Art · Museums · Observations
There is something in this: to have oneself recorded only with one's finest possessions, one's most cherished objects and in handsome attire. Had Tronchin not been so proud of his collection, and above all of its pearl, this canvas by Rembrandt would have had a different
NB! · Art · Museums · People · Saint Petersburg
The collector François Tronchin with the finest painting in his collection, Rembrandt's Woman in Bed. A portrait by his friend Liotard. Most of Tronchin's collection was bought by Catherine II for the Hermitage
NB! · Almaty · The East · Art · Cinema · Observations · Ethnography
Remember how in "Kavkazskaya plennitsa" [Kidnapping, Caucasian Style] they called bride abduction a beautiful custom? I stand before Kasteev's 1937 painting "Bride Abduction" and cannot see what is beautiful here; it is simply dreadful!
Archive · Cinema · Observations · Science
Remember the note on two ways of growing a nose? Someone has written to tell me that the Italian method was shown in the fullest detail in the series The Knick with Clive Owen. I have not heard of that episode myself, but we can watch a little of it
Archive · Books · Moscow · Mores
"All four of us sisters wore mourning for two years. Nowadays the proprieties are observed poorly, but in my time everything was done strictly, and according to the proverb, 'count your kinship and render it its honour', kinship was reckoned most exactly, and when a relation died,
Aristocracy · Monarchies · Observations · Mores
A few days ago I wrote about the mourning suite of the Duchess of Aumale. https://theparnassian.com/stulchik-iz-garnitura-gertsogini-omal-ili-frantsuzskoi-printsessy-marii-karoliny-burbon-sitsiliiskoi/ https://theparnassian.com/tak-etot-stulchik-vygliadit-s-iznachalnoi-obivkoi/ https://theparnassian.com/delo-v-tom-chto-po-drevnei-traditsii-
NB! · Observations · Humour
NB! · Almaty · Archaeology · Observations · Humour
I dropped into the numismatic shop at the Green Bazaar, where I have been buying for 15 years, and added ducats from the Semirechye hoard to my collection. If you don't know how to spend a million, ask me
NB! · Art · Paris · People · Humour
On 10 November 1642 Boulle was born; I shall not retell his biographical note, only remark that the French for cabinetmaker is ébéniste. A splendid profession, the ébéniste! In Boulle's case, a vocation
NB! · The East · Art · Monarchies · Museums · Observations
The Emperor of China enthroned. The Louvre Abu Dhabi has a similar tapestry with a Chinese figure in a boat. In some palace or other you will surely find a continuation of the story: in Europe, the adventures of the ruler of the Celestial Empire were all the fashion
NB! · Observations · Science · Palaeontology · Nature
The cub of an extinct lion lay in the frozen depths of the earth. It is an exceedingly rare find, on which I hasten to congratulate my colleagues toiling in Siberia!
NB! · Science · Palaeontology · Nature
Bozhe! In Yakutia, a cave lion cub has been found that may be 50,000 years old. The kitten's body and fur are in excellent condition, and its estimated age is 1.5 to 2 months