Marcial Ovidio 68

Feminista, socialista, lector empedernido, sibarita, erotómano, escritor, defensor de la democracia y el vivere libero.

[Dan Berthod @DanBerthod]

Giorgio Morandi
Natura morta, 1960

[Laocoon of Troy @LaocoonofTroy]

"Draped Warrior"

Figure of a Spartan warrior, bronze with porphyry base, 8" tall with base, made circa 500BC.

Given to the Wadsworth Museum by JP Morgan.

[Giselle @gisellecaldei3]

Victor Vasarely

[AnS @AniSWISSarts]

Lado Gudiashvili (Georgian, 1896 - 1980) - Friendship, 1969

[Nate Esparza @Nate_Esparza]

Space is the FuturSpace is the Future

[Oğuz Pancar @opancaro]

Robert Morris, Passageway, 1961 (installation)

[T. Talin d'Eyzac @Ttalindeyzac]

‘Nu solarisé’,
Man Ray, 1931

[T. Talin d'Eyzac @Ttalindeyzac]

‘Nu allongé sur un lit’,
Man Ray, 1932

[T. Talin d'Eyzac @Ttalindeyzac]

‘Lee Miller’,
Man Ray, 1929

[Zhai Xiang @ZhaiXiang5]

https://t.co/ZkWdet4tjE

A princess once owned a servant.

Years later, that servant became her husband.

This is the story behind one of China's national treasures: the Gilt-Silver Bronze Incense Burner with a Bamboo-Joint Handle (鎏金银竹节铜熏炉), now housed in the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi'an.

At first glance, it is a masterpiece of Han craftsmanship.

Look closer, and it becomes something more: a witness to ambition, immortality, imperial favor, and one of the most dramatic reversals of fortune in the age of Emperor Wu of Han (汉武帝).

This incense burner stands 58 centimeters tall, with a mouth diameter of 9 centimeters, and weighs 2.57 kilograms. In 1981, it was unearthed from an earthen pit only 3.2 meters deep and 5.63 square meters in area close to the tombs of Princess Yangxin (阳信公主) and her husband, Wei Qing (卫青).

The pit was small, but what it contained was enormous. First, look at its design.

At the base, two dragons coil upward, jaws open, biting into the bamboo-shaped handle as if holding the whole object between earth and heaven. The handle is engraved with bamboo leaves, as if a real bamboo stalk were rising from the ground.

At the top of the handle, three more coiled dragons support the body of the burner. The lower section is decorated with triangular motifs enclosing mythical beasts. Above them, dragons seem to swim and coil through the surface, while the lid rises in layered peaks like a sacred mountain rising from the sea.

When incense was lit, smoke would drift out from the openings, curling around the peaks like mist over an immortal realm.

Both Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han believed that somewhere in the eastern seas lay the legendary isles of the immortals, where elixirs of eternal life could be granted. This type of incense burner, widely and wildly popular during the Han dynasty, embodied that aspiration: a longing for transcendence, immortality, and a world beyond the human one.

Gilding was a metal-decorating technique invented in China. Artisans used mercury gilding, mixing gold with mercury to create an amalgam, applying it to the bronze surface, and then heating it over charcoal fire. As the mercury evaporated, the gold bonded firmly to the vessel, leaving behind a brilliant, enduring surface.

The burner bears the inscription Neizhe Weiyang Shangwo (内者未央尚卧) , literally meaning "Inner Attendant, Weiyang Palace, Bed Chamber Service," indicating that it was made by officials responsible for bedroom affairs related to Weiyang Palace, the emperor's principal residence.

Now comes the woman most closely associated with its story: Princess Yangxin, the elder sister of Emperor Wu.

In 139 BC, it was she who referred Wei Zifu (卫子夫), a singing girl from her mansion, to Emperor Wu of Han. Wei Zifu later gained the emperor's favor and, in 128 BC, became empress of China.

Wei Zifu's younger brother, Wei Qing (卫青), had originally been nothing more than a servant in the princess's household. But through his sister's rise and his own extraordinary military talent, he came to Emperor Wu's attention, became a commander, and repeatedly distinguished himself in campaigns against the Xiongnu/Huns. He eventually rose to become one of the most celebrated generals in Chinese history.

What made the story even more dramatic was that Princess Yangxin later became a widow. When she began looking for a new husband, someone recommended Wei Qing, who by then had already achieved immense military fame.

At first, the princess hesitated.

This man had once been her servant. How could she now take him as her husband?

But those around her persuaded her:
"Today, the Grand General's sister is the empress, and his three sons have been enfeoffed as marquises. His wealth and honor shake the realm. Who could be more suitable than him?"

So the princess agreed to the marriage.

In just over a decade, Wei Qing had completed one of the most astonishing reversals of fate in the empire.

Perhaps, on some evening more than 2,000 years ago, this incense burner once stood quietly inside a palace chamber.

Emperor Wu may have walked past it.

The princess may have watched its smoke rise before her.

And in that same world of incense, ambition, and imperial favor, Wei Qing was rising too, from the man below the stairs to the man beside the princess.

[Lucius Gellius Publicola 🏺 @Lucius_Gellius]

Les travaux sur les papyrii de la bibliothèque d'#Herculanum se poursuivrent grâce aux techniques de pointe développées par les checheurs européens et américains du projet Vesuvius challenge sans dérouler les rouleaux carbonisés. Cette fois ce qui reste de lisible du papyrus PHerc 1667, livre écrit en grec, a pu être entièrement déroulé et décrypté!

Le texte retrouvé est un traité philosophique sur l'éthique inconnu , et les preuves pointent vers une œuvre stoïcienne : il traite de la nature humaine, des impulsions et du progrès moral des êtres humains, et sa dernière colonne conservée nomme Aristocréon — neveu et disciple du grand stoïcien Chrysippe — ce qui, avec le langage et les thèmes du texte, le situe dans un contexte stoïcien et le date du IIe siècle avant J.-C.

Le papyrus étant endommagé, les lectures sont fragmentaires, avec des lacunes là où la surface est illisible. Malgré cela, plusieurs passages peuvent être lus clairement pour la première fois en deux mille ans :

«…nous chercherons à comprendre quelque chose, mais nous ne le saisirons pas, si d’une manière ou d’une autre nous nous éloignons de nous-mêmes et de notre propre nature…»
« Ayant… déployé tous les efforts possibles en matière de recherche et d’apprentissage… et possédant la même sagesse pratique… »
«…tels étant les biens que nous possédons, même des maux opposés ne tirera rien de bon — et encore moins de beau — ni rien de mauvais — et encore moins de laid — ni de bonheur…».

Deux autres rouleaux en cours d'étude semblent concerner des textes de philosophes épicuriens , adversaires des stoiciens!

Source : Prépublication collective sous la direction Giorgio Angelotti du Vesuvius Challenge :"Complete virtual unwrapping and reading of a rolled Herculaneum papyrus".
Voir: https://t.co/ZxXut6WYjy

[Shanghai Museum @ShanghaiMuseum]

Teasing the little parrot perched on her hand, this Tang dynasty lady seems unable to hide her delight. Is she teaching her feathered companion the latest hit song, or just admiring how adorable it is?

#MuseumLadies
彩色釉陶胡服托鹦鹉女俑

#artoftheday #theshanghaimuseum

[Roma Aeterna 🏛 @ValeriaAugusta8]

Oenochoé étrusque à décor celtique (alliage cuivreux, VIe s. av. J.-C. et décor vers 400 av. J.-C., provenance inconnue, legs Chenot en 1899). Elle est exposée au musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie de Besançon.

[Joyce Carol Oates @JoyceCarolOates]

in life, it isn't heroics that are most impressive over all but a general plane of cheerfulness, equanimity, sense of humor & being reliable & generous at all times that is truly impressive. each of us presumably has enough friends/acquaintances/colleagues like this. these people truly enjoy their employment though it may be relatively low-paying, they enjoy their gardens, dogs, cats, walks, telling silly stories, movies, books. they just seem upbeat & even their complaints are couched in comic terms. they are not passionately political, not bitter & not especially optimistic. they just keep going.
sometimes I regard them as superhuman for just being consistent & if they buy books too, what a bonus!
thank you.

[Honest Erotica @honesterotica]

Not many people know that the earliest poem in English about lesbian love is John Donne’s Sapho to Philaenis from around 1590, a sensual, thoughtful poem just waiting to be illustrated – but it never has. Maybe you could be the first! Read about it now at https://t.co/MpEmPhtJjf.

[Araceli Rego @AraceliRego]

Crátera Derveni (primer plano). Bronce. 330—320 a. C. Salónica, Museo Arqueológico

[Roma Aeterna 🏛 @ValeriaAugusta8]

Portrait d’Ulpius Crotonensis (marbre, 56 cm, vers 110-118) conservé au Musée du #Louvre à #Paris. Retrouvé en 1792-1793 le long de la Via Appia près de #Rome. Saisie napoléonienne.

[Lucius Gellius Publicola 🏺 @Lucius_Gellius]

Petit zoom sur la représentation du dieu Acheloos sur ce fabuleux char votif probablement étrusque du VIe siècle avant JC, sur le site tartésien de la Casas del Turuñuelo. Dieu grec représentant le fleuve Acheloos en Epire, il est le fils aîné du Titan Océan et de Téthys, père des Sirènes et de nymphes, représenté sous la forme hybride d'un homme barbu avec une tête de taureau et un corps de serpent. Une de ses cornes, cassée par Héraclès lors de leur combat pour la main de Déjanire, donnera la corne d'abondance.
Sur le char Turuñuelo (photo 1) sa représentation est à mi-chemin entre
les représentations classsiques du dieu dans l'art étrusque (chaudron de Lavau photo 2 ou antefixe photo 3) et les représentations de Gorgone (photo 4), la langue tirée et les dents pointues apparentes.

[Ancient History Hub @AncientHistorry]

The Constantinople observatory of Taqi ad-Din in 1577

[František Kupka @artistkupka]

Lipstick #artbots #kupka