Sunday 15 March 2015

Technological Cherubs

I put a new header on the blog today. It was a cat  I spotted on a deserted Greek beach, looking as if he owned it.  Perhaps he did.   Not sure how successful a header it is - looks a bit large - but I loved his air of calm authority!

These pictures mostly show cherubs showing off all the latest technology - well at least it was the latest when they were made.



This is a cherub speaking into an old fashioned telephone outside Two Temple Place, a fantastic house which used to belong to the Astors, situated right on the Thames next to the Inns of Court.  I plan to write a bit more about this building but click here if you want to know more facts, and go here for Katharine A's excellent description of the current exhibition, which I must say I can highly recommend. It is called "Cotton to Gold" and it showcases treasures from Northwest England museums.

There are other cherubs generating electric light,


holding up light bulbs 


and listening to the other end of the telephone 


 This lady is considerably older than the cherub but as you see she holds a retort, something used by chemists, plus some books.  I think she must symbolise scientific knowledge.   She can be found in a glass case near the centre lifts in the Science Museum,  London SW7.


She is part of a most magnificent table centrepiece made in 1870, which symbolises the importance of telegraphy in creating wealth.    It was presented to Alexander Cross, Chairman of the United Kingdom Telegraph Company.


It is festooned with telegraph cables, held up by cherubs



and a couple more are busily working telegraph equipment.

If the magnificence of this centrepiece is anything to go by - it is really huge and most beautifully done, studded with semi precious stones - then the telegraph was very successful in creating wealth for the shareholders of the United Kingdom Telegraph Co!
I am always fond of cherubs and putti and rather sorry that you don't see them much on modern artwork.  I can just imagine them all sitting there with their smartphones...


60 comments:

  1. And perhaps one of these days, you will. One never knows.

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  2. Cherubs and smartphones...now that made me laugh!

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    1. And as someone else said, laptops, ipads, X boxes...

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  3. Hello Jenny
    I do love your new header and the self importance of the cat. I love the cherubs and their use in modern day inventions. I laughed at your suggestion of several putti with their i-phones. Perhaps one also that we can pray to when we forget our litany of passwords. Helen

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    1. Ah! now I have found something called 1password which works even for a non technie like me. https://agilebits.com/onepassword

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    2. One of the best apps available Jenny.

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  4. The cherubs are fascinating. I try to envision them holding modern devices but the effect is much less romantic. I suppose even modern objects had a look of sentimentality and elegance about them then that they don't today. Also, the cat header is gorgeous. He looks so stately and important. King of the Sea. Nice to have found your blog!

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    1. I like your blog Sonia, and have tweeted it. So unusual! As for the cherubs holding modern devices, I feel sure there must be some that are suitable but really can't think of any! I think it's sad we don't have more cherubs on our public art. I've always liked them

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  5. I have always loved angels and cherubs. Thanks for sharing these. I love them!

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    1. Yes, they put such a positive spin on technology! :)

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  6. How fun to see a cherub holding a Smartphone.

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  7. Love the new header and the cat...Best to you.

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  8. There's something extremely cherubic about this post! :)

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  9. This is brilliant, Jenny!! I love it for its quirkiness and aesthetic quality! Never seen anything like it until now.
    Your header picture with the beach owning cat is great, too. It certainly conveys calm authority, as you say.

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  10. Haha! I've never seen cherubs like that before! I particularly love the one holding up the festoons of telegraph wire. It's more like something from a steampunk world, rather than an actual Victorian artefact.

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  11. ..... and keying away on their computers! Well done you for noticing these lovely little details, they are really interesting, I wonder how many other people have noticed what these cherubs are up to - you have sharp eyes.

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    1. I must admit I didn't notice first time around. I visited Two Temple Place last year and looked at the statues but somehow missed the details. I suppose we see largely what we are expecting, don't we?

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  12. What beautiful photographs, and how appropriate that little cherubs have a hands-on approach to modern technology - just like today's toddlers!
    It's good to see women at the forefront of scientific discovery too. I must visit London again soon.

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    1. Love your point about modern kids. Even babies now try to make the TV screen do something by swiping it with their little fingers!

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  13. P.S. The cat is excellent too, master of all he/she surveys. I haven't seen a cat in charge of a beach before.

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  14. Love the way you'e brought cherubs together using the telephone. I went to Two Temple Place recently and completely missed the detail on those cherubs. I was too keen to get inside. What did you think of the exhibition?

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    1. I liked it very much. We went fairly near closing time so might have to return and look at the ground floor bit again. I was particularly impressed by the beautiful Tiffany glass. I had no idea that an Englishman worked with Tiffany and took so much of the glass back to the UK when the factory closed!

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  15. Imagination is a wonderful thing. Who knows what cherubs will hold in years to come.
    Your new header picture is great, Jenny, as is the cat.

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    1. Someone mentioned selfie sticks. That must be the worst!!

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  16. I love whimsy and your little cherubs exude it. I give my cement pig a pot of flowers every summer, for the whimsy.

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    1. I like your cement pig, I have seen him on your blog!

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  17. header is cool...
    little cherubs are sweet...

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  18. I like your new header very much. I admit I never would have thought of the combination of cherubs and technology. So interesting and of course the technology was amazing at the time.

    Darla

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    1. I think they were so proud of it they wanted to immortalise it... I really do!

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  19. I enjoyed these so much, I'm going to go through them again. I noticed that sweet kitty right off too, it seems cats do have a way of making things theirs when ever they feel the mood! Enjoy your week.

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    1. I'm glad you liked the cat. He is rather small in the picture .... but in a way that is why I liked to see him. So small, yet so in charge! :)

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    2. Very much so Karen. They always seem like the most self possessed animals although I have never quite worked out why.

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  20. Cherubs needing such technology has me rather nonplussed!

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  21. Now I can't get that picture out of my head--cherubs using smart phones! Sitting at a laptop maybe with a fitbit on its wrist--ROFL! ;)

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    1. Oh the fitbit! hadn't thought of that!
      lol!

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  22. Or cherubs with selfie-sticks!! (please - NO!!)

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  23. Whoever would have guessed that cherubs had so many jobs? These are all quirkily delightful. I too have a great fondness for cherubs and take their photo whenever I have the opportunity (and when they aren’t looking).

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    1. Yes, there is always the risk they might object :)

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  24. I love that header photo of the Greek cat on the beach. He indeed looks like he (she?) owns it.

    When I saw the very first photo of the cherub, I thought he was holding a tube of toothpaste and emptying it (now I understand that it is the wire connected to the phone speaker). All the photos are fascinating.

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  25. They might be a little dated, but I love the modern cherubs, considering most of the cherubs we see are firmly Renaissance. The Centrepiece is gorgeous, and I love the lady holding the retort. Very nice header, with cat!

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  26. The header is beautiful! My cats look as if they own everything too.
    You notice the most beautiful and interesting things. I seem to miss stuff like that.

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  27. That gorgeous, I love your photographs, impressive cherubim. A huge hug and good week for you too.

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  28. I've never seen anything like those cherubs, with the "modern" equipment - great finds! ;) I wonder if Mitch Albom knew about those when he wrote The First Phone Call From Heaven? (have you read that?)...

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  29. The centrepiece is exquisite Jenny, and the second I saw the Header I thought how arresting the scene was. It's just lovely. The scene is so big and beautiful, the cat so tiny but commanding!

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  30. The header looks beautiful. Cherubs holding those pieces of technology are very interesting. I wonder how it'll look like if they makenew ones with iphones and tabs :)

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  31. Hello Jenny Woolf!
    I LOVE the cat looking as if he owns that beach! Quite right you have that as your header, I am sure the cat thinks so too!
    Your cherubs remind me of the Palace Theatre in London, I have a fond memory of seeing cherubs carved into the wood around the balcony. Do you know that theatre? Tell me if I am right, I went there only once, in 2006!

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  32. These cherubs are so lovely. Their curiosity to the new technology and their round tummy reminded me of my little grandchildren, angels in disguise, who like to tap and slide my iPhone. Thanks for this interesting post, Jenny. Is the cat enjoying his/her solitude by the sea?

    Yoko

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  33. I like the new header - makes the beach the cat is on look vast.

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  34. What very interesting cherubs. I don't normally associate them with technology

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  35. There can be no doubt the cat owns the beach, and everyone on it!
    Excellent photo.

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  36. This is fascinating -- the amazingly classical sculpture mixed with the current advances of the day. And they are simply beautiful. In an offbeat way they remind me -- subject-wise -- of some bronze sculptures we saw in NYC, down within a few blocks of the World Trade Center back in 1995 or so. One of them was a businessman sitting on a bench with his briefcase beside him, looking at his VERY large, oversized cell phone -- the early ones of the day!

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  37. The woman with the retort is intriguing. Firstly, she looks very preoccupied, as if she's completely forgotten she's holding a retort. Secondly, she has a couple of books under her elbow. What are they, I wonder? Chemistry textbooks or romantic novels?

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  38. I love it! How about a cherub with nice big headphones on?

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  39. Nice header, and I love the cat.

    My mother is heavily into Cherubs, and it's always put me off them a bit, but my favourites are the two working on the telegraph equipment. It's not a sight you'd normally see, 2 almost naked kids with a screwdriver. :D

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  40. Your cat in the header has a strong presence, even if far away. As for the cherubs they are so sweet and unusual – I have never seen cherubs with telephones – very worthy of photographs.

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  41. Somehow cherubs and technology don't compute in my brain.

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