Lotte Reimer´s Pottery exhibition in the State Museum, Braunschweig.

A selection of Lotte Reimer´s hand built pots.

 

I have now recovered from my "I had too much to do in July" mode,  and have settled into "I´ve got a quieter, must quieter August" lifestyle, which means visiting museums, and the more local places of interest in and around Braunschweig.

 

Last week was very hot, and especially so on Sunday, when I went into the State Museum to see a special exhibition of the work of Lucy Reimers, a potter, who was born in Hamburg in 1932, and worked there most of her life.

 

All her pots are hand built, and decorated either with slips, (coloured, liquid creamlike clay) or with simple low fired glazes, which were  fired  in wood burning kilns.  This kept the earthy, natural colours, and whilst at first the large collection of them all together made them look rather dingy (I am not meaning to be rude,) on closer inspection of each one, they were so refreshingly simple and natural.

 

Each shape is hand built from coils of clay, with her finger and thumb prints left to enhance the hand built quality of each pot.

 

I particularly liked the dish in the above photo, which was made from a mixture of coloured clays fused together, with the impression of an ammonite in the narrow base, just visible I hope.

 

Most pots had a narrow neck and small opening at the top.

 

Some of the textures and colouring on each pot reminded me of animal skins.  To the top right, the pot has a patch of spotted leopard´s coat.

 

The pottery exhibition was housed in some pleasantly cool rooms, but when I ventured into the musical instrument collection, things warmed up somewhat!   Wooden instruments need to be kept at a constant temperature, so I missed the nice coolness of the Lotte Reimer´s pottery collection rooms.

Theodore Steinway 1825 - 1889.
 
A bust of the eldest son of the piano maker Heinrich Steinway who founded his famous piano factory in New York in 1854.  The family originated from Braunschweig, a city which has a long history of piano making, and is now home to Schimmel pianos.

A concert grand piano by Steinway and Sons, Braunschweig.

 

The inner workings of from top,  of a spinnet, piano and a clavichord.

 

This little display answered my question on how a string is plucked in a clavichord.  On pressing each key to the right, it was possible to see exactly how the sound was produced on the three different instruments.   The clavichord has a little hook, and when the key is pressed, the string rises above the hook and when dropped pings the note.  It´s taken me 71 years to realise that, but well worth the effort!   Am I a slow learner?