#craftmanships

[steampunktendencies]

Antique is chic Antique porcelain match holders. Especially popular in Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries - Art, Design and Craftsmanship. . @ chto.to.iz.gliny

[iloveabortions]

Alexander McQueen: "Jawbone" Spring/Summer (1998)

[gina025]

And I was there wondering if he’d ever make a chocolate house…

[toyastales]

Beautiful craftsmanship and artistry.

[hanesbeefytshirt]

type shit i be on

[galina]

Couldn't resist this gorgeous ornately carved wooden panel above a mantelpiece in the boardroom at Fortnum & Mason

[outer-stars]

AND I'LL SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER- wait wrong franchise

[hertha2]

Tallulah

[uncleclaudius]

Portrait of Antonia Minor carved out of white chalcedony. 1st century AD.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Shell Grotto

Underground caves lined with millions of shells, and no one knows who built them.

The Shell Grotto in Margate, Kent, England, stands as one of history’s most baffling mysteries.

Discovered in 1835, this hidden passageway is adorned with over 4.6 million meticulously arranged shells, forming elaborate mosaics that cover every inch of its walls and ceilings.

The designs are precise and intricate, depicting symbols, patterns and figures whose meanings remain shrouded in mystery.

What makes the grotto so compelling is that no one knows who created it, when, or why.

Some speculate it dates back to ancient times, possibly as far as the Roman or Phoenician period, while others believe it was constructed in the medieval era or even the 18th or 19th century by an eccentric individual.

Was it a secret temple, a meeting place for a hidden society, or a mysterious art project?

Theories are abundant, but definitive answers are nonexistent.

The Shell Grotto is more than just a stunning piece of craftsmanship. It’s a riddle that continues to confound experts and captivate visitors from around the world.

[steampunktendencies]

"Antique Door Lock: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

Crafted by Frank Koralewsky in the early 20th century. It took Koralewsky seven years to complete and received the gold medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915.

[useless-catalanfacts]

Inside the shop L'Art del Vitrall in Sabadell (Barcelona Metropolitan Ambit, Catalonia), where the artisan stained glass maker Joan Serra i Renom (born 1952) works.

In the photos above, Joan is restoring some stained glass from the Euterpe theatre-cinema, built in Sabadell in 1893 and demolished in 2006. Joan works with stained glass in historical buildings that are still standing, but has also saved and restored stained glass from demolished buildings from the 1800s and 1900s.

Photos by Victòria Rovira Casanovas. Published in La Mira.

[gina025]

Real-life Wonka

[tilbageidanmark]

[alliswyattonthewesternfront]

The Love Witch is proof the dumbest person you know can make a visually stunning film with accurate costuming and thoughtful set design on a shoestring budget, and that's why no prestige television show or weekend blockbuster has any fucking excuse

[anghraine]

I think it's interesting that when Gandalf describes Denethor's ability to "perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men," he ties it less to his wisdom or general insightfulness (though he possesses both) than to his difference from "other men of this time," his near total Númenóreanness, and as bolded here, the active exercise of his will.

Tolkien also attributes Denethor's resilience against Sauron (by contrast with Saruman) to not only his right to use the Anor-stone, but "great strength of will." He notes that Sauron had no servant with greater mental powers than Saruman or Denethor, and Gandalf remarks that Denethor was "too great" to be subdued to Sauron's will.

Denethor and Gandalf have a strange and unsettling silent confrontation, carried on by their gazes, yet it strikes Pippin as like "a line of smouldering fire" and "as if reading each other's mind." Gandalf afterwards says Pippin was stuck between two "terrible old men," lumping Denethor in with himself. Pippin also sees some kind of kinship between Denethor and Gandalf, as Sam saw between Faramir and Gandalf.

In his letters, Tolkien said that the ancient Númenóreans became barely distinguishable from Elves in appearance and in their powers of mind. In Unfinished Tales, he notes that they loved their horses, and when a Númenórean had a strong bond with a horse, it was said that the horse could be summoned "by thought alone."

In LOTR, Faramir—who has inherited Denethor's Númenóreanness/wizardliness—has a reputation for command over both animals and men. When everyone else is thrown by their horses upon being chased by five Nazgûl, he not only keeps his seat, but mysteriously gets his horse to ride back towards the Nazgûl. And during the retreat across the Pelennor, the soldiers in the city conclude that Faramir must be with the men who are managing to retreat in order, repeating Beregond's remark that he has some undefined command over both men and beasts.

Gandalf suggests that this is a result of Faramir pitting himself against the effects of the Nazgûl in some way, but his abilities (whatever they are) are outmatched. In the event, the effect of Faramir's Aura of Courage commanding abilities remains until he's shot and finally falls to the Black Breath.

Faramir also makes repeated references to perceiving or reading things in Gollum's mind. At one point, he describes Gollum's mind as dark and closed, yet unable to prevent Faramir from detecting that he's holding something back about Cirith Ungol specifically. Noticeably, this only happens when Faramir orders Gollum to look at him (which Gollum does "unwillingly"), and the light drains from his eyes as he meets Faramir's. It seems decidedly reminiscent of the later Gandalf vs Denethor duel-by-eye-contact.

Faramir's exact words about Gollum's secrecy are "That much I perceived clearly in his mind," in reference to his earlier questioning of him. He says that he can "read" previous murders in Gollum and Gollum cries out in pain when he tries to lie to him.

When Faramir gives staves to Frodo and Sam, he says that a "virtue" of finding and returning has been placed on them, with zero explanation of what he means by that. He adds a hope that the virtue will not altogether fail under Sauron's power in Mordor. He describes the people who did the woodwork but not who placed the virtues (it doesn't seem inherent to the wood itself, given his phrasing).

We do know that Dúnedain can potentially embed enchantments into items. The Barrow-daggers carried by Merry and Pippin are specifically enchanted against the Witch-king of Angmar by an unknown Dúnadan of the North, and when Merry stabs the Witch-king, the dagger breaks enough spells for Éowyn's ordinary sword to finish the job.

Meanwhile, Aragorn uses his healing powers to help the city, wishing for the presence of Elrond, because he is their eldest of their kind and more powerful. Aragorn, also, has at least some part of this ability to actively exercise his will and mental powers, perhaps an equal share, though he uses it less often.

In the book, he doesn't physically attack the Mouth of Sauron, but instead holds his gaze (again, eye contact is important!). There's another silent struggle that involves no weaponry or any other contact.

He prevails in some way over the Mouth of Sauron (not a warped creature of Sauron in the book, but a cruel Númenórean who has "learned great sorcery"). The Mouth indignantly says he has diplomatic immunity and can't be attacked like this.

But, I mean, maybe they're all just smart and perceptive, it's really unclear.