NB! · Faith · The East · Art · Museums

The Archangel Gabriel from the Antalya Archaeological Museum

The Archangel Gabriel from the Antalya Archaeological Museum. The relief bears not only Greek lettering but also Arabic, over the medallion in Gabriel's hands

A marble lion with an open mouth stands over a prone knight figure, with a column resting on its back.

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Art · Humour

Lion over a fallen knight at the base of a presbytery column in Modena Cathedral

The lion "vanquishes" the knight. Though, judging by the expression on its face, it has already won. The sculpted base of a presbytery column in Modena Cathedral (the Duomo). Incidentally, another dramatic lion has triumphed over a knight's horse

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Observations · Paris

An exhibition of models of the great churches of France and Europe is under way in the Parisian church of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois

An exhibition of models of the great churches of France and Europe is under way in the Parisian church of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois. For some reason I do not yet see the famous Solberet Cathedral 🧐

Faith · Art · Ethnography

The Lamb on the Cross in Church Embroidery and the Book with Seven Seals

Quite often in Western churches one comes across an image of a lamb lying on a cross amid golden rays: it symbolises the sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ. In fact, until the fifth century Jesus himself was not depicted on the crucifix; now and then his presence was indicated

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Humour

Let's Help the GRU Men Find Salisbury Cathedral

Archive · Faith · Ethnography

Which horns are used for the shofar at Rosh Hashanah services and what it symbolises

At the synagogue service for Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), the shofar, a wind instrument made of a ram's horn, is sounded a hundred times, the very instrument whose blasts brought down the walls of Jericho. A shofar is made from the horns of rams, antelopes and

NB! · Faith · Museums · Mores · Paris

The Very Reliquary with the Teeth of Abelard and Heloise, Once Owned by Alexandre Lenoir

NB! · Faith · Heritage

The Foot of Saint Catherine of Siena, Patron Saint of Italy, in the Altar of the Right Aisle of the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, One of the Largest Churches in Venice

Architecture · Faith · Observations · Heritage · Paris

Church of Saint-Roch in Paris, linked to Anne of Austria, in poor condition

Found the famous Parisian church of Saint-Roch in a sorry state. A church founded in the sixteenth century and rebuilt in the seventeenth under royal patronage. Anne of Austria herself appeared with the infant Louis XIV at the laying of the foundation stone of the new building. Here, in

NB! · Faith · The East · Mores · Ethnography

The mystical movement of the sheep-eaters in early modern India prescribed eating raw meat straight from the carcass, tearing off pieces with the teeth and using no auxiliary implements, and moreover in strict order

Dark metal badge showing a figure in a hat with a staff in one hand and a rope in the other, its body shaped like a vagina.

NB! · Archaeology · Faith · Mores · Humour

Pilgrim badge of the 14th century shaped like a travelling vagina

Badges like this were a popular souvenir among medieval pilgrims. True, they say little about the holy places visited, but in every other respect they are eloquent enough. This travelling vulva is from the 14th century

NB! · Archive · Architecture · Faith · Heritage