Jonathan Cohen's photos with the keyword: ROM

This full-scale reconstruction represents the corner of a large palace hall in the imperial style of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). The complete building would be five bays (spaces between two columns) wide and four bays deep, or about 28 by 16 metres, with a height of 11 metres. All parts were custom-made in China and shipped to Toronto. A team of ten Chinese artisans from the National Museum of Chinese Architecture in Beijing assembled and painted the building at the ROM from September to November 2005. Only traditional Chinese materials and building techniques were used. The bracket clusters (dougong) under the eaves, the glazed ornamental tiles, and the rich painting and gilding on the wooden parts are all characteristic of Chinese palace and temple architecture.

This full-scale reconstruction represents the corner of a large palace hall in the imperial style of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). The complete building would be five bays (spaces between two columns) wide and four bays deep, or about 28 by 16 metres, with a height of 11 metres. All parts were custom-made in China and shipped to Toronto. A team of ten Chinese artisans from the National Museum of Chinese Architecture in Beijing assembled and painted the building at the ROM from September to November 2005. Only traditional Chinese materials and building techniques were used. The bracket clusters (dougong) under the eaves, the glazed ornamental tiles, and the rich painting and gilding on the wooden parts are all characteristic of Chinese palace and temple architecture.

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is an enlightened being. Traditionally, a bodhisattva is anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated a spontaneous wish to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. Avalokitesvara (from the Sanskrit "Lord who looks down") is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. Avalokitesvara is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism, as well as unofficially in Theravada Buddhism. The Chinese name of Avalokitasvara is Guanshìyin – which means "Observing the Sounds (or Cries) of the World." The name is often shortened to Guanyin. Commonly known in English as the Mercy Goddess or Goddess of Mercy, one Buddhist legend presents Guanyin as vowing to never rest until she had freed all sentient beings from the samsara or reincarnation. Avalokitesvara was originally depicted as a male bodhisattva, and therefore wears chest-revealing clothing and may even sport a moustache. Although this depiction still exists in the Far East, Guanyin is more often depicted as a woman in modern times. Additionally, some people believe that Guanyin is androgynous (or perhaps of neither gender). The Lotus Sutra describes Avalokitesvara as a bodhisattva who can take the form of any type of male or female, adult or child, human or non-human being, in order to teach the Dharma to sentient beings. This text and its thirty-three manifestations of Guanyin, of which seven are female manifestations, is known to have been very popular in Chinese Buddhism as early as in the Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty. Additionally, Tan Chung notes that according to the doctrines of the Mahayana sutras themselves, it does not matter whether Guanyin is male, female, or genderless, as the ultimate reality is in emptiness. This statue in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum dates from the Yuan dynasty (around 1300 CE) and comes from the Chinese province of Shanxi.

This photo depicts an other of the reliefs that grace the tomb of General Zu Dashou (also known as the "Ming Tomb") one of the iconic pieces in the collection of Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum. Legendary in Chinese history, General Zu Dashou was celebrated for his defence of the Ming dynasty against the Manchu invasion. His story, however, is not without tragedy. In 1631, the general gave the enemy army one of his loyal sons as a hostage in hopes to speed up negotiations and relieve the people of Dalinghe of constant warfare. By the time the Ming dynasty fell in 1644, a number of the general’s sons had switched loyalties. In 1656, the exiled general died and construction on his tomb began. The scale of the tomb is an indication of respect and esteem General Zu held even amongst his enemies. The tomb complex is full of imagery representing good fortune and immortality. As in many cultures across the world, Chinese burial imagery acts as a charm for those crossing to an after life and signals the passage to the sacred from the profane. The tomb also serves as a visual reminder to those left behind of the departed and of his good deeds. The relief panel shown above is on the archway leading to the actual burial mound. This panel features a qilin, a mythical animal with a hooved feet, a leonine body, antelers, a dragonlike head with thick eyelashes, a mane that flows upwards and skin bristling with scales. The qilin is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. It is a good omen thought to occasion prosperity or serenity. It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body. It is sometimes called the "Chinese unicorn" when compared with the Western unicorn.

A cornerstone of the ROM since its opening in 1914, the Chinese holdings total more than 30,000 objects, of which some 3,300 are on display. At the core are purchases by Bishop William C. White, a Canadian missionary with an eye for antiquities. From 1908 until his return from China in 1934, he bought for the ROM, then became the first curator of its Far Eastern division, selling some of his personal collection to the museum. Equally crucial were purchases made from 1918 onward by George Crofts, a fur trader and collector who discovered the ROM serendipitously. Especially compelling are the tombs, which illustrate a salient characteristic of Chinese architecture. As senior curator Chen Shen explains, structures for the living are traditionally made of perishable materials – thatch, wood, ceramic tiles. By contrast, the Chinese have historically favoured permanent materials such as stone and hard-baked clay to house their dead. wood originals have perished. The Tomb of General Zu Dashou (also known as the "Ming Tomb") is one of the earliest pieces in the Royal Ontario Museum’s collections. In 1921, Crofts shipped the tomb reliefs and statuary to the ROM, where they are displayed not as isolated artworks but as a reconstructed ensemble, inviting visitors to enter the burial compound as mourners once did. Legendary in Chinese history, General Zu Dashou was celebrated for his defence of the Ming dynasty against the Manchu invasion. His story, however, is not without tragedy. In 1631, the general gave the enemy army one of his loyal sons as a hostage in hopes to speed up negotiations and relieve the people of Dalinghe of constant warfare. By the time the Ming dynasty fell in 1644, a number of the general’s sons had switched loyalties. In 1656, the exiled general died and construction on his tomb began. The scale of the tomb is an indication of respect and esteem General Zu held even amongst his enemies. The tomb complex is full of imagery representing good fortune and immortality. As in many cultures across the world, Chinese burial imagery acts as a charm for those crossing to an after life and signals the passage to the sacred from the profane. The tomb also serves as a visual reminder to those left behind of the departed and of his good deeds. The relief panel shown above is on the archway leading to the actual burial mound. Symbols on the panel include: · Deer –the symbol for longevity · Monkeys near the bees nest – a pun for high rank. · Qilin – mystical animals with antlers, said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler.

According to the museum’s information panel, this mask of a human face is the work an anonymous 19th century artist of the Tsimshian people, who live in the lower Skeena River region of north-western British Columbia. The mask is made of wood, brass, hair, and paint. The panel goes on to explain that masks carved as human faces may in some cases represent portraits of actual people. However, the majority of the human masks represent mythic ancestors and this mask may have been part of a dance series dramatizing spirit beings. Along the coast, masks reflect regional and tribal styles and this Tsimshian mask is characterized by the sloping forehead, arched and thin eyebrows, round, open eyes, and the rounded pyramid shaped cheeks. Tsimshian art, culture and language are is making a comeback. Like other coastal peoples, the Tsimshian fashion most of their traditional goods out of Western red cedar.

The Rotunda, dedicated in honour of Ernest and Elizabeth Samuel, is the Royal Ontario Museum’s ceremonial entrance hall. It features one of the Museum’s most magnificent architectural treasures – a spectacular mosaic dome that has fascinated generations of staff and visitors. Charles T. Currelly, the first director of the Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, conceived of this mosaic introduction for the 1933 addition. The mosaic ceiling was designed to reflect the breadth of the collections, being adorned with patterns and symbols representing cultures throughout the ages and around the world. The ceiling is made from thousands of sheets of imported Venetian glass, cut into more than a million tiny coloured squares. A team of skilled workers laboured for eight months to install the ceiling. Its sparkling gold, rust and bronze background is inset with red, blue and turquoise patterns, recalling the magnificent mosaics of the Byzantine world and Eastern Europe. Worked out on the golden field are geometrical borders and panels which frame decorative floral designs. The central panel is inscribed with a passage from the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible: "That all men may know his work." Each of the sixteen pictorial images on the ceiling and adjacent niches symbolizes a different culture throughout history. In this photo, we see a magical elephant representing India; a three-clawed dragon, representing China; a heraldic griffin of Gothic art; and a Mesopotamian ziggurat. The ceiling is complemented by a stained glass window with 18 panels. Each panel has a red or blue bird in the center surrounded by concentric geometric shapes most of which are a light blue-green hue.

The Rotunda, dedicated in honour of Ernest and Elizabeth Samuel, is the Royal Ontario Museum’s ceremonial entrance hall. It features one of the Museum’s most magnificent architectural treasures – a spectacular mosaic dome that has fascinated generations of staff and visitors. Charles T. Currelly, the first director of the Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology, conceived of this mosaic introduction for the 1933 addition. The mosaic ceiling was designed to reflect the breadth of the collections, being adorned with patterns and symbols representing cultures throughout the ages and around the world. The ceiling is made from thousands of sheets of imported Venetian glass, cut into more than a million tiny coloured squares. A team of skilled workers laboured for eight months to install the ceiling. Its sparkling gold, rust and bronze background is inset with red, blue and turquoise patterns, recalling the magnificent mosaics of the Byzantine world and Eastern Europe. Worked out on the golden field are geometrical borders and panels which frame decorative floral designs. The central panel is inscribed with a passage from the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible: "That all men may know his work." Each of the sixteen pictorial images on the ceiling and adjacent niches symbolizes a different culture throughout history. In this photo, we see the winged lion of St. Mark, emblem of Venice; an ancient Egyptian falcon-god; a bison from a prehistoric cave painting; and an ancient Assyrian winged bull.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of world culture and natural history based in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of the largest museums in North America, attracting over one million visitors every year. This exhibit entitled "Carnival – From Emancipation to Celebration" presented a selection of costumes from Brian Mac Farlane’s creations for the Trinidad Carnival from 2010 to 2012. Mac Farlane is a major Carnival artist from Trinidad and Tobago, whose designs and installations have dazzled and inspired people all over the world. Mac Farlane’s last three seasons were inspired by an historical reflection on traditional Carnival characters and their ability to embody broader social and political issues. In the 18th century, enslaved Africans were banned from Christian festivities of the French and British colonists. They held their own celebrations in barrack yards and, after the 1834 abolition of slavery was fully implemented in the Caribbean in 1838, the freed Africans together with people of Asian origin took their Carnival to the street. This costume, entitled "Mad Cow," is a contemporary reinterpretation of a traditional Trinidadian carnival character. Mad cows frolic through the crowd making head-butting motions, contributing to the general chaos of the festival and causing a ruckus. The exhibition also commemorated John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (as Ontario was known then). Simcoe abolished slavery in Upper Canada in 1793 – some 40 years before it was done away with elsewhere within the British Empire.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of world culture and natural history based in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of the largest museums in North America, attracting over one million visitors every year. This exhibit entitled "Carnival – From Emancipation to Celebration" presented a selection of costumes from Brian Mac Farlane’s creations for the Trinidad Carnival from 2010 to 2012. Mac Farlane is a major Carnival artist from Trinidad and Tobago, whose designs and installations have dazzled and inspired people all over the world. Mac Farlane’s last three seasons were inspired by an historical reflection on traditional Carnival characters and their ability to embody broader social and political issues. In the 18th century, enslaved Africans were banned from Christian festivities of the French and British colonists. They held their own celebrations in barrack yards and, after the 1834 abolition of slavery was fully implemented in the Caribbean in 1838, the freed Africans together with people of Asian origin took their Carnival to the street. This costume reinterprets the traditional character of the dragon, the fire beast that creates havoc and destruction. Dancing in the streets, this character captivates and frightens the audience with its spectacular appearance and dynamic dance. The exhibition also commemorated John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (as Ontario was known then). Simcoe abolished slavery in Upper Canada in 1793 – some 40 years before it was done away with elsewhere within the British Empire.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of world culture and natural history based in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of the largest museums in North America, attracting over one million visitors every year. This exhibit entitled "Carnival – From Emancipation to Celebration" presented a selection of costumes from Brian Mac Farlane’s creations for the Trinidad Carnival from 2010 to 2012. Mac Farlane is a major Carnival artist from Trinidad and Tobago, whose designs and installations have dazzled and inspired people all over the world. Mac Farlane’s last three seasons were inspired by an historical reflection on traditional Carnival characters and their ability to embody broader social and political issues. In the 18th century, enslaved Africans were banned from Christian festivities of the French and British colonists. They held their own celebrations in barrack yards and, after the 1834 abolition of slavery was fully implemented in the Caribbean in 1838, the freed Africans together with people of Asian origin took their Carnival to the street. The red and black costume above is entitled Sheol – the term describing the underworld abode of the dead in the Hebrew Bible. Red, black, and white are the colours of the Trinidad and Tobago flag. They reflect the artist’s deep sense of concern over the social and political problems affecting his country. Depicting departed and lost souls, Sheol is a costume that represents inner turmoil, a commentary on the troubles of modern society. The exhibition also commemorated John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (as Ontario was known then). Simcoe abolished slavery in Upper Canada in 1793 – some 40 years before it was done away with elsewhere within the British Empire.

Without my morning coffee, I'm not quite myself either!

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of world culture and natural history based in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of the largest museums in North America, attracting over one million visitors every year. With more than six million items and forty galleries, the museum’s diverse collections of world culture and natural history are part of the reason for its international reputation. The museum contains notable collections of dinosaurs, minerals and meteorites, Near Eastern and African art, Art of East Asia, European history, and Canadian history. It also houses the world’s largest collection of fossils from the Burgess Shale with more than 150,000 specimens. The museum also contains an extensive collection of design and fine arts. These include clothing, interior, and product design, especially Art Deco. The new main entrance to the Royal Ontario Museum, Daniel Libeskind’s The Crystal, first opened in 2007. The building’s design is similar to some of Libeskind’s other works, notably the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the London Metropolitan University Graduate Centre, and the Fredric C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum. The Deconstructivist crystalline-form is clad in 25 percent glass and 75 percent aluminium sitting on top of a steel frame. The Crystal’s canted walls do not touch the sides of the existing heritage buildings, used to close the envelope between the new form and existing walls. These walls act as a pathway for pedestrians to safely travel across "The Crystal". The overall aim of The Crystal is to provide openness and accessibility, seeking to blur the lines between the threshold linking the public area of the street and the more private area of the museum.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of world culture and natural history based in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of the largest museums in North America, attracting over one million visitors every year. With more than six million items and forty galleries, the museum’s diverse collections of world culture and natural history are part of the reason for its international reputation. The museum contains notable collections of dinosaurs, minerals and meteorites, Near Eastern and African art, Art of East Asia, European history, and Canadian history. It also houses the world’s largest collection of fossils from the Burgess Shale with more than 150,000 specimens. The museum also contains an extensive collection of design and fine arts. These include clothing, interior, and product design, especially Art Deco. The new main entrance to the Royal Ontario Museum, Daniel Libeskind’s The Crystal, first opened in 2007. The building’s design is similar to some of Libeskind’s other works, notably the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the London Metropolitan University Graduate Centre, and the Fredric C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum. The Deconstructivist crystalline-form is clad in 25 percent glass and 75 percent aluminium sitting on top of a steel frame. The Crystal’s canted walls do not touch the sides of the existing heritage buildings, used to close the envelope between the new form and existing walls. These walls act as a pathway for pedestrians to safely travel across "The Crystal". The overall aim of The Crystal is to provide openness and accessibility, seeking to blur the lines between the threshold linking the public area of the street and the more private area of the museum.