Observations · Heritage · Paris · Humour

The Louvre robbery and the jewellery collection of French Culture Minister Rachida Dati

You know, I have always been fascinated by curious coincidences. Take, for instance, the robbery of the Louvre. Grand, bold, sweeping in scale! In places even funny, and tragicomic. They made off with the most precious treasures, bedecked with all manner of diamonds and sapphires. And France's Minister

Observations · Heritage · Society · Paris · Humour

Did one of the Louvre robbers lose a Russian passport?

It won't get any funnier than this. After the Minister of Culture praised the Director of the Louvre, and the Director of the Louvre praised the head of security, who, pray, can possibly be to blame for the robbery, if not the Russians? Certainly not some gang of

A wooden gate with a yellow marker on its post stands alone in a grassy field with no fence, trees in the distance.

Museums · Heritage · Society · Paris

Photograph of a lone gate in a field with a caption about a museum security system

President-Directress of the Louvre: The Museum's Security System Worked to Perfection. The museum's security system:

Heritage · Paris · Humour

The manufacturer of the goods lift used in the Louvre robbery advertises it:

For when you next need to be quick. We will move your treasures, up to 400 kg of them, at 42 metres per minute, and noiselessly too, thanks to a 230 V electric motor.

Architecture · Heritage · Society · Paris

Monument to the Soldiers of the Russian Expeditionary Corps in Paris, on the Place du Canada, in the 8th Arrondissement, Dedicated to the Russian Soldiers Who Fought in France as Part of the Expeditionary Corps during the First World War, from 1916 to 191

The monument was unveiled by Vladimir Putin in 2010, when he was Prime Minister of Russia. At the opening ceremony Putin and François Fillon called the monument a sign of the restoration of historical memory and a symbol of the brotherhood in arms of Russia and France.

NB! · Museums · Heritage · Paris · Humour

Gendarmes Guard the Galerie d'Apollon, but It Is Rather Late for Borjomi

Museums · Observations · Heritage · Humour

Coins from a hoard found in 2011 stolen from the Diderot museum in Langres

I can hardly believe my eyes, but France has suffered yet another high-profile museum robbery. It would seem that the criminal world has announced some sort of tour of the cultural heritage. Right after the Louvre, on Monday, the Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot in Langres, Haute-Marne, was

Museums · Observations · Heritage · Paris · Humour

It turns out that the rococo-style display cases for the royal jewels installed in the Galerie d'Apollon at the Louvre until 2019 were fitted with armoured glass, and that if the integrity of the outer casing was breached, their contents would automatical

It turns out that the rococo-style display cases for the royal jewels installed in the Galerie d'Apollon at the Louvre until 2019 were fitted with armoured glass, and that if the integrity of the outer casing was breached, their contents would automatically drop into a safe. The

Architecture · Observations · Heritage · Society

Watching Trump demolish part of the White House to build a vast ballroom of some 8,000 square metres, I think that America is approaching a perfect balance of the outer and the inner, a complete accord of form and idea

Watching Trump demolish part of the White House to build a vast ballroom of some 8,000 square metres, I think that America is approaching a perfect balance of the outer and the inner, a complete accord of form and idea. But the age of plenty is drawing to a

NB! · Museums · Heritage · Paris

Louvre security footage published:

Colour lithograph of Visigothic votive crowns and crosses from Guarrazar, with a large suspended crown with lettered pendants at the centre.

NB! · Archaeology · Madrid · Museums · Heritage

Theft of the Guarrazar treasure from the Royal Armoury in Madrid on 4 April 1921

On 4 April 1921 the legendary Guarrazar treasures of the Visigothic hoard, including the crown of Suintila presented to Queen Isabella II, were stolen from the Royal Armoury of the Royal Palace in Madrid. The jewels were never found

Collage of newspaper clippings about the theft of the Irish jewels from Dublin Castle, with drawings of the insignia of the Order of St Patrick.

NB! · Aristocracy · Monarchies · Heritage

Theft of the Irish Crown Jewels from Dublin Castle discovered on 6 July 1907

On 6 July 1907 it was discovered that the Irish Crown Jewels, kept in a safe at Dublin Castle, had been stolen. Among the items taken were the insignia of the Order of Saint Patrick, an elite British chivalric order based in Ireland. The jewels were never found