NB! · Art · Monarchies · Museums · People

Henry VIII's horned helmet, part of the armour given to the English king by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, sets one thinking about the relations and the predilections of both monarchs

A pointed, weathered wooden spear is displayed on a stand inside a museum case.

NB! · Archaeology · Museums

The Clacton Spear, Found in Essex in 1911, Is the World's Oldest Wooden Spear

The Clacton Spear, 420,000 years old, is the oldest wooden spear in the world. It was found in Essex in 1911

NB! · Art · Museums

A Medieval French Jug

Black-and-white photograph of a sandal decorated with golden floral rosettes.

NB! · Archaeology · The East · Museums

Golden sandal of Tutankhamun in a black-and-white photograph

Tutankhamun's sandal. Gold, naturally

Three flint knives with faces, shell eyes and teeth, on a dark background, on a book page with a caption.

NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Ethnography

Aztec sacrificial knives with shell eyes and teeth found at the Templo Mayor

Aztec sacrificial knives. It is curious that the form and method of manufacture of these flint and obsidian blades barely changed in over ten thousand years, the decoration alone excepted

NB! · Art · Museums · Science · People

The Death Mask of Isaac Newton

Bronze figurine of the winged demon Pazuzu with a snarling face, a raised hand and a suspension loop above the head.

NB! · Archaeology · Faith · The East · Cinema · Museums

Assyrian demon Pazuzu, lord of the winds, and his role as a protective amulet

The Assyrian demon Pazuzu, lord of the parching winds. It seems to have been he who took possession of the girl in 'The Exorcist'. Curiously enough, his image was used as an amulet against more malevolent powers

NB! · Museums · Observations · Humour

This is not some zoological museum where you pose your plain girlfriends against Soviet taxidermy

NB! · Archaeology · The East · Art · Monarchies · Museums

Nefertiti and Akhenaten holding hands, remains of a sculpture

NB! · Museums · Science · Palaeontology · Nature

Sophie the Stegosaurus's Teeth Have Survived Well

NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Mores

Roman Socks for Wearing with Sandals

NB! · Archive · Museums · Society

A photograph from the Black Sea Fleet Museum

A photograph from the Black Sea Fleet Museum. Especially for those who tell us that the St George ribbon was invented by perfidious propagandists in 2009