New Puzzle Day Part II: How to NOT ship a puzzle

Wedding Feast shipped in
paper and totally fucked up...

With a gapping split, how confident
would you be the pieces were not
all over from here to Germany?

Another fantastic example of how NOT
to ship a puzzle.

Pieces rattling around the bottom of a
busted up open box... not  good sign.

Box wide open in the packing box...
At the very least, seal the box
with tape, better yet, put the pieces in
ziplock bags and seal the box!

So, today is a bittersweet. Three new puzzles showed up including the long awaited Wedding Feast at Cana, yet two out of the three showed up totally fucked up! Wedding feast was shipped in just the puzzle box wrapped in shipping paper all the way from Germany! When I picked it up at the post office, it was split at the seam and most likely had leaked pieces from here to Germany! This is seriously frustrating to wait over a month for a puzzle to find it in this condition.

The other new puzzle, the 6000pc Clementoni Magna Carta (Art. 36504) arrived in a crushed overpacked box (a box twice as large as it should have been) with the puzzle and loose pieces rattling around inside it. Overpacking a box is a good thing, but it needs to be secure inside the box. Not taping the puzzle box shut or placing the pieces in a sealed bag is another faux pas. It should be plainly obvious that you can't just ship these things like that but apparently not.

I really hope the remaining big boys on their way were packed with considerably more care. For now, I am debating on counting 15,000 pieces or just accepting that they are most likely missing pieces. I'm damned if I do and damned if I dont. It will take 16 hours to count all of them, but then again, if you are missing more than a few pieces, who would want to spend the dozens of hours required to build it?

I suppose people have a common misconception that the USPS cares about your package. They do not. I don't know what they do  to these boxes, but it is far from handling them with care! I know I will be explicit in all future puzzle purchases about how to package it correctly! 99% percent of the problems could be solved by sealing the pieces in some sort of bag. There is a reason they come from the manufacturer that way!

Enough bitching... All in all, this really sucks. It's a lesson to me that I need to communicate to people how to properly ship a puzzle here and if there are missing pieces (it is assumed there are) I will just perfect my technique of making my own pieces.

Wedding Feast at Cana

Paolo Veronese's Wedding Feast at Cana - 9000pc from Ravensburger is the puzzle that started it all for me. I have written about it a bunch here. I finished the majority of this puzzle maybe 10 years ago and it was destroyed in a move. So I am very much looking forward to getting it done finally.

The puzzle itself is of the same era as Tower of Babel and is printed on Ravi's green board (versus the blue board of today) and has shape features of that era as well (Limited knob diversity and location) but is well printed on fine linen paper with great color. A fine reproduction of the original art!

Magna Carta

There was so much to say about this puzzle, I moved it to its own  its own page here.

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Here are some pics from todays haul. Enjoy!

At last, I have her back. She may be damaged, but I will get
her fixed up one way or another. The largest format
of Paolo Veronese's Wedding Feast at Cana.

Clementoni's Magna Carta has magnificant
coloring and the pieces appear to have
great dichotomy of knob curvature. I love
the blue cardboard. These pieces feel great!

Here are the pieces of Wedding Feast at Cana. As you can see, high quality on Ravi's old
style board. In the background is the claim form I suspect I will need to use!

Paolo Veronese: Wedding Feast at Cana

Paolo Veronese: Wedding Feast at Cana

I am very excited to start on this puzzle. It is a very special puzzle to me and very special painting in history. We will soon be working on the 9000 piece version of this puzzle by Ravensburger

The Wedding Feast is a 450 year old painting by the late Paolo Veronese. The piece was commissioned in 1562 by the Benedictine Monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy, and completed in fifteen months by the year 1563. It hung in the refectory of the monastery for 235 years, until it was plundered by Napoléon in 1797, and shipped to Paris. The painting was cut in half for the journey and stitched back together in Paris where it remains as the largest painting the Louvre (22ft tall by 32.6 ft long).

The painting itself depicts the first miracle of Christ, it is said that during the feast, the wine was running out so Jesus asked the water vessels be filled with water and brought to him, upon which you turned them to wine.

The Bride and Groom. I actually don't know whom is the groom in this photo. I suppose if I  was more up on my art history I would know...

I just love the detail of this painting, and I have a thing for parrots.

Jesus and Mary depicted with glowing halos as prescribed by the period (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(religious_iconography)

Here they are thought to be butchering lamb representing Jesus as the Lamb of God (The ultimate sacrificial offering)

The Wedding Feast At Cana. A High Resolution version available here

While searching about the net on this piece, I came across this interpretation of the biblical story. I really don't care if it's true, but, this is the kind of God I believe in and makes me want to complete this puzzle!

It was such a wonderful wedding feast! The music, the dancing, the food and wine. There was a burst of joy just then and Mary looked over at a table where Jesus and his companions had gathered. Jesus had finished his story and the whole table had dissolved in laughter. Mary shook her head with a smile. He captivated people with his stories.

She leaned against the tall, empty water jars as she watched. Her heart filled with such love as she looked at him.

She remembered how thirty years ago, she and Joseph had carried the newborn into the temple in Jerusalem. An old man named Simeon had come up to them and asked to hold their child. With tears in his eyes, he held the baby aloft, thanking God. “I have seen your salvation!” he prayed. Anna, one of the temple ancients, had heard Simeon and joined them. She, too, prayed aloud in thanks, and then began waving bystanders over to see the child. Mary and Joseph exchanged glances and wondered again at this child.

But the other words Simeon had spoken that day were words she prayed with each morning. That long ago day in the temple, in that small crowd around Anna and Joseph, Simeon had turned to Mary and said quietly, “This child will be the cause of the fall and rise of many in Israel.” Then he touched her shoulder gently. “And you, dear mother, will have your heart pierced in pain.”

She and Joseph had talked about this after they left the temple and in the years after. They knew that Jesus was sent by God. She remembered the words of Gabriel. But he was also just … Jesus. He was their little boy who had played in the sawdust of the workshop, run through the streets of their tiny town with the other boys and learned his scriptures.

Since that long ago day in the temple, Joseph had died, and Jesus had been her support and companion. They knew each other’s hearts so well. She watched as he often left the house, wandering out into the desert to pray. She, too, asked the Lord each day to open her own heart. “I know you have called him for a special reason,” she would pray each morning. “Let me be willing to let him go. Let me recognize when it is his time.”

She had not pushed him into marriage, even though most of his friends were long since married. She would love grandchildren. Jesus would be such a good father, as Joseph had been. But as she prayed for freedom in her heart, she knew she could only follow the choices Jesus made. And so a few months ago, Jesus had left home, saying he needed to teach. She had blessed her son and sent him out with a prayer.

Since he left home, she had heard from some of her kin the story of Jesus’ baptism at the River Jordan and the clouds parting and the voice saying, “This is my beloved son. With you I am well pleased.” They were astonished at it, but when Mary heard the story, the truth of it rested quietly in her heart. Of course.

She was suddenly brought back from her memories to this wedding feast by the whispers next to her as the groom looked wildly around. “Out of wine? How could that be?!” he asked. He knew that it would be a dishonor on his bride and her family to run out of wine at their wedding feast. He looked frantic and lost.

Mary saw Jesus stroll outside into the courtyard and she walked out to join him, stopping him with a little hug. “Joshua,” she said tenderly, using his childhood nickname. He wrapped his arms around her and put his cheek to hers.

“Imma,” he said warmly, using the most familiar form of Mother. “Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked. She nodded at him and searched his face and the warm, dark eyes she knew and loved so well. Today she sensed something different in him and in herself. She felt divided. She wanted to keep him close, to protect him, to be with him. She didn’t want to let him go.

It was her old struggle with fear. Was she protecting him – or herself too? The words would come back to her: Your heart will be pierced…. But as she did over and over each day, she turned her spirit to the Lord. “Open my heart. Give me the freedom to let him go. Let me not be afraid.”

Then suddenly, she knew. Standing there in the courtyard embracing her son, she understood. It was his time.

She looked up at him. “Joshua … they have run out of wine.” It was all she said.

He looked past her into the house at the family and saw from their discomfort that it was true. Their host was having whispered conversations with headwaiters, servants and uncles all at once.

“Imma,” he said then paused with an imperceptible shake of his head. “I’m not …. It’s not….” He stopped and looked into the dark eyes that matched his own. “Not yet,” he hesitated.

Her struggle was over. She smiled at him in peace and left him in the courtyard to pray to his abba, as he always did. Mary was not sure what this all meant; only that she had to say to him, “They are out of wine.”

She walked back into the house and said softly to the servants, “I know you need some help. Just do whatever Jesus asks you to do.” They looked bewildered but nodded their heads.

After a while, Mary saw Jesus return to the house with a deep serenity in his eyes. He walked up to two servants and gestured to the water jars lining the walls. “Fill these with water.” They were confused – the ceremonial washings were already over. Who needed more water in these jars? But they did as he asked.

“Now, draw out a cup” he said gently, “and take it to the headwaiter.” He walked back to his table. It made no sense but they remembered Mary’s words and so carried a brimming cup to the headwaiter. He took a sip, glanced over at their full jars and smiled for the first time today. “Where did you get this?” The two servants looked at each other open-mouthed but the steward didn’t wait for an answer.

Mary watched as the headwaiter called the groom over and chuckled in relief. “You have this magnificent wine – and you saved it? When I serve a wedding, I usually use the best wine at the beginning but this is a perfect taste – and you saved it for so late in the feast!”

She watched the bridegroom’s puzzled face but the steward had already turned away, giving orders to the servants to serve the wine. The music began again and the bridegroom shrugged and rejoined the festivities.

Mary felt joy and peace. As she moved to rejoin the women’s table, she glanced over at the servants. They were whispering to other servants and pointing to Jesus. It had begun. His life would never be the same. Neither would hers.

She sat on the end of the bench and paused for just a second, quietly opening her hands on her lap, whispering, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.” Then she turned back to the women at the table.

I copied this from http://bit.ly/16CxSs3

AUCTION WON! Wedding Feast At Cana - 9000 pieces By Ravensburger is on its WAY!

I WON, I WON!  I WON! This is one of my favorite puzzles. Check out more about it here.

After 4 months of searching daily, I found it on ebay Germany and won the auction for $37 bucks (plus like 55 for international shipping)! WAHOOOOOOO!

WANTED: Wedding Feast at Cana (9000pcs by Ravensburger)

The first large puzzle I ever attempted was The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese and printed By Ravensburger in a 9000 piece format! I lost it in a move and it has long since gone out of print! If you have this puzzle for sale or come across it, please please please, let me know!

This puzzle is impressive but nowhere near as impressive as the real thing! Take a look at the real thing in the Louvre http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/wedding-feast-cana

Can you believe this painting was stolen by Napoleon? I guess if I was Napoleon I would have wanted it too!

The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese is an immense work. Commissioned in 1553 it hung in the  refectory of the Benedictine monastery on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore before it was stolen by Napoleon's troops and sent back to Paris.

This puzzle comes in many size, but I am looking for the 9000 piece version from Ravensburger. If Educa/Ravensburger/Celmentoni want to seriously trump the other in the arms race for the largest jigsaw puzzle, I have a modest proposal; a life size replica of this work! This would be a completed puzzle 22ft high by 32.6 feet long and approximately 228,000 pieces (Given that most 9000 piece puzzles are approximately 4.5ft X 6.3ft completed means they have a piece density of 318 pieces per square foot)!

This would be equivalent to assembling just over 7 Double Retrospects! Given that retail cost is 300 for  Double Retrospect, it would be at least 2100 dollars for the puzzle... I will start saving my pennies! Better yet, does anyone have access to a good set of puzzle dies? Let create this thing!

228,000 piece life size version. Lets do it!