Books · Observations · Mores

Bastardy in “King Lear” and Ostrovsky’s “The Snow Maiden” and in real life

Allow me to say a few words on the widespread condemnation of bastardy in culture. One recalls the play “King Lear”, which is, in essence, about bastardy. It all begins with an illegitimate son. The Earl of Gloucester has two sons: one legitimate, one illegitimate. The illegitimate son seduces Lear’

Young men rest on the grass, wrestle and bathe in a woodland pool on a sunny day, a painting signed Bazille 1869.

NB! · Art · Observations

Summer scene in Frédéric Bazille’s “Bathers”, painted in 1869

Frédéric Bazille's Bathers, 1869. It is astonishing how modern this summer scene looks, as though it had been captured in our own day.

Aristocracy · Art · Monarchies · Mores · People

Lady Hertford, mistress of the Prince of Wales, in caricatures and in Reynolds's portrait

Lady Hertford was one of the best-known mistresses of the Prince of Wales, the future George IV. She was the wife of his friend, and the prince was a frequent guest at their house. It was joked that not a day passed without George calling on Lady Hertford. Although

Art · London · Monarchies · Mores · Humour

Satirical image of the Prince Regent George with a gouty sandal and a hint at Lady Hertford

In the background, Frederick, Duke of York, has gone down as well, having tripped over a stone inscribed "darling from Windsor". Georg's depiction contains several curious details, the enormous backside aside: on his right foot, for instance, one can spot a strange piece of footwear, a

NB! · Art · Monarchies · Mores · Humour

High-Life Mishaps, or the Royal Hobby Goes Awry

High-life mishaps, or the royal hobby goes awry. Look closely at this caricature, especially at the arrangement of the figures: it appears that the Prince Regent is wedged between the thighs of his mistress, Lady Hertford

NB! · Archaeology · The East

A funerary mask of a man from Yingpan, with gold covering

Archaeology · The East · Ethnography

Mummy of a presumed merchant of the 4th or 5th century from Tarim and the oldest cheese

The man in a costume made of European materials is presumed to have been a merchant. His burial dates from the 4th to 5th century AD. The man stood about 2 metres tall; beneath the mask with its gold appliqué lay a fair beard, and long chestnut hair gathered at

NB! · Archaeology · The East · Ethnography

One of the Tarim mummies found in north-western China in the 2000s: a superbly preserved tall Caucasoid man in a garment of Roman cloth patterned with animals, plants and little figures in togas

Detail of a painting showing a girl with a red hair ribbon lying on a bed and holding a white dog with a blue bow on her raised feet.

NB! · Art · Humour

Jean-Honoré Fragonard's 1770 painting of a girl with a small dog on a bed

Where are the Officers of Russia looking with their jars of urine? Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1770

Aristocracy · Observations · Mores · People

Karamzin's family and court connections and his pension under Alexander I

A great-great-granddaughter of the Russian historian Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev spoke about the background of another famous historian, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. Karamzin's stepmother had a nephew, Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev, who was on friendly terms with Senator Mikhail Nikitich Muravyov, the curator of Moscow University, a former tutor

NB! · Architecture · Heritage

The ground floor of the Khmelita palace, which once housed the service quarters, is now partly occupied by the administration and an assembly hall

The ground floor of the Khmelita palace, which once housed the service quarters, is now partly occupied by the administration and an assembly hall. Curtain

A dark cat sits on the grass in front of a blue manor building with a white curved staircase.

NB! · Observations · Nature · Humour

Masyusya the cat greets visitors at the Khmelita estate and sees them off to the park

And this is a very clever little cat who lives on the grounds of the estate. Masyusya greets the guests, and she saw us off into the park. If you go to Khmelita, take a treat for the little paw-bearer

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