Antiquities in Detroit...

[ewomack]

Cities keep surprising me. My wife and I had never visited Detroit, so we decided to spend a long weekend there. We were surprised when more than one person asked us "is that a safe place to visit?" It indeed was safe. We never felt threatened or in danger, even outside of tourist areas. A few people there, after learning that we were visiting from out of town, seemed intent on letting us know just how much the city has improved over the past few decades. The city does seem to have bounced back from what a tour guide in the 1920s Ford Piquette Plant said was a "drop in population from 1.6 million to about 600,000." Undeniably, it still has plenty of problems, but also a lot to offer. One of the most astonishing surprises was the Detroit Institute of Arts. It happened to be open Friday evenings when everything else was closed, otherwise we may not have visited. We spent over three hours there and still didn't see everything. It completely blew us away. Granted, their Greek and Roman collections weren't extensive, but they still had some very interesting things, such as this head of Augustus and statue of young Nero:

Next to a small head of Honorius sat a coin of Julius Caesar:

Here is the best closeup of the coin that I could manage since I brought no fancy lenses along:


And a few other random things, including some amazing mosaics:

More coins, cited as from Philip II of Macedon (first two) and "Coin of Syracuse" from 485-479 BCE:
 

Probably my favorite thing in the museum (perhaps tied with the Diego Rivera frescoes) was this amazing Babylonian ceramic piece from 604-562 BCE called "Mushhushshu-dragon, Symbol of the God Marduk." It was larger than the picture probably suggests. I spent quite some time in front of it. Wow.

The museum also had an incredible medieval section, probably the largest I've seen outside of Europe (though I have never visited New York City or the Cloisters). They also have the justifiably famous Diego Rivera frescoes, which encompass an entire courtyard, and one of the few major Bruegel paintings outside of Europe (ok, that might also be tied with Rivera and the Babylonian dragon). We actually returned a second time, saw the famous Van Goghs, a Caravaggio, and the amazing Japanese, Islamic, and Native American collections. We could go back a third time and see more. We were not prepared at all for that amazing museum. If you find yourself in Detroit, it warrants a visit.

Edited October 20, 2024 by ewomack

[ominus1]

...thanks for sharing...that's purdy kool man!  🙂

[robinjojo]

Having grown up in Detroit, I have fond memories of the Institute of Arts, with its fine collections and special exhibits.  It was an excellent way to spend an afternoon there to stroll through the galleries and have lunch. 

It is good to see that the city are doing better.  I noticed that the old house, built around 1920 is still there and looking great.