Colour lithograph of Visigothic votive crowns and crosses from Guarrazar, with a large suspended crown with lettered pendants at the centre.

NB! · Archaeology · Madrid · Museums · Heritage

Theft of the Guarrazar treasure from the Royal Armoury in Madrid on 4 April 1921

On 4 April 1921 the legendary Guarrazar treasures of the Visigothic hoard, including the crown of Suintila presented to Queen Isabella II, were stolen from the Royal Armoury of the Royal Palace in Madrid. The jewels were never found

Collage of newspaper clippings about the theft of the Irish jewels from Dublin Castle, with drawings of the insignia of the Order of St Patrick.

NB! · Aristocracy · Monarchies · Heritage

Theft of the Irish Crown Jewels from Dublin Castle discovered on 6 July 1907

On 6 July 1907 it was discovered that the Irish Crown Jewels, kept in a safe at Dublin Castle, had been stolen. Among the items taken were the insignia of the Order of Saint Patrick, an elite British chivalric order based in Ireland. The jewels were never found

NB! · Monarchies · Humour

Come on, lads, own up nicely: why did you take the crown off?

NB! · Architecture · Museums · Heritage · Paris

In the robbed Galerie d'Apollon, single, non-armoured glazing units in plain wooden frames have been installed

In the robbed Galerie d'Apollon, single, non-armoured glazing units in plain wooden frames have been installed. The maximum of protection is an "anti-vandal" film on the panes

Observations · Society · Humour

Emmanuel Macron among France's peacetime rulers, from Grévy to Hollande

The Macron Years in Two Pictures. It has been worse: in the Hundred Years' War, during the Wars of Religion, under the Jacobin Terror, in the First World War and under German occupation. But for peacetime, Emmanuel Macron is undoubtedly one of the worst rulers of France. Off the

NB! · Art · Pop Culture · Humour

Alarm: a statuette of 1925 is impersonating Renata Litvinova

Gold brooch shaped like a crowned eagle, with wings set with small rubies, a large red heart-shaped stone, a sceptre, an orb and a hanging pearl, displayed in a case.

NB!

Jewelled brooch in the form of a crowned eagle with rubies and a pearl

Monarchies · Museums · Heritage · Paris

Jewels of the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre, where a robbery reportedly took place

These are only some of the jewels displayed in the Galerie d'Apollon at the Louvre, which was robbed today, according to available reports. Among other things, the gallery houses the principal French crown jewels. What could be seen in the Galerie d'Apollon: 💎The "Regent"

A street under grey skies: on the left a dark stone wall with arches and a statue in a niche, people under umbrellas by a gate. On the right a cast-iron lamp, a crosswalk and arcaded buildin

NB!

Overcast day on a Paris street beside a stone building with arches

Museums · Heritage · Paris · Reportage

The Louvre closed for exceptional reasons, with approaches to the museum cordoned off

The Louvre Has Been Robbed. The museum is closed. All likely approaches to it have been cordoned off. Crowds of tourists who do not read the news are asking the gendarmes what has happened and whether they will get their money back. A notice announces, in studiously neutral terms, exceptional

NB! · Observations · Humour

What Is the Name of the Mental State That Makes People Think Others Will Change Their Minds if Shown Weighty Arguments Backed by Exhaustive Facts and Data?

Coming Up · Art · Museums · Observations · Saint Petersburg

At times it seems to me that museums of classical art are temples not so much of beauty as of discipline, intellectual discipline included, naturally

At times it seems to me that museums of classical art are temples not so much of beauty as of discipline, intellectual discipline included, naturally. We often go there not for inspiration but for confirmation that our world can still be explained, at least a little. And yet, after dozens

Alexandr Radayev