Archaeology · Faith · Art · Museums

Relief of the 2nd century AD dedicated to the goddess Vesta, guardian of the hearth and patroness of the millers' guild, set up at the expense of the baker Pupius Firminus and his wife Mudasena Trophima

Relief of the 2nd century AD dedicated to the goddess Vesta, guardian of the hearth and patroness of the millers' guild, set up at the expense of the baker Pupius Firminus and his wife Mudasena Trophima. In one hand Vesta holds a sceptre, in the other a plate of

Books · Observations · Humour

The dwarves Dvalin and Durin take revenge on their captor by cursing the sword Tyrfing

Poor little dwarves(( In his day Dvalin forged golden hair for Loki and made many other marvellous things. A regrettable accident, by which he and his friend became the prisoners of Sigrlami, was resolved, as so often happens, in a manner unexpected by the victor. Dvalin and Durin took their

A horseman with a sword halts two gnomes in red caps, with hounds nearby, in an evening landscape, in an arched painting in a gilded frame.

Art · Books

Konung Sigrlami of Gardariki forces the dwarves Durin and Dvalin to forge a magic sword

The Danish artist Lorenz Frølich (1820-1908): a scene from the Saga of Hervör. Sigrlami, grandson or son of Odin and king of Garðaríki, caught the dwarfs Durin and Dvalin by brandishing his sword over their heads and so preventing them from vanishing. Sigrlami forced the dwarfs to forge him

Art · Observations · Mores · Humour

Mrs Rattle with her pets and the meaning of the squirrel in early modern English imagery

Good morning: we are breakfasting with Mrs Rattle and her family, a doggie, a kitty, a squirrel and a parrot. I think one ought not to ask a woman who keeps such picturesque company where her husband is. And as for the fact that the squirrel in English images of

Geography · People · Nature

Incidentally, today is considered the day of the discovery of Florida by the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León, who in 1513 led an expedition in search of either new lands for Ferdinand I, or the fountain of eternal youth, which…

Incidentally, today is considered the day of the discovery of Florida by the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León, who in 1513 led an expedition in search of either new lands for Ferdinand I, or the fountain of eternal youth, which is mentioned in an ancient legend that places it

Books · Mores · Ethnography · Humour

Advice from a book on the folklore of Cheshire published in 1898

Never buy furniture from workshops and shops near the cemetery: grandfather clocks and dining tables with antique tops are made from the planks of ornate oak coffins, which acquire an elegant patina underground. Advice from a book on Cheshire folklore, 1898

Monarchies · Science · Education · People

Angélique du Coudray built the first obstetric mannequin and trained women across France

The first obstetric mannequin was designed by Angélique Du Coudray, celebrated for her book on the fundamentals of midwifery and her vast experience of training young midwives. Under the influence of Du Coudray and her petition, the decision to deny women professional training in obstetrics was reversed. After this success,

Art · Observations · Humour

Scatological scene on the base of a Greek drinking vessel from around 500 BC

The base of a drinking vessel, c. 500 BC. A man in a cloak, leaning on a staff, wipes himself with a smooth stone. The Greeks did not often turn to scatological subjects, that is, to those connected with the natural functions, in the applied arts, but this was evidently

NB! · Art · Museums · Rome

Dog Biting a Stag, from the Collection of the Vatican Museums

Aristocracy · Moscow · Mores · People · Humour

General Afrosimov, a Possible Prototype of Famusov, and His Appetite Before Death

One of the directors of the Assembly of the Nobility, Pavel Afanasyevich Afrosimov, a retired major general, a fearfully important and dreadfully rich Moscow grandee, whom some call the prototype of Griboyedov's Famusov, was dying at the age of 64. His contemporaries left some amusing recollections of the

Two young women in elegant dresses sleep on a red sofa beside a black screen with an Asian-style design, one holding an open book.

NB! · Art · Observations · Humour

Auguste Toulmouche’s painting “Midday Idyll”, created in 1874

Auguste Toulmouche, 1874. A Midday Idyll, or Weary of the Squabbling

Architecture · Art · Heritage · Paris

Six women restorers are restoring the face of Marianne on the Arc de Triomphe

Six independent women restorers are repairing a symbol of France: Marianne from the sculptural group La Marseillaise, which stands on the Arc de Triomphe. Marianne's face suffered badly during the Yellow Vests demonstration of 1 December 2018, and photographs of her with a smashed cheek went round the

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