Hildreth Meière (1892-1961) was one of the most important architectural designers of the early 20th century, and made her reputation with large-scale murals in a pronounced Art Deco style. Born in Flushing, Queens, New York City, Meière was influenced in her artistic career by a year of study in Florence, where she received training and
Hildreth Meière and Art Deco Read More »
Julia Morgan is an American architect we all should know about. Her career spanned decades in the first half of the 20th century, and the mark she made – with over 700 commissioned buildings– defined the contours of northern Californian architecture. Because she was a woman and because of her reticent personality, her work was
Julia Morgan and her Belltower “El Campanil” Read More »
Here is the Late Medieval ideal of the most beautiful woman imaginable, and I want to draw your attention to her hair – specifically where it isn’t. Yes, Bathsheba’s golden locks, seen in this exquisite late 15th-c illumination, trail down her back in full glory, but also check out her pubes, or not – because
Female Pubic Hair and its Removal in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe Read More »
The master artist Raphael rendered this portrait of a maiden with a unicorn. It’s a paean to the way Italian 16th-century men concieved of beauty and virtue — the two were inextricably woven together. And perhaps Raphael didn’t mean it, but his painting also shows how fantastical and unrealistic these expectations were for most women
Raphael and Patriarchal Standards in Renaissance Italy Read More »
Today I was treated with a personal tour of Ancient Coptic textiles from Shippensburg University’s very own collection from the Fashion Archives and Museum. Undergraduate intern Steph Craven has developed a focus on textile analysis and restoration, and brought out four boxes of these sumptuous embroidered fragments from Egypt’s earliest Christian communities for me to
Coptic Textiles at the Fashion Archives & Museum in Shippensburg, PA Read More »
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC is an astonishing and powerful testimony to this country’s heritage. Showcasing the trajectory of African American history from the centuries of enslavement through the period of legalized apartheid and Jim Crow laws, the exhibits also portray the ways that Black Americans from
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC Read More »
This Ancient Greek statuette, a votive offering showing a pregnant women wearing a supportive binder, speaks to the palpable fears and worries that pregnant women from this part of history all faced. The figurine’s mouth seems to be contorted in pain, perhaps due to her labor. In the Ancient Greek world, when a woman became
Troubling Childbirth in Ancient Greece Read More »
Who doesn’t like themselves a good frightening Ancient Egyptian death mystery? These four statues here, found in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, depict Sekhmet, the cat goddess of sickness. Because she controlled disease, worshippers prayed to her for health. Tension between Ancient Egyptian health and disease-causing agents was recently resurrected by several articles
The “Pharoah’s Curse” Fungus Read More »
This is an actual Ducking Chair, made in England in the 1600s, designed for publically humiliating and frightening those strapped into it by plunging them into water. Importantly, it was only for women.In England — and its burgeoning North American colonies — urbanization, capitalism, and religious and political turmoil were all on the rise, which
Oh, the poor, damned site of the Colonial Jamestown settlement in Virginia. Here you see a recreation of the fort, originally built in 1607, less than a year that three ships set out with 104 men from England under a charter by the Virginia Company to colonize this part of the New World. Money-making and
The Struggle of Jamestown Read More »
Theophrastus was an Ancient Greek dude, whose imporance I hope to persuade you of. Living between 371-287 BCE, he was one of Aristotle’s besties, and even ran the Lyceum as Aristotle’s successor.The reason people know him today is because Theophrastus wrote some books about plants that were among the most important on that subject for
Theophrastus and Plant Intelligence Read More »
Behold the Ishango bone! It may seem small (10 cm or almost 4 inches), but not only is it ancient — to the tune of 20,000 years old — but it also might be the first known recorded lunar calendar, perhaps indicating that a woman developed some of the earliest mathematics.But let’s back up a
This 1st century BCE “Ara Pacis” celebrates fertility with breastfeeding children on a woman’s lap along with other symbols of fecundity. The artistic program matched with the mode of the day in Imperial Rome — the Republic had ended, and the new leader wanted to increase the population of elite Roman citizens. The birthrate among
Marriage and Children in Augustinian Rome Read More »
Many folks will soon celebrate Easter, and so I invite you to fall down the best sort of rabbit’s hole and investigate — Medieval bunnies! And sex, purity, hermaphrodites, and the Virgin Mary, because those things all co-existed in Medieval and Early Modern culture. The painting here, the “Madonna of the Rabbit,” painted by Titian
Easter Bunnies and Fertility Read More »
Costa Rica is the most ecologically minded country in the world, preserving 1/3 of its land for wilderness. The size of the US state of West Virginia, Costa Rica’s environment is incredibly diverse — it has rainforests, cloud forests, tropical beaches, dry uplands, and many, many volcanoes. Going on nature tours and hiking, I was
Costa Rica Wildlife Read More »
Here are some photographs of the coral reefs of the Cahuita National Park in Costa Rica, founded in 1970. Here, 5,600 acres of protected waters preserve 123 types of fish, 35 types of coral, along with a multitude of mollusks, crustaceans, and algae. In fact, the coral reef here is only one out of two
The Environment of Cahuita National Park Read More »
The National Park of Cahuita on the Carribean side of Costa Rica was created in 1970, and is part of the extensive system of wildlife protection which is the hallmark of that country. It includes 2,700 acres of tropical rainforest abutting a coral reef) containing an enormous range of biodiversity. You can see the vegetation
Cahuita National Park Read More »
The ruins of Guayaba, located in the Center of Costa Rica near the Turrialba Volcano, are the country’s most ancient. Those who dwelt here between 1000 BCE and 1400 CE stood at an epicenter of power in the region, and commanded excellent engineering skills which allowed them to construct underground aqueducts, wide imposing roads, and
This is me at Aquiares Coffee Estate, Costa Rica’s largest and oldest coffee plantation, where farmers and specialists have been growing coffee since 1880. As my tour guide Manuel explained, the product that so many people enjoy daily (and perhaps multiple times daily!) only comes to fruition after much time and effort.The Aquiares Coffee Estate
Costa Rica’s Coffee Production Read More »
Turrialba Volcano is the second-highest in Costa Rica, and as you can see, it is still active. At 10,958 feet/3,340 meters, one can see the Carribean from its peak on a clear day. Turrialba was known to the indigenous Huetar people, who may have given the volcano its name from their language (Turiri Aba, meaning
