Archive · The East · Society · Humour

Golda Meir criticised Kissinger for insufficient support of Israel in 1973

In 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, Golda Meir criticised Henry Kissinger for not supporting Israel enough, despite the fact that he practises Judaism. Kissinger wrote to her: “I wish to inform you that, firstly, I am a citizen of the United States, secondly, Secretary of State, and only thirdly

Archaeology · Faith · The East · Art

Excavations of the Sphinx from Thutmose IV to 1925 and Elihu Vedder's painting

Created in 2500 BC, already within the first millennium of his long life the Sphinx had sunk into the sand up to his shoulders. Time and again attempts were made to dig him out: the majestic sentinel of the pharaohs buried nearby was cleared both by Thutmose IV in the

NB! · The East · Art · Monarchies

This painting, presented to George IV, shows Fath Ali Shah hunting in the company of 22 of his sons

The East · Books · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

The legend of Fath Ali Shah and the third edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica

There is a legend that Fath Ali, Shah of Iran (1772-1834), having received in 1797 the 18-volume edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, read it from cover to cover and added to his royal title the words "Most Formidable Lord and Master of the Encyclopaedia Britannica". It

NB! · The East · Art · Cinema · People · Pop Culture

Christmas cards in the style of a Persian miniature by Eyvind Earle, one of the artists of Disney's 1959 "Sleeping Beauty"

Faith · The East · Mores · Ethnography

The custom of sati among Indo-European peoples and its ban in India in 1829

The custom of burning wives after the death of their husbands existed among many Indo-European peoples; its most recent manifestation is the tradition of wives' self-immolation, which survived in India until the mid-nineteenth century. Sati was officially banned in 1829, but cases of widow self-immolation

Close-up of a stone relief in which the hand of one figure holds the hand of another, beside folds of clothing.

NB! · Archaeology · The East · Art · Humour

Persian courtier leads a Greek envoy by the hand to the king in a Persepolis relief

What is high diplomacy? Here, for example, a Persian courtier tenderly holds the hand of a Greek envoy as he escorts him to the royal throne. Detail of a sculpted frieze from Persepolis, Iran, photograph by Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Coming Up · The East · Art · Museums

Exhibition “Prigov Days in Vladikavkaz” at the North Caucasus Branch of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts

If you still remember Prigov's 80th anniversary, about which everyone was writing only recently, take note of the exhibition "Prigov Days in Vladikavkaz" at the North Caucasian Branch of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. On show are sketches for installations, texts, stikhogrammy, video works

Archaeology · The East · Art · Observations

Colour reconstruction of Achaemenid reliefs and the skill of painters compared with sculptors

We have long known that the distant past was far more colourful than its ruins. Here is an attempt to restore colour to the artefacts of ancient Persia, using the example of Achaemenid stone reliefs, on the basis of chemical analysis of microscopic pigment residues in the stone. It is

Architecture · The East · Observations · Heritage

"A Turkish fortress, far from first-class but politically most pernicious, Anapa demanded of the Russian state such a number of military campaigns, by army and fleet alike, as no other enemy fortress, even of stronger construction, ever called forth…

"A Turkish fortress, far from first-class but politically most pernicious, Anapa demanded of the Russian state such a number of military campaigns, by army and fleet alike, as no other enemy fortress, even of stronger construction, ever called forth. Some four times it was blown up until completely

The East · Museums · Observations · Heritage · Society

The Rijksmuseum and the Museum of World Cultures of the Netherlands Intend to Part with Exhibits Acquired During Colonial Conquests: at the Prompting of the Council for Culture, the Museums Have Declared Their Readiness to Return Illegally Exported Works

The Rijksmuseum and the Museum of World Cultures of the Netherlands intend to part with exhibits acquired during colonial conquests: at the prompting of the Council for Culture, the museums have declared their readiness to return to their homelands works of art, jewels and antiquities that were illegally removed. To

Archaeology · The East · Observations · Mores

My grandmother collected household textiles, and whenever I heard about wonderful Egyptian cotton, it seemed like yet another Soviet marketing prejudice, in the manner of unique Czechoslovak crystal and inimitable Chinese…

My grandmother collected household textiles, and whenever I heard about wonderful Egyptian cotton, it seemed like yet another Soviet marketing prejudice, in the manner of unique Czechoslovak crystal and inimitable Chinese camel-hair blankets. After all, excellent crystal was also made in the Vladimir region, camel wool is the pride