NB! · Faith · Art · Monarchies · Museums

A unique fifteenth-century lamp with an amber sculpture of the Virgin Mary on a walrus-tusk pedestal belonged to Sophia, Queen of Bohemia, of the German house of Wittelsbach, who was known for her Hussite sympathies

NB! · Art · Moscow · Museums · Observations

Yasumasa Morimura makes photographic self-portraits, reflecting on the history of art and transforming himself into Da Vinci, Van Eyck, Frida Kahlo and Vermeer

Yasumasa Morimura makes photographic self-portraits, reflecting on the history of art and transforming himself into Da Vinci, Van Eyck, Frida Kahlo and Vermeer. I have been to his exhibition at the Pushkin Museum, and tomorrow I shall go again

Carved carnival sleigh shaped like a white bird with a red beak, with cherub figures and a red velvet seat, in a museum room.

NB! · Moscow · Museums · Ethnography · Humour

Bird-shaped carnival sleigh from the collection of the Historical Museum

A carnival sleigh from the State Historical Museum. Style!

Archive · Books · Museums · Observations

I read this card with such delight!

I read this card with such delight! And afterwards I pestered a member of the museum staff, quizzing him about the details of the dinner depicted, about which room Napoleon-Jérôme (nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte and darling of the whole family) had stayed in, and whether any of his personal

The mummy of the Ukok Princess with light hair, visible teeth and dark tattoos on the shoulder and arm.

NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Heritage · Society · Ethnography

Altai people demand the return of the Ukok Princess from a Gorno-Altaysk museum for burial

For years now the Altaians have been demanding that the Ukok Princess be returned home and committed to the earth. Though she is, in any case, kept in a museum in Gorno-Altaysk, she belongs to the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Altaian elders, alas,

Gold headdress with a relief female bust at the centre and pendants of fine chains, displayed in a museum case.

NB! · Archaeology · Art · Museums

Gold Woman's Headdress of the 3rd Century BC in the Archaeological Museum in Athens

A woman's headdress of gold, Greece, 3rd century BC. Held in the Archaeological Museum in Athens

NB! · Monarchies · Museums · Mores · Society

The beard token introduced by Peter the Great in 1705, confirming payment of the beard tax (30 to 100 roubles) with the words "The money has been taken"

The beard token introduced by Peter the Great in 1705, confirming payment of the beard tax (30 to 100 roubles) with the words "The money has been taken". Peter died on 8 February 1725, yet the tax was abolished only in 1772

Coming Up · Archaeology · The East · Museums · Education · Saint Petersburg

Hermitage lecture hall holds lecture series on Khorezm, next one on 12 February

The Hermitage Lecture Hall has launched a lecture series, “The Desert Castles of Khorezm”. Those of you in Saint Petersburg, do drop in for a cup of tea. Khorezm is a millennia-old Asian oasis, where excavations have uncovered settlements lost in the sands, irrigation works and necropolises. The next

Marble bust of a child with short hair, wearing a toga, on a round pedestal, Roman sculpture.

NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Rome · Humour

Third-Century Roman Child's Bust Found to Depict a Girl, Not a Boy

For a long time the child immortalised in a 3rd-century Roman sculpture was thought to be a boy, because of the short haircut. It has recently emerged that this type of toga was worn by girls. So much for assuming a gender identity

NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Humour

A Vase in the Shape of a Mouse

A vase in the shape of a mouse. 3rd century AD, Britain. The mouse's body is wound about with a cord in the form of a snake

NB! · Archaeology · Architecture · Museums · Observations

The first tier of the Temple of Minerva remained underground and is used as a cellar, as can be seen from a model in Assisi's rather neglected archaeological museum, which looks more like a mere warehouse of Roman finds

A transparent Roman glass cup with green openwork netting below and dark letters of an inscription around the rim.

NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Observations · Rome

Roman glass cup with openwork netting and an inscription on the rim

A fine Roman tumbler. I would not say no to a whole service of them