Dresden Zwinger Palais

Dresden certainly has beautiful museums and rich collections thanks to the Wettin Family who as  Prince Elector and Kings of Saxony through the ages collected various Art objects for their beauty, prestige and the pleasure they brought.

On this visit to Dresden, our first in 14 years, we visited again the Zwinger Palace built in 1711 by Matthaus Daniel Pöppelmann on the site of the old Fortress of Dresden, it is across the street from the Royal Palace. 

The Zwinger is a strange word in German, it actually has a military significance. It means a building usually for military use built by the City Defensive Walls, this Zwinger never had any military use and was built purely for pleasure and festivities, it did not have any residential use either. It was a place for entertainment and great festivities, dinners, balls and other State occasion when the King needed to show how magnificent his Court was to Foreing dignitaries. Somewhat like the Trianon in Versailles, la Gloriette at the Shönbrunn Palace in Vienna or the Villa Borghese in Rome. 

It like the rest of Dresden was severely damaged in the fire bombing raids of 1945, it was in a very poor state until 1990 when major reconstruction and renovation work took place. Originally the Zwinger housed the Royal collections of great masters paintings, rare Asian porcelain and other Art objects. Luckily the collections were all stored away in 1942 to avoid any damage. At the end of the war the area was overrun by Soviet troops and fell into the Soviet sphere, all of the treasures were stolen and brought back to Moscow on the orders of Stalin.

It was only after 1990 with the re-unification of Germany that Russia finally agreed to give back what had been stolen. 

What we were able to visit in 2000 was mainly the great courtyard of the Zwinger which was originally used as an Orangery and garden.  The buildings including the SemperBau were closed as they were unsafe and undergoing major repair work, still it was beautiful. 

Now restored it is even more beautiful and we marvelled at the work of the craftsmen who were able to re-create a Baroque fantasy. This means replacing the putti on the balustrade of the roof and other statues that were missing. For those who might be wondering a putto (singular) putti (plural) are not part of the 9 choirs of angels. We find them in Etruscan and Greek ancient imagery, they are secular and profane, often mischievous in the company of Bacchus, the God of Wine. The word Putto in Italian comes from the Latin Putus for boy. They are physical manifestation of invisible essences or spirits called genius or genii. They often represent Love, fertility, abundance, the Spirit of the Fruit of Life. 

  

It also meant replacing the 40 Meissen white porcelain bells on the glockenspiel and rebuilding the Crown Tower.

Satyrs having a good time 

Will not as a Satyr posing by the Crown Tower

Though much as been done the SemperBau which houses the old European Masters painting collection will undergo a modernisation of its engineering system so that it will be in keeping with modern museum standards in the next few years.

Semper Bau built by Gottfried Semper in 1850 see how the landscaping today is different from the photo below. The Church of St-Sophie in the background disappeared in 1945.

Photo of 1875 

Today the Swinger houses the famous State Collections of Porcelain and Mathematical and Scientific objects of the 18th Century which at the time were true marvels. August II the Strong loved those objects, he wanted to have all the latest gadgets to amuse himself and impress this guests.

In the Porcelain collection is the famous Dragoon Vases. In total some 23,000 porcelain objects are on display. It is said to be the most complete and specialised collection in the world today.  I do not doubt it, it is very impressive. It was August II the Strong who was the instigator of this great collection, exotic oriental objects were all the rage then in what was called Chinoiserie.  He loved those delicate fine porcelain so much so that in 1717 he exchanges 600 Dragoon Soldiers for 151 Lidded Porcelain Vases that belonged to Frederich Wilhelm I of Prussia. Since the soldiers were Dragoons the vases came to be know by that name.

   

Would you believe that this fine porcelain grouping is a table centre representing an allegory of gods and nymphs. Just the thing for the table for that weeknight supper with a few friends.

These galleries are beautifully curated and give an excellent idea of life at the Saxon Court and the accumulation madness of beautiful objects in the Age of Princes.

As you can see from the photos all items are presented with minimum barriers so that the most natural aspect can be enjoyed. Needless to say that you do not touch anything and strollers or small children are not allowed neither are back packs or bags of any kind.

This is just a small sample of what can be seen on a visit to the gallery. 

 A last reminder of what the Zwinger Palace looked like in 1945, fortunately it was restored for us to enjoy today.

And the Satyr are still dancing in the sunshine

I hope to return to Dresden in the coming years, it is truly a beautiful city and all the art collections are of the finest quality. It was the young Goethe who on his first visit to the Zwinger was enraptured by what he saw, today you can see the same thing and feel what Goethe felt amid such beauty.

Meissen, Saxony

Meissen is world renowned for its Porcelain. The famous symbol of the city, the two blue swords on a white background is synonymous with elegant table ware. To this day the Meissen trademark is a symbol of quality for collectors and investors in rare porcelain pieces.

We plan to travel from Dresden by boat down the Elba River a distance of 2 hours to Meissen to visit the city.

From the 13th century porcelain was imported from China at very great cost by Kings and Princes and it became a game of showing off elaborate and delicate vases, plates and other objects and having large collections on display. The Prince Elector of Saxony was amongst many in Europe who collected but also had alchemists working at finding out the secret of how to make fine porcelain. After 500 years of research the secret was finally revealed and the first European Porcelain manufacture was established in 1710 in the Albrechtsburg Castle in Meissen where for 300 years now fine porcelain has been produced. Once the exclusive domain of Royalty, porcelain became gradually available to the merchant class and the bourgeoisie.

Meissen Couture 1710, web site http://www.meissen.com

Tet or Lunar New Year

Today is the Lunar New Year and we move into the year of the horse.

Every year means something in terms of personal good wishes and what the year may bring.
Health, Happiness, Wealth, traditional greetings.

Families and friends will celebrate with whole fish dishes, dumplings, oranges, longevity noodle broth, most dishes signify wealth and happiness.

Lots of firecrackers, and gifts mostly those little red enveloppes stuffed with brand new crisp paper money. There will be prayers to the different Gods and to the Jade Emperor in Heaven.

While I lived in China it was always a fun time of the year, I really liked the festive atmosphere and the continuous fireworks illuminating the sky of Beijing. Going to the various Temples to visit with the Gods. Temple of the Earth and the Temple of Heaven and then there was another very famous and ancient one in the near my house, people went there to pray to the God of Wealth and the various other deities burning incense sticks.

In Vietnam it is called the TET New Year and is celebrated along the same lines. As in Cambodia and Laos and South Korea. A time of lavish decorations and festivities.

un peu de musique

On this eve of the Lunar New Year in Asia, a celebration in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Korea brings joy and fireworks for 7 days. I remember in Beijing every habitant of the city was allowed 20 lbs or 10 Kg of fireworks and all size were sold around the city. With a population of 15 million you do the math, that is a lot of fireworks, day and night to scare away the evil spirits, so the year be fruitful and joyous. I simply loved the madness of it all and the display all around the city.

This music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is a classic and I love it.

Dresden, Saxony, Royal Palace mosaic frieze showing procession of the Princes of the Wettin Family.

Those little food products you do not always notice

For many years living abroad we would encounter food stuff that reminded us of home but would not be items we would consume or buy at anytime, like SPAM, Nescafé, Salada tea, Marlboro cigarettes, these 4 items are and were famous around the world. Often introduced by armies during an armed conflict like the Korean War (1950-1953) or simply by multinational companies who expanded their markets to foreign countries.

The local population took to them and often saw these products as a luxury. We did not and could not understand why these products had such status. Often there is quite a history behind such products, like SPAM being imported by US troops during the Korean conflict. The Korean population was starving and being able to buy a can of SPAM at the US Army PX was a luxury but only if you had the connections and the money. Later this product took on an aura all of its own and to this day is given in elaborate gift boxes. Imagine doing this here, your friends would think you are joking.

Nescafé has a similar story, at the end of the Second World War in Europe many food staples were simply not available, chocolate, fresh fruit, nylon stockings, cigarettes, coffee. Many countries had a coffee culture going back to the Renaissance when Admiral Christopher Columbus brought it back from the Americas with tobacco, tomatoes, potatoes, oranges and chocolates to name a few native products of the Americas introduced in Europe in the 15th century.

So again the Allies had Nescafé and drank it all the time, the Europeans were curious and envious, quickly a black market was established and Nescafé was available for a price, thus it entered the local life and in countries behind the Iron Curtain, Nescafé became a luxury consumed by the Communist Elite. To this day in countries in the Balkan like Serbia it is still considered chic, though this is changing now with products widely available to all.

In the Middle-East it was Marlboro cigarettes and Benson & Hedges later who dominated the market.
Egypt the largest country and with an important percentage of its population smoking cigarettes there was a huge demand for British or American Tobacco products. Again the elite would set the tone and foreign cigarettes were considered far superior to any local product.

One surprise I had in all my years amongst the Arabs was how popular Johnny Walker Red Label scotch was, only to be outdone by the Black Label brand. I remember in the Sudan whenever we visited Khartoum which was often back in the late 1980's and early 90's everything was paid in cases of scotch. The government was '' officially '' strictly observant of the Sharia.
You needed a curfew pass, you needed some other service from some nice Muslim official
the payment was in Johnny Walker. All Sudanese soldiers at check-points in Khartoum were paid in packages or cartons of cigarettes usually Marlboro, their favorite, God help you if you did not have a pack to give out, they could be very violent. One night a European Consul was badly beaten for refusing to pay the usual bribe.

The joke became that the real name of the Scotch was Johnny Mohamed Walker. I remember one night in Cairo at one of the big supper night clubs at the Meridien Hotel frequented by Saudi Royalty and other Gulf Princes, the scotch would flow. The famous singer and actress Sabah was performing and she would call out to the famous patrons in the audience.
There was next to our table a senior member of the Saudi Royal Family who was enjoying a bottle of Johnny Walker Black label, Sabah asked him how was his friend Johnny. Everyone laughed.

I also remember visiting the Casino at the Marriott Hotel in Zamalek, in a Palace built for the opening of the Suez Canal to house Empress Eugénie of France. The casino had tables for Bacarat and Chemin de fer, Roulette etc... it was only opened to foreigners, Egyptians could not get in.
The Gulf Princes would be there every night and play incredible amounts, I remember one Prince loosing one million dollars in 5 minutes at Roulette, I was stunned. There was an elderly Armenian banker who worked for a Swiss Wealth Fund, I think it was UBS. He was hired by the King of Saudi Arabia to watch over his sons, they had a limit on any bets of 2 million dollars a night. They played so badly that the game was over in 30 minutes tops. This old banker gave wonderful parties at his penthouse apartment in Zamalek close to my home.

What one man considers luxury the other will think is bunk.

Cairo 

On China

Just finished reading the 2011 book by Henry Kissinger, titled On China. Since I lived in China I wanted to read it to see what he had to say. Kissinger is a great believer in China and has many friends in the leadership of China. Whenever he travels there he gets the Head of State treatment with all that it entails. Kissinger had a great deal of influence many years ago in the original opening of the USA to the People's Republic of China. First secret meeting between himself and Premier Zhou En Lai in 1971, followed by the Official visit of President Nixon in 1973. Formal recognition did not come before 1979 for various reasons of internal USA politics and because of the War with Vietnam and the official recognition the USA government had granted Taiwan back in 1949.

Kissinger gives a lot of details on the personalities and character of each person he met, Mao Tse Tung, Zhou En Lai, Deng Xiao Ping and others. Mao the philosopher king, Zhou the cultured Mandarin and skilled diplomat and administrator, Deng the rough pragmatist. He described how the meetings went and how they were received and many more details on how the entire relationship evolved. For history all these details are important as a first person account. Kissinger stresses how the Chinese are master of the detail and are fully prepared with great seriousness for each encounter, nothing is left to chance or haphazard. He does not say it but the reader guess that the other side is not as well prepared and this is the Chinese advantage in any encounter.

Kissinger also looks at historical precedent in China and how Confucius influences the way of thinking of the Chinese leadership through the ages, he does spend some time in his book guiding the reader through the various phases of thinking which guide Chinese reaction to events. He also goes into what were the expectations and fears of the USA in the first meetings in the context of domestic American politics of the late 1960's. Past events like the victory of the Communist in China in 1949 against the Nationalist, the Korean war, the toll of the Vietnam war on the American public opinion, the Cold War and the difficult relations with the USSR. Though Kissinger never criticize past US Administrations he served and treats his Chinese counterparts with much courtesy in his book,  he does point out several times how many American thinkers made mistakes in their evaluation of China and its leadership, in the process delaying or impeding the relation between the USA and the PRC.  Kissinger gives the impression that he had to fight several battles with an entrenched bureaucracy at the State Department correcting what he considered wrong evaluations based on misunderstandings of history and events. What he considered to be too many assumptions, confusing Communism in general as an ideology and then believing that the way it was practiced in the USSR was the same in the PRC or that the new giants worked hand in hand against the West.

Kissinger also explains the concerns of the Chinese Leadership and their own problems with the USSR in border disputes which went back centuries to the time of the Emperors in both China and Russia. Of the rivalry between Stalin and Mao and then successive Soviet leaders who often failed to understand that the Chinese did not want to be dominated by them or even guided. The reader understand how the USA came to play a balancing act between the two great Communist powers in the world.

Then Kissinger guides us through the post-Mao period and the great changes brought about by Deng Xiao Ping. The internal fights within the Chinese leadership with two camps, one, the gang of four, for continuing the Mao doctrine and Deng's approach to go down a different path. It is clear that China today remains a Communist dictatorship and a police State but has a commercial, capitalistic components important to improve the material conditions of the people if the Communist party is to survive in power. Kissinger points out the great realizations under Deng, such as the eradication of hunger for the first time in China. Providing for basic health care, schooling and housing for all and most important quadrupling in a matter of a just a few years the wealth of individual Chinese who could see a net benefit under Communist rule.

In the last paragraph and epilogue, the books meanders as if Kissinger was at a lost on how to conclude his book and that part is less interesting, probably because the writer himself is retired and does not travel as much now as he did in the past.

A good read.

Reading China Daily

The Official newspaper of the Government of China, the China Daily is published in several languages and brings news from China that indicate where the Chinese Communist Party is taking the country. News Items prior to the G20 in Korea indicated through a series of interviews that the People's Republic of China was not about to help the USA with its current financial problems, senior official stated that they knew in advance that the Western Press would make much of the current undervalue of the Yuan or Renminbi the official currency of China but for them the G20 meeting was about much more than that, inasmuch as the value of the Yuan is not really a pressing concern for the Chinese Government. What they wish to talk about is more global issues on trade. Then after the G20 meeting the White House and the Western Press were talking about how the meetings had not gone well and how China had said little about the value or letting the Yuan float to a higher level against the US dollar. The real message which was not carried by the Western media was that China and Russia are about to drop the dollar as a currency in which they conduct foreign trade. The Chinese believe that the US dollar is a weak currency brought down by massive debt and the US President is not able to be decisive and is now weaken by a Republican Congress. The Chinese are not interested in weak leaders or countries with big debts and since China owns much of the US credit debt it is now unloading it around the world. Then on the 24 and 25 November articles in the China Daily announced that Premier Wen of China and Premier Putin of Russia had concluded an agreement to use each others currency when doing bilateral trade. This is a powerful signal that the US dollar is no longer considered by China as a strong currency and that they do not intend to allow their currency to reach a higher value against the US dollar. For the USA this chess move is a signal that the end game as started, China intends to replace the USA as a dominant economic force and that the USA will not be able to surmount the numerous economic problems facing it.

China has started to dump US dollars and buying other currencies weakening further the US dollar and by creating its own consumer class in China (about one billion people) they will no longer need the USA for its own goods. For China trade partners now are Brazil and India, Russia the old ally of the cold war.
Leave the Americans to their troubles with war on terrorism, Afghanistan, Irak, North Korea and its Nuclear Program, Iran and the Middle East issue, and its economic woes, in other words enough on the US plate to exhaust completely the rival. The Chinese Communist never forgave nor forgot that the USA supported Taiwan and the Nationalists against the Communists nor the humiliation of years of being snubbed by the USA until Kissinger and Nixon finally decided they could recognize China. The recognition though came but not on American terms.

Unfortunately no US politician will have the courage to point to the coming years of difficult economic reality at home, no one is willing to believe despite all the signals that this is happening.  The sun is finally setting and in ten to fifteen years time, a short time really, China will be telling the USA what to do.  By running after too many rabbits at once the US has exhausted itself. In the meantime China continues to invest massively in Africa, South America and Europe. It has already come to the rescue of Greece and is doing so in many other countries, eclipsing the USA. China has the money and loads of cheap labor, the signs have been there for years but no one paid attention. It is worth reading China Daily to know what is happening or where things are going.

China Party (1949-2009)

Today marks the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China's Proclamation as New China by Mao Tse Tung from Tian An Men gate in Beijing. As a country China has come a long way and we can only marvel at their success. However much of this development would not have been possible in a democracy. When I lived in Beijing prior to the Olympics, I saw the city transformed, amazed at how decrees would be implemented in the name of the greater good and things got done.
China today still has problems of poverty and unemployment but no more famine, no more strife and by large a society which is more prosperous. Unfortunate that the Party decided to concentrate on military display instead of people but this has to do largely with communist ideology. It this little clip from Central Television channel 9 in Beijing you can see the similarity with the old Soviet model. Though in Chinese fashion it is colorful. I also like the part where President Hu Jin Tao is fashioned as the New Emperor, like Mao, old symbols die hard.

Escorts train for flag raising CCTV-International

Escorts train for flag raising CCTV-International

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I was looking for the upcoming celebration of the New China 1949-2009 anniversary. CCTV Central China TV channel 9 which I use to watch has lots of items and this one I thought interesting. I also scored high on the quizz on my knowledge of Chinese Military Parades.

I remember how precise the soldiers were in marching formations. This also applied to many other facets of the image given of the State. CCTV also has items on Taiwan, continuing the propaganda of reunification.
CCTV in its coverage of the up-coming celebration puts the emphasis on the Sacred mission for the Party and the people.

It will demonstrate the positive image of China as a country seeking peaceful development, the military power of China's army to safeguard national security and uphold world peace, and boost the self esteem and pride of the Chinese nation," said Senior Colonel Guo Zhigang, deputy head of the training camp preparing the units that will march through Beijing.
Officials are taking no risks with their A-list performers, who have been training for months in the specially-built parade village beside an old runway on the outskirts of Beijing, where the elite group drills for eight hours a day, rain or shine.
"The mission to participate in the parade is a sacred mission, given by the Party and the people," Guo said, adding that many had given up comfortable jobs and good salaries for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The troops - unusually tall for China with a minimum height of 180 cm (5 feet, 11 inches) for men, and 165 cm (5 feet, 5 inches) for women - are almost ready for the parade after months of preparation. They have not been allowed off the base even once.

The zeal found only in Totalitarian State like China. North Korea the little brother to the East is also good at this type of imaging.