Sabbatical Post Script #38 (15) Part 4 of Mount Stuart House

Greetings travelers and welcome back to Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute in Scotland.

Today we are going to take a tour of the Study on the first floor, off of the grand Marble Hall that we saw last week.  I will apologize in advance, that I don't have a photo of the whole room, because there were a lot of people in this room while I was in there and I didn't want to take photos of folks without their permission.

However there are some great detail shots of part of this room that I hope you will enjoy.

And with that, let us begin with the first detail of the room, which is an intricate marble, mosaic, table top.

Set into the ceiling in the Study is a panel of Stuart crests, a family tree in crests if you will.  I don't know "whose who" but I loved the chosen carved motif of the ivy vine and leaves to connect.  The artistry and painting of this piece is amazing to me, as are many of the details throughout the house.

Are you a descendant of the Stuart House?  Do you recognize any of the crests below?

And now, I invite you to turn your attention to the 5 sets of stained glass windows along the wall.

They all represent Greek gods and goddesses.  Unfortunately, I didn't take Greek in seminary, so I don't know who is named in the windows.  If you are up on your Greek and can read the names, I invite you to share the names in the comments below!

Even without knowing "whom" I'm looking at, I found all of the stained glass in this room quite lovely.  I particularly like the circular glass on the top of each panel the best.

​Can you find the squirrel in the photo below?

In this next one I'm FAIRLY certain that the circular glass is meant to represent Apollo, the god of the Sun, pulling the sun up to sun down with his chariot.

Can you find the rabbit in the photo below?

This next panel gives reference to the realm of the theater arts with the portrayal of "the sock and buskin," which are the two ancient symbols of comedy and tragedy.

In this final panel, up in the circular glass, the symbol in the smaller star is the symbol for the god Neptune, god of the oceans.

Can you find the emu in the photo below?

Our last detail photo, for this week, is the top of a marble column close to the door to the Library.

Those who know me know that I am not the biggest fan of spiders.  Or - rather - I AM a fan of what they can do, I just don't want them on me.

So, I felt happy that I was able to feel only appreciation for the artist's rendering of a spider - in its web - CARVED OUT OF MARBLE.  I humbly bow to the craftsperson who carved this whole column top, but especially for the detail of the fragile web.

Thank you for joining me again on this tour of Mount Stuart House!  Stay tuned next week for our visit to the Library (which I think is my favorite room in the WHOLE house.)

Till then, be well.  Be safe.  Be kind.

Blessings on your Journey,
Pastor Emilia