A brass Roman arm guard that was found in more than a hundred pieces has been reconstructed by conservators at National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh. It is one of only three Roman lorica segmentata (banded armor) arm guards known to exist today and it is by far the most complete of the three. The pieces of […]
Archaeologists at the Museum Odense have identified Denmark’s oldest runes inscribed on a 1,850-year-old knife blade. The inscription consists of five runes with three depressions that runologists have interpreted as “hirila,” meaning “Little Sword.” The runic script is Proto-Norse, the oldest known runic alphabet, and the context dates the blade to around 150 A.D. The
A long-lost painting of Moses by Italian Baroque master Guercino has been acquired by the Jacob Rothschild Foundation for the permanent collection of Waddesdon Manor. It will make its English debut on March 20th at a new exhibition dedicated to the artist, Guercino at Waddesdon: King David and the Wise Women. The exhibition will feature
The full-sized reconstruction of the colossal statue of Constantine that once stood in the Basilica of Maxentius in the Roman Forum has gone on display in the garden of the Villa Caffarelli Garden, just behind the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Capitoline Hill where the surviving fragments of the original statue are exhibited in the
On February 18th, Florence’s museums will commemorate the 281st anniversary of the death of Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, Electress Palatine, savior of Florence’s immense artistic heritage, with free admission to its museums. Florence celebrates the Electress’ great wisdom, tenacity and foresight in the disposition of her family’s inestimable legacy every year on this day,
A tin turtle dove badge from the Middle Ages has been discovered during renovations of the 600-year-old Gdańsk port crane. The love token features a turtle dove perched on a banner inscribed “Amor Vincit Omnia,” meaning “love conquers all.” The badge originally had two loops on the back, now broken off, from which it would
The V&A museum has launched a campaign to raise the £2 million it needs to acquire the rare 12th century walrus ivory carving that will otherwise leave the UK and enter the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Deposition from the Cross is a depiction of Joseph of Arimathea taking the body of
The Rijksmuseum has acquired the only signed oil painting by Gesina ter Borch, a draftsman and watercolorist of the Dutch Golden Age and a member of one of the most prominent artistic families in the 17th century Netherlands. A posthumous portrait of her youngest brother as a child, the painting is a rare testimonial to
A Roman marble sculpture of the head of a woman has been discovered during construction in the parking lot of Burghley House, the stately home near Stamford in Lincolnshire built by the Cecil family in the 16th century. The head of a sculpture was unearthed by mechanical digger operator Craig Crawley in April of 2023.
The University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries have acquired a rare autograph manuscript by German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. One of only four manuscripts in the UK written in Bach’s hand, the document was accepted by the government in lieu of £3.65 million in inheritance taxes. Also known as the Kohn manuscript after collector Sir
