Water Nymph from the Goldfish Pond
Franz Hein
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Mais, quand d’un passé ancien rien ne subsiste, après la mort des êtres, après la destruction des choses, seules, plus frêles mais plus vivaces, plus immatérielles, plus persistantes, plus fidèles, l’odeur et la saveur restent encore longtemps, comme des âmes, à se rappeler, à attendre, à espérer, sur la ruine de tout le reste, à porter sans fléchir, sur leur gouttelette presque impalpable, l’édifice immense du souvenir.
Et dès que j’eus reconnu le goût du morceau de madeleine trempé dans le tilleul que me donnait ma tante (quoique je ne susse pas encore et dusse remettre à bien plus tard de découvrir pourquoi ce souvenir me rendait si heureux), aussitôt la vieille maison grise sur la rue, où était sa chambre, vint comme un décor de théâtre…
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When from the distant past nothing remains, after the beings have died, after the things are destroyed and scattered, still, alone, more fragile, yet more vital, more insubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us, waiting and hoping for their moment, amid the ruins of everything else; and bear unfaltering, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the immense architecture of memory.
Yet again I had recalled the taste of a bit of madeleine dunked in a linden-flower tea which my aunt used to give me (although I did not yet know and must long await the discovery of why this memory made me so happy), immediately the old gray house on the street where her room was found, arose like a theatrical tableau…
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~Marcel Proust
From: Du côté de chez Swann, 1913 in: À la recherche du temps perdu vol. 1, p. 47 (Pléiade ed. 1954)(S.H. transl.) Text via: harpers.org - Image via: vk.com
When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That’s the message he is sending.
~Thich Nhat Hanh
Above: Orchid - One of The Four Gentlemen in Chinese art. Represents Spring, beauty, refinement, virtue, love and fertility.
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The Four Gentlemen, also called the Four Noble Ones
From Wiki: “The Four Gentlemen, also called the Four Noble Ones, in Chinese art refers to four plants: the orchid, the bamboo, the chrysanthemum, and the plum blossom. The term compares the four plants to Confucianist junzi, or “gentlemen”. They are most typically depicted in traditional ink and wash painting and they belong to the category of bird-and-flower painting in Chinese art.
The Four Gentlemen have been used in Chinese painting since the time of the Chinese Song Dynasty (960–1279) because of their refined beauty, and were later adopted by artists in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. As they represent the four different seasons (the orchid for spring, the bamboo for summer, the chrysanthemum for autumn, and the plum blossom for winter), the four are used to depict the unfolding of the seasons through the year.” Images: nicpic.com and redocn.com via: umich.edu/~wenke.
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Bamboo - Summer: humility, nobility, flexibility and strength.
Chrysanthemum - Autumn: nobility and ability to overcome adversity.
Plum blossom - Winter: inner beauty, strength, resilience and the ability to overcome adversity.
Josef Maria Auchentaller, 1865-1949 attrib.
Georg Adam Scheid Cigarette Case
Silver Enamel
H: 8.7 cm (3.43 in) W: 7.1 cm (2.8 in)
Marks: Maker’s mark G.A.S & indistinct Viennese poincon & Russian marks.
Austrian, c.1900
Literature: cf. Josef Maria Auchentaller 1865-1949
Un Secessionista ai confini dell’Impero Ein Kunstler der Wiener Secession, Roberto Festi, 2008, Tade Gallery
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Josef Maria Auchentaller, 1865-1949
Georg Adam Scheid Cigarette Case
Silver Enamel
H: 8.8 cm (3.46 in) W: 6.3 cm (2.48 in)
Marks: ‘G.A.S.’ ‘900’ & Vienna poincon
Austrian, c.1900
Fitted Case
This design has previously been attributed to Koloman Moser
Literature: Josef Maria Auchentaller 1865-1949
Un Secessionista ai confini dell’Impero Ein Kunstler der Wiener Secession, Roberto Festi, 2008, Tade Gallery
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