London · Monarchies · People · Humour

Queen Louise of Sweden carried a card stating her title while walking in London

Prince Philip's aunt and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna's niece, Queen Louise of Sweden (1889-1965), née Battenberg, often visited London, and once a bus nearly ran her down there. After this unpleasantness Queen Louise, when walking the streets of London, always carried a small card printed with

NB! · Archaeology · Architecture · Humour

I do not know whether your life will ever be the same after you learn that ancient columns actually looked LIKE THIS

Notre-Dame de Paris covered in scaffolding, with a yellow tower crane, behind the stone embankment of the Seine.

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Observations · Heritage · Paris

Reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris continues, seen from the Seine embankment

Work on the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris is in full swing. But, frankly, one dreads to imagine what it will look like inside

NB! · Art · People

It is held that it was from this drawing, "Lingonberry Leaves" by Nikolai Suetin, that the tilted female faces came to Suprematist portraits

Ornate ceiling with gilded moulding above a pink wall bearing a large white handwritten inscription; small framed geometric compositions hang below.

NB!

Exhibition hall with abstract geometric works on a pink wall

Coming Up · Archive · Art · Museums · Saint Petersburg

The Leporskaya Archive, transferred to the Russian Museum in 2017, is on show until 15 May

The Russian Museum shows the third exhibition devoted to the Leporskaya archive in the Mikhailovsky Castle. The Leporskaya archive is one of the most significant collections relating to the post-revolutionary history of the Russian avant-garde, the circle of Kazimir Malevich and the work of the leading pupils of

Archaeology · Science

Caltrops, called garlic in Russian, as a military obstacle from antiquity to the 20th century

This type of military anti-cavalry obstacle is usually called "garlic" (chesnok) in Russian. Metal caltrops consist of spikes pointing in different directions, and they were scattered in great quantities along the presumed path of the cavalry. These strewn spikes could stop infantry, elephants and war camels alike.

NB! · Art · Cinema

Eva Green as the Venus de Milo, Bernardo Bertolucci's “The Dreamers”, 2003

Monarchies · Heritage · Society · Paris

Dinner at Versailles for Charles III and the electrification of the Hall of Mirrors in 1961

King Charles III will make his first state visit to France at the end of March, reportedly on the 27th. To mark the royal visit, the official dinner will be held at the Palace of Versailles, as it has been in the preceding 150 years of Franco-British relations. During

Painted portrait of a young woman in a white dress and pearl necklace beside red drapery, with a globe and books nearby.

NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

Queen Victoria, aged 18, convened her first council at 11 in the morning

A reminder that one need not postpone life until noon. The eighteen-year-old Queen Victoria convened her first council at 11 o’clock in the morning

Archive · Art · Monarchies · Humour

The New European Barber's Shop, or the Shaving of Napoleon by the Allies after the Battle of Leipzig

The greatest pleasure is to contemplate Emperor Alexander's smile, with the plate of 1812, which shows, as nothing else could, his disposition for the negotiations in Vienna. The chin: Holland; the towel: Milan, Kulm, Leipzig; the razor: London 1813; the shaving bowl: 1812.

Moscow · Museums · Pop Culture · Reportage

Interactive exhibition “Punk Culture. Korol i Shut” opens at Vinzavod

A large-scale exhibition, “Punk Culture. Korol i Shut”, has opened at Winzavod. The display fills two halls and is divided into two parts: the first is about the birth of punk culture in the world (including several curious exhibits brought from private collections in London), the second is about

Alexandr Radayev