Archaeology · Architecture · Heritage · Rome

Theatre of Marcellus in Rome, topped with an Orsini family palace in the 16th century

One of the partially surviving ancient stone theatres of Rome: begun under Julius Caesar and opened under Octavian Augustus, destroyed in 64 and surmounted in the 16th century with residential storeys, the Theatre of Marcellus was excavated and restored in the 1930s. The living quarters above the old arcades were

A grey tabby kitten lies on old engravings showing a plan of Moscow and figures in traditional costumes.

NB! · Observations · Education · Humour

A kitten on old engravings with a plan of Moscow and costumes of the peoples of Russia

There is the post of assistant to a professor, and there is the assisted professor; both are abbreviated simply as asst. prof. In this case, of course, we are dealing with the second

Archive · Books · Ethnography

"A stout Mordvin woman in a chemise mottled at the shoulders, sleeves and hem with red wool, as though it had been inscribed in blood; her bosom weighed down with silver coins of various sizes in several rows; in her ears a ball of swan's down apiece, and

"A stout Mordvin woman in a chemise mottled at the shoulders, sleeves and hem with red wool, as though it had been inscribed in blood; her bosom weighed down with silver coins of various sizes in several rows; in her ears a ball of swan's down apiece,

NB! · Archive · London · Monarchies

Two Kings: Fifty-Six-Year-Old George VI and Three-Year-Old Charles III

NB! · Art · Observations

Night Visions, René Magritte

Detail of a painting: a peeled fruit with a white spiral of pith, a wheat ear above and small insects below.

Art · Observations · Humour

A lemon or an orange in Jan Davidsz de Heem's painting of 1665

A magnificent lemon, if we trust the title of the painting, or an orange, if we trust our own eyes. By the master of the Golden Age of Dutch painting Jan Davidsz. de Heem, 1665 Have you ever seen a fruit peeled in so unusual a fashion?

NB! · Archive · London · Monarchies

Charles III in the courtyard of Buckingham Palace after the State Opening of Parliament in 2023, for the first time as king, and in 1952 with Elizabeth II, who opened Parliament for the first time as queen

Brick industrial buildings with chimneys and furnace structures stand by a lake, with a domed church and white town buildings to the right.

NB! · Architecture · Books · Observations

View of the former Stroganov cast-iron foundry on the lake in Satka, Chelyabinsk Oblast

Photographed an extraordinary view in the town of Satka, Chelyabinsk Region, on the shore of a genuine factory lake, straight out of Alexey Ivanov's "Mining-Works Civilisation". The photograph shows the Iron Foundry, founded by a Stroganov, though I do not know to which period this

NB! · London · People · Humour

Oliver Cromwell on the London Underground

Subtitled still: a man in a grey greatcoat looks down beside burning candles, the caption mentioning the Emperor's two letters to Saint Petersburg.

Archive · Monarchies · Saint Petersburg · Humour

The Emperor sent two letters to Saint Petersburg and received no reply

Napoleon Sent Two Letters to Saint Petersburg and Received No Reply. Worse than importunate people are only importunate emperors

Painted portrait of a baby in a white bonnet and white clothes against a light green background, in thick brushstrokes.

Art · Humour

Van Gogh's portrait of a baby sold in 2015 for 7.6 million dollars

What a lovely child! Is it a boy? It's a Van Gogh. In 2015 this child was sold for 7.6 million dollars

NB! · Coming Up · Art · London · Monarchies · Museums

Alexandr Radayev