What Do You Know? Play our Quiz: Design & Decorative Arts
What do you know about design history and the decorative arts and the evolution of taste from antiquity to the present day
Social History
Downton Abbey, Creator Julian Fellows Finale Season 6 Begins
Season Six of Downton Abbey is about two extremes of historical continuum and the frailty of our humanity ancient past to distant future, in shades of Season One
Re-Imaginings: Marais Project Finale – Rose Niland’s Review
The Marais Project presented Re-imaginings, their 15th Anniversary Year Finale Event of 2014, which was reviewed by Rose Niland for The Culture Concept Circle
Salomon de Caus Innovator – Gardens Baroque to Rococo Spirit
17th century garden design reflected formality until Salomon de Caus invented fountains, giving impetus to the idea of the fantastic and bizarre giving pleasure
Books and on Being a Bibliophile – Heartbreak and Happiness
Being a bibliophile is not only about heartbreak, but also happiness too and spending a rainy day reading in bed or on the sofa is certainly my idea of luxury
Progress – Building Social Capital and Mutual Goodwill
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
Diane de Poitiers – Moon Mistress and Woman of Influence
Wearing black and white was a statement of style for the mistress of Henri II of France Diane de Poitiers who adopted Goddess Diana’s crescent moon as a symbol
Tapestry Tales – Weaving the Threads of Destiny
In Greek Mythology the three Goddesses of Destiny and Fate were recorded in many formats, including tapestries that depicted them weaving the threads of destiny
The Mirror – Mastering Reflection or Eye Catching Deception
Described as the ‘matrix of the symbolic’ the Mirror has accompanied the human quest to know and understand our own identity… who is the fairest of them all?
Choir – Art of Singing As One Voice, Part 1 Mystic Origins
The Christian church as it became organized, discovered singers collectively gather courage to perform as well as gain momentum to give outstanding performances
Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem – Gesture of Reconciliation
Benjamin Britten’s gesture of reconciliation was to ensure the main protagonists of World War II Russia, Germany & Great Britain performed his inaugural Requiem
Towers – Symbols of Hope and Freedom
Prior to the twentieth century towers were built as symbols to the heights of material wealth and prosperity the western world had yet achieved.
The Bed – Sleeping Stylishly in the Chamber of Love
Since ancient times men and women have all seemingly had one thing in common, the very real need for sleep, love and dreams and in a comfortable and stylish bed
Jeanne Antoinette Marquise de Pompadour – Woman of Influence
French painter François Boucher produced many of the images we have of Jeanne Antoinette, Marquise de Pompadour, official Mistress of King Louis XV of France
Love Jewellery – Rome to Renaissance Pt 1
A belief gold and gemstones had an effect on the affairs of many has not been limited to any culture and tokens of human affection were jewelled objects of love
The English Georgian Era – Monarchs Middling People & Mozart
English Georgian era (1714 – 1830) from monarchs to middling people and music of Mozart was a great gaze that began on horseback and ended in a railway carriage