«Princess Louise…she combined inexpressible charm and grace with restraint and tact, quite rare at the age of fourteen. In all her actions, the result of her mother’s worries, both respected and beloved, was visible. Her mind, soft and delicate, grasped with extreme rapidity everything that could decorate it, like a bee that knows how to get honey from the most poisonous plants. Her conversation reflected the freshness of her youth, and to this she added a great correctness of concepts.»
“Land of Tears is a brilliant and beautifully written book on a crucial moment in the colonial history of Central Africa. Robert Harms reveals the global and local contexts of the complex transformations of African societies in the last decades of the nineteenth century, with a special focus on the rainforest ecosystem and the strong local African resistance. An erudite, balanced, and timely book, and an engaging read.”
Rune stone, Herrstaberg, Östergötland, Sweden, c. 1890 Three girls at a rune stone (Ög 46) in Herrstaberg. The inscription says: “Vibern raised this stone in memory of Solva, his brother.”
Depiction of the Seattle Riot of 1886 The Seattle riot of 1886 occurred on February 6-9, 1886, in Seattle, Washington, amidst rising anti-Chinese sentiment caused by intense labor competition and in the context of an ongoing struggle between labour and capital in the Western United States. The dispute arose when a mob affiliated with a local Knights of Labor chapter formed small committees to carry out a forcible expulsion of all Chinese from the city. Violence erupted between the Knights of Labor rioters and federal troops ordered in by President Grover Cleveland. The incident resulted in the removal of over 200 Chinese people from Seattle and left 2 militia men and 3 rioters seriously injured.
Kuthodaw Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa, located at the foot of Mandalay Hill in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar). It was built during the reign of King Mindon Min who had the pagoda built as part of the traditional foundations of the new royal city of Mandalay, which he was building in the 1850s. He was concerned that the teachings of Gautama Buddha would be lost, due to an ongoing British invasion and their lack of support for Burma’s traditional religion.
So King Mindon came up with a giant, amazing, and extremely unique way to preserve the entire text of the Tipitaka Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. He had it inscribed in huge stone slabs, 730 slabs in total. Each slab is a meter wide and a meter and a half tall (3.2 ft by 5 ft), and 13 centimeters thick (5 inches). Each stone has 80 to 100 lines of inscription on each side in round Burmese script, chiseled out and originally filled in with gold leaf. The slabs are big enough, but King Mindon wasn’t done yet. Each slab was housed in its own shrine, called kyauksa gu, with a precious gem on top. Again – that’s 730 shrines with 730 giant stelae. Finally, the shrines were arranged around a central golden pagoda. Maybe King Mindon figured that the British wouldn’t want to destroy such a large, expensive complex.
By the way, about the title of this post. Because they technically can be read, these 730 slabs of marble are figuratively called the “world’s largest book.”
Woman’s Evening Dress - Unknown French designer, c. 1850-1855 Jacquard-woven silk moiré taffeta
During the 1850s in France, there was renewed interest in eighteenth-century literature, art, and architecture and nostalgia for the lost world of Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour, who symbolized gracious living for the aristocracy and newly rich bourgeoisie. The resurgence of interest in rococo artists included reissues in England and France of engravings after the ornamental designs and paintings of Jean-Antoine Watteau (French, 1684-1721). For the fabric of this ball gown, two images by Jacques-Philippe Le Bas after Watteau have been combined. It is likely that the fabric was originally meant to have been used for furnishings, probably for a bedroom or boudoir (dressing room or private sitting room). The silk’s swing design would have been considered provocative for the time since it had long been associated with seduction. The gown was possibly worn originally by a member of the demimonde such as an actress-or by a naive young woman. [x]
Pigments on paper, H: 8 9/16 x W: 6 3/8 in. (21.8 x 16.2 cm)
The artist is almost certainly Chokha, the son of the equally talented Bagata, who flourished during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Both worked in the ancient state of Mewar, better know at this time as Udaipur and famous today for its romantic pleasure palace and hotel in the middle of a lake. Few pictures capture the amorous mood with such aesthetic aplomb as this masterpiece. If the lover is Prince Amar Singh of Udaipur, as has been suggested, then the terrace on which they cavort may be the palace on the lake, with hazy, blue-green waters beyond the balustrade and the hint of a monsoon sky above. The picture is a brilliant synthesis of abstract symbolism and concrete physicality. The languidly entwined bodies of the lovers express longing only with their eyes, even while the hot colors of the profligately strewn cushions reflect their burning desire. [x]
Fashionable Woman at Prayer - Frederik Kaemmerer, 19th Century Pen and ink on paper, H: 9 13/16 x W: 7 1/16 in. (24.9 x 18 cm)
Frederik Kaemmerer was a fashionable painter of historicist scenes and genre pictures. He was of Dutch origin but active principally in France. He studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904) and exhibited at Paris Salon from 1870 onwards and was a frequent associate of Walters’ continental agent, George Lucas. Walters kept this drawing in a specially constructed album of drawings of people at prayer that included works by French and German artists. [x]
Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra - Unknown Indian Artist, ca. 1830 Painted in opaque watercolour and tin on paper, 287 mm, 440 mm
“Jagannatha is worshipped particualry at Puri in Orissa. According to Legend, Krishna was killed by a hunter. His bones were found and vishnu directed a king, Indrayumna, to make an image of Jagannatha and place the bones inside it. The carpenter of the gods, Viswakarma, agreed to make the image is he was left undisturbed. On being interrupted by Indrayumna, Viswakarma lost his temper and refused to finish the image. This is said to explain the crude form taken by the Jagannatha image at Puri, where the body resembles a wooden stump with a large blunt head. In appearance, the three often conform to the simplified images in teh temple, but at times are shown more realistically with developed bodies, hands and feet”. (Archer, 1971, p100)
Calcutta was the capital of British India from 1833-1912. By the 1830s, artists had arrived in Calcutta from rural villages in Bengal and began to produce paintings that reflected the local history, mythology, customs and conflicts of a colonised society. As a popular art form, these artists are recognised for their use of brilliant colour, simplified images and swift brushstrokes that became the hallmark of Kalighat painting in the 19th and early 20th century. [x]
Ceremonial Headdress - Unknown Chinese Artisan, 19th Century Wire, silk, gilt silver, plumage, pearls, gems, 9 ¼ × 12 × 8 7/16 in. (23.5 × 30.5 × 21.5 cm)
This headdress was likely once worn by the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908), the effective ruler of China during the later years of the Qing Dynasty. It is an exquisite example of Chinese decoration and the symbolism used to express one’s rank. The small phoenixes emerging from the surface represent the empress, while the countless pearls and gemstones mark this piece as something special for the adornment of the highest-ranking woman in Chinese society. [x]
