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Overdress

c. 1908-9

Net, velvet, lace, trimmed with silk tassels, metallic thread and paste

The Johnbright Collection

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Antique Imperial FABERGE Easter Egg Rabbit Pendant 14k Gold c1898 Tsar Era

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Sir Ernest Shackleton's hut from the Nimrod expedition in Antartica.

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obsessed with whichever ancient roman was out there walking around with a ring with a fish and shrimp on it

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Gold bracteate uncovered near Hamburg, Germany, early 6th century AD

from The State Museums of Berlin

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Raspberry Velvet Hobble Skirt Gown

c. 1910-1914

Label: "Robert, Paris"

Augusta Auctions

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This gold memento mori ring has a skull and crossbones -shaped bezel which opens to reveal a ruby. The eye sockets, nose and tips of the crossed bones are decorated with diamonds. Some white enamel clings to the skull. 17th cent #mementomori

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Gold and sapphire ring, England, 15th century

from The British Museum

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Automata constucted between 1768 and 1774 by Pierre Jaquet-Droz

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A 2000-year-old Roman blue glass bowl was unearthed in immaculate condition at an archaeological dig in Nijmegen in 2021.

Photo and info found in Facebook

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Gold earring with glass gems, Lombardy, 500-700 AD

from The Victoria & Albert Museum

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what I really like about all these vintage couple’s portraits is that there is a very certain romatic decorum kept up – certain themes and poses – which, while of course being the mainstream preferred view of couples repeated throughout many studios, are just… so nice to look at. 

this staged affection, a mix of theatricality and intimacy, the couple holding still for a couple of moments and now immortalised in a very set sequence of embraces and kisses. there is a charm to it even when I can’t tell whether this was a genuine couple portait or just actors hired by the photographer.

the kiss on the bare shoulder (eyes perfectly averted), the cheek caress, the piano and the violin, the interrupted embrace, the woman tilted back as in a half-stopped dance…

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Biker flappers on the beach! Mid-1920s

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"Lesbian Weddings" by Wendy Jill York

source: The Femme Mystique, edited by Lesléa Newman

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A footprint left in a piece of wet mud brick in Ur 4,000 years ago. Ancient Mesopotamia

https://bit.ly/32p1ADr

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1,700-Year-Old Roman Gold Coin Hoard Found in Luxembourg

"Secret" excavations in Luxembourg reveal 141 Roman gold coins from eight Roman emperors and one usurper.

Archaeologists in Luxembourg have discovered a lavish 1,700-year-old hoard of Roman gold coins that had been placed near the foundations of a small, tower-like Roman fort.

The team unearthed 141 gold coins, which were minted between A.D. 364 and 408, in Holzthum, a village in northern Luxembourg. The coins feature portraits of eight emperors, but three coins portrayed an unexpected ruler: Eugenius, an illegitimate emperor of the Western Roman Empire who reigned for only two years (392 to 394).

This usurper, Eugenius, a rhetoric teacher and court official, was proclaimed emperor of the West by a powerful military officer, months after the western emperor Valentinian II was found hanged under mysterious circumstances. However, Theodosius I, the Christian emperor in the East, refused to recognize Eugenius and disapproved of his supposed policy of religious tolerance. This led to armed conflict and culminated in Eugenius' bloody defeat and death at the Battle of Frigidus in September 394. His coins are especially rare because his time in power was so short.

"This is a major archaeological discovery, as it is extremely rare to be able to study an entire ancient monetary deposit in its archaeological context," researchers wrote in a translated statement from the National Institute for Archaeological Research (INRA) in Luxembourg.

Because of its historical significance, the find was kept secret for almost four years, with excavations under the direction of INRA taking place from 2020 to 2024. The team also faced hazardous conditions, as there were multiple World War II munitions and explosives buried in the area, prompting the Luxembourg Army Mine Action Service (SEDAL) to help with the dig.

The gold coins are solidi, a term that comes from the Latin "solidus," meaning "solid" — a reference to their consistently reliable gold content. The coins, each of which weighs approximately 0.16 ounce (4.5 grams), were introduced at the beginning of the fourth century during the era of the "Later Roman Empire." The solidus remained relatively stable for centuries and spread throughout the entire Mediterranean region.

Following an independent analysis, which considered the "excellent condition" of the coins and "the presence of some rare specimens," the coins were valued at 308,600 euros, or nearly $322,000. In accordance with the legal provisions on cultural heritage, this sum is reserved for those who have legal rights, such as property holders, over the find.

"It will still take some time to process the excavations and finds," Luxembourg Culture Minister Eric Thill said in a translated parliamentary statement, "but it will undoubtedly increase our knowledge and understanding of the last century of the Roman Empire in the West."

The researchers plan to analyze the hoard further and eventually publish the results in a research journal.

By Marjanko Pilekić.

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“I’m afraid of getting cancer from the cadmium in my painting supplies” I’m not 😌 I love you cadmium yellow. I love you vermillion red. I love you uranium orange, haven’t worked with you but I love you nevertheless. Most of all I love you arsenic green.