Saturday, January 22, 2011

What Fairytales are Made Of.....


King Ludvig's Bavarian sleigh

There was a time when travel for royalty was in elaborately carved coaches and sleighs.




Kerry Larson photo


Art and history are intertwined in these royal carriages.

The finest craftsmen were employed to carve, gild and paint these works of art.



The famous Lord Mayor's coach has painted panels reportedly done by Cipriani.



This coach, built for the Queen's 80th birthday, contains almost 4000 years of history!


[And] the Queen classifies the coaches as works of art." But for Mr Frecklington the coach is a historical monument. "This is a time capsule that goes back almost 4000 years."
The passenger doors are inlaid with wood from Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, the Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral. Even Admiral Nelson's golden crown, rescued from the battle of Trafalgar, rides atop the roof, although here there is a hint of the modern world.



Jim Carlson photo

This is the Golden State  Carriage from the Royal Mews in London used for the Queen's coronation. History....art.....what fairytales are made of!
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12 comments:

  1. ceeceeJanuary 22, 2011 at 9:28 PM

    Would love to have one of these at my beck and call. Who wouldn't? Did you happen to see Catherine the Great's Carnival sleigh with figures of St. George and the Dragon when it was on exhibit at the Texas State Fair quite a few years ago? It was amazing!
    A Happy Sunday to you, Theresa.
    Catherine

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  2. Theresa CheekJanuary 22, 2011 at 9:43 PM

    Catherine,
    YES! I did! It was so much better to see in person.

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  3. patrickgracewoodJanuary 23, 2011 at 12:12 AM

    Theresa,
    I've just spent 10 fruitless minutes searching the NY TImes website for the artist who made an entire carriage out of sugar. It was amazing
    I know I didn't make it up. The funny thing is it's not nearly as over the top as the real deal. They really are fairy tale,,, as long as we don't have to cross Russia in one.

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  4. UnknownJanuary 23, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    Magical post! not many left and for how long? but in the meantime what a fantastic way to travel...not too far.

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  5. Theresa CheekJanuary 23, 2011 at 6:20 AM

    Patrick...
    You've got my curiosity up! I will look for it also.

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  6. Mark D. RuffnerJanuary 23, 2011 at 1:17 PM

    Theresa, you have been awarded the Stylish Blogger Award. Here is a link to my post to see what it is all about. Congratulations! Mark

    http://allthingsruffnerian.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. Theresa CheekJanuary 23, 2011 at 2:13 PM

    thank you so much Mark...I am working on my list!

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  8. La Petite GalleryJanuary 24, 2011 at 7:16 AM

    This was pure Magic, I love fairy tales and thought these coaches
    were fasinating. Thank you
    for sharing such fabulous and
    interesting post.

    yvonne

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  9. Hollywood forever, KevinJanuary 24, 2011 at 7:24 PM

    Thank you for dropping by. Because of blogs like yours I am always inspired. Also, since I'm from Texas and miss it very much, you have my attention even more.

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  10. GinaJanuary 25, 2011 at 9:03 AM

    dear Theresa, Congratulations! You have been given the Stylish Blogger Award. Here is a link to my post to see what it is all about.
    http://ginaceramics.blogspot.com/2011/01/stylish-blogger-award.html
    It is the well researched and interesting and beautiful posts you write which makes it a pleasure to give you this special award.
    Love,
    Gina

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  11. Theresa CheekJanuary 25, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    Thanks so much GIna!!!! Such an honor!!

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  12. Brillante InteriorsJanuary 25, 2011 at 3:24 PM

    My favorite movie is Cinderella (the original one) so I am very attracted to these magic images.

    ReplyDelete