Cultural
Tapestry Tales, heavy with meaning and intention
A commission of six tapestries for William Knox D’arcy’s Dining Room at Stanmore Hall in Middlesex illustrates the story of the Holy Grail quest, as told in Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur. They took five years to weave and are considered among the most significant works made during the nineteenth century when romanticism was at its height and they paint a beguiling picture of lovely maidens and dashing knights in a style that was very appealing.
Three Wise Men – Achieving Celebrity Status
January 6 the climax of the Christian Twelve Days of Christmas celebrates The Epiphany when three wise men brought gifts of Gold Frankincense and Myrrh to the baby Jesus. But why?
Palladio – In Pursuit of the Perfect House
A villa by architect Andrea Palladio was a place where the owners could feel happy, secure and content, which is after all, what most of us still require and aspire to, a place where one can cultivate the head, heart, body and the soul.
A Passion for Gothic Decoration
The decorative arts were never considered secondary by Augustus Welby Pugin. As an architect he might design the structure of a house, church or institution, but he conceived of the building, its fittings and furnishings as a ‘complete work of art.’
Flash Mob to Smart Mob – Enjoying Random Acts of Culture
A musical Flash Mob provides people from all walks of life and all backgrounds with an opportunity to come together on the spur of the moment to create a memory that when remembered, will for a long time in their lives cause them to smile.
A ‘Compleat’ Gentleman, more than a leader of style
In London much of the development in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century was in the hands of aristocratic landowners. But were they ‘compleat’ gentlemen?
Fry’s Planet Word – Words are How the World Works
It is easier for a majority of people in the world of words to dwell on the well-catalogued and recorded past, rather than live in the present, which is truly teaming with the more quickly evolving life of words via phone texts and twitter. Fry’s Planet Word celebrates the complexity, variety and ingenuity of language.
Progressing and maturing by fault, leadership for a new age
Progress hinges not on eradicating mistakes but on our success at perpetuating them? By making good mistakes we learn to forgive, progress and mature by fault
What is a Mirror, more than just Glass?
The mirror, more than just glass, has occupied a unique place in his imagination as a site of the divine or demonic, of lucidity or madness. It is the ‘matrix of the symbolic’ and accompanies the human quest to know and understand our identity.
Collecting Chinese Snuff Containers
Until the early 1900s the volume of snuff produced in China far exceeded that of tobacco for smoking or chewing. Everyone took it – from the poet Alexander Pope to naturalist Charles Darwin, actress Sarah Siddons and the Duke of Wellington. Lord Nelson took large quantities to sea with him, while Napoleon sniffed over seven pounds a month. Physicians made great claims for it, prescribing snuff for headaches, insomnia, toothache, coughs and colds and recommending it as a measure against contagion. Today snuff bottles remain eminently collectible. The enormous variety in materials, subject matter, colour and shape provides a fascinating trail for the dedicated collector.
Cultural Key
Ancient Egypt declined and disappeared nearly two thousand years ago. In AD 391 when Roman Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I closed pagan temples throughout the Roman Empire the last vestiges of that culture ceased to exist. It wasn’t until 1798 when French military leader Napoleon invaded Egypt that the ancient culture awoke from its long slumber. [...]
Bodleian Libraries Deliver C12 Hebrew Code of Law Digitally
The Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford have recently digitized Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, a comprehensive code of Jewish Law. This means the manuscript can now be consulted, browsed and read by those inhabiting cyberspace
Remember Motoring – Touring on the route â Corniche
It’s an incredible motoring experience to drive the route â Corniche in France, from the lively undervalued city of Marseilles, where you feel the wealth and glamour surround you as you leave following in the wake of Ferrari’s driven by diamond encrusted millionaires to travel via St Tropez, Cannes and Nice all the way to Monte Carlo.
Sartorial Splendour
I am an Englishman, and naked I stand here, Musing in my mind what raiment I shall wear, For now I will wear this, and now I will wear that; Now I will wear I cannot tell what. All new fashions be pleasant to me; I will have them, whether I thrive or thee Sartorial [...]
Remembering 9/11 – Liberty, enlightenment through knowledge
Remembering 9/11, lest we forget what liberty, freedom and democracy really means. The Statue of Liberty in New York is an eternal symbol of hope that we can, by the sharing of knowledge enlighten and illuminate the future, finally bringing about peace in our world.
The Culture Concept Circle
‘This site takes the often complex world of history, design and the arts to a whole new level. It’s a cultural journey filled with beautiful images and fascinating stories. I love the simplicity and richness of the content and I’m sure you will too – never boring always fascinating! In the 21st century creativity is [...]
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