Sutton Hoo artifacts, 6th- and early 7th-century. Suffolk, England.
History & Culture
Cultural & Art History of Western Civilsations
The Anglian helm from Sutton Hoo Mound I. Photograph courtesy Andy J Pilkington.
Stairs in medieval fortifications were constructed to contain trick or stumble steps. These were steps that had different rise height or thread depth from the rest and would cause anyone running up the stairs to stumble or fall, so slowing down the attackers’ progress.
Marble sculpture of Aphrodite, dated 1BC.
Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan, 1885
Ugh, I love this painting so much.
Just some background stuff, Ivan the Terrible was the Tsar of Russia for most of the 16th Century. In I think 1581, he caught his daughter-in-law wearing ‘immodest clothing in front of everyone’ and struck her. She was apparently pregnant and she may or may not have had a miscarriage because of it.
Ivan’s son and the girl’s husband, also named Ivan after his father, hears about it and gets into a really heated argument with his father that ends with Ivan the Terrible taking a swing at his son with his pointed staff. It’s said that he immediately fell down and kissed his son’s face, pressing his hands against his left temple to try to stop the bleeding. He famously screamed “May I be damned! I’ve killed my son! I’ve killed my son!” His son briefly regained consciousness and his last words were “I die as a devoted son and most humble servant.”
I love all the details. I love the pointed staff lying on the ground and the signs of a fight with the tossed over chair, disturbed carpet, and the door wide open. I love the single tear on Ivan’s face and their position on the floor. This is a really gorgeous but raw depiction of one of the darkest moments in an incredible man’s life. I wish there were more historical paintings like this.I’ve yet to see any other image depict the look of horrific realization and regret as well as this painting does. It really is just stunning.
ahhh we talked about this painting in Euro. So horrifying. So much emotion.
Ilya Repin — Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16th, 1581 (1885)
(via veleslava)
Napoleon distributing the Légion d’honneur at the Boulogne camps, August 1804
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour (French: Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur) is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802. The Order is the highest decoration in France and is divided into five degrees: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand Croix (Grand Cross).
Replica of the helmet found at Sutton Hoo, in the burial of an Anglo-Saxon leader, probably a king, about 620 in the Early Middle Ages
(via collectivehistory)
These lace and linen undergarments date back to hundreds of years before women’s underwear was thought to exist. They had lain hidden in a vault beneath the floorboards of an Austrian castle since the 15th century. Despite their state of decay, the knickers bear more than a passing resemblance to the string bikini briefs popular today, while the bra has the fitted cups and delicate straps of its modern-day counterparts. While it was known that medieval men wore undergarments like modern-day shorts, it was thought that their womenfolk simply wore a smock or chemise, and that knickers didn’t make an appearance until the late 18th century. Bras were thought to be an even more modern invention, not appearing until around 100 years ago. However, Hilary Davidson, fashion curator at the Museum of London, said the discovery ‘totally rewrites’ fashion history, adding: ‘Nothing like this has ever come up before.’
The Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs is a sculpture group of four Roman emperors, wedged into a corner on the facade of San Marco in Venice, Italy.
The Roman Empire was for a time after 293 ruled by a tetrarchy (a group of four rulers), instituted by Emperor Diocletian. The tetrarchy consisted of two Augusti (senior emperors) and two Caesars (younger emperors). The empire was territorially divided into western and eastern halves, with a senior and a junior emperor in each half. After Diocletian and his colleague, Maximian, retired in 305, internal strife erupted among the tetrarchs. The system finally ceased to exist around 313.
The Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs symbolizes the concept of the tetrarchy, rather than depicting four personal portraits. Each tetrarch looks the same, without any individualized characteristics, except that two, probably representing the older Augusti, have beards, and two do not. The group is divided into pairs, each embracing, which unites Augusti and Caesars together. The overall effect suggests unity and stability. The very choice of material, the durable porphyry (which came from Egypt), symbolizes a permanence of the kind reminiscent of Egyptian statuary and the early Kouros figures. Porphyry was rare and reserved for imperial use.
(via collectivehistory)
![theoddmentemporium:
This is a reusable condom dat[ing] back to 1640 and completely intact, as is its orginal users’ manual, written in Latin.The manual suggests that users immerse the condom in warm milk prior to its use to avoid diseases.The antique, found in Lund in Sweden, is made of pig intestine and was one of 250 ancient objects related to sex on display at the Tirolean County Museum in Austria in 2006.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6lu4rfGpF1rnseozo1_400.jpg)
This is a reusable condom dat[ing] back to 1640 and completely intact, as is its orginal users’ manual, written in Latin.
The manual suggests that users immerse the condom in warm milk prior to its use to avoid diseases.
The antique, found in Lund in Sweden, is made of pig intestine and was one of 250 ancient objects related to sex on display at the Tirolean County Museum in Austria in 2006.
