5th DAY: TAIPEI- THE PALACE MUSEUM

This morning I walked over to Starbucks for some strong, American coffee. The shop was only a couple of blocks from the hotel. 

Today it's raining, drizzling rather, and the weather is a nice 60 degrees- it's projected to go up to 65 by noon. A little warmer thanthe 11 degrees in Kohler. Oh, I miss that cold and snow!

Breakfast with Maya. A buffet but the variety and quality of food was amazing. This being a Japanese hotel also had a number of dishes that apparently Japanese people eat for breakfasr, like fish for example. Needless to say I didn't have it.

We went to the Palace Museum which I found  out has  an imcredible selection of Japanese art. A much better collection than the ones they have at the Shanghi museum, or the one in Beijing. I guess that a lot of Chinese fine art works that were left in mainland China were destroyed in that womderful period of Chinese history called the Cultural Revolution.

Here is Maya on traditional Chinese costume. Sheis facing a screen that shows various costumes with her face.

And me too

 Maya admiring the most famous piece in the museum, the jade cabagge. Maya, ma petit chou, is looking at it behind the glass case.

And this a  good view of the "cabagge"

The museum has a large number of bronze pieces from the earlier dynasties, up to 2000 BC. This is called "Zao stove and cooker set"

And below is a food container with animal figures.

An animal figure cast in bronze

The picture below was the most lovely gold work I have seen in a long time. Its delicate and fine craftsmanship reminded me of Inca ornamental gold pieces I saw in museums in Bogota and Lima.

This is another piece worked very finely using gold threads.

Below is one of the and animal faces in a wine vessel from the Western Zhou period, around ten centuries before Christ.

This is supposed to be a water vessel. Note the animal figure that is drinking out of the vessel and is also tje handle, and the little figurines that serve as feet.

And here is an elsborate bronze container

Another view of the same animal figurine, with a companion om the side

A display window in one of the many shops in the museum had several sculptures carved out of books that had been glued together.

Below is another of the busts made out of books.

In the ceramics section of the there was a large variety, below is a jar with a butterfly motif.

The museum also had a rare books section, displaying a variety of books. Below is a page fro, an acupuncture manual.

We had lunch at the museum restaurant that was quite good and interesting. Maya had a sandwich that included potatoes and other vegetables

And of course I couldn't leave shop that also sold books without buying one. I found this delightful book called "The Beauty of Calligraphy"