Museums · Mores · Humour
This "anti-masturbation" belt was designed for long-term wear; there are holes at the back for adjusting the size, though the size is in principle that of an adolescent, not an adult. The openings at the front allow for the natural functions of the body. The metal
Museums · Mores · Humour
This is what a genuine anti-masturbation belt of the late nineteenth century looks like. Well worn, of course, the little thing has seen better days. The metal base of the belt is mounted on a leather lining for ease of wear. As you can see, it is fitted with
Art · London · Museums · Observations · Science · Humour
To everyone who fears dentists as much as I do, or perhaps even more, I recommend pondering the simple subject of this sculpture of 1601 from the storerooms of the Science Museum in London. In those days the extraction of teeth was an exceedingly painful operation, conducted almost without anaesthetic:
Aristocracy · Art · Museums · Mores · Humour
Sabina Poppaea, unknown artist of the School of Fontainebleau, 1550–1570, Museum of Art and History, Geneva. Tacitus wrote that the Empress Poppaea, wife of Nero, drew the attention of the Romans by strolling about naked, wrapped only in a gauze veil, as women of easy virtue commonly went. This
Archaeology · Museums · Science · People
The renowned Bigfoot and ancient hominid researcher, cryptozoologist, anthropologist, evolutionist, university lecturer, writer and simply a most original man, Grover Krantz, bequeathed his body to science. Krantz, who was seventy and dying of cancer, approached his colleague David Hunt, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution, shortly before his death, asking
Archive · Art · Moscow · Museums
Group portrait of the heroine airwomen of the 46th Guards Taman Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, Order of the Red Banner and Order of Suvorov, by the artist Sergey Bocharov, 1985. The painting was acquired by the Central House of Aviation and Cosmonautics of DOSAAF, where it remains on display to
Moscow · Museums · Observations · Society
The GULAG Museum has a model of the structures of the White Sea Canal. Besides the questions "what for?" and "at what price?", one finds oneself wondering HOW. How could so colossal a construction be built in such conditions, and at the cost of what sacrifices?
Moscow · Museums · Observations · Society
The exhibition of the Museum of the History of the Gulag makes a very powerful impression. It really is, perhaps, one of the best museums, in Moscow at least. Take, for example, the stand with pronouncements by the leaders of the Soviet state on repression and on the people. Kirov,
Archaeology · Museums · Humour
"You look fantastic!" "Thanks, so do you" A silver bust identified as Livia, and the Egyptian bronze god Bes. Finds from Herculaneum
Art · Monarchies · Museums · People
The coffin of Maximilian of Habsburg, Archduke of Austria and Emperor of Mexico, who came to the throne with the help of Napoleon III and by means of a so-called plebiscite. Maximilian was in many respects a charming ruler, but he failed to hold on to power: he swerved
Art · Moscow · Museums · Observations · Society Pages
I was very lucky on Monday, the museum day, to find myself at the colossal Repin exhibition and, avoiding queues and crowds, to see 300 works gathered over 3 floors from 21 Russian and 7 foreign museums and 7 private collections: nothing like it has been seen for 25 years.
Books · Moscow · Museums · Heritage · Society
In this modest house in Peredelkino, at 3 Serafimovich Street, Chukovsky lived from 1938 to 1969. A few years after Chukovsky's death, in 1974, Lydia Korneyevna was expelled from the Writers' Union, and the Litfond decided to evict the family from the dacha. Legal wrangling dragged on