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| - Due to a particular set of circumstances, I found myself at the Gardiner Museum on a Saturday morning. It's a 2 story museum (the 3rd floor has a restaurant, lecture room and a particular exhibit was closed on my visit).
I was pleasantly surprised to see that a Mesoamerican display is on the 1st floor gallery. It was a nice to see artifacts that speak of my ancestors. Well, ok, there were no Pipiles - seriously, did those people ever create anything of relevance that has been discovered? They had samples of Olmecas, Toltecas, Mayans, Aztecs, and artifacts from the Andean region.
They also have a nice collection of tin-glazed eartheware of the Majolica.
The Museum has a sizeable collection of English delftware, on both the 1st and 2nd floor. I have to admit, it was enjoyable to see that. The 2nd floor has a modest Japanese Porcelain collection. What struck me the most was the influence of Japanese Kakiemon and Chinese ceramic. The more colourful and ornate the "Asian" ceramics were, they were in fact made in Germany, France, Austria, England. What I thought was a unique Vancouver fever, is a reflection of the Western world's Asian fetishism dating back to hundreds of years.
There is also a complete chocolate cup and tea cup set kept in its original encasing that Mr. Gardiner bought in London, UK. Very impressive. Although the yellow colour ruins it for me.
The gift shop may be small but it has very beautiful pieces.
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