And ivory

Städel's offsider is a lovely but smaller gallery that collects statuary from Egyptian through to the last century or so, the Liebieghaus Skulpturen Sammling. Sadly it seems relatively unloved, or at least poorly attended whenever I visit. I wasn't the only one to notice it, but also not the only to note how undeserved that is. But then it's not a huge collection in any field, except an incredible basement full of exquisite works of ivory. Now ivory is not well thought of these days, what with its relationship to extinctions and colonialism, but the decimation of elephant herds was not of this era: that had to await the arrival of decent armouries to kill animals on an industrial scale. But regardless of the ethical issues, the artistic outcomes are breathtaking. Otherwise, I loved the visits to Egypt, Greece, Rome, Islam, mediaeval, baroque, rococo. All there and so close: touchable, but I don't, but so close to view and experience like an object on your own shelf. And not so large that you need all day to touch on it. Everything to love in a gallery in my book. And my little story of the day. I was looking at souvenirs and found a fridge magnet that's on our fridge. I asked if it's in their collection; I don't remember buying it there. Presumably I did. A staffer took me to see it and was surprised it had been replaced by a new exhibition on early science, the Antikythera mechanism and more. We both learnt something.

The Liebieghaus Skulpturen Sammling (sculpture collection) is in Frankfurt.