The 7 Wonders of the World

The 7 Wonders of the World

The first description of the 7 Wonders of the World has been attributed to the Phoenician writer Antipatros of Sidon (2nd century BC). His book however was neither a philosophical treatise, nor a book of art, but purely a comprehensive travel guide. A kind of Lonely Planet guide of the ancient world.

On his journeys Antipatros mainly followed the trade routes of the then known world.

Only one of the Wonders of the World was situated in Greece: the Statue of Zeus by Phidias at Olympia. In Asia Minor he described the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Iona; on the island of Rhodes the Colossus; in Egypt the Pharos of Alexandria and the Pyramids of Cheops at Giseh and finally in more distant Asia Minor the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Antipatros only described in his book those “Wonders” which were at that time in existence. He did not like to recommend ruins to his contemporaries.
The enthusiasm for the 7 Wonders of the World did not last forever. When the Occident became Christian, the interest for the Ancient World faded. Apart from the Pyramids of Cheops there were meanwhile only left a couple of ruins of the Wonders of the World. So slowly they passed into oblivion. Not before the 19th century, scientists started to dig for evidence of the Ancients and showed the amazed modern people what their ancestors were capable of. With that the 7 Wonders of the World had been rediscovered.

Antipatros did not leave behind drawings, let alone pictures. In the 16th century a Dutchman, Maarten van Heemskerck, did make some sketches and engravings of the 7 Wonders of the World. These sketches, together with other existing literature have been the basis on which Christopher Blackwell (London/England) has made his models.

During his entire lifetime Chris Blackwell has been fascinated by the 7 Wonders of the World. At the end of the 1980’s when he got the opportunity to make models of them, he embraced that chance enthusiastically. He collected around him a dozen of British artists (each a specialist in his own discipline) and subsequently within a period of a year and a half realized the models.

Shortly after they were finished, these models were exhibited during Christmas time at Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly, London/England. Each year there is a competition all over England, what department store has the most beautiful Christmas window display. With the models in their shop windows, Fortnum & Mason was overwhelmingly pronounced as winner of that year (1991).

The appreciation by the public went so far that after the Christmas period the board of directors decided to clear the entire antique department of the store and to establish an exclusive exposition of these models. For about half a year prestigious, expensive sales space was sacrificed in order to exhibit these really extraordinary models.

After completion, all drawings, tools, moulds and dies were deliberately destroyed. Therefore every single model is, in the real sense of the word, a truly unique piece of art. There exists only 1 set of them in the whole world, which since all moulds etc. have been destroyed, can never be duplicated.