Prague Journal

Friday, September 7, 2007

Jitka and her daughter Lucie took me to Zbraslav Chateau which houses a permenent exhibition of Asian Art. The large Zbraslav mansion was designed by the baroque architect Giovanni Santini early in the eighteenth century. A few pieces of Czech modern sculpture can be seen dotted around the grounds. However, inside there is only Chinese, Japanese, South Asian and Islamic art. There are Neolithic burial vessels and ritual bronzes , a vast array of Chinese Buddhas, and huge Japanese painted scrolls. There are also fine examples of Chinese and Islamic calligraphy.
In the evening I went to services at Bejt Praha. It was nice to see Petr and Ivo and Anna, and a few people who recognized me, despite the fact that I didn’t recognize them. There’s a nice crowd of regulars now. Of course the Spanish Synagogue is the most magnificent, probably in the world, let alone central Europe, so it was quite a moving experience to be here again.

posted by JWinn @ 8:58 PM