Quantcast
Channel: Dorothy Lobel King's PhDiva
Viewing all 806 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

The Tomb of Hamrath at Suweida: A Warrior Woman

September 8, 2014, 11:29 am
$
0
0

This is the best example of a tomb decorated with sculpted relief shields - and also armour - but which belonged to a woman.

I'm still post flood, my books are either in storage or hiding, so I'll copy and paste the small section of my PhD dissertation that dealt with it below; the engraving above is from Lawrence. Yes Syria was on the margins of the Greek world, but I'll cover the Macedonian tombs and female warriors in a day or two.

The tomb of Hamrath was recorded as near whole in the 19th century, but turning into ruins by 1905 when Butler photographed it (source); the way things are going in Syria, it will not be surprising if much more is destroyed.


        Perhaps one of the most interesting examples of the decorative use of armour comes from the early first century BC Tomb of Hamrath at Suweida in Syria,[1]  no longer extant. Relief circular and oval shields, corselets, and helmets decorated the five intercolumniations on each side. The bilingual inscription, in Greek and Aramaic, identifies it as having been built for her by her husband Odainath. The Greek word used to designate the tomb is sthlh,  while the Aramaic calls it NPS, which means soul and by extension personification. Shields alone may well have been decorative, but armour suggests a warrior. Although armour would at first seem an inappropriate decorative attribute for a woman, one should bear in mind the long history of warrior-queens in the pre-Islamic Near East. Not just restricting ourselves to this area, one can note a number of examples, from Samiramis through Tomyris, the two Artemisias, Dynamis, and culminating in the much later Zenobia.[2]  So although women were marginalised in mainstream Greek society, the countries on its fringes were more prepared to regard a martial leader, who could acquire power regardless of their sex, and thus Hamrath may well have been a warrior. The basalt structure was a square with sides of ca. 11 metres, with engaged Doric columns, a Doric entablature, and surmounted by a pyramidal roof. The device of intercolumnar shields is taken one step further by the inclusion of helmets and corselets, as well as a number of different forms of shields.

[1]

Lawrence 1983, p. 287, fig. 266; Fedak 1990, pp. 148-9, fig. 221; Gawlikowski 1970, pp. 22-3, fig. 6; Markle 1994, pp. 89-91; Stucchi 1987b, fig. 14, p. 255; de Vogüé 1865, pp. 29-31, pl. 1. The town is now known as Es-Suweda. Outer intercolumniation w. 1.80, interior intercolumniations w. 1.84. W. of columns at base 0.89, ht. 4.61. Inscription = CIS I 162. [Addendum: the best publication to look at is

Gawlikowski 1970 = M. Gawlikowski, Monuments Funéraires de Palmyre, Etudes et Travaux 9, 1970.]

[2] 

See Abbott 1941; Fraser 1988, pp. 14-26, 107-128.

↧
Search

Blog Love: SARAH E. BOND

September 8, 2014, 12:09 pm
↧
↧

Amphipolis: Walling Up …

September 9, 2014, 12:07 am
$
0
0
Two key questions keep popping up about Amphipolis.

Why was clearly such an important monument not mentioned in any surviving ancient source? I suspect that with a lot of archive work it may be possible to find possible allusions to it, but that perhaps it was not referred to as “The Tomb of X” but by another name? Or more likely the texts that did mention it are now lost – and far more ancient texts have gone missing over the centuries than survive, a key plot point of Umberto Eco’s brilliant novel The Name of the Rose.

Secondly why was the tomb sealed up with a wall?

The wall post-dates the construction of the tomb, and post-dates its use. We have to bear in mind that tombs were not always used by those that built them, but could be used when someone died suddenly decades later (Belevi is the perfect example of this).

The brilliant Amphipolis archaeologists (I include the architect in this generic plural description, as well as all the technicians) presented their preliminary finds about the deliberate destruction of the superstructure at a conference. Because the destruction was so deliberate, with blocks of the lion and the base moved some distance down to the river, it was initially assumed that this was Christian Byzantine anti-pagan iconoclasm.

With further research, and based on small finds, they moved the date down into the Roman period. Which leads straight to the question: who could have been buried in the tomb that was so disliked by a powerful Roman that he went to so much trouble and expense to destroy the memorial? Nobody knows.

(Answers on a postcard …)


And then we get to the wall which was recently excavated in front of the gate of the Lion Tomb at Amphipolis.

As I have been clear before, I have gone out of my way this summer to only have knowledge of the excavations through Ministry of Culture press releases, not by asking about other finds. There are several possibilities for this wall, based on common sense which they will clarify through their dig:

a) it is contemporary to the burial, and a more elaborate version than other Macedonian tombs of closing a tomb by back-filling the dromos with earth. For example, at Vergina we know that Tomb II’s dromos was filled in with earth almost immediately as much of the stucco decorations and paintings were so fresh that they were damaged. Macedonian tombs may have had beautiful facades, but these were not designed to be seen by later generations and covered over soon after the burial.
I doubt this because the contemporary blocks are high quality masonry, whilst these are of poor quality. I also believe that the tomb may have been intended to be seen.

b) that it is a later ‘seal’ to protect the tomb.

A parallel can be drawn to Septimius Severus ‘sealing’ the tomb of Alexander the Great in Alexandria. Cassius Dio 76.13:
he took away from practically all the sanctuaries all the books that he could find containing any secret lore, and he locked up the tomb of Alexander; this was in order that no one in future should either view Alexander's body or read what was written in the above-mentioned books. So much, then, for what Severus was doing.
Before people start leaping to conclusions that Severus had the Sema walled up, and make links to the ancient walling up of the gateway of Amphipolis ... he only ordered the tomb sealed not walled up. We know that because his son Caracalla was able to visit the tomb according to Herodian IV.8.

c) that the ‘sealing’ wall was contemporary to the destruction of the superstructure and part of an attempt to ‘hide’ the tomb, but not destroy it for religious reasons. There is a good example of this in Vitruvius, and although as so often one can question his text, he tends to be correct (Vitruvius 2.8.14-15):
14. After the death of Mausolus, the Rhodians, indignant at his wife, who succeeded to the government, governing the whole of Caria, fitted out a fleet, for the purpose of seizing the kingdom. When the news reached Artemisia, she commanded her fleet to lie still in the secret harbour; and having concealed the sailors and mustered the marines, ordered the rest of the citizens to the walls. When the well appointed squadron of the Rhodians should enter the large harbour, she gave orders that those stationed on the walls should greet them, and promise to deliver up the town. The Rhodians, leaving their ships, penetrated into the town; at which period Artemisia, by the sudden opening of a canal, brought her fleet round, through the open sea, into the large harbour; whence the Rhodian fleet, abandoned by its sailors and marines, was easily carried out to sea. The Rhodians, having now no place of shelter, were surrounded in the forum and slain.
 
15. Artemisia then embarking her own sailors and marines on board of the Rhodian fleet, set sail for Rhodes. The inhabitants of that city seeing their vessels return decorated with laurels, thought their fellow citizens were returning victorious, and received their enemies. Artemisia having thus taken Rhodes, and slain the principal persons of the city, raised therein a trophy of her victory. It consisted of two brazen statues, one of which represented the state of Rhodes, the other was a statue of herself imposing a mark of infamy on the city. As it was contrary to the precepts of the religion of the Rhodians to remove a trophy, they encircled the latter with a building, and covered it after the custom of the Greeks, giving it the name ἄβατον.
Although some dispute the martial historical accuracy of this account – there is often confusion between Artemisia I of Halicarnassus and Artemisia II of Caria in ancient sources – the religious aspect of not destroying a sacred dedication is widely accepted.

Or

d) something completely different no-one has thought of yet.

(Again, answers on a postcard – those accompanied by chocolate get priority … )
↧

Is Brainy The New Sexy ...?

September 9, 2014, 1:00 am
$
0
0
Waists are back in. Toe cleavage is out. I'm willing to bet money that half the fashion magazines next spring will be running pieces on "naval fashion" just as they are currently running pieces heralding "x colour as the new black" and advising women on how to add a touch of leopard to their 'look' in such a way that avoids making them look like a reality TV 'star' ...

Men are 'allowed' to spend money on 'masculine' pursuits such as motorbikes without being condescended to, but women who chose to spend their own - often hard earned money - on clothes can be mocked. Yes it's a double standard. Some of the brightest women I know work in fashion. But ...

Too often I see women who've clearly put huge amounts of time and money into their outward physical appearance to attract men - for example the push-up bikini and groomed to within an inch of agony bodies on the beach ... but oddly they don't put the same amount of effort into their minds, as is clear from the lack of thought that goes into their reading material, as one male friend pointed out. Those women don't have style: they're fashion victims - the sorts of women who do strange things such as put silicone sacks into their bodies, and think that when people say "it's what's underneath that matters" they're talking about racy lingerie.

Olympia Le-Tan produces a selection of minaudières shaped like books each season. Yes, sometimes I've cattily wondered if the women I see clutching them at parties have read them, let alone can hold a conversation about them ... and the answer is that the woman I tested my theory on could. I was guilty of stereotyping women who put effort into fashion as being shallow, but the truth is that women fought for our right to earn out own livings, and surely part of feminism should be accepting that women also have the right to spend their money as they wish.

Some of Olympia Le-Tan's clutches are prettier, but if I earned enough money to buy one I'd go for this one as it's both the most versatile and the wittiest.* (Please ignore the horrific styling in the photo).

OLYMPIA LE-TAN
BRITISH SEAMEN BOOK CLUTCH
£1044 at Luisa Via Roma (A selection of different book designs is available at Net-A-Porter.)

I might have experience of British Seamen, but I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't admit to not having read the book. (For those interested in the actual book, it's available at Amazon UK and Amazon US etc - the author, David Mathew, was a Roman Catholic bishop as well as an historian).

To return to the original question, for many men brainy has always been sexy. And accessories have long provided the opportunity to express wit. Fashion comes, fashion goes - but intelligence is always in style.

Sometimes men seem to think with their little heads rather than their big heads, but not always. Take the Duke of Devonshire and his infamous menage a trois which featured in Amanda Foreman's biography of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (Kindle UK; Amazon US). Although it sounds as if the Duke was thinking with his small head in taking a mistress ... Georgiana was a rather silly girl. She wasn't involved in politics; she slept with a politician. Her love life may have been exciting, but she was not particularly interesting - certainly not according to her husband. Far more interesting was Lady Elizabeth Foster nee Hervey, the much-maligned mistress whom the Duke of Devonshire married after Georgiana's death. Thanks to Foreman's biography, Elizabeth is now universally derided.

Elizabeth was certainly a physically attractive woman, as we can see in portraits: this one by Angelica Kauffman is now in Ickworth House. But for a man as powerful as the Duke of Devonshire to keep her by his side from 1782 until his death in 1811, and for him to marry her in 1809 when not only did he not 'have' to, but she was 50 and had probably lost much of her youthful bloom ...

Although Elizabeth's role as anything other than a bedroom distraction is glossed over in Foreman's biography ... my guess is that what kept the Duke interested in her was her brain and their common interests. Georgiana may have been 'fun' and had a nice selection of hats, but Elizabeth was educated and intelligent.

Edward Gibbon - of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire fame - was a huge fan of hers. She funded a translation of Horace into Italian by Molajoni. And she corrected it before publication where she thought it was inaccurate. The Iter ad Brundusium and the Aeneid were also illustrated and published thanks to her.

She was a patron of the arts as well as a great Classicist. She arranged for the Vatican to have casts of the Parthenon frieze soon after Lord Elgin brought it to London. She got involved in the post-Napoleon repatriation of works of art to Italy. And ...

This is what the Roman Forum looked liked in 1760; a higher resolution version of this engraving by Piranesi is here. By the time Elizabeth visited after her husband's death, the arch had been cleared of the accumulation of topsoil, but much of the Forum was still buried and used as pasture for cows.

Cardinal Ercole Consalvi helped her get a permit, and in December 1816 Elizabeth started to excavate, beginning with the Column of Phocas - seen here in the left foreground. Then she dug around the area, down to the Roman travertine paving. Some of her finds can be seen in the Capitoline museum, such as the porphyry column shafts.

I've heard a lot of women apologize for Georgiana, saying she was a 'product' of her age - but so was Elizabeth, and a much more interesting one (or so the Duke thought!).

Books that do sell well to the silicone sex-pots these days are often ones on how to capture a husband. Many of them seem to advise pretending to be a certain way to 'snag' a man but these days marriage is not for life ... and surely the men will divorce them as soon as they realise the fraudulence of their pretense? As a wise contemporary Hervey Lady recently reminded me: it's easy to convince a man to marry one, far harder to keep him interested enough to stay married. Lady Elisabeth Hervey clearly knew the secret to a long term relationship - engaging a man's brains. Witty beats pretty, and I suspect the very clever as well as beautiful Dr Amanda Foreman would agree.

-------------------


* = Instead, Ellie has this Kikkerland lead, as she's a hot dog ...  £15.44 at Amazon UK
↧

Tweet from @RaptisCG

September 9, 2014, 7:39 am
$
0
0
@RaptisCG: The isometric representation of the #Amphipolisfew c tomb via euro2day.gr #archaeology http://pic.twitter.com/tsYFAzCsKr

Please note that this is the official reconstruction by the archaeologists, ie the genius of Michalis Lefantzis, and it helps show how similar the tomb is to other Macedonian tombs - but in marble rather than plaster, and more monumental.

------------------

*cough* - please note that whilst the architecture is accurate, the details of the sculptures are still restored as conjectured
↧
↧

Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.

September 10, 2014, 5:11 am
$
0
0
My  'pet hate' is museums trying to charge students and scholars to use their own photographs by claiming copyright of an object or work of art.



In the US they cannot even claim copyright of simple photographs of objects or works of art, as this decision made clear:

Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



So this caption rather amused me:





... and of course I'm reproducing the images to make a point that I legally have the right to do so.



Incidentally, a lot of younger scholars also seem to be unaware that unless they specifically assign copyright to someone else, they retain the copyright of everything they write.
↧

Macedonian Amazons and The Woman Warrior in Tomb II, Vergina

September 10, 2014, 7:27 am
$
0
0
IMG00047-20091117-1627 I’ve been sort of working on a book about Women and War in the ancient world (well I wrote half, took a break, and I'm playing with it again as my agent will be thrilled to hear). The number of literary sources that mentions queens fighting is surprisingly large, but the archaeological record is poor. 

I’ve already mentioned the finds in the Egyptian tomb of Ahhotep I. There are Scythian women buried with arms, but we know too little about these, and they fall outside the focus of my book. The same for the Gaulish women found buried with chariots – several were excavated at Vix, including the ‘princess’ buried with the famous Vix Crater. There is a Syrian tomb that appears to have belonged to a woman warrior Hamrath, but it has been destroyed and the contents long looted.

The best material evidence for a woman warrior thus comes from Tomb II at Vergina in Macedonia – although the tomb itself belonged to a man. The man is key to identifying her, and his identity has been disputed in recent years. When the tomb was first excavated by Manolis Andronikos in 1977, because it was by far the most impressive of the three tombs he excavated at this cemetery near the Macedonian capital of Aigai and it was clearly royal, he assigned it to Phillip II. The preserved skull would seem to tally with the literary sources describing the king as having lost an eye. We know that the tomb could not have belonged to his son Alexander the Great, since all the literary sources are clear that he was interred in Alexandria by Ptolemy I. 

Behind the stucco Doric facade is a large vaulted structure divided into an antechamber and a larger burial chamber by a wall. Inside the burial chamber, closed off by doors, were the remains of a man and his accompanying funerary accessories – in the antechamber were the remains of a woman, and some extremely elaborate arms and armour. This shows clearly that the woman had either trained for war, or been involved in a war – which doesn’t particularly help in her identification, given how many Macedonia royal women fit this description. One other feature of interest is that the plaster onto which the hunting frieze had been painted on the outside was still wet when the tomb was covered over with earth, and so was damaged; this suggests a greater hurry to bury the deceased than normal. Our knowledge of Macedonian tombs and their dating has also been refined thanks to the discovery of many more by Prof Andronikos and his colleagues.

Luckily looters never got their grubby little paws on this tomb, so the grave goods and cremated human remains are intact. A gold larynx in the main chamber contained the remains of a man, another in the antechamber those of a woman. Both were accompanied by large amounts of grave goods, but the addition of the woman’s remains in the antechamber are unusual, since this is where grave goods were normally piled up. The way her own grave goods and armour were piled up in front of the main chamber’s door, partly blocking it, suggests that she was interred almost as an afterthought.

portrait_heads Small ivory heads, which once decorated a kline, or dining couch whose wood has disintegrated, were found. These were identified as portraits of Phillip, his friends, and Alexander, and seen as supporting the identification of the tomb’s occupant. 

Scholarly opinion is divided, with Greek archaeologists largely seeing Tomb II as containing Phillip II, and American scholars someone else, usually Phillip III Arrhidaeus.


For a whole host of reasons I won't get into now, I think it is the tomb of Philip II - and would like to point out that Arrhidaeus was buried with his wife and her mother according to our sources.

Philips II's women were ... complicated.



Philip II of Macedon made a series of marriages to women from neighbouring lands, many of whom were also warriors. This changed the role of women both in Macedonian society, and as the Macedonians conquered the world, of women in the empires they created in their wake. After Alexander the Great’s death, this culminated in what Duris of Samos called ‘the first war fought between women, as his mother Olympias and his sister Cynane raised armies did battle for the throne. In their wake came a whole host of Hellenistic queens who likewise used arms to enforce their territorial claims, concluding with Cleopatra VII of Egypt.


The legacy of Xerxes' admiral Artemisia of Halicarnassus in Caria would reach into the fourth century. Her name-sake Artemisia II of Caria fought the Rhodians. Artemisia’s sister Ada later battled their brother Pixodarus for Caria, and then the Persians. When Alexander swept through the region in 334 as he conquered the world, Ada was still holding out in the fortress of Alinda against the Persians. They came to an arrangement whereby she adopted him, and he appointed her his Satrap of Caria. As Alexander’s Satrap, Ada besieged and took Myndus, a fortress on the coast north of Halicarnassus; given that the city had previously withheld Alexander’s siege of it, this was a considerable accomplishment.



After Alexander’s death the lands he had conquered were split amongst his successors, known as the Diadochi. These generals would carve out empires for themselves in Macedon, Asia Minor, Egypt and Syria, and fought a succession of wars to increase their domains. Alexander the Great’s sister Cynane had fought alongside their father Philip II of Macedon, and defeated an Illyrian army. She had been trained in war by her mother Audata-Eurydice, and in turn trained her daughter Adea-Eurydice to fight. After Alexander’s death, she once again took up arms, hired mercenaries, and marched at the head of an army from Macedon into Asia, to fight for the throne. As a result, Adea-Eurydice married Philip III, and became queen of Macedon. Cynane died in battle. Audata-Eurydice was one of several martial women Philip II had married. A tomb excavated at Vergina believed to be that of Philip II contained in addition the remains of a woman, who is assumed to have been one of his wives. What made the find particularly unusual is that she was buried with greaves, a Scythian style quiver, and arrows. Since we know that several of Philips’s wives were martially inclined, these would support the identification of the tomb as his, and suggest that the inhumed wife was the Scythian princess he had married. 

The primary role of the ruler after Alexander can be seen as being a martial leader – whether to gain more land or merely to defend it, fighting off those who were trying to take if off them. By extension the supporting role of the queen could veer into a martial one when necessary.Although they are now studied as Greeks, the Macedon that these Diadochi had sprung from was on the fringes of the Greek world, and had produced a string of strong women. Resilient women continued to be a feature of the Hellenistic kingdoms that they carved out, often fighting for their rights, and sometimes leading armies. These women usually defended cities against sieges – Cratesipolis and Stratonice – but others charged into battle at the heads of their armies to defend their lands.


If Alexander was the ideal to be imitated by Hellenistic kings, then his widow Roxanne’s fate served as a warning to their queens – she had not fought for her rights nor those of her son, and her passivity had cost them both their lives. The submissive woman might have been praised in Periclean Athens, where inheritances did not have to be fought for, but in the new world order she was only guaranteed to lose out. Later queens realized that to place their sons on the throne, they might first have to sit in the saddle themselves, and several raised armies to fight for their rights of succession. 

Apologies for the slightly disjointed text but ... I know the interest in Macedonian royal tombs is running high and ... oh be grateful I spared you the lengthy discussion of which of Philip II's wives it could be in the tomb!
↧

Amphipolis: The Inscriptions?

September 10, 2014, 9:24 am
$
0
0
I know that there are rumours, but until these are officially released by the Greek Ministry of Culture, I will not be discussing them.

The archaeologists are doing an amazing job under ridiculous and almost unheard of pressure, and whilst I understand how excited everyone is ... let's give them a little space.

If they are forced to go too fast they could make mistakes and then Skopje propagandists will say they got things wrong and try to undermine the importance and veracity of the amazing finds being made in Greek Macedonia at Amphipolis.

So dear Greeks, please be good citizens and give your archaeological stars a little space! It will only benefit the glory of Greece in the long run!
↧
Search

Sphinxes: not just at Amphipolis!

September 10, 2014, 10:19 am
$
0
0
This is a high resolution photo of the Sphinxes. Yes they differ slightly, and this sort of attempt to differentiate them was 'normal' in sculpture of the period.


Also the Ministry of Culture released this diagram of the tomb, showing what has been excavated so far, with the sphinxes at the entrance. Michaelis Lefantzis is a brilliant architect, so the architecture is accurate, but the details of the Caryatids as restored are conjecture still; I know this is confusing people, so it is worth clarifying.


Some boys see dead people, I tend to see Hecatomnids ... ;-)
There were strong links between the Argeads and the Hecatomnids, both in terms of proposed marriages and adoptions and sharing artists. But I am aware that my research tends to make me think "Hecatomnid" in terms of links.

So I see a Sphinx and think immediately of Labraunda in Caria, as I did in this post: Let's Talk About Amphipolis ...

These bearded male sphinxes from the Persian Satrapy of Caria are very much in the Achaemenid style.

This is what a 'proper' Achaemenid Persian sphinx looks like. It comes from Persepolis and was probably carved during the time of Phillip II, just before Alexander the Great conquered Persia. It is now in the British Museum.

There have been some rather odd claims made about there not having been any Greek Caryatids or no Greek sculptures of Sphinxes in the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods ... and in fact two Macedonian tombs at Vergina have sphinxes.

The first is from the throne in the so-called Tomb of Eurydice, dated by a Panathenaic amphora found nearby to 344/3 BC: photo above.

The second is on the throne in the Rhomaios tomb, dated to the early 3rd century BC and named after the excavator.

Other examples of thrones with sphinxes have been excavated at Delos - see here: Andrianou, Hesperia 75, 2006, pp. 219ff
The Nereid Monument from Lycia and now in the British Museum; ca. 400 BC.

The hind quarters of a Sphinx were also excavated (BM), showing that the Nereid tomb was decorated with sphinxes just as the 'old' Lycian tomb represented in the frieze on the monument had been, as in the photo above.

There are dozens of earlier Lycian tombs decorated with Archaic and archaising Sphinxes, eg here. There are also sphinxes on the Lycian Payava Tomb, which is dated by inscription to 375-362 BC; here.


Whilst Caria and Lycia were both part of the Persian Empire until the conquests of Alexander the Great, there is a long history of Archaic and Classic sphinxes in Greece, often on grave monuments and stele, but also as votive dedications.

This is an Attic stele with a sphinx produced circa 400 BC for Archiades son of Hagnus and Polemonikos son of Athmonon (BM).
If the heads of the Amphipolis sphinxes are slightly archaising, the way the heads of the Caryatids are ... then that would be another parallel to Hecatomnid portraits - we know the women on the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus by Leochares were shown wearing an old fashioned hair fillet (saccos), and that Leochares then produced portraits for the royal court in Macedonia.

This is an early Classical rhyton from Athens of a sphinx wearing a saccos (BM).




There are lots of sphinxes linked to Amphipolis - on coins of the city, the Lion Tomb, this Roman relief later built into a Byzantine church there - so the assumption must be that there was an ancient, possibly local, myth that linked the Sphinx and Amphipolis.


Similarly there are dozens of depictions of sphinxes from Capua, mostly architectural sculpture in terracotta - eg here and the photo to left - which again suggests an ancient link between the mythical monster and the town.

And don't even get me started on the Greek style sphinxes from Ptolemaic Egypt ...
↧
↧

War Memorial: Poppies @ The Tower

September 11, 2014, 5:37 am
$
0
0
I went to The City the other day, and stopped by the Tower of London to see the poppies. For anyone not aware of the installation, a ceramic poppy was created for each of the British and Colonial dead in World War one, and these almost fill the moat. In some ways the war memorial was almost more moving as the poppies started to flow out of the Tower, into a sea of blood, and before they were all in place, but it is still well worth making the effort to visit. The poppies will be in situ until Remembrance Day in November.


↧

Le Fluff et Le Puff ... Lotions and Potions at Space NK

September 11, 2014, 6:37 am
$
0
0
On Wednesday 17th September Space NK is doing one of their regular 'gift with purchase' events; if you spend £ 150, you receive this set of samples (full details here - and it tends also to be available online, which is where I buy). Yes it's a lot to spend in one go, but I tend to wait for these 'events' to stock up on my regular products so that I can try new products - the full list of next week's samples is here - and Christmas is coming up, so it's never to early to start Christmas shopping ...

These are products I use regularly and love. Yes, most of them are classic French Pharmacy products, because I spent a good chunk of my life in France.




I love this balm as I have very dry, sensitive skin, and many other balms use a product to create a small allergic reaction that leads to 'puffy' lips, but this one doesn't! It is also matt, so you don't get that awful 'wet look' to your lips. Reve de Miel Lip Balm by NUXE

 
Again dry skin means that most cleansers strip the skin leaving it feeling 'tight' - this wipe off one doesn't (I remove it with a face cloth for a little mild exfoliation).  Intral Cleansing Milk by DARPHIN



I don't 'get' the buzz about the Eve Lom balm cleanser, but I do like her cleansing mask - again, it is mild, and perfect for dry sensitive skin ... whilst most other masks make my psoriasis flare up, this one is gentle. Rescue Mask by EVE LOM


Another Eve Lom product I use regularly is her moisture mask - I slap it on at night and wipe it off in the morning. It is very strong and leave a kind of 'greasy' look so I'm not sure I'd recommend it for most people, but I love it. Moisture Mask by EVE LOM

One of the samples is of this mask, which I prefer, but I can't quite bring myself to justify the price: Black Rose Cream Mask by SISLEY

I also like this mask, but it is not as hydrating, and I find it tends to 'tighten' my skin - a feature which some people might however like: Rose de Vie Hydrating Mask by DR SEBAGH


The only Seche Vite product worth using is the top coat - it dries varnish faster, makes even the eco-brand polishes look good, and slightly 'shrinks' the polish, pulling it away from the skin, and making it somehow look more like a professional manicure than an amateur attempt by an art historian that failed her practical art exam in school: Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat by SECHE VITE

I have very thick but very fine hair, which has a natural tendency towards looking like a haystack without a blow-dry ... and this is the only product I have ever found that works on the dry vaguely frizzy bits (I won't use those silicone-heavy products). I spritz a bit on towel-dried hair, and sometimes on dry hair, and suddenly am transformed into Princess Shiny Locks. Leave In Conditioner by SACHAJUAN


I'm slowly working my way through the other products from the range. Don't like their shine serum. Quite like their scalp shampoo - the anti-dandruff shampoos are the worst thing for psoriasis, but this one isn't bad. Scalp Shampoo by SACHAJUAN


Again with creams, I'm a sucker for a pretty tub, but generally stay away from anything fancy or anything that says anti-X (anti-ageing, anti-oxidant) and stick to getting lots of moisture. This one works well on dry skin. Lait-Crème Concentré by EMBRYOLISSE



Other items I recommend at Space NK are the Lipstick Queen lipsticks, although these are classic colours, colour can be subjective: Medieval is a great everyday lipstick, and Sinner in Wine is a classic deep burgundy.

I've tried this root cover-up and ... honestly I'd rather go to the hairdresser, but I can see how it's the best of those on the market.

The Space NK own-brand body scrub is good.

If I'm traveling, I know I tend to get a bit run-down, so I pop a few sachets of these Perricone vitamin supplements.




I love Diptyque's Philosykos eau de toilette, so I'm thinking of getting the little travel spray holder and the little Philosykos refills for it ...

I also love the smell of Ambre as it reminds me of Morocco, and I'm worried that if I spray the Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan scent on my wrist one more time ... I'm going to end up going home with it.






↧

Nothing Much ...

September 11, 2014, 9:41 am
$
0
0
I'm not going to do an update on Amphipolis today. Maybe in a few days!

I'm working on another site and ... I've got to concentrate on that one for a little bit without getting distracted!

But yes the Caryatids are fabulous; they look like more archaising versions of the Tralles-Cherchel type I discussed the other day. That type is also known through Classicising copies at Mantua and other sites. None of the Tralles-Cherchel type have the raised arm preserved, and the Mantua-Venice variant figures the raised arm hold either a scroll or a mask ... So maybe the type didn't support the architrave after all! The backs of the Tralles and Cherchel types are very flattened, suggesting that the original backed onto a pillar. And the bitof the face found in the dirt supports the theory that it was structural damage.

Anyway, now I'll be dealing with Persian matter for a bit!

------------------
↧

Why Archeologists Hate Indiana Jones

September 11, 2014, 11:05 am
↧
↧

Video of Amphipolis Discoveries

September 11, 2014, 11:45 am
$
0
0


Yes, I know I said I'd keep away from Amphipolis, but George Raptis produced this very nice video based on the photos released by the Greek Ministry of Culture, so I couldn't resist posting it.

↧

Food: Fry Baby, Fry

September 12, 2014, 2:15 am
$
0
0
Both options are Knot Kwite Kosher, but ... with Chanukah coming up, and the simple fact that everything fried somehow tastes to much better ... I present my favourites in London.
 
The doughnuts I love are from my favourite little Polish sklep: Prima. These Pączki are fabulous, and available fresh daily.
 
192 N End Rd, London W14 9NX
 
 
And the Cannoli that Don Lobel likes to be given?
 
Those come from Casa Cannoli, and are freshly piped – at the Duke of York Square Market on Saturdays, and various other places in London, see: Casa Cannoli. They also cater, so if you are planning a Chanukah party ... book 'em before someone else does.
 
 
 
↧
Search

Exhibition: Chez Chanel @ Saatchi

September 12, 2014, 5:03 am
$
0
0
Mlle Chanel's rue Cambon apartment has been much photographed, but is almost impossible to visit. So if you want to peek into this icon's home, then Chanel has organised an exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery of photographs of number 34 by the photographer formerly known at Sam Taylor-Wood. It's not her best work – for example it pales by comparison to her re-creation of the Parthenon frieze on the scaffolding covering Selfridges – but it's a charming little insight into Coco Chanel, from the famous mirrored staircase down which she sent her mannequins, to the Chinoiserie she surrounded herself with.
 

Second Floor:
The Private Apartment Of Mademoiselle Chanel

12 September - 4 October 2014

A photographic exhibition by Sam Taylor-Johnson
 
 
The second to last photo: we had a similar chair covered in that same horrific floral brocade, and now I know where the interior got her inspiration from.
 
Whilst Mlle Chanel preached simplicity in dress, clearly most of the guests at the launch party had not received that memo. Also, amusingly, which she sold costume jewellery, she herself wore real jewels.
 
 
↧

Exhibition: Departure by Xavier Mascaró @ Saatchi

September 12, 2014, 6:32 am
$
0
0
I loved the exhibition of bronzes by Spanish sculptor Xavier Mascaró. Influenced by everything from Egyptian funerary boats to Benin bronzes to ancient coins tostatues of Buddha, this is his first – one hopes of many more – exhibitions in London.
 

Departure: Xavier Mascaró

3 September - 5 October 2014


 
 
 
Incidentally, although some naughty blonde occasionally tells tourists that the puppy with a balloon is part of the exhibition, and although she can often be seen there ... she is not. Yes, everyone says that Ellie belongs in a circus, but I'd rather see her in the Saatchi gallery – there's far more money in contemporary art!
 
↧
↧

Mushrooms @ La Ferme London

September 13, 2014, 5:02 am
$
0
0
The best funghi porcini I have ever bought in London (oh, sod it – they're better than any I've ever picked myself too) come from François' stand at the Duke of York Square market; he's there on Saturdays with a whole host of other French produce from onions to cheese. For other markets he goes to see: @LaFermeLondon.
 
This week there are no cepes as it was too rainy in France so those available have bugs, but he is selling beautiful chanterelles.
 
 
 
Whether or not to wash funghi porcini is a matter of preference – most people will tell you to just brush the dirt off, but I think there are times when a quick rinse and wipe is fine. I also trim the tougher bits.
 
 
Put a large pan of well salted water on to boil.
 
I slice the mushrooms. Then I warm olive oil in a pan (be generous as this will be the 'sauce'), and first sautee the stems. Then I throw in a generous pinch or four of sea salt. Most people used fresh garlic, but I find it tends to singe in this recipe, so instead I used half a teaspoon of powdered garlic or garlic salt (reduce the sea salt accordingly). Then I add the sliced tops of the mushrooms and thrown fresh tagliatelle into the now boiling water.
 
The mushrooms are ready when they have all soaked up some of the oil, roughly when the pasta is ready. Throw on some chopped flat parsley, mix and serve.
 
Incidentally, the mushrooms will not freeze when raw, but do freeze well when cooked this way.
↧

I come to bury Green, not to praise him

September 13, 2014, 6:20 am
$
0
0
Unfortunately the Washington Post, reputedly the paper of record, went for blind eulogizing of Steve Green and his planned Bible Museum yesterday:

Hobby Lobby’s Steve Green has big plans for his Bible museum in Washington - The Washington Post

I'm hoping that Michelle Boorstein is using a heavy dose of sarcasm here:
Steve Green is standing in the basement of the eight-story Bible museum he’s building in Washington. Plans for the $800 million project are coming together nicely: the ballroom modeled after Versailles, the Disney-quality holograms, the soaring digital entryway with religious images projected on the ceiling, the restaurant serving biblically-themed meals. 
But my issue is not poor taste in decorating, it's the fact that Boorstein has written what amounts to a puff piece the Hobby Lobby museum, seemingly regurgitating their PR, without doing even a simple Google search that would have clarified how bloody controversial the museum's acquisition policy is. And by 'controversial' I don't mean "some scholars are against it" ... I mean that at least one acquisition is in direct contravention of both a US MoU and its import into the US in breach of US customs laws.

Almost two years ago I pointed out - Dorothy King's PhDiva: The Tale of the Very Dodgy Papyri ... - the obvious: that these papyrus fragments of Galatians 2:2-4 and 5-6 being discussed on a Biblioblog and on sale on eBay were highly dodgy. Not only did the seller admit to having smuggled them out of Egypt, with whom the US has a MoU, but that he was offering to post them from Turkey, which did not allow the export of antiquities.


Plenty of people who were well aware of the law were quite happily buying off the seller, and having the items sent by post to the US.

eBay refused to do anything about Lot 221146685190 or any other illegal items this seller listed under this or other handles. You can read my various posts about it here: eBay.

Finally, it an attempt to convince eBay the seller was dodgy as hell, I 'bought' one his lots, and gave him enough rope to hang himself: Dorothy King's PhDiva: So I Bought A Papyrus on eBay ...

eBay still couldn't have cared less. When I left negative feedback, they initially removed it, although it has now reappeared:


It was Don Quixote 1 - Windmills 0, and I had met the first looted item I had failed to get returned ... I felt as if I was banging my head against a brick wall.

Then the brilliant papyrologist Roberta Mazza visited an exhibition about the Green collection in Rome - A trip to Rome (with a detour on eBay). A Review of Verbum Domini II - and noted:
But I must confess that the fragment which attracted my attention mostly is number 28 in the catalogue (GC.MS.000462, p. 42 with figure 26). This is a humbler papyrus fragment from a codex page containing lines from Galatians 2 in Sahidic Coptic. The label reports that the item dates to the 5th-6th century AD and is undergoing research with the Green Scholar Initiative (as most of the items in the exhibition). I remembered this piece well, because it was noticed by Brice C. Jones among those put on sale on eBay from a Turkish account (MixAntik) in October 2012. At that time, Brice wrote a post about it on his blog, and there were reactions from people alerting on the legal issues concerning this selling. Dorothy L. King has also written on this and other fragments posted on eBay by MixAntik in her blog more than once. I have contacted Brice, who is going to write on this bit of the story in his blog soon.
See also her recent paper available here.

The Italians are not the best at dealing with items looted from other countries, but the owner was clearly Green, a US citizen, and he almost certainly planned to show the fragments in his US museum-to-be.

ICE could have seized the papyri on an import customs violation but ignored my email.

As a quick side note, the only cultural property blog I regularly read is Paul Barford's and he's been very on the ball on this one, and blogging info when I couldn't. See for example his: Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: Green Collection and a Certain EBay Dugup Dealer

Barford has also been on the ball when it comes to the Green scholars destroying ancient Egyptian cartonnage from mummies as part of 'education' at Baylor University; see Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: US Christian Apologist Fanatics Destroy Ancient Artefacts

See also Brice Jones here; Jones took this screen shot from this video.


The deliberate destruction of Egyptian antiquities to try to find fragments of Biblical texts goes against everything every reputable scholar in the world believes. And is really rather different from the image presented in the Greens' Passages Exhibition adverts:




As a government agency, ICE should not be turning a blind eye to what the Greens and their Green Scholars Initiative are doing, and I sincerely hope their agents have not done so to support fellow Christians. eBay clearly doesn't care and their mantra must be: profit before adhering to the law.

If islamic fundamentalists destroy cultural property to propagate religious propaganda  - whether it's the Taliban or ISIS - we're metaphorically up in arms. Why do we treat Christian fundamentalists differently? Why do we make allowances for the Green Collection scholars destroying ancient Egyptian mummies? If this ain't religious discrimination, I don't know what is.
↧

Ellie and Balloons ...

September 14, 2014, 3:46 am
$
0
0

Today:
@DorothyKing: Ellie celebrating 10th anniversary of Duke of York Square ... http://pic.twitter.com/GooUS8zhp3

And yesterday with a Vodafone balloon ...

A long time ago I dated a musician, and whenever I was with him everyone completely ignored me. Strangely I'm now sleeping with an even bigger (local) celebrity - Ellie von Jack Russell - and if anything ... People focus even more on her - and less on me - than they did on him. I'm happier living in the shadows, so that works for me. And she makes people smile, something we need.

Ellie often carries and plays with a balloon that says "Happy Birthday" - only because those are the ones our local newsagent stocks.

She used to be terrified of balloons, I blew some up to show her they were not scary, and by the second or third she realised that they bounce and are rather fun.

To answer another question - I have no problem with companies sending her branded balloons, and her mailing address is under 'contact me' on the blog.

Unfortunately Ellie does not do TV for the simple reason that I'd need to go along with her and be compensated for my time. (Obviously I'd make an exception for my secret crush Stephen Colbert, but ...)

Addendum - I always make an effort to pick up the pieces of the balloons once they eventually burst - I know that this means future archaeologists will not find the evidence ... but I don't like to litter!
↧
Viewing all 806 articles
Browse latest View live
Search