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Talk:Stephenson:Neal:Quicksilver:96:YOU AND I ARE BUT EARTH (Gary Thompson)

From the Quicksilver Metaweb.

  • but can be shared her for now.

Stephensonia

Someone watches the BBC Antiques Roadshow**

Delftware: “You and I are but Earth”

de Delftse Pauw: “In the sixteenth century, in a number of Dutch towns, factories were established which among their items produced "Majolica". This "Majolica" was made with a tin-glaze and found its origins in Italy and Spain. The Dutch East Indian Company began importing porcelain from China in the seventeenth century. This porcelain, especially the blue and white became very popular.

The "Majolica" producing factories started at a certain moment to imitate this Chinese porcelain, because of several reasons. The imported Chinese porcelain meant competition. Civil war in China made that imports from China went down. Customers asked for specific items which due to distance took a long time to deliver and due to language problems the delivered item was not always what was ordered.

In Delft, in the seventeenth century 32 factories were producing Delftware. One of them was a factory called "de Paauw". These factories were often established in beerbreweries which had stopped their production. In the nineteenth century due to competition from other factories like Wedgewood in England and lack of innovations, the highlight of Delftware had come to a close. Nowadays in Delft only a few companies still produce the entirely handpainted traditional Delftware. One of these companies is "de Delftse Pauw". A company which is very loyal to this tradition.”

As a Lutheran Community with ties to English tin mines - the phrase represents a Puritan view on humanity. One can’t find ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’ in the Bible because it isn’t there! The phrase comes from the funeral service in the Book of Common Prayer, and it is based on Genesis 3:19. Each church of the Anglican Communion has its own version of the Book of Common Prayer. In the current American version, it appears on page 485 (Burial Rite 1) and on page 501 (Burial Rite 2) in a prayer that is said by the priest as earth is ceremonially cast on the coffin.

Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.'

This will go somewhere

Other Colonies in North America

Far to the north, French had Quebec since 1608. To the south there was an English colony at Jamestown, founded in 1607. In Florida at Saint Augustine, a Spanish colony had been established in 1565. And Santa Fe, New Mexico, was colonized in 1606. Soon to follow were the Dutch settlement, New Amsterdam (New York City) in 1624, and the Puritans in Salem in 1628 and in Boston in 1630.

Writers and Thinkers

Painters

In the year 1620, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) of Flanders was famous as a painter as well as ambassador for his country. He was knighted by the King of England. A pupil of Rubens, Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), was soon to become well-known. And Velasquez (1599-1660) became important as a painter of the Spanish Court. In Holland Rembrandt, one of the greatest artists of all time, was a boy of fourteen.

Architecture

The largest and finest mosque in the world, the Blue Mosque, was built in Constantinople. And in Italy, at the Villa d'Este near Rome, there was under construction a spectacular water garden. The famous English architect Inigo Jones (1573-1652) is best remembered for his royal Banqueting House, Whitehall, London.

Music

In England, William Byrd (1543-1623); organist at Lincoln Cathedral, composed many beautiful songs called madrigals, as well as church music, and was honored by Queen Elizabeth I. In Italy, Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) wrote "Orfeo", the first modern opera of distinction. He wrote lovely madrigals, too, and was choir director at the Cathedral of St. Mark in Venice. In Germany, Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672) was composing the religious music for which he is especially remembered.

Science

The Italian scientist Galileo (1564-1642) perfected the telescope in 1609. With it he discovered new stars and helped to prove that the earth traveled around the sun. The German scientist Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) used mathematics to prove his ideas about physics and astronomy. In England, Dr. William Harvey (1578-1654) discovered how the heart works and how the blood circulates in the body.

The Rulers

James I (1566-1625) was king of England in 1620. In France, Louis XIII (1601-1643) ruled, soon to be assisted by the famous Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642). In Spain, the weak and confused Philip III (1578-1621) was in power. And in Russia, Michael Romanov (1598-1645), the first of the famous Romanov dynasty, extended his country's boundaries through Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.

The Near and Far East

The ancient Ming ruling family in China was in decline, shortly to be replaced by the Manchus. In Japan, Christian missionaries were being dismissed. In India, the cruel and severe ruler Jahangir (1569-1627) occupied the throne. His son, Shah Jehan (d.1666), would in twelve years build the most famous tomb in the world, the Taj Mahal. In Persia, the powerful shah, Abbas the Great (c.1557-c.1629) ruled Moslems from the Euphrates River to the Indus River. On the outskirts of Isfahan he built for himself a many-acred square of gardens and fountains surrounded by magnificent palaces and mosques.

  • Sparky 16:58, 2004 Apr 17 (PDT)