Carolyn McDowall
The China Trade Begins with Precious Cargoes from Cathay
Ceramic traditions since ancient times have undergone many cross fertilizations by their exposure to various cultures. The first stirring of what we now describe as the China Trade began when Europe was still emerging from the medieval period and would build momentum slowly peaking during the nineteenth century.
Queen Victoria’s Brooch
Queen Victoria received an openwork gold brooch from her beloved Albert in 1843, accompanied by the text “from Albert Feby, 1843”, on their third wedding anniversary. It is of both romantic and symbolic significance. It is in the Elizabethan taste, a stylised crowned heart decorated with Gothic foliage and surmounted by four freshwater pearls from Scotland. [...]
Australia – A Multicultural Celebration of Life
In Australia life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are objectives we are all seeking to embrace. If we are however to continue going forward as a nation, and as an integral part of an enlightened global society we must surely ensure that the values and aims we all share remain as an important focus at the forefront of our laws and culture.
Celebrating 2 Years – Muse~News Special
Dear Friends, Supporters and Colleagues. It hardly seems possible that two years have raced by since I first started The Culture Concept Circle blog in April 2010. This was also when Melbourne, a mutl-cultural and multi-layered city of opportunity, became my home. Many people believe it is one of the most ‘liveable’ cities in the [...]
Australian Art at the Art Gallery of NSW – May Celebrations
On the Weekend of May 12th & 13 at the Art Gallery of NSW you can view one of the country’s ‘finest collections of Australian art, from colonial times to the contemporary age’ FREE
Brilliance of Diamonds
George IV was the last of the Hanoverian Georgian Kings and gave an impressive diamond riviére to his mistress Elizabeth, Lady Conyngham, who reputedly received gifts of jewels valued at the time in the region of 80,000 pounds. Jewellers in the early nineteenth century were realizing the importance of light to the brilliance of diamonds, [...]
The Georgian Era – Monarchs, Middling People, Music & Mozart
The Georgian era (1714 – 1830) in England, from monarchs to middling people and to music supplied by Mozart, was truly a great gaze that began on horseback and ended in a railway carriage
Gaining Enlightenment – Politics, Poetry, Passion & Liberty
The late 18th and early 19th century in England, Europe and America was a period of romantics and revolutionaries, politics, poetry, passion and enlightenment
Australian Chamber Orchestra – Stylish Musical Conversations
The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) has inherited a fabulous legacy of music to perform in its established repertoire including stylish adventures in sound
Cameo Diadems
The fashion for cameos and intaglios began soon after Napoleon’s Italian campaign of 1796 when cameos were brought back to France from Italy. Many of these were of Greek or Roman origin. Their beauty and perfection fascinated Napoleon. He had some mounted especially for his own use and for his sister, the very beautiful Paolina [...]
The Economics of Enough – Is ‘Listening’ the new Black?
Culturally, and in so many other ways innovative and tracking technology has ensured that we are all now connected, whether we like it or not. While we all have to look to our own countries first, it is blatantly obvious that economic recovery in the next few years hinges on a real dialogue taking place between all nations, which includes planning for action if people and our cultures and societies are to achieve real outcomes.
Mastering Cuisine to Master Chefs – A Fascination with Food
In every culture and in every era rules rituals and styles of cooking have been customized to support its ideas, its attitudes and to help develop its character
Giving Dollars of Goodness – Join CafeSmart Initiative 2012
At Melbourne on Friday August 10th 2012, the StreetSmart initiative CafeSmart will bring together coffee roasters, cafes and coffee drinkers around the country to help people who are experiencing homelessness
The Twelfth Century Awakening and Songs of Courtly Love
The courtly love song sung by a languishing lover to his lovely lady proclaimed that although their love was a secret, because convention required it to be, he was content to let her know she was the sole mistress of his heart.
Le Notre & Le Petite Versailles
The spectacular cascade and fountain at Chateau Villette designed by royal gardener Andre Le Notre is one of the few in France today still in working order. Artists were, and still are regarded as interpreters of truth. French gardener Andre Le Notre (1613-1700) was certainly one. Witty, and much admired, contemporary descriptions characterize him as [...]
Schiaparelli & Prada – The Art of Fashion for the Modern Age
‘Schiaparelli and Prada Impossible Conversations’ exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York explores two dynamic doyennes of fashion in different eras
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Shanghai Scenes
Explore the delights of the burgeoning Shanghai arts scene, including the visual arts music, dance and literature.
