One of the most entertaining saints in the biz, Sainte Foy was known as the trickster saint (a reliquary holding some of her remains is on the second slide). She had all the usual chops to star in a holy cult centered around her: allegedly killed by Romans when she refused to do pagan sacrifices, […]
Sainte Foy and the Heist by the Monks of Conques Read More »
You are looking at the most famous labyrinth in Medieval history: that of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres. In eleven concentric circles, the path wanders towards the center rosette. This labyrinth dates to about 1200, and is the most complete and largest of its type. The meaning of this maze has been debated —
The Cathedral of Notre Dame’s Labyrinth Read More »
Like spokes on a wheel, these wide boulevards typify the landscape of Paris. Beautiful components of the city, tourists have come to associate these streets with “La Ville Lumiere”. But this architecture has a more sinister origin: it developed out of a desire to stop protesters.The second image shows a now-demolished street called rue du
La Ville Lumiere and the Desire to Stop Protests Read More »
This piece of furniture has an epic name: the Great Bed of Ware. Carved around 1600 in Elizabethan England, the exquisitely crafted masterpiece became famous almost immediately – Shakespeare even had one of his characters in _Twelfth Night_ (1601) claim that a piece of paper was so large that it was “big enough for the
The Famous Great Bed of Ware Read More »
This is a 16th- century depiction of a Central-American ruler called Nezahualcoyotl (d. 1472). Before the Aztec Empire took over the region, the area was partitioned among several kingdoms. Nezahualcoyotl ruled over the city-state of Texcoco, and was famed not only for his political leadership, but also his architectural genius and his poetry. Unusually, several
Central-American Ruler Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco Read More »
Medieval warfare less often squared equivalent armies on the ground against each other, and more often entailed raiding and sieges. In a pre-gunpowder arena, a castle’s walls and well armed keep could withstand months of an invader’s armies. The offensive side used a variety of tactics to get their opponents to surrender, including throwing stones
The Medieval Siege of Rochester Castle Read More »
Here are some of the soldiers of the famed terracotta army, constructed on the demand of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, as part of a grand mausoleum dedicated to himself.Qin Shi Huang was known for many achievements — standardizing weights across his lands, unifying China, beginning new construction of the Great Wall,
Qin Shi Huang’s Terracotta Army Read More »
In these pandemic times, attention has justly been drawn to the critical role that hospitals and their staff have played in preventing social collapse by providing relief to millions of sufferers — those that manage to return to health, and those whose last days’ solace has been granted by weary health-care workers. We can thank
The Importance of Byzantine Xenon Hospitals Read More »
The 19th century had waaaay too many well-intentioned visionaries whose actual concepts led to horrifying conclusions. Among the sickening ideas is the Panopticon, created by the British philosopher Jeremy Benthem. He meant well — but his aims incorporated authoritarian mind-control.From the Greek “all-seeing”, the Panopticon was a special sort of prison, designed for the benevolant
Architectural Design of the 19th-Century Panopticon’s Read More »
This exquisite reverse of a Late Roman (c 400 CE) mirror is the closest object I could find that relates to one of the premier minds of antiquity, that of Anathemius of Tralles, who lived in the late 5th- mid 6th- centuries. He lived in the bustling capital city of Constantinople when it was at
Anathemius of Tralles the Comedian of Constantinople Read More »
For Women’s History Month and my 800th post, I am featuring Violet Oakley (two of you readers voted for her yesterday). Oakley was a leading American artist of the early 20th-century: her 43 murals at the State Capitol Building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania are among her most famous works — they were the first public murals
Artist Violet Oakley and Pennsylvania’s Capitol Read More »
One of the most interesting secret societies are the Rosicrucians, an allegedly ancient sect of initiates endowed with wisdom so advanced that members have had to keep their knowledge and community hidden.But, they have a settlement in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — with actual pyramids! — and if it wasn’t on private property, I’d definitely go
The Ancient Secret Society of Rosicrucian Read More »
In the U.S. it is beginning to feel for many that we are on the last lap of the COVID-19 pandemic — and for those of us lucky enough to have had the vaccine, gratitude is a common emotion. In the 17th century, several European countries endured a horrific bout of plague, caused by that
Vienna, Austria’s “Pestaule Column” Read More »
Behold the Bayon Temple, one of several built under King Jayavarman VII (d. 1219) of the Khmer Empire of Medieval Camodian fame.Many consider Jayavarman VII the most important ruler of Medieval Cambodia — the sheer amount of building projects he undertook illustrates why this is so. Unifying his Empire and defending its borders, Jayavarman built
Bayon Temple in Medieval Cambodia Read More »
Are you on team Brutalism or not? Brutalism is an architectural movement from the post-WWII era that features exposed concrete (from the French “béton brut” which got translated “brutalism”). Made popular worldwide in the 1960s, it has tended to inspire either awed admiration or deep-felt repulsion among viewers. And this building here, the Boston City
Post World War II Brutalism Architecture Read More »
This is one of the entrances to the famed palace complex of the Alhambra, one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. Specifically, this area is known as the “Gate of Justice” or “Esplanade’s Gate”, built by the Sultan Yūsuf I of Granada in 1348. It is also one of the most famous
Palace Alhambra in Granada Read More »
This image looks very old, but it was taken in 1984 — it is a picture of a sacred pillar in the religious shrine, or “terreiro,” called the Ilê Axé Iyá Nassô Oká. It is the oldest shrine in Brazil of the syncretic religion Candomblé. And if you’ve never heard of Candomblé, that’s not very
Terreiro – The Oldest Religious Shrine in Brazil Read More »
The Ancient Romans loved their baths — this is a circular pool from the baths in the eponymously named town of Bath in England. Although the custom of public bathing had come from Ancient Greece, by the early 400s CE Rome had 856 bathouses throughout the Empire.These were places of beauty and comfort — heating
Ancient Romans and Their Bath-Houses Read More »
Maybe because this was my first post-COVID museum, or maybe because I have a thing for eccentric homes built by ultra-rich early 20th-century Americans, but I have only superlatives to say about Fonthill Castle in rural Doylestown Pennsylvania.Henry Chapman Mercer, an independently wealthy archaeologist and tile manufacturer, had this palace made between 1908-1912. Influenced by
Henry Mercer’s Fonthill Castle Read More »
And from whence does this Ancient Roman-style barrel vaulted ceiling appear, you might be asking? Not from Italy, but rather from the imagination of the talented and bizarre brain of the American aristocrat Henry Champman Mercer, who had it built in 1914 to house his vast collection of tools and artifacts from before the Industrial
Henry Mercer Museum and Artifacts Read More »
