Lateranense
The tallest obelisk in Rome, and indeed, the largest standing ancient Egyptian obelisk in the world, the Lateran spire weighs over 230 tons. It was carved for the temple of Amun in Karnak by Tuthmose III or IV (c. 1430 BC). It was brought to Alexandria with another obelisk by Constantius II, and brought on its own from there to Rome in 357 to decorate the spina of the Circus Maximus. (Its travel partner eventually found its way to the Hippodrome of Constantinople.)
It was found in three pieces in 1587, and restored about 13 feet shorter by Pope Sixtus V. It was erected near the Lateran Palace and the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano in 1588 in place of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, which was moved to the Capitoline Hill. The carving at its base reads, ᴄᴏɴsᴛᴀɴᴛɪɴᴜs ᴘᴇʀ ᴄʀᴜᴄᴇᴍ ᴠɪᴄᴛᴏʀ ᴀ s. sɪʟᴠᴇsᴛʀᴏ ʜɪᴄ ʙᴀᴘᴛɪᴢᴀᴛᴜs ᴄʀᴜᴄɪs ɢʟᴏʀɪᴀᴍ ᴘʀᴏᴘᴀɢᴀᴠɪᴛ. (Constantine, victorious by the Cross, was baptized here by Saint Sylvester. He spread the glory of the Cross.)
The famous Pigna, a monumental bronze pine cone originally located near the Pantheon at the Temple of Isis. It was moved to its present location at the Vatican in 1608. Water used to flow out of the top.
Gustave Doré and Héliodore Pisan - Book illustrations for Don Quichotte
Beautifully-observed & realistic figure of a sleeping Antelope incised on rock up to 10,000 years ago at Tin Taghirt, Tassili n'Ajjer in Algeria, one of the largest & most important groupings of prehistoric cave art in the world.
ph: Linus Wolf
In the Garden, Thomas Wilmer Dewing
“Enchiladas de colores” GastronomíaMx
Echas en Zacatecas 100%
Descent of Christ into Limbo (details) c1475 by Bartolomé Bermejo
Technicolor Threaded Filament Installation
Mexican artist Gabriel Dawe constructs site-specific installations, which study the link between fabric, fashion and architecture.
(Source: thedesigndome.com)
Mosaic of a fallen gladiator, Rome, 4th cent. CE
The Last Judgement (detail) ~ Vrancke van der Stockt (XV)
DeTomaso Mangusta and Dodge Challenger @ Chiba
Burgfräulein von Strechau, by an unknown artist from the 17th century. The painting hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
The legend (as far as I can determine from the German websites I’ve deciphered with the help of Google Translate) tells that in the late Middle Ages a damsel waited for her lover who left to the Holy Land to fight the infidels. The lady promised that if he did not return she would enter a monastery. Despite her promise, she married another man and when the bride came to the festival her face changed to a skull and devilish figures appeared and pulled her down to hell in front of all the guests.
The legend is derived from a poem.
This is also a good photograph of the painting, via Flickr.
I’ve been looking for this for ages!