Just a reminder — since 2017, the Ancient Roman city of Pompeii (which was infamously buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE) has undergone extensive excavations in several new areas. And in “Regio IX” this week, the first scholarly analysis of this painting appeared, and the interwebs are all a-flutter as to […]
Ancient Roman Focaccia? Read More »
In the four corners region of New Mexico, a population of ancestral Pueblo people settled for a few centuries around the first millennium CE and built magnificent structures and created beautiful pottery like this pitcher (dating between 1075-1150 CE), fostering a relatively large population in the arid region. Archaeologists call this the Chaco Canyon civilization,
Chaco Canyon’s Pottery and Gendered Work Read More »
This painting, _A Disaster at Sea_, by Joseph Mallory William Turner (made around 1835), renders a shipwreck in a storm with abstract brush strokes — the clouds and waves crash with hectic fury into each other and the boat, as the frenzied white foam takes over both sea vessel and the lower third of the
The Wreck of the Amphitrite, a Women’s Prison Ship Read More »
Tales of shipwrecks are often sad, but I’d bet money that this one is the most macabre and gruesome in history. The sea vessel _Essex_ sailed from Nantucket to waters off the coast of South America in search of lucrative whales. 20 men were on board the boat, which ended up rounding Cape Horn and
The Shipwreck of Essex and the Resort to Cannibalism Read More »
Here you are looking at the compound microscope developed by Robert Hooke (d 1703), a Renaissance scientist more famous for dabbling in academic fields as disparate as physics and palaeontology than a particular discovery. Nevertheless, his microscope allowed him to illustrate things he included in _Micrographia_, which utterly captivated his British audience. Samuel Pepys the
Robert Hooke and Micrographia Read More »
It is both St Patrick’s Day and Women’s History Month, so I thought it might be appropriate to feature one of Ireland’s most prolific composers, Ina Boyle. Never heard of her? Even in her lifetime, as she was churning out chamber music, choral pieces, concertos, and symphonies, most of her work was never performed, so
Ina Boyle Ireland’s Most Prodigious Musical Composer Read More »
This shirt dating from 15th-early 16th century northern India contains the entire Qur’an. Check out the picture-like framing, as though the wearer were adorning himself with a book rather than mere cotton. The illustrated rondels that overlay the pectoral muscles, the shoulder-pad-esque details, and the fringes that look like lapels all contribute to a faux-armor.
Talisman Shirt with Qur’an from Early Modern India Read More »
This sculpture, coming from a porch from the abbey church at Moissac and dating between 1120-1135, shows a woman in hell being tortured for her sins of lust. Her long hair, draped over her face, draws attention to her sexual moral depravity, as two snakes bite her breasts as they coil around her genitalia. On
Moissac Sculpture, Women, and Medieval Sodomy Read More »
This butterfly I photographed today at the Hershey Butterfly House likely belongs to the genus “Heliconius”, aka “the longwings.” But it looks very similar to the one illustrated in a 15th-century Medieval French Manuscript which scholars have identified as an “Aglais urticae” or “Small Tortoiseshell”. Both the 21st century butterfly house and the Medieval painting
Medieval Butterflies Read More »
This is one of the most important books in existence — the Codex Vaticanus. Dating to the fourth century, it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible. But whereas its fame resides mostly in the history of Christianity (many scholars translating the New Testament rely on it), it has a
Codex Vaticanus and the Septuagint Read More »
This 13th-century fresco illustrates the most influential forgery in history: _The Donation of Constantine_. See the dude in the gold dress with the red beard handing over what looks like a puffy triangle to the larger but thin Santa Claus-guy? That’s supposed to be the Emperor Constantine (4th century) giving Pope Sylvester the right to
The Donation of Constantine Read More »
Feel free to scroll in at this larger-than-lifesize automaton known as the “Peacock Clock”, created in the 1700s by James Cox and now in St. Petersburg, Russia. It’s as close as we can get to viewing a bejewelled-encrusted tree with moving birds that sang and astonished viewers at the Byzantine Court of Constantinople. With all
The Throne of Solomon and Byzantine Automata Read More »
This simple black-on-gold mosaic cross is generally thought to be among the most significant artistic remains of the Byzantine Civilization. The reason why it’s so famous has everything to do with an ancient religious battle that lasted across two centuries and whose victors deliberately destroyed most sources that challenged their perspectives. I’m talking about the
Hagia Eirene and Byzantine Iconoclasm in Art Read More »
This woodblock print from about 1787 is by the Japanese artist Torii Kiyonaga, and it’s one of the most elegant examples of the distinct art from the Edo period in Japan, a time when the country’s artistic creativity generated works admired both at home and by Europeans. “Interior of a bathhouse” shows several women in
Torii Kiyonaga the Woodcut Artist Who Focused on Women and Erotica Read More »
Automata are machines that operate on their own, and have been around since Ancient Egyptian times. Often they are automated animals or people designed to impress an audience. This one might give you nightmares. Tragically, the “Automaton of a Friar” that you see here is currently not on display at the National Museum of American
