Porphyry and gilt-bronze ewers by Gouthière

Porphyry and gilt-bronze ewers by Gouthière. Paul I acquired them in Paris in 1799 and placed them in his bedchamber in the Mikhailovsky Castle in Saint Petersburg. These vases stood in the Emperor's bedchamber on the night of his murder, between 23 and 24 March 1801. No, they are not to be found in the state collection today: in 1932, together with countless other treasures, they were sold off by the Soviet authorities at auction, and since then they have belonged to private collectors. The ewers last appeared on the antiques market in 2007, at Christie's

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free. So, here is the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

Porphyry and gilt-bronze ewers by Gouthière

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s