Sad to say, I have been quite disappointed recently by the quality of goods available even in the most famous of museums. In fact, I am beginning to suspect that there is one gigantic warehouse that supplies all of them, with slight variations in stock to account for language differences and other small details.
We came back from Germany with absolutely no memento of the wonderful art we had seen – not even a postcard of the Dürer rabbit. Why? There was just nothing that interesting, though each museum was crammed with fabulous objects.
I require something substantial, yet small. Something that will fit nicely into a tiny corner of my suitcase, like the little Etruscan horse I brought home from Lucca.
When I was at the Met the other day, I thought I would note the items that – had they been available in the gift shop – would have tempted me to make space for them.
Almost all these works are quite small, but their detail is just lovely. Here’s hoping they inspire someone who knows someone who knows someone who commissions this type of thing for the Met!
P.S. Dear Met person – no copyright issues with classical objects!