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Hi guys! I finally got around to sorting through the photos taken during my visit to the ArtScience Museum last Sunday. I took 759 photos in total (nope, I’m not going to upload all of them)! I’ll highlight some in this post, and put the rest of the selected photos in a gallery (in the style of my Valentino exhibition post) so that the post doesn’t crash your browser. No promises though, this is an image-intensive post! :)
Located at Marina Bay Sands, the world’s first ArtScience Museum opened its doors to the public on 19 February 2011. I took this photo while standing on the Helix Bridge. Notice that the Museum is lotus-inspired? :)
Alrighty, so here we are!
We were early, so I decided to take a few pictures…
At 10:00am, some of us gathered at the entrance. I got my ticket! :)
While waiting for the rest to arrive, this gentleman entertained us with some of the most amazing magic tricks. He could turn a deck of normal poker cards into hand-drawn cards and lots of other really cool stuff. He has a friend who performs fire tricks – you may spot them around the museum on your visit!
The eight of us were led on a quick tour around the Museum by Wendy, a soft-spoken curator. On our way to the first exhibition, we learnt that the below water feature contains rainwater channeled downwards through the top of the building structure. The rainwater is then used in the Museum’s bathrooms and other parts where non-potable water may be used. I think that’s pretty awesome!
See, that’s the top of the structure. Rainwater falls therefrom.
Currently, there are four ongoing exhibitions in the Museum, three of which are temporary and one of which is permanent. Wendy took us through the first exhibition – Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World. Before you enter the exhibition, make sure you have your passport with you. Not the real passport, but the Silk Road passport which you may obtain from a table at the entrance of the exhibition. :) You’ll see why!
The Silk Road exhibition recreates four ancient cities of Asia and Middle East, namely Xi’an, Turfan, Baghdad and Samarkand - places which played important roles along the trade routes where cultural, commercial and technological exchange took place.
Camel caravans played an important part in facilitating trades along the Silk Road – they carried commodities on their backs and endured harsh weather conditions. The first camel’s my favourite. Love the peacock feathers! Come on travelers, let our journey begin! :)
Our first stop – Xi’an, the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty.
Now, have your passport ready! This is the passport-stamping machine – stamp your passport before entering. As you tour, you’re supposed to collect four stamps, one from each city.
That’s the Silk Road passport. :)
And this is how the embossed stamp should look. It’s rather faint, so remember to press down hard to get a good impression!
Here, we learn the carefully-guarded secrets of silk, a luxe woven fabric which brought much wealth to the ancient Chinese.
Legend has it that almost 5,000 years ago, a Chinese empress named Xi Ling was drinking tea in her garden when a small cocoon dropped from the branches of a mulberry tree into her cup. As she fished it out, the cocoon unwound into a single shimmering silk strand. Mesmerized by the thread, the empress gathered more cocoons, plunged them in hot water, unraveled the strands and wove the world’s first silk cloth.
- Secrets of Silk, Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World
These are live silkworms! Did you know that it takes 2,500 of such silkworms to make a robe?
These silk cocoons remind me of dragon’s beard candy! 3,000 feet worth of silk filament make up one cocoon.
You wouldn’t miss this awesome replica of a Tang-era loom. It’s huge! A loom like this could create various fabrics, including chiffon and satin.
Check out pieces of intricately-woven silk! I’ve always been amazed by how these are made. Fine silk, whilst beautiful, is also delicate and snags easily. So treat your silk with care!
Check out other photos of the Xi’an section in the gallery below. :) Moving on, our camel train arrives in Turfan! Don’t forget to stamp your passport. :)
At Turfan, we saw a recreation of a section of a karez, an underground, artificial river. Karezes rely simply on gravity to move water underground. The fact that karezes quenched thirsts and irrigated the fields and deserts made Turfan an important stop along the Silk Road.
The commodities which were traded are not unlike what we have today.
Trade in silk fabric gave the Silk Road its name. And indeed, a tempting assortment of silks could be found at markets – sheer chiffons, luxurious satins and elegant damasks to name a few. Most favoured were exquisite Chinese silks, which merchants traded across Asia, from Korea to Persia (modern Iran). But a dazzling array of cotton, wool and other fabrics were also for sale.
- Fabric merchant, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Fragrant oils were also sold at Silk Road markets. Take a sniff test!
Mineral makeup, anyone? :P Blue, red, yellow, black and green pigments were preferred in Tang China even though there were other colours available. I would have bought lots of these!
And these? Why, raw materials for the Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co of those days, of course!
The camels then took us to Samarkand, a city full of shrewd merchants and capital of the ancient kingdom of Sogdia. Sogdian merchants relied heavily on camel caravans for long-distance trade.
Remember paper mache from art class? I used to make paper mache for projects. :) This papermaking mold seems perfect!
As paper spread from east to west along the Silk Road, books became more bountiful than ever before. Chinese artists learned to smear ink on carved wooden blocks, which they used to print thousands of pages very quickly. When paper came to the Islamic world, a passion for reading and writing blossomed there, and Islamic scholars tooks the lead in the study of science, language and literature.
- Paper, Pen and Ink, Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World
Sogdian merchants profited greatly from trading and were very wealthy. Their homes were often decorated with paintings such as these, which were also used to entertain their guests. The Sogdians were great entertainers – they even started a dance called the Sogdian swirl! These people not only worked hard, but also knew how to enjoy themselves.
And now, our final stop along the Silk Road – Baghdad!
How much do you know about the art of glassblowing? Here’s a glassblowing pipe. Glassworkers gather molten glass on the end of the pipe and breathed air into it to form a glass bubble as shown below. The glass is then reheated and reshaped to make a variety of containers.
Way before watches and clocks, this was how they told the time…
Whenever you look at a map, gaze at the stars or take down a phone number, think of Baghdad. Long ago, brilliant scholars in this booming city studied geography, astronomy and mathematics – and made advances that can still be felt every day. Great minds from many lands gathered at a Baghdad library called the House of Wisdom, one of many centers of learning in an era known as the Islamic Golden Age.
- The Golden Age, Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World
I think the astrolabe is pretty complicated-looking and I sure wouldn’t know how to use it! It is beautiful, though. :) Definitely a cool invention.
Besides camel caravans, sea transport was also used in trades. A ship sailing from Baghdad takes about 6 months to reach China, which is much faster than overland trips which could take up to a year. Due to the speed difference, more merchants eventually chose maritime trade.
And that pretty much concludes our tour of Silk Road. Through this exhibition, I gained an insight into places which I have often heard of, but never actually studied in detail. Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World runs until this Sunday, 27 March 2011. Hurry if you wanna catch it!
Thereafter, we headed to the next exhibition – Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds.
Shipwrecked exhibits over 450 artefacts recovered from a Belitung wreck discovered in 1998. I wonder why it wasn’t discovered earlier!
The ship model below was made based on the excavated remains of the wreck.
Why did the ship sink?
Let’s have a look at some of the artefacts recovered from the wreck!
These plates were arranged neatly in the larger storage jar. We were all amazed at how the arrangement remained intact!
And this whistle, in the form of a bird, I love! I tend to favour animal-shaped stuff. Later,we learn that many of the artefacts bear drawings of birds, too.
This ewer is one of the highlights of Shipwrecked. Over a metre tall, it bears incisions of motifs around its body. The curator mentioned that this is her favourite piece.
The motifs up close. Look at the West Asian design carefully – you’ll see it on a rare dish later!
This stunning silver box could have been used to store cosmetics or other trinkets. :)
There’s a mirror on the reverse! :)
Dazzling gold pieces such as these were also found.
This cup is the most important Tang gold object ever found outside China. It is unusually large (and heavy), and the cost of its material alone would have equalled ten years’ salary for a low-ranking Chinese official. The musicians and dancers on the cup are identifiable as foreigners by their long hair and billowing clothes, and the ring handle with its bearded faces also suggests the influence of Central Asian metalware. The cup’s precise place and date of manufacture are unknown, but it was most likely made in Yangzhou.
- Gold Cup, Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds
The cup is super stunning in real life. You have to see it!
This is one of three extremely rare blue-and-white ceramic dishes found on the wreck. Notice that the design is similar to that found on the ewer mentioned earlier?
Shipwreck was definitely more interesting than I had expected. As no human remains were found at the wreck site, there has been much speculation about the people on board the ship. From the objects found, it is likely that there were Chinese merchants on board. I particularly enjoyed looking at the gold and silver pieces! As usual, check out the gallery for more photos which were not highlighted here. :)
Shipwrecked: Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds runs until 31 July 2011.
As we made our way to the next exhibition, I saw the program schedule for March. Besides interesting exhibitions, the Museum has also lined up several programs to keep visitors involved and entertained.
The third exhibition is one which I had been looking forward to since I first read about it in the news. Here we are at Genghis Khan: The Exhibition.
These are my group mates. :) I don’t usually participate in group shots, LOL. Btw, that’s a 1/6 scale model of the Genghis Khan monument in Ullaanbaatar.
Quotes such as these are peppered throughout the exhibition. They tell you things about the great ruler and what people thought of him.
Here, we study the Khan line. I think most of you would have heard of, read about or studied Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan.
This is the model of a ger. Supported by a wooden frame and layered with heavy fabrics, the ger looks kind of cosy. Because the Mongolians depended heavily on what they could gather from their environment, they hardly bathed, and they would wear their clothes until the fabrics disintegrated.
Can you believe that this carved eagle is 8,000 years old? The Hongshan culture produced the earliest man-made jade work.
This is the costume of a shaman. A shaman plays the role of a medium to facilitate connections between human and supernatural world. Genghis Khan surrounded himself with shamans because he believed that they could predict the future.
When I saw them, I immediately told Skye that they would come to life after dark. Possibly my favourite parts of the exhibition, these Mongolian warriors totally reminded me of Night at the Museum!
This chain-mail armour looks amazing!
Here’s a replica of a traction trebuchet used by the Mongolians. The Mongolians had to overcome high walls when attacking their enemies – a trebuchet could launch a heavy projectile hundreds of feet. Large stones and diseased animals were hurled through the air and across walls in their attacks.
To date, nobody knows the exact cause of Genghis Khan’s death. The location of his tomb also remains a mystery.
Genghis Khan wrote a set of laws and directives called Yasa. There are no surviving copies, but bits and pieces of the Yasa have been collected over the years. When I was reading this, I noticed that one of the laws was “Do not wash clothes until they are completely worn out.”, which was probably laid down because of their environment.
If you had seen the ArtScience Museum advertisement on television, you would have most likely noticed a Mongolian mummy. Nicknamed The Princess Giant for her height and large clothing, the items found in the grave suggest that she held a position of importance in her time.
This is the coffin of The Princess Giant. It dates between the 13th and 14th century.
And here’s The Princess Giant, with leather boots on her feet. It was the first time I saw a mummy in real life.
Before we move on to examine the objects accompany The Princess Giant in her grave, let’s look at the clothings she wore. There were two silk robes and a leather coat.
And now, here are some of the accompanying objects. I’ve put the rest in the gallery below.
Moving on, we walked past an area full of nice fluffy pillows. If you like, you may come and listen to Mongolian music from Khan Bogd ensemble. :) Happens daily (except Tuesday) at 3:00pm, 5:00pm and 7:00pm.
Across the performance area, you’ll see some musical instruments on display.
Karakorum was truly cosmopolitan, with both visitors and workers from cultures across half the globe. Traders brought luxurious silks from China and precious stones from the Middle East. Decorative metal and glasswork, porcelain, and other exotic creations of foreign artisans were all available in the city.
- Life in the Capital, Genghis Khan: The Exhibition
You saw the ger earlier. Now explore the kids’ ger! It’s much smaller than the adults’ ger, but I went in anyway! LOL. I think it’s really cute.
When I stepped out of the kids’ ger, I was surprised to see that they were showing this on the screen. That’s Ben Stiller in Night at the Museum trying to perform some magic tricks for Attila the Hun and his gang. See what I mean when I said that the exhibits were going to come to life at night?
I learnt so much from this impressive exhibition! There are two sides to everything. Genghis Khan, the man who built a great empire, was both a statesman and a warlord. As one of the world’s greatest leaders, he was also often misunderstood. Step into this exhibition to see a clearer picture of the happenings during his reign and sneak a peek at the lifestyle of the Mongolians. Genghis Khan: The Exhibition runs until 10 April 2011.
Before we move on to the last exhibition, here’s a random fact. Did you know that the expression “Hooray!” originated as a Mongolian battle cry? :)
Our final stop, ArtScience: A Journey Through Creativity, is a permanent exhibition held at the ArtScience Galleries.
The exhibition is divided into three parts, namely Curiosity, Inspiration and Expression.
At Curiosity, we saw some architectural models of the Museum. Designed by renowned Architect Moshe Safdie, the Museum has been called “The Welcoming Hand of Singapore” by Mr Sheldon Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Ten “fingers” make up the building and the tallest “finger” stands 60 metres above ground.
Sketches shown here are some of the early design plans created by Moshe Safdie.
These hang from the gallery ceiling – the Sky Lantern is my favourite! :)
Inspiration is a highly-interactive gallery. There are stations such as these which allow visitors to read information on art and science. The contents of the screen are projected onto the wall in front. I saw some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s works – the legendary artist was also quite an inventor!
The Museum also encourages visitors to create their own art work using screens on the gallery walls. I’ll show you how. Touch the screen to begin!
We’re going to create a postcard.
Select a background for your postcard.
Since I was at the Museum, I chose a picture of the Museum as the background of my postcard.
You may then select shapes or objects to add to the postcard. Since I like the Sky Lantern so much, I decided to add a few of those. I also placed a robot fish near the water and sent a boy soaring through the skies.
When you’re done decorating the postcard, send it to your friends via email! I sent mine to myself, LOL.
After this, pop over to the Expression gallery – you’ll see your creation flashed across the gigantic screen!
At the Expression gallery, see works of inventors on the big screen.
These are the postcards designed by visitors and submitted earlier through the Inspiration gallery. Skye created the first postcard – the one full of rockets! He said Singapore should look like that in future, with rockets launching everywhere. Mine’s right behind Skye’s. :)
And that concludes our trip! That was a super long post. The group split at about 11:30am. Skye and I continued to tour the exhibitions and only left the museum at about 4:00pm! We spent 6 hours in the Museum just exploring, but honestly, if you were to study every single piece, you need at least a full day. There’s just so much to see!
ArtScience Museum operates from 10:00am to 10:00pm daily (last admission at 9:00pm). Visit their website to find out more information. :) I hope you’ll enjoy the exhibitions as much as I did. Last but not least, thank you Shaun for the invitation and thank you ArtScience Museum for the curated tour! I had fun meeting all of you, and I’m sure we’ll meet again in future at the other museums as well. :)
J
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Tags: Armour, Art, Artefacts, ArtScience Museum, Astrolabe, Attila the Hun, Baghdad, Belitung, Ben Stiller, Birds, Camel caravans, Camel train, Camels, Catapult, Chain-mail, China, Chinese, Coffin, Curiosity, Dish, Events, Ewer, Exhibitions, Expression, Fabric, Genghis Khan, Ger, Glass, Glassblowing, Gold, Gold cup, Helix Bridge, History, Hongshan, Inspiration, Irrigation, Islam, Islamic, Jade, Jars, Karakorum, Khan Bogd, Kublai Khan, Loom, Lotus pond, Marina Bay Sands, Middle East, Mineral makeup, Mirror, Mongol Empire, Mongolia, Moshe Safdie, Mummified, Mummy, Museum, Night at the Museum, Paiza, Paizi, Paper, Papermaking, Passport, Postcard, Robot Fish, Samarkand, Science, Shaman, Ships, Shipwreck, Silk, Silk Road, Silkworms, Sky Lantern, Sponsored, Storage, Tang, Tang Dynasty, The Princess Giant, Trade, Traveling, Treasures, Trebuchet, Turfan, War, Warrior, Whistle, Xi'an, Yasa
Glad to read you had a good time at ASM Jade, thanks for the post!
Thanks for the invitation, Shaun!
Thank you for sharing. I like the photos. I am still taking time to read the blog-post. I read a bit of it yesterday, and a bit of it today, more to be read some other days.
Thanks for dropping by, PY! :) It was nice meeting you last Sunday.
Great grand opening exhibition! “The artifacts, have now been revealed to the world with the assistance of the Smithsonian Institution; and thanks to Tilman Walterfang’s ethical philosophy, the cargo was not sold off piece by piece to collectors; rather, it was kept intact as one entire collection, so that it could be studied in its original context. Walterfang kept the precious cargo in private storage for years, where they have been painstakingly desalinated, studied and carefully conserved.”
~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArtScience_Museum#Belitung_shipwreck_treasure
~ http://tilmanwalterfang.org
http://wreckwatch.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/editorial-tang-treasures-monsoon-winds-and-a-storm-in-a-teacup/
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There’s a lot more photos than analyses!