Archaeology · The East · Science

Gold coin of King Eucratides on the banknotes of the Central Bank of Afghanistan

Modern Afghan banknotes bear a reproduction of the Eucratides, the heaviest ancient gold coin ever discovered, minted under the Greek kings who ruled the region. Around the Dioscuri one can still read the inscription BAΣIΛEΩΣ MEΓAΛOY EYKRATIΔOY, that is, "of the Great King Eucratides", ruler of Bactria in

NB! · Aristocracy · Archive · Mores

Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston, with his sons Nikolai and Felix in Cossack costume, 1890s

Faith · The East · Museums · New York · Ethnography

Costume of a Dancing Skeleton

Tibetan culture, late nineteenth to early twentieth century. Metropolitan Museum

Portrait of an elderly man in a white wig and dark coat with an order on his chest, against a dark background

Books · Observations

Joseph de Maistre’s book “Saint Petersburg Evenings”

Modern man has abolished symbolism, and meaning along with it. Joseph de Maistre, St Petersburg Dialogues

Art · Museums · Paris

Finnish painter Pekka Halonen featured in the “Ode to Finland” exhibition at the Petit Palais

The Petit Palais is holding an exhibition devoted to the Finnish artist Pekka Halonen (1865-1933), "Ode to Finland". In the self-portrait the artist is about 30 years old. Halonen is one of the key representatives of the Golden Age of Finnish painting. He studied in Helsinki

Faith · People

Respect Yourself as the Image of God

John of Kronstadt

Black-and-white etching: a man in a cap and fur-trimmed coat holds a quill by a book and scales; a youth kneels before him. A chest and barrels in front; signed Rembrandt f. 1639.

NB!

Rembrandt etching, 1639: man with ledger and scales, kneeling youth

NB! · Art · Heritage

The son of the artist and theatre designer Alan Barlow was clearing out his father's studio in Norfolk when he found an original counterproof of a Rembrandt etching depicting a tax collector

The son of the artist and theatre designer Alan Barlow was clearing out his father's studio in Norfolk when he found an original counterproof of a Rembrandt etching depicting a tax collector. The print was soon put up for auction

Faith · Art · Observations · Nature · Ethnography

An Unidentified Flying Object in the Italian Sky

“The Walnut Tree of Benevento” is a picture of 1826 by Giuseppe Pietro Bagetti, created for a series of images of the mystical and miraculous phenomena of Italy, in which the artist documented not real events but folk legends, traditions and marvels that existed within Italian culture. The subject is

Books

Do not reason, do not fuss — Madness seeks, folly judges; Heal the wounds of day with sleep, And what tomorrow brings, will be…

Do not reason, do not fuss, Madness seeks, folly judges; Heal the wounds of day with sleep, And what tomorrow brings, will be… While you live, learn to endure it all: Sorrow, and joy, and anxiety. What is there to wish for? What is there to grieve over? The day

Books · Mores · People

Young Napoleon skipped meals to buy books and later thanked a café owner with a gift

In his youth, Napoleon often skipped meals to save money for books. Napoleonic frugality looked like this: nothing in his room but a bed, an armchair and a mountain of books. The proprietress of the café where he took his meals, seeing his want, often treated the young man to

Observations · Science · Pop Culture · Humour

Guys, This Can't Possibly Be True, It's Obvious at Once

Guys, this can't possibly be true, it's obvious at once. The astrophysicist Avi Loeb, known as the author of theories about interstellar objects, joked that Kim Kardashian had been "invited" to join the research team studying the comet 3I/Atlas, after she dared to

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