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Nancy Cunard and Her Anthology “Negro”, Published in London in 1934

A title that, by today's standards, is seditious Nancy Cunard, heiress to the British shipping line Cunard Line, was a poet and a publisher, and in February 1934 she brought out, with the London house of Wishart, the anthology “Negro”, Negro Anthology 1931-1933. Cunard dedicated the book

The East · Archaeology · Geography · Science · Nature

Kikai eruption 7,300 years ago and the fate of the Jomon population of Kyushu

Around 7,300 years ago, on the sea floor off the southern tip of the island of Kyushu, the Kikai volcano erupted. It is known as the Kikai-Akahoya eruption, after the layer of orange volcanic ash, "akahoya", that it left behind. The eruption caused violent earthquakes, enormous

Archaeology · The East · Science

Study of the Neanderthal Shanidar A from Iraqi Kurdistan in Scientific Reports

There is a popular story that a student once asked Margaret Mead what she considered the first sign of civilisation, expecting to hear about clay pots, fish hooks or grinding stones, and that Mead answered: a healed femur. An animal with a broken thigh bone cannot run from a predator,

The East · Geography · Science · Palaeontology · Nature

Vasuki indicus, a giant Middle Eocene snake from the Panandhro mine in India

In 2024 the journal Scientific Reports described a giant snake, Vasuki indicus. The snake was named after Vasuki, the mythical king of snakes who coils around the neck of the god Shiva. The scientists found 27 vertebrae in the Panandhro lignite mine in the state of Gujarat. The find is

The East · Archaeology · Geography · Science

Remains of the oldest known shipwreck in the Mediterranean found off Kekova Island

Off the island of Kekova on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, in the province of Antalya, the remains of a vessel have been found at a depth of about 30 metres, and are believed to be the oldest known shipwreck in the Mediterranean. The find is dated to the Bronze

The East · Aristocracy · Archive · Books · Education · People

Writer Shen on her great-great-great-grandfather Duanfang, a Qing official, and the novel “Foreigners”

The American writer Shen has written an essay about her great-great-great-grandfather Duanfang, a prominent Manchu dignitary of the Qing dynasty who founded a university, travelled to America, spoke out against foot-binding and collected ancient Chinese bronzes; his collection was considered one of the finest in China.

The East · Art · Museums · Society

National Museum of Korea director criticised over misattributed work from his own collection

Yu Hong-jun, Director of the National Museum of Korea, is being criticised for lending the museum a work from his own collection that turned out to have been misattributed. At the exhibition "Korean Table: Food, Nature and Life", which opened on 1 July, the museum displayed a

The East · In the Press · Faith · Cinema · Books · Society

The Ramayana in Hollywood Cinema, from “A Little Princess” to Nitesh Tiwari’s Film

I have read a piece on how Hollywood cinema makes use of the Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic in Sanskrit which tradition ascribes to the poet Valmiki. The epic tells of the exile of Prince Rama, the abduction of his wife Sita by the demon Ravana, and her rescue. In

Old photograph of a shop sign reading “Universal Store Kaztorg”, with a mounted camel and people in warm clothing at the entrance.

The East · NB! · Archive · Society

The first department store opened in Perovsk, later known as Kyzylorda

The first department store in Perovsk, also known as Ak-Mechet and Kyzylorda

The East · Archaeology

Archaeologists find a signet ring depicting the lighthouse in Alexandria harbour

Underwater archaeologists have raised from the bed of the Eastern Harbour of Alexandria a bronze signet ring bearing an image of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. It was found at the site of the sunken island of Antirhodos. The owner of the ring would press the image into wax or soft

Old studio photograph of a bearded man in a turban and striped robe, with a dagger and a long spear, a white cat sitting at his feet.

The East · NB! · Archive · Observations · Ethnography

A Kurdish warrior with a spear and a white cat in a photograph of 1870

I have been seized by an unbounded respect for this Kurdish warrior with his cat, in a photograph of 1870

The East · Architecture · Faith · Heritage

Church of St Sergius of Radonezh in Tashkent, consecrated in 1897 and demolished in 1932

Until 1932 Tashkent had a church of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. It was built at the state's expense on the initiative of the Governor-General of Turkestan, Baron Alexandr Vrevsky, and the construction cost 90,000 roubles. The church stood on Pushkinskaya Street, at the junction with Assakinskaya.