Museum Evaluation Assignment - Essay Example

Courtly Amber Casket The Detroit Institute of Art is well known for its variety in different types of art. The institute boosts of art from various artists around the world. I choose to visit this institute with some of my friends on April 27, 2012 at 12:30 pm. This paper features one art in the museum that I loved, some basic history about the art, artist and the things that did and did not impress me in the museum. The museum offered a guide to take us through the museum who managed to provide us with a basic introduction on the various arts displayed.

He talked about the artist, his numerous paintings, and the meaning of that particular art. The only thing that I found disturbing in relation with the museum is that they did not provide comprehensive information regarding the art in particular; they only brushed through the basics. The piece of art that extremely caught my eyes was a new acquisition in the museum called the “Courtly Amber Casket”. The amber casket was made for a northern European court. The artist responsible for this magnificent piece of art is still a topic of discussion, but the museum curator believes that the art is the work of an artist named Gottfried Wolffram.

Wolffarm was a sculptor who worked with ivory and amber, in Germany and Denmark, at the end of the seventeenth century (Deteroit 1). The artist was a highly paid ember and ivory carver, who worked at the Danish court at the beginning of 1683. He had become the king’s ivory tuner in 1691, but left the town after the king died in the year 1699. He then travelled to Berlin where he worked for the king from the year 1702 to the year 1707, as the principle sculptor on the enigmatic Amber room, he then returned to Copenhagen in the year 1707 after a quarrel about his salary demands (Deteroit 2).

This is the first piece of art that was sculpted out of amber and ivory, and it is said to have mythical origins and magical powers, which have made it find its way into this institute. This piece of art is made and adorned with ivory reliefs, which depict the Roman countryside. It has a specific emphasis on elaborate detail and perspective (Deteroit 1). The casket is donned with five landscapes with large amber plates and ivory. They consist of oval and angular cabochons; that are foiled back and engraved.

The casket has a wooden core that is carefully conceived so that the translucency of the engraved ember is assured. This wooden core is used to stabilize the fragile structure (Deteroit 2). The interior structure of the casket is made-up of red velvet; this leaves open plates with angular cabochons in a manner that after opening the lid, the interior, is washed with golden light. The shape of the art is inspired by the works produced in Danzig towards the end of the seventeenth century. The combined use of ivory and amber is typical of the works of carvers from Danzig; these carvers were often trained to work with the treasured materials (Deteroit 2).

The amber casket is a treasured piece of art that the institute has acquired. It shows the artist’s expertise in making of art using ivory and amber, and the art is an eye catcher at the museum because of its classic design. It is the first work by Wolffram that entered American museum collection, which incorporates amber and ivory.Works citedDeteroit I.A ,Courtly Amber Casket. Electronic. Retrieved from .