Collections

Monthly Archive: December Coll

A surprise photograph from India

Posted: September 20, 2012 - 15:53 , by Deepali Dewan


Mystery portrait in the ROM's collection, later revealed to be Sunder Shyam Chadha in the film “Chhottii Babhi,” 1951

Gem of the Month: Canadian Diamonds

Posted: September 20, 2012 - 13:00 , by royal
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

Posting by Brendt Hyde, Mineralogy Technician

The discovery of diamonds in the 1990’s marked a beginning for Canada’s first diamond mine, the Ekati Diamond Mine, located in the Northwest Territories.  It also marked the beginning of the, still relatively young, diamond mining industry in Canada.

Words in Images

Posted: September 17, 2012 - 13:00 , by royal

By Ka Bo Tsang, Assistant Curator – Chinese Paintings & Textiles

Most people think of Chinese painting as artwork created by artists using special brushes in combination with ink and colour pigments to give shape to ideas on paper or silk through the adroit manipulation of lines, dots, and spots. While this general impression is true, there are exceptions.

Facebook Features A Fishy Story!

Posted: September 11, 2012 - 10:30 , by ROM
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

When ROM Ichthyologist Dr. Hernan Lopez-Fernandez was unable to attend a 2011 expedition to the Cuyuni River in Guyana, he found other creative ways to collaborate with fellow scientists. Dr. Lopez-Fernandez enabled Devin Bloom, a U of T graduate student with extensive experience in Guyana through previous joint expeditions, to attend in his place and share the specimen collections and tissue samples with the ROM.

Fantastic Folding Fan Leaf

Posted: August 31, 2012 - 10:32 , by royal

By Ka Bo Tsang, ROM Assistant Curator, Chinese Pictorial Arts

Overview image of fan.

Wu Huizhang wrote Tang-dynasty poems onto this folding fan, showing exceptional levels of concentration, writing skill, and compositional skill.

Digging Through the Vaults: Rediscovery and Rehabilitation

Posted: August 30, 2012 - 08:55 , by royal
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

Front face of ring displaying engraving in purple stone.

Collector's ring with a large convex amethyst gem engraved with an image of Nike. Height: 2.2 cm Accession number: 925.83.6

Great Collections Make Great Museums: Constantinian Era Pendant

Posted: July 27, 2012 - 09:00 , by royal

Great Collections Make Great Museums – An ongoing blog describing recent acquisitions added to the Greek, Etruscan, Roman or Byzantine Collections.

A gold pendant flanked with red gems with a silver inset depicting three human figures.

Diamonds, Design and Science… something for everyone.

Posted: July 17, 2012 - 08:54 , by royal
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

While to the casual observer, this is an example of fine made jewellery that sits in the Gem and Gold Gallery, Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth Treasures with other fine made jewellery pieces. As is reflected in the layered design of the brooch, this piece has layers of information and history as well.

Spinels: A Misunderstood Gemstone

Posted: July 13, 2012 - 14:30 , by royal
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

spinels1 spinels2 spinels3

Discoveries at Harvard – ROM expertise at work

Posted: June 21, 2012 - 15:14 , by Robert Mason
Categories: 
| Comments () | Comment

This week I am in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Harvard Art Museums  here are rebuilding, and planning new galleries, and have also acquired a new collection of pottery from the Middle East.  So they have flown me down here for the week on an all-expenses-paid visit, to look at their Islamic pottery (AD 700-1700) and tell them if it is good (not fake), where it is from, and when it was made.