200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 7

Summary: Ajanta cave 7 affords the 200th anniversary year of Ajanta cave wall paintings and sculptures in north-central India a one-stop monastery and shrine.

"vihara cave no. 7," drawn in stone by English artist and watercolorist Thomas Colman Dibdin (Oct. 22, 1810-Dec. 26, 1893) from sketch by Scottish architectural historian James Ferguson (Jan. 22, 1808-Jan. 9, 1886); James Ferguson, Illustrations of the Rock-Cut Temples of India (1845), Plate VIII: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ajanta cave 7 attracts attention in the 200th anniversary year of European-accessed Ajanta cave wall paintings and sculptures in north-central India as a less ancient and more accessible of the Ajanta Caves.

Ajanta cave 7 belongs to the second-phase building of the 1,968.5-foot- (600-meter-) long Ajanta Caves, between the fifth and the sixth, seventh or eighth centuries C.E. It counts as seventh of eight vihara (from Sanskrit विहार, "walking [hall]") monastery caves between the east upper complex entrance and the two oldest Ajanta caverns. Basalt volcanic rock walls divide it from 1,300- to 1,600-year-old Ajanta cave 6 on the east and 2,000- to 2,300-year-old Ajanta cave 8 on the west.

Perhaps Ajanta cave 7 enlightened Buddhist laity and monastics 1,500 years before the 200th anniversary year of Ajanta cave wall paintings European-accessed since April 28, 1819.

Ajanta caves 8, 12, 13 and 15A/30, as the earliest vihara monastery caverns, furnished resident and seasonal laity and monastics with assembly halls and dormitory cells.

Perhaps resident and seasonal laity and monastics from first-phase vihara caverns gathered in first-phase, 2,000- to 2,300-year-old chaitya (from Sanskrit चैत्य, "funereal mound, pedestal, pile") caves. Perhaps they headed there with Sangha (from Sanskrit संघ, "multitude") laity and monastics lodged in nearby Ajanta cave 7 and Ajanta caves 11, 14 and 15. Ajanta cave 7, unlike Ajanta first-phase vihara caves of the third through first centuries B.C.E., imitates the chaitya prayer hall's stupa (from Sanskrit स्तूप, "[memorial, relic-holding] dome").

Perhaps Ajanta cave 7 laity and monastics journeyed as far as their sanctum sanctorum (from Latin sanctum sanctōrum, from Hebrew קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים, "holy of holies") shrine.

All chaitya and less ancient vihara caves keep their respective stupa and sanctum sanctorum shrines in the 200th anniversary year of European-accessed Ajanta cave wall paintings.

Ajanta cave 7 lodges within its 51.02-foot- (15.55-meter-) long, 102.53-foot- (31.25-meter-) wide living space one oblong, open hall; one sanctum sanctorum; two porticos; and eight cells. It maintains heavy octagonal support pillars within its two small porticos (from Latin porticus, "[colonnaded] porch"); sculpture within its shrine; and stone-carved beds within its dormitories. It nets as shrine sculpture Sakyan Crown Prince Siddhartha Gautama (624?-544 B.C.E.?, from Sanskrit सिद्धार्थ, "successful" and गोतम, "light [dispels] darkness") in his first post-trance discourse.

Ajanta cave 7 offers the 200th anniversary year of European-accessed Ajanta cave wall paintings and sculptures Gautama Buddha (from Sanskrit बुद्ध, "awakened"), enlightened 35-year-old about life's suffering "vale of tears."

Ajanta cave 7 precedes Gautama Buddha preaching the Noble Eightfold Path's proper understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration with Siddhartha Gautama's seven-day trance.

Ajanta cave 7 qualifies the seven-headed cobra Nagamuchalinda (from Sanskrit नाग, "serpent" and मुचलिन्द, mango-pine [Barringtonia acutangula) as the sunshade for enlightenment-questing, entranced 35-year-old Siddhartha Gautama. It reveals after his Neranjara River area trance and his Isipatana deer park sermon in the Magadha kingdom 42-year-old Gautama Buddha's miracles at Sāvatthī, in the Kosala kingdom. It shows Gautama Buddha simultaneously supplying air, fire and water from his lower and upper body in the Rapti (from Sanskrit ऐरावत, "ocean-produced") western riverbank area.

Ajanta cave 7 tenders tourists in the 200th anniversary year of Ajanta cave wall paintings and sculptures one-stop monastery, shrine and story hour under one roof.

ca. 1850 pen-and-ink and wash drawing of ground plan for Ajanta Cave 7, drawn by Major Robert Gill (Sep. 26, 1804-April 10, 1879); Wikimedia Commons page created Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017, by Ms Sarah Welch via UploadWizard: Ms Sarah Welch, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

"vihara cave no. 7," drawn in stone by English artist and watercolorist Thomas Colman Dibdin (Oct. 22, 1810-Dec. 26, 1893) from sketch by Scottish architectural historian James Ferguson (Jan. 22, 1808-Jan. 9, 1886); James Ferguson, Illustrations of the Rock-Cut Temples of India (1845), Plate VIII: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:*Plate_8*_==_Ajunta--Vihara_Cave,_No._7.jpg;
via franpritchett.com (Professor Emerita Frances W. Pritchett, Columbia University) @ https://franpritchett.com/00routesdata/bce_099_000/ajanta/fergusson/plate08.jpg;
CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Unported, via Royal Academy of Arts @ https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/book/illustrations-of-the-rock-cut-temples-of-india-selected-from-the-best;
CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Unported, via Royal Academy of Arts @ https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/ajunta-vihara-cave-no-7(image URL)

ca. 1850 pen-and-ink and wash drawing of ground plan for Ajanta Cave 7, drawn by Major Robert Gill (Sep. 26, 1804-April 10, 1879); Wikimedia Commons page created Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017, by Ms Sarah Welch via UploadWizard: Ms Sarah Welch, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_of_Ajanta_Cave_7_and_Cave_9,_1850_sketch.jpg

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Marriner, Derdriu. 17 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Thai Plum Village and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 10 May 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, AIAB Hong Kong and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 26 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Deer Park Monastery and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 12 April 2019. “Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Village Tradition and Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 22 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 13.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 15 March 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 12.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 15 February 2019. “200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings: Ajanta Cave 29.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 8 February 2019. “Ajanta Cave 26 in 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
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Marriner, Derdriu. 1 February 2019. “Ajanta Cave 19 in 200th Anniversary Year of Ajanta Cave Wall Paintings.” Earth and Space News. Friday.
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William Herschel Discovered Spiral Galaxy NGC 673 Sept. 4, 1786

Summary: Uranus discoverer William Herschel discovered spiral galaxy NGC 673 Sept. 4, 1786, five years five-plus months after discovering Uranus March 13, 1781.

NGC 673 appears as II-589 in Uranus discoverer Sir William Herschel’s list of “II. Second Class. Faint Nebulae” discoveries; the spiral galaxy in Aries was the second of two galaxies that he discovered Sep. 4, 1786: Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), CC BY 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Uranus discoverer William Herschel discovered spiral galaxy NGC 673 Sept. 4, 1786, five years five-plus months after his March 13, 1781, discovery of Uranus, the solar system’s seventh planet.

German-British astronomer and composer Sir Frederick William Herschel (Nov. 15, 1738-Aug. 25, 1822) made his discovery of NGC 673 at his last residence, known as Observatory House, on Windsor Road in Slough, Royal County of Berkshire, south east England. The instrument that he used for the discovery was his 20-foot, long-focus Newtonian reflector telescope. The model had an 18.7 inch-aperture.

Sir William’s discovery appears as number 589 under “II. Second Class. Faint Nebulae” in his Catalogue of a Second Thousand of New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, published in 1789. He arranged his discoveries of new nebulae and star clusters into eight classes. The first class concerned “Bright nebulae.” Classes three through eight comprised, respectively, “Very faint nebulae”; “Planetary nebulae”; “Very large nebulae”; “Very compressed and rich clusters of stars”; “Pretty much compressed clusters of large or small stars”; “Coarsely scattered clusters of stars.”

In his observations, Sir William identified “the star, or other object” that “is either preceding or following” the nebula. Object II-589 precedes “24 (ξ) Ariet,” a binary star in Aries the Ram constellation.

Sir William used both Bayer and Flamsteed stellar designations in his identification of the “determining star.” German celestial cartographer Johann Bayer (1572-March 7, 1625) designated stars with a Greek or Latin letter followed by the genitive form of the parent constellation’s Latin name. The Bayer designation for II-580’s “determining star” is ξ Arietis (Xi Arietis; ξ Ari (Xi Ari). A number followed by the Latin genitive of the parent constellation characterizes the stellar designation system devised by the United Kingdom’s first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed (Aug. 19, 1646-Dec. 31, 1719). Xi Arietis bears the Flamsteed designation of 24 Arietis.

According to Sir William’s observations, object II-589 precedes the binary star by a sidereal time of 36 minutes 21 seconds. His calculations place object II-589l at 0 degrees 50 minutes north of the star system.

Sir William made two observations of II-589. He described II-589 as “F. pL. E. b.ſ.M. 2’ ſp. cBſt.” His abbreviated description translates as: “Faint. Pretty large. Extended. Brighter suddenly in the middle. 2’ south preceding. Extremely bright star.”

Sir William’s faint nebula appears as NGC 673 in the New General Catalogue, published in 1888 by Danish-Irish astronomer John Louis Emil Dreyer (Feb. 13, 1852-Sept. 14, 1926). Dreyer’s catalogue assigned NGC (New General Catalog) numbers to discoveries and observations by Sir William; his son, Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet (March 7, 1792-May 11, 1871); his sister, Caroline Herschel (March 16, 1750-Jan. 9, 1848); and other observational astronomers.

NGC 673 is located in Aries the Ram constellation. The galaxy’s equatorial coordinates are right ascension of 01 hour 48 minutes 22.440 seconds, declination of plus 11 degrees 31 minutes 16.71 seconds (epoch J2000.0), according to NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED).

The NED Database classifies NGC 673 with a galaxy morphology of SAB(s)c. The classification denotes an intermediate spiral galaxy with weakly barred, ringless spirals and loosely wound arms. NGC 673 is a 13th-magnitude spiral galaxy, according to the online Celestial Atlas of NGC Objects maintained by Courtney Seligman, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at California’s Long Beach City College.

Sir William’s II-589 was the second of two galaxies that he discovered Sept. 4, 1786. The first galaxy, II-588, is known now as NGC 665 and lies in the neighboring constellation of Pisces the Fishes.

The takeaway for NGC 673, discovered Sept. 4, 1786, by German-British astronomer and composer Sir William Herschel, is that spiral galaxy NGC 673 is the second of two same-day galactic discoveries by the discoverer of Uranus.

NGC 665 appears as II-588 in Uranus discoverer Sir William Herschel’s list of “II. Second Class. Faint Nebulae” discoveries; the lenticular galaxy in Pisces was the first of two same-day galactic discoveries that he made Sep. 4, 1786: Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), CC BY 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

NGC 673 appears as II-589 in Uranus discoverer Sir William Herschel’s list of “II. Second Class. Faint Nebulae” discoveries; the spiral galaxy in Aries was the second of two galaxies that he discovered Sep. 4, 1786: Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), CC BY 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NGC673_-_SDSS_DR14.png

NGC 665 appears as II-588 in Uranus discoverer Sir William Herschel’s list of “II. Second Class. Faint Nebulae” discoveries; the lenticular galaxy in Pisces was the first of two same-day galactic discoveries that he made Sep. 4, 1786: Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), CC BY 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NGC665_-_SDSS_DR14.png

For further information:

Bennett, J.A. “’On the Power of Penetrating Into Space’: The Telescopes of William Herschel.” Journal for the History of Astronomy, vol. VII (1976): 75-108.
Available via Harvard ADSABS (NASA Astrophysics Data System Abstracts) @ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1976JHA.....7...75B

Dreyer, J.L.E. (John Louis Emil). “No. 673.” In: “A New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, Being the Catalogue of the Late Sir John F.W. Herschel, Bart., Revised, Corrected, and Enlarged.” Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. XLIX, part I: 31. London, England: Royal Astronomical Society, 1888.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435078053089?urlappend=%3Bseq=39
Available @ https://ia800501.us.archive.org/14/items/newgeneralcatalo00dreyrich/newgeneralcatalo00dreyrich.pdf
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32435078053089

Dreyer, J.L.E. (John Louis Emil). “A Supplement to Sir John Herschel’s ‘General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars.’ (Read February 26, 1877.).” The Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. XXVI (March 1878). Dublin, Ireland: Royal Irish Academy, 1878.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/supplementtosirj00dreyrich/

Herschel, Sir John F.W. (Frederick William). “397.” In: “A General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, Arranged in Order of Right Ascension and Reduced to the Common Epoch 1860.0 (With Precessions Computed for the Epoch 1880.0). Received October 16, -- Read November 19, 1863.” Philosophical Transactions, Part I (1864): 52. London, England: Taylor and Francis, 1864.
Available via HathiTrust @ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c3118173?urlappend=%3Bseq=60

Herschel, Sir John Frederick William. “Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars. Received October 16, -- Read November 19, 1863.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. For the Year MDCCCLXIV [1864]. Vol. 154: 1-137. London, England: Taylor and Francis, MDCCCLXV (1865).
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library (Natural History Museum Library, London) @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54093164
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/108864

Herschel, Sir John Frederick William. “Observations of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, Made at Slough, With a Twenty-Feet Reflector, Between the Years 1825 and 1833. Received July 1, -- Read November 21, 1833.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. 123 (1833): 359-505.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/108003

Herschel, William. “II. 589.” In: “Catalogue of a Second Thousand of New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars; With a Few Introductory Remarks on the Construction of the Heavens. Read June 11, 1789.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. LXXIX, part II (1789): 234. London, England: Lockyer Davis and Peter Elmsly, Printers to The Royal Society, MDCCLXXXIX.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/51828764
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/106695?seq=23#metadata_info_tab_contents

Herschel, William. “Catalogue of 500 New Nebulae, Nebulous Stars, Planetary Nebulae, and Clusters of Stars; With Remarks on the Construction of the Heavens. Read July 1, 1802.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. For the Year MDCCCII [1802] [vol. 92], part II: 477-528. London, England: W. Bulmer and Co., MDCCCII.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library (Smithsonian Libraries) @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49130796
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library (University of Toronto -- Robarts Library) @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22894665
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/107131

Herschel, William. “Catalogue of a Second Thousand of New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars; With a Few Introductory Remarks on the Construction of the Heavens. Read June 11, 1789.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. LXXIX, part II (1789): 212-255. London, England: Lockyer Davis and Peter Elmsly, Printers to The Royal Society, MDCCLXXXIX.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/51828742
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/106695

Herschel, William. “Catalogue of One Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars. Read April 27, 1786.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. LXXVI, part II (1786): 457-499. London, England: Lockyer Davis and Peter Elmsly, Printers to The Royal Society, MDCCLXXXVI.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48283813
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/106639

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. “Index for NGC 0673.” NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED).
Available @ http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=ngc+673

MacEvoy, Bruce. “The William Herschel Double Star Catalogs Restored.” Handprint > Astronomical Files From Black Oak Observatory. 2011.
Available @ http://www.handprint.com/ASTRO/herschel.html

MacEvoy, Bruce. “William Herschel’s Double Star Catalog.” Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge.
Available @ ftp://ftp.ast.cam.ac.uk/rwa/outgoing/herschelds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Globular Cluster NGC 5634 Lies Midway Between Iota and Mu Virginis.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/globular-cluster-ngc-5634-lies-midway.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Herschel Crater Hosts Eight Satellites in South Central Lunar Near Side." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/08/herschel-crater-hosts-eight-satellites.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Lunar Crater Herschel Honors German-British Astronomer William Herschel." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/08/lunar-crater-herschel-honors-german.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Uranus the Blue Green Ice Giant: Sideways Seventh Planet From the Sun.” Earth and Space News. Friday, March 13, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/03/uranus-blue-green-ice-giant-sideways.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Uranus Discovery 234 Years Ago on March 13, 1781, by Sir William Herschel.” Earth and Space News. Friday, March 13, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/03/uranus-discovery-234-years-ago-on-march.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “William Herschel Discovered Lenticular Galaxy NGC 665 Sept. 4, 1786.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/william-herschel-discovered-lenticular.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "William Herschel Discovered NGC 6818, Little Gem Nebula, Aug. 8, 1787." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/08/william-herschel-discovered-ngc-6818.html

Mullaney, James. The Herschel Objects and How to Observe Them. AST Astronomers’ Observing Guides. New York NY: Springer Science+Business Media LLC, 2007.

O’Meara, Steve. Herschel 400 Observing Guide: How to Find and Explore 400 Star Clusters, Nebulae, and Galaxies Discovered by William and Caroline Herschel. Cambridge, England; New York NY; Melbourne, Australia; Madrid, Spain; Cape Town, South Africa; Singapore; São Paulo, Brazil: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Papendiek, Mrs. (Charlotte Louise Henrietta). Court and Private Life in the Time of Queen Charlotte: Being the Journals of Mrs. Papendiek, Assistant Keeper of the Wardrobe and Reader to Her Majesty. Edited by Her Grand-Daughter, Mrs. Vernon Delves Broughton. Volume I. London, England: Richard Bentley & Son, MDCCCLXXXVII (1887).
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/courtprivatelife01papeuoft/

Seligman, Courtney. “NGC 673 (= PGC 6624).” Courtney Seligmen Website > Online Astronomy Text > Sky Atlas > NGC Objects > NGC 650-699.
Available @ https://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc6a.htm

Steinicke, Wolfgang. “’Historic WH’ Columns.” Astronomie-Homepage von Wolfgang Steinicke > Current Matters: Historic WH > Discovery and Cataloguing of Nebulae and Star Clusters > 2. Historical Catalogues: W. Herschel: Historic WH > “Historic WH” -- Explanation. Jan. 14, 2018.
Available @ http://www.klima-luft.de/steinicke/ngcic/Expl_Hist_WH.htm

Steinicke, Wolfgang. Revised New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue. Jan. 14, 2018.
Available @ http://www.klima-luft.de/steinicke/ngcic/rev2000/Explan.htm#3.2

Met Opera Unveiled Two Marc Chagall Music Murals Sept. 8, 1966

Summary: The Metropolitan Opera unveiled two Marc Chagall music murals Sept. 8, 1966, in the lobby of the opera house’s new location in Lincoln Center.

“The Triumph of Music” by Marc Chagall; The Metropolitan Opera House lobby, Lincoln Center: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 7, 2017

The Metropolitan Opera unveiled two Marc Chagall music murals Sept. 8, 1966, as a permanent display in the lobby of Lincoln Center, the opera house’s new location.

The unveiling preceded by eight days the September opening of the Metropolitan Opera’s new location in Lincoln Center. The opera house opened its new location Sept. 16, 1966, with Chagall’s two commissioned murals in place.

Chagall’s music-themed murals hang in the lobby as frames to the Metropolitan Opera’s sweeping dual staircase. “The Sources of Music” is located on the north (right) side of the lobby. “The Triumph of Music” is positioned on the south (left) side of the lobby.

The two murals are gigantic. They each measure 30 feet by 36 feet. Spatially, their vertical expanse extends from the top-most balcony level to the Grand Tier lobby level. Outside, Lincoln Center Plaza offers impressive visibility of both murals.

Yellow predominates in “The Sources of Music.” Two legendary musician-poets are depicted as the mural’s two largest figures. Angels, animals and people swirl around the central, vertical figure of double-profiled, green-robed King David playing the harp. Green-haired Orpheus floats horizontally across the mural’s lower section.

Red predominates in “The Triumph of Music.” A golden-robed, trumpeting angel sweeps diagonally across the mural’s upper section. Fantastic animals, dancers and musicians are vibrant participants in a mural that synaesthetically conveys joyful sounds.

Chagall painted the murals in France and shipped them across the Atlantic to the Metropolitan Opera. The murals were installed before Chagall’s arrival for the unveiling ceremony.

Biographer Jackie Wullschlager relates Chagall’s yelling “as I never have before” upon discovering that the placement of the murals was the reverse of his intentions. Chagall had envisioned “The Sources of Music” on the south (left) side of the lobby and “The Triumph of Music” on the lobby’s north (right) side. Erika Stark notes in her June 13, 2017, posting for Untapped Cities that Chagall eventually preferred the reversed placements.

The value of the two Chagall murals surfaced in 2009 with editor and reporter Daniel J. Wakin’s article in the March 3 issue of The New York Times. Peter Gelb, the Metropolitan Opera’s general manager, revealed the opera house’s offering of the two murals as collateral for an existing loan. Peter Gelb declined to specify the loan amount or the appraised value of the murals. The New York Times determined the loan’s amount at $35 million, according to the opera house’s most recently available tax return, which was for 2007.

In addition to the two lobby murals, the Metropolitan Opera also had commissioned costume and scenic designs from Chagall for the 1966-1967 Met Opera season’s new production of Die Zauberflöte by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). The Metropolitan Opera’s Feb. 19, 1967, debut of the new production also marked Chagall’s Met Opera designing debut.

Chagall’s set designs trimmed props to only those specified by the libretto. The debut’s review by Speight Jenkins Jr. (born Jan. 31, 1937) for the Dallas Times Herald noted the inclusion of “the tree on which Papageno attempts to hang himself.” The set comprised a central disk, with scene changes signaled by colorful backdrops and sidedrops.

Daniel J. Wakin’s March 3, 2009, article also referenced the sale of Chagall backdrops “several years ago.” The New York Times mentioned a sale price of $1 million, according to art experts.

Beside the two lobby murals and Die Zauberflöte artifacts, the Metropolitan Opera apparently retains another souvenir of Marc Chagall’s association with the opera house. Daniel J. Wakin’s article includes an image, captioned “Chagall’s signature on a wall of the opera house,” by The New York Times photographer Eddie Hausner.

Belarusian Jewish-French artist Marc Chagall was born Thursday, July 7, 1887, in Liozna, then part of the Russian Empire and now Belarus. His birth name was Moishe Zakharovich Shagal. He was the oldest of nine children.

The early modernist artist passed away Thursday, March 28, 1985, at his home in Saint Paul de Vence, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. He was 101 days away from his 98th birthday. He was buried in the town’s cemetery (le cimetière de Saint-Paul-de-Vence).

The takeaway for the Metropolitan Opera’s unveiling of two Marc Chagall music murals on Sept. 8, 1966, is that both murals, “The Sounds of Music” and “The Triumph of Music,” still colorfully dominate the opera house’s lobby and are impressively visible from Lincoln Center Plaza.

“The Sources of Music” by Marc Chagall; The Metropolitan Opera House lobby, Lincoln Center: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 7, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

“The Triumph of Music” by Marc Chagall; The Metropolitan Opera House lobby, Lincoln Center: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 7, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10159092541820533/

“The Sources of Music” by Marc Chagall; The Metropolitan Opera House lobby, Lincoln Center: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 7, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10159092541815533/

For further information:

Boccadoro, Patricia. “Review: Marc Chagall -- The Triumph of Music.” CultureKiosque > KlassickNet: Classical Music > Features > Archives. Jan. 15, 2016.
Available @ http://www.culturekiosque.com/klassik/features/triumph_of_music960.html

Cascone, Sarah. “The Metropolitan Opera House, Home to Massive Marc Chagall Murals, to Renovate Lobby.” Artnet news > Art World. Feb. 29, 2016.
Available @ https://news.artnet.com/art-world/metropolitan-opera-house-lobby-renovation-436127

Kantrowitz, Jonathan. “Chagall: Colour and Music.” Art History News > Blog Archive. Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017.
Available @ http://arthistorynewsreport.blogspot.com/2017/02/chagall-colour-and-music.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “2018-2019 Met Opera Season Showed Triumph of the Vanities by Cecily Brown.” Earth and Space News. Monday, May 13, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/born-july-7-1887-marc-chagall-designed.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Born July 7, 1887, Marc Chagall Designed Die Zauberflöte at Met Opera.” Earth and Space News. Monday, July 1, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/2018-2019-met-opera-season-showed.html

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "On this day in 1887, Marc Chagall was born. Chagall's tremendous murals, 'The Triumph of Music' and 'The Sources of Music,' have graced the facade of the Met at Lincoln Center for 50 years. bit.ly/2pZ4NpR. Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera Archives." Facebook. July 7, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10159092541815533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "On this day in 1887, Marc Chagall was born. Chagall's tremendous murals, "The Triumph of Music" and "The Sources of Music," have graced the facade of the Met at Lincoln Center for 50 years. bit.ly/2pZ4NpR. Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera Archives." Facebook. July 7, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10159092541820533/

Stark, Erika. “The NYC Met Opera’s 50th Anniversary and Murals of Marc Chagall: Art Imitating Life.” Untapped Cities. June 13, 2017.
Available @ https://untappedcities.com/2017/06/13/the-nyc-met-operas-50th-anniversary-and-murals-of-marc-chagall-art-imitating-life/

Wakin, Daniel J. “The Met Offers Chagalls as Collateral.” The New York Times > Arts > Music. March 3, 2009.
Available @ https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/arts/music/04oper.html

Wullschlager, Jackie. Chagall: A Biography. New York NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.

Koloa Maoli Hawaiian Ducks Are One Duck Less on Magnum's Sudden Death

Summary: Koloa maoli Hawaiian ducks are one duck less on Magnum's Sudden Death Oct. 22, 2018, re-aired Sept. 1, 2019, and on Oahu, where Magnum and they abide.

male (left) and female (right) koloa maoli Hawaiian ducks; Oct. 4, 2011, photo courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Koloa maoli Hawaiian ducks are one duck less on Magnum's Sudden Death crime action drama television series episode Oct. 22, 2018, re-aired Aug. 30, 2019, and on Oahu, where they are endangered.

Director David Grossman and writer Peter Lenkov build Season One's fifth episode around a single-parent suspect, Hani Iona (Sam Puefua), and his son Makoa (Zion Junk). Private investigator Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and helicopter tour owner-operator Theodore Calvin (Stephen Hill) conduct Makoa to the former's Robin's Nest residence during Hani's pretrial incarceration. Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks), Robin's Nest majordomo (from Latin maior, "main" and domo, "of household"), decides upon a duck dish as deliciously nutritious for a youngster.

Teuila Tuileta (Amy Hill), as Kumu (from Hawaiian kumu, "teacher") and Robin's Nest curator, elects grilled cheese sandwiches as more enticing and perhaps more ecologically sustainable.

The Anatidae (from Latin anas, "duck" and -idæ from Greek -ειδής, "resembling") waterbird family member fits year-round breedability, nestability, parentability into six- to seven-year-long life cycles.

The duck, goose, swan member of the Anseriformes (from Latin ānser, "goose" and -formis, "-shaped") magpie goose, screamer and waterfowl order gestates generally December through May. Physically and sexually mature one-year-old and one-plus-year-old females have two to 10 hatchlings after harboring their clutches for four weeks in breast-feather and down-lined, ground-level nests. Koloa maoli (from Hawaiian koloa, "duck" and maoli, "native") hatchlings initiate swimming almost immediately after hatching and bursting, direct, fast, strong flight patterns as nine-week-olds.

Koloa maoli Hawaiian ducks, judged taxonomically by Philip Sclater (Nov. 4, 1827-June 27, 1913), journey through the 50th state's low wetlands, river valleys and mountain streams.

The Hawaiian endemic (among one's own people only, from Greek ἐν, "in" and δῆμος, "people") keeps to freshwater wetlands through 7,000-foot (2,133.6-meter) altitudes above sea level.

All ages and both genders of the island-hopper labeled Anas wyvilliana (for Sir Charles Wyville Thompson, March 5, 1830-March 10, 1882) scientifically look mallard-like and mottled. Adult females and males respectively manifest 15.5- to 17-inch- (40- to 43-centimeter-) and 19- to 20-inch (48- to 51-centimeter-) long, 16-ounce (460-gram) and 21.3-ounce (604-gram) bodies. They net 38- to 45-inch (97- to 114-centimeter) wingspans, with blue-green, white-bordered speculum (from Latin speculum, “mirror”) flight-feathers nestled over secondary-wing feathers on pointed wings.

Koloa maoli Hawaiian ducks offer black eyes; black-green, spatulate bills, occasionally orange-tipped in females; brown-gray crowns, foreheads and napes; brown-white, buff-white throats; and black-marked, brown-white undersides.

Adult females and males present black-mottled brown, buff, gray uppersides; orange legs and feet; and fan-shaped tails with black-mottled, brown, buff upper-tail and brown-white under-tail feathers.

Adults quest crayfish and other crustaceans, earthworms, larval mosquitoes and other aquatic invertebrates, mosquito fish, snails and other molluscs, tadpoles; grass seeds, green algae and rice. They resemble mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), albeit darker and smaller, without black curled tail feathers and green heads, when they release, albeit more softly, quack-quack-quack sounds. Avian botulism, development-degraded and lost habitats, fuel and oil spills, hunting, hybridization with mallard ducks, introduced plants and predators and sea-rising climate change stress their populations.

Curlews, pintails, plovers, sanderlings, scaups, shovelers, tattlers, turnstones, wigeons; cattails, fleabane, hyacinth and mangrove threaten koloa maoli Hawaiian ducks on Hawai’i, Kaua’i, Maui, Ni’ihau and O’ahu.

Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and lawyer Vanessa Nero (Cyndi Lauper) in Magnum PI's Sudden Death (season 1 episode 5): What2Vue @What2Vue, via Twitter Oct. 12, 2018

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

male (left) and female (right) koloa maoli Hawaiian ducks; Oct. 4, 2011, photo courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NRCSHI03027_-_Hawaii_(2119)(NRCS_Photo_Gallery).tif

Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and lawyer Vanessa Nero (Cyndi Lauper) in Magnum PI's Sudden Death (season 1 episode 5): What2Vue @What2Vue, via Twitter Oct. 12, 2018, @ https://twitter.com/What2Vue/status/1050785669545639936

For further information:

"Focal Species: Hawaiian Duck or Koloa (Anas wyvilliana)." Hawaiian Bird Conservation Action Plan. October 2012.
Available @ https://pacificrimconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Koloa.pdf

"Hawaiian Duck Anas wyvilliana." eBird > Anseriformes > Anatidae.
Available @ https://ebird.org/species/hawduc

"Hawaiian (=Koloa) Duck (Anas wyvilliana." U.S. Fish and Wiildlife Service > ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System > Species Profile.
Available @ https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/7712

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 February 2019. "Makou Hawaiian Buttercups Add No Aconitine to Magnum's I, the Deceased." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/02/makou-hawaiian-buttercups-add-no.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 November 2018. "Makiawa Hawaiian Sardines Appease Magnum PI's The Cat Who Cried Wolf." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/11/makiawa-hawaiian-sardines-appease.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 October 2018. "Hawaiian Dolphinfish Mahi-Mahi Abide by Magnum PI's From the Head Down." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/10/hawaiian-dolphinfish-mahi-mahi-abide-by.html

Mitch Waite Group. WhatBird.com > Field Guide to Birds of North America > Species Overview > Hawaiian Duck. Copyright 2002-2013.
Available @ https://identify.whatbird.com/obj/1182/identification/Hawaiian_Duck.aspx

Pyle, R.L.; and P. Pyle. 1 January 2017. "Hawaiian Duck Anas wyvilliana." In: The Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and Status. Honolulu HI: B.P. Bishop Museum. Version 2. http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlpmonograph/.
Available @ http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/pdfs/01-Anatidae/HAWD.pdf

Sclater, Philip Lutley. 1878. "11. Anas wyvilliana Scl. (Pl. XXII.)." Page 98. In: "Part VIII. Report on the Birds Collected During the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger in the Years 1873-1876." Pages 1-149. In: Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-76 Under the Command of Captain George S. Nares, R.N., F.R.S. And Captain Frank Turle Thomson, R.N. Prepared Under the Superintendence of Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, Knt., F.R.S., &c. Regius Professor of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh Director of the Civilian Scientific Staff on Board. Zoology - Vol. II. Edinburgh [Scotland]: Neill and Company, for Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
Available via Google Books @ https://books.google.com/books?id=LZJBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA98

Sclater, Philip Lutley. 19 March 1878. "11. Anas wyvilliana, sp. nov." Pages 350-351. In: "2. Reports on the Collections of Birds Made During the Voyage of H.M.S. 'Challenger'. - No. VIII. On the Birds of the Sandwich Islands. Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London for the Year 1878. London [England]: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28511576

"Sudden Death." Magnum PI: The First Season. Los Angeles CA: Paramount Pictures Corporation, Oct. 22, 2018.

What2Vue @What2Vue. "CBS released Promotional Photos of Magnum P.I. episode 'Sudden Death' (1.05) https://what2vue.com/2018/10/12/promotional-photos-of-magnum-p-i-episode-5-sudden-death/ #MagnumPI." Twitter. Oct. 12, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/What2Vue/status/1050785669545639936