history lesson, with pictures

At first glace, the swirling color mix is quite pretty, på eto?

In fact, when I saw the porcelain plate, it reminded me of this photo, "The Blue Marble", which was taken by either Harrison Schmitt or Ron Evans of the NASA/Apollo 17 crew.
However, the scene depicted on the fine dining piece was not nearly as benevolent. The artist had captured the Bolsheviks storming the Winter Palace in Russia in 1917. That signaled the end of the Tsars' rule, as well as the end of this evening's lecture.
Wow.
So, where was I? At the Jepson Center, for the opening lecture and reception for the latest exhibit. I had been attracted by the promise of Russian foods at the reception... plus that one last viewing of the Elvis Presley portraits.
(smile)
The talk was titled "The Tsars' Cabinet: Decorative Arts As Political And Historic Messages" and was given by Kathleen Durdin. Who is she? An accountant with a passion for Russian porcelain.
I'm not kidding.
The entire exhibit of plates, dishes, pitchers, glasses, cups, saucers, Easter eggs, and more, belongs to this one woman. Born of an early fascination with Russian history, and a particular love of the Romanov family, the many pieces chosen for display are only a part of her Kathleen Durdin Collection.
Amazing.
With tonight's lecture, she gave us the background for several of the pieces, relating their creation and the Tsar in power. She added many family anecdotes, as well as placing some historical events in context with world happenings. It really was a fascinating talk - and I'm not even a fan of history!
Afterward, we were treated to little potato latke and little fluffy doughnut balls, black caviar on endive sleeves, salmon-capped cucumber slices, and more pickled veggies than you could shake a stick at! Cucumbers, red peppers, carrots, onions, beets, turnips! All had been sliced in creative ways and pickled for our pleasure!
I even had second heapin' helpings of those!
Not so for Ruth and 'Tis and their friend Anthony. They preferred the caviar.
Not so for Brenda Mattingly, either, or her friends Carol and Steve. They fancied the wine instead.
More pickled veggies for me!
(smile)
And I'll have to plan a later trip to view those fancy dining dishes.
(smile)