There was an 1842 Daybed by
Gabriele Capello (Italian, 1806-1876). This daybed combines elements from
various sources: the palmettes and Ionic capitals derive from ancient Greek
art, while the lotus petals and lion's-paw feet are inspired
by Egyptian motifs.
It was all very beautiful but the medium I love the most is wood. In a
dark corner of one of the furniture displays, I found the most magnificent
example of hand-carved old world creation. When the rolltop is raised, a writing
slide may be pulled forward revealing dummy drawer fronts that match the
interior desk drawer above. At the side of the desk, additional writing
slides pull out, these were probably used by secretaries taking dictation. When
the desk was sold at auction in London in 1800, it was described as having come
from the Royal French château of Saint Cloud. The German cabinet maker Molitor
emigrated to France in
1773. The desk is considered one of his most
important works. I could go one forever but there were other things to see and
talk about. Having seen all we could jam into the time allotted, we
finally headed outside to the gardens. This is every bit as spectacular as
the antiques inside. It started out with a meandering walk from the main complex to the flowering maze. The west side of
the complex drops away sharply giving way to a tremendous vista overlooking Las
Angeles. The east side is taken up by the Robert Irwin central garden.
From the arrival plaza, the walk drops away sharply to an intriguing flowering
maze. All along the way is a babbling brook flowing over rocks in a zigzag
pattern. There are many bridges over the brook. Stones have been
placed in the path of the water in such a manner that a new and different sound
can be heard as you pass over each bridge. The trail winds down to two
rows of Sycamore trees. The water continues downward finally cascading
over a stepped stone wall and into a reflecting pool with a maze of 400
azaleas. Surrounding this pool is a series of specialty
gardens.
We walked around to the sound end of the of the bowl and descended
toward the pool. No matter which way we looked the sight was spectacular.
In one direction, the city of Los Angeles spread out before us, in the other,
the expanse of the Getty Center loomed overhead. It would take quite a bit
of time to see everything that is offered there, and our time was somewhat
limited. In departing I had to reflect on what may be, to me, one of the
more fascinating facets of this adventure. It was all FREE. That's
right, after a modest parking fee, not one red cent charged for admission
to any of the great museum rooms.
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