If Objects Could Talk

Fine forgery or authentic antique? Only the skilled detectives at the museum can solve this case!

Most cabinets that still exist from the Renaissance are in rough shape—which makes sense for something that’s at least 400 years old. So when curators saw that the Renaissance-style wooden cabinet J. Paul Getty had purchased was in great shape, they suspected it was a more recent copy. But after a visit to an exhibition of other French furniture from the Renaissance, curators saw clues that this fancy furniture might be the real deal after all!

Working together with conservators and scientists, the museum analyzed the cabinet further, using dendrochronology, carbon dating, and metal analysis. What did they discover? Find out on this week’s Art Detectives.

Like this episode? Head to the website for a listening guide, where you’ll find discussion topics and related activities. We also have a coloring page featuring this week’s star!

Teachers, are you working on lessons about how we know history? This episode and its listening guide are great resources for the classroom or to send home to families.

If you're enjoying the show, don't forget to leave us a rating or review!

These stories are based on historical research and evidence, but some of the characters and scenarios are fictionalized. If you have questions, write to us or send us a voice memo! You can reach us at PodTeam@getty.edu.

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For more art history insights, check out our other Getty Podcasts shows at www.getty.edu/podcasts

Recording Artists tells artist biographies using archival material from the Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/recording-artists/
OMMM: Our Museum Mindfulness Meditation merges art history with mindfulness meditations: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/ommm/
ReCurrent chronicles the people who shape our culture and keep the past alive: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/recurrent/
Art + Ideas showcases interviews with artists, architects, scientists, and cultural luminaries by former Getty President Jim Cuno: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/art-and-ideas/

Through its programs—Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Museum, Getty Research Institute, and Getty Trust—Getty shares and advances the world’s visual art and cultural heritage, both in Los Angeles and throughout the world. 

Learn more about all we do for art on our website:

Getty: https://www.getty.edu/
Getty Conservation Institute: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/
Getty Foundation: https://www.getty.edu/foundation/
Getty Museum: https://www.getty.edu/museum/
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/

This vase might be nearly 10 feet tall and weigh half a ton, but the snail who hangs around its base isn’t intimidated. This plucky guest will tell you all about their enormous home, and how it traveled to three World’s Fairs looking for a buyer.

They’re confident that artists can learn a lot from snails—artists need to look at the world slowly to find inspiration, and having a hard shell helps them deal with critical reviews.

Learn about World’s Fairs at the end of the 19th century and the creative ways artists have tried to make a living throughout history in this snail’s story.

Like this episode? Head to the website for a listening guide, where you’ll find discussion topics and related activities, like exploring textures by making artful rubbings. We also have a coloring page featuring this week’s star!

Teachers, are you working on a lesson about World's Fairs or slow looking? This episode and its listening guide are great resources for the classroom or to send home to families.

If you're enjoying the show, don't forget to leave us a rating or review!

These stories are based on historical research and evidence, but some of the characters and scenarios are fictionalized. If you have questions, write to us or send us a voice memo! You can reach us at PodTeam@getty.edu.

For more art history insights, check out our other Getty Podcasts shows at www.getty.edu/podcasts

Recording Artists tells artist biographies using archival material from the Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/recording-artists/
OMMM: Our Museum Mindfulness Meditation merges art history with mindfulness meditations: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/ommm/
ReCurrent chronicles the people who shape our culture and keep the past alive: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/recurrent/
Art + Ideas showcases interviews with artists, architects, scientists, and cultural luminaries by former Getty President Jim Cuno: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/art-and-ideas/

Through its programs—Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Museum, Getty Research Institute, and Getty Trust—Getty shares and advances the world’s visual art and cultural heritage, both in Los Angeles and throughout the world. 

Learn more about all we do for art on our website:

Getty: https://www.getty.edu/
Getty Conservation Institute: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/
Getty Foundation: https://www.getty.edu/foundation/
Getty Museum: https://www.getty.edu/museum/
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/

It’s hard to stay awake when you’re a luxurious, fluffy, silk-covered bed! Our leading lady will try, though, as she reminisces about the many, many hands who worked hard to make her. From the carpenter and gilder (yes, a person whose job is just to turn her gold!) to the upholsterer, in 18th-century France, making a bed was exhausting work!

If this bed story tires you out, she’s also got a bedtime story for you. Speaking of beds and many hands reminds her of the classic French fairy tale “The White Cat,” written by Madame d’Aulnoy, the woman who actually invented the term “fairy tale.” 

So get cozy with your best silk blanket—or whichever is your favorite—and settle in for this bed’s yarn.

Like this episode? Head to the website (www.getty.edu/ioct) for a listening guide, where you’ll find discussion topics and related activities. We also have a coloring page featuring this week’s star!

Teachers, are you teaching about fairytales and folktales or 18th century France? This episode and its listening guide are great resources for the classroom or to send home to families.

If you're enjoying the show, don't forget to leave us a rating or review!

These stories are based on historical research and evidence, but some of the characters and scenarios are fictionalized. If you have questions, write to us or send us a voice memo! You can reach us at PodTeam@getty.edu.

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For more art history insights, check out our other Getty Podcasts shows at www.getty.edu/podcasts

Recording Artists tells artist biographies using archival material from the Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/recording-artists/
OMMM: Our Museum Mindfulness Meditation merges art history with mindfulness meditations: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/ommm/
ReCurrent chronicles the people who shape our culture and keep the past alive: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/recurrent/
Art + Ideas showcases interviews with artists, architects, scientists, and cultural luminaries by former Getty President Jim Cuno: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/art-and-ideas/

Through its programs—Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Museum, Getty Research Institute, and Getty Trust—Getty shares and advances the world’s visual art and cultural heritage, both in Los Angeles and throughout the world. 

Learn more about all we do for art on our website:

Getty: https://www.getty.edu/
Getty Conservation Institute: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/
Getty Foundation: https://www.getty.edu/foundation/
Getty Museum: https://www.getty.edu/museum/
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/

This great green dragon takes his position at the top of the clock very seriously. Accompanied by a monkey and a goose, these time guardians ensure there will be no “killing time” on their watch!

To demonstrate the value of time, the dragon outlines the history of clocks—from sundials and waterclocks, to medieval clocks with bells, to household mechanical clocks like his. Not only is his clock a marvel of machinery, it’s also an artistic wonder, showcasing the strength and beauty of a special new kind of porcelain. The dragon holds one more trick, too: telling time in the dark. Hear how this talent helped a kid in the middle of the night.

Like this episode? Head to the website for a listening guide, where you’ll find discussion topics and related activities, like exploring how to measure time.

Teachers, are you working on a lesson about telling time and want to explore how people did that in the past? This episode and its listening guide are great resources for the classroom or to send home to families.

If you're enjoying the show, don't forget to leave us a rating or review!

These stories are based on historical research and evidence, but some of the characters and scenarios are fictionalized. If you have questions, write to us or send us a voice memo! You can reach us at PodTeam@getty.edu.

///

For more art history insights, check out our other Getty Podcasts shows at www.getty.edu/podcasts

Recording Artists tells artist biographies using archival material from the Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/recording-artists/
OMMM: Our Museum Mindfulness Meditation merges art history with mindfulness meditations: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/ommm/
ReCurrent chronicles the people who shape our culture and keep the past alive: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/recurrent/
Art + Ideas showcases interviews with artists, architects, scientists, and cultural luminaries by former Getty President Jim Cuno: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/art-and-ideas/

Through its programs—Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Museum, Getty Research Institute, and Getty Trust—Getty shares and advances the world’s visual art and cultural heritage, both in Los Angeles and throughout the world. 

Learn more about all we do for art on our website:

Getty: https://www.getty.edu/
Getty Conservation Institute: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/
Getty Foundation: https://www.getty.edu/foundation/
Getty Museum: https://www.getty.edu/museum/
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/

One giant blue orb dotted with stars, six griffins, 12 zodiac symbols, 18 candle holders, countless crystals—and even a bowl to fill with goldfish! Have you ever seen something so elaborate just hanging from the ceiling?

This is the description of an extraordinary chandelier, made around 1819 to hang in a fancy French home, perhaps over a dining table. Imagine eating dinner with a goldfish overhead!

In this episode, one of the griffins shares how her bronze body turned to gold, as well as her centuries-old gossip from dinner parties past—including the story of one quiet, observant little girl. For the griffin and the girl, the magic is in noticing the details.

Like this episode? Head to the website (www.getty.edu/ioct) for a listening guide, where you’ll find discussion topics and related activities, like a recipe for your own mille-fueille. We also have a coloring page featuring this week’s star!

Teachers, are you teaching about recipes and food across time or French culture in the 19th century? This episode and its listening guide are great resources for the classroom or to send home to families.

If you're enjoying the show, don't forget to leave us a rating or review!

These stories are based on historical research and evidence, but some of the characters and scenarios are fictionalized. If you have questions, write to us or send us a voice memo! You can reach us at PodTeam@getty.edu.

For more art history insights, check out our other Getty Podcasts shows at www.getty.edu/podcasts

Recording Artists tells artist biographies using archival material from the Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/recording-artists/
OMMM: Our Museum Mindfulness Meditation merges art history with mindfulness meditations: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/ommm/
ReCurrent chronicles the people who shape our culture and keep the past alive: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/recurrent/
Art + Ideas showcases interviews with artists, architects, scientists, and cultural luminaries by former Getty President Jim Cuno: https://www.getty.edu/podcasts/art-and-ideas/

Through its programs—Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Museum, Getty Research Institute, and Getty Trust—Getty shares and advances the world’s visual art and cultural heritage, both in Los Angeles and throughout the world. 

Learn more about all we do for art on our website:

Getty: https://www.getty.edu/
Getty Conservation Institute: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/
Getty Foundation: https://www.getty.edu/foundation/
Getty Museum: https://www.getty.edu/museum/
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/