As an organizer, I have long been fascinated by museums: the way they’re curated, how the exhibits are arranged, and why they’ve chosen to acquire and display the pieces in their possession. So it may come as no surprise that one of the highlights from my recent trip to St. Petersburg — aside from seeing the beauty of the city itself, a long time dream of mine — was visiting The State Hermitage Museum.
The building itself is a masterpiece, having originally been constructed as the Winter Palace of Catherine the Great. Upon entering, the grandness of the building took my breath away. Each room was somehow more opulent, magnificent and beautiful than the last, and that's before stopping to look at a single piece of art. They say, by the way, that if you took 1 minute to look at each piece of art, and spent 8 hours per day in the museum, it would take you 15 years! To get through every exhibit! I only had a day.
As I began strolling through the museum, taking in the exhibits, I suddenly came across an object in a glass case that stunned and delighted me. It was a beautiful porcelain organizing container, with compartments, dividers and drawers, each section hand painted with an image: tweezers, rings, needles and thread; “labels” to make it easy for the user to keep their stuff in order. I gazed down at the placard to find that this historic wonderfully ornate item was from the mid-1500s!
We often think of the organizing industry as a modern day construct--the result of a consumer society. But here was evidence of the desire to create order in the 1500’s. And to do it in style! And to combat any notion that this piece was a one-off item, a little while later, in a completely different exhibit celebrating the magnificent metal work of the The Court Silverware Company, founded in 1845 by Iganity Sazikov family, I stumbled across a second astonishing piece: a stunning pencil holder cast in the image of Prince Ivan Kalita leaning over a moneybag. It was an exquisite and powerful work of art… while simultaneously being a very functional item — dedicated to bringing whimsy and perhaps inspiration to the person on whose desk this piece would stand.
And so you see, that is why I love museums… and the work of museum curators. Through their organizational prowess, they give us a chance to see the connections between people, cultures and time. As these two delightful and functional works of art show us, organizing is not just a modern day construct. For at least 500 years (and longer, I am sure) organizing has been an integral part of crafting a fulfilling and enjoyable life, it’s objects worthy of display in one of the greatest museums in the world.