I saw a friend’s house not long ago and, even though I don’t generally notice, I had been fascinated by his furnishings. The style was something he described as steam punk, a kind of futuristic Victorian, that sounded like it came straight from Jules Verne, a sort of Captain Nemo meets Robur the Conqueror, all shimmering brass, leather, futuristic technology, and clockwork. My friend’s variation was much more ‘Indiana Jones’, with his steamer trunk table, collection of fascinating artifacts, statues and intriguing ancient wall reliefs.  It went along with his home, originally constructed in the 1920’s and created a warm, intriguing inside well suitable for his huge collection of books.

My home is somewhat modern-day, so when I pondered ways of decorating my den (something I was advised was ‘up to me’) I turned down the steam punk concept. While I’m no interior designer I can see that a certain harmony between interior and exterior is beneficial. While modern houses tend to be open they can be really bland, i quickly noticed this gave me a lot more range to be able to stamp my character on the space, and that notion gave me the idea to use wall art and wall sculptures to provide my room some character, but what to choose?

Old Greek buildings were not what we understand today. Many people understand that they are beautiful structures that were standing, in many cases for centuries, prior to suffering damage we know now, but did you  know that they had been bright colored?  You wouldn’t think so to examine the remains in a museum. I used to take my lunchtime while appreciating the huge Assyrians gateways within the British Museum in London,  just near room 18, the home of the ‘Elgin marbles’. These famous sculptures were stripped away from the Parthenon in the initial years of the 19th century by Earl of Elgin,  and the Greek government is still trying to get them returned to Greece.  The sculptures tend to be stark, white and very stunning, exactly what we think of when we consider ‘classical art’ yet what would the ancients have thought of these? Euripides provide us with a hint in his play ‘Helen of Troy’ when Helen says ‘If only I could shed my beauty and assume an uglier aspect, the way you wipe paint off a statue’. Those stunning marble statues in their gleaming white were once vivid and colorful. So distinctive from what we see today and associate with the ancient world, that it’s really difficult to imagine.

We look at the ancient gods as abstract, as a result historical wall sculptures such as Poseidon in his chariot are ‘classical’ and also perfectly at home in a modern room. It was only at the Renaissance that, discovering classical statues removed of their paint by time, the sculptors believed they’d originally been white marble, and attempted to emulate them.   In antiquity the Greeks believed in living breathing Gods;their particular statues had been painted brightly in order to echo that. Although we admire the amazing craftsmanship of the Parthenon statues the ancients admired their realistic quality so much so it was said that at certain times of the day it was as if the gods in their friezes actually moved. The statues and painting techniques had been made to come together and enhance the three dimensional quality of the stone, bringing the subject alive. Archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann is working hard to analyse ancient statues and build authentic reproductions. These, detailed with complex paint techniques and pigments are as close as possible to those found in ancient times and the results are fascinating; the ancient world won’t ever appear the same again.

So what should I do? I could choose time-honored Greek wall art that will create a modern room, making my choice on the basis of symbolism. Hercules wrestling the lion could remind me that even if my todo list is a tad lengthy, it isn’t the Labours of Hercules, whereas Dionysus on a donkey might point out to me the point of work is to pay for the fun to come. As an inhabitant of the New World I could utilize Mayan wall reliefs, but I believe my selection will be more ancient still. From Ramses who drove out the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh, to the idea of Maat,  goddess of justice and order, the wall sculptures from the Ancient Egyptians hold a never-ending enchantment. We are more familiar with color in relation to Egypt, and therefore see these more as they really were, bold and dazzling in the desert sunlight.  Egyptian decor could definitely do the trick.

For my Den my main choice is obvious; Thoth, the god of writing and wisdom, to help keep me right all the time!