stop and stare at the National Building Museum every time I go by there as it is just so ornate.  Each doorway is decorated with interesting red brick work, roman arch, reclining figures and mythic-looking heads. Then there's the big frieze that goes around the entire building -- which is the size of a city block. I'm sure there's whole books written about the civil war figures and carts and munitions depicted but suffice to say, the detail is staggeringly visible even if you do have to crane your neck to look up at it.  I've been to half a dozen events inside the building from annual dinners, to a college graduation to a political ball.  And the inside is just as interesting and wonderful.  Apparently, it was built first as the Pension Building where civil servants sat row upon row processing pensions for civil war and other veterans.  I seem to recall a great exhibit about this in one room on the second floor and which includes photos of the construction as it occurred.  This building is truly a marvelous feat and something not to miss seeing if you happen to be near Judiciary Square or have the time to walk up from the Nauseum, whoops, I meant Newseum.