NB! · Art · Mores · Humour
Rembrandt, ‘The Bed’
Rembrandt, ‘The Bed’. A drawing of 1646, from the time of the artist’s relationship with his housekeeper Hendrickje Stoffels. All would be well, were it not that the woman has three arms
Alexandr Radayev
Archaeology · Museums · Heritage · Paris · Rome
Bronze finger in the Louvre found to belong to the colossal statue of Constantine I in Rome
In 1858 the Louvre acquired part of the collection of the bankrupt Marquis Giampietro Campana. His property was divided between the English, the Russians and the French, and enriched the national museums. Among other things, France came into possession of an enormous bronze finger, 38 centimetres long. As early as
NB! · Mores · Pop Culture · Humour
How Facetune Worked in the Eighteenth Century
NB! · Archive · London · Mores
The Fashions of Hyde Park, Spring 1819
Faith · Books · Humour
Ethiopians at the deathbed in the “Testimonies of Blessed Theodora” on the afterlife
There is a text called "The Testimony of Blessed Theodora", in which the spirit of a righteous woman of the tenth century, who lived in Tsargrad, tells the cleric who summoned her in a dream what befell Theodora in the afterlife. The pearl of the tale is, beyond
Observations · Humour
Bosom Friends
Hello, dear friend!
NB! · Architecture · Saint Petersburg · Ethnography
Finnish legend of a tsar who built a city in the heavens and lowered it onto a marsh
There is an old Finnish legend about a tsar who could not build a city on a marsh, because the stones kept sinking. And what did he do then? He built the city in the heavens and lowered it onto that boggy ground
Archaeology · Moscow · Heritage · Science
After the opening of the tomb of Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, expert analysis showed that the remains of the "murdered" son contain 32 times the normal level of mercury
After the opening of the tomb of Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, expert analysis showed that the remains of the "murdered" son contain 32 times the normal level of mercury. As for fractures of the bones, no conclusions were drawn owing to
NB! · Art · Observations · Humour
Greek sandals worn without socks, shown in an engraving by Willemin
Seasonal footwear: classic Greek sandals. As you can see, they are worn without socks
NB! · Archive · Monarchies · People
The sullen child in the photograph is Nicholas II's firstborn, Grand Duchess Olga, the only one of the Emperor's children to have seen her great-grandmother Queen Victoria in person
NB! · Monarchies · People
Prince Harry and Nicholas II: 120 Years On
NB! · Art · People
The alarming little fellow with his tongue poking out, lurking between the legs of Venus, is no mere lecherous child but the offspring of a Satyr, come to seduce the goddess
The alarming little fellow with his tongue poking out, lurking between the legs of Venus, is no mere lecherous child but the offspring of a Satyr, come to seduce the goddess. Annibale Carracci, 1588