The Basiliscoe Mercury 281

The Basiliscoe Mercury 281


TheInternet newsletter for the arms and armour community


Unsurprisingly since we are so close to Hallowe’en, a large number of grave stores, and other related pieces scattered throughout. Fireworks and gunpowder feature, too. Otherwise exhibitions about spies and code-breakers, Flemish portraits and stories about Indian cannons.



Arms and armour in the news


Ancient arms


Oldest flint axe in NW Europe- from Norfolk!

http://museumcrush.org/the-happisburgh-hand-axe-the-oldest-hand-axe-in-north-west-europe/


Ironmaking in Alexander the Great’s empirein Bulgaria.

http://archaeologyinbulgaria.com/20...-residence-thracian-mound-southeast-bulgaria/


Update on Thracian chariots

https://www.livescience.com/60678-thracian-chariot-on-reddit-explained.html


Grave stories


Update on Germany’sBronze Agebattlefield

https://www.livescience.com/60739-europe-oldest-battlefield-yields-secrets.html

http://www.dw.com/en/what-europes-most-ancient-battlefield-reveals/a-40872262


Violence in the Andes

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...-civilization-discovery-torture-a8011076.html


Explore Rothwell’s charnel house at your leisure…

http://www.medievalists.net/2017/10...l-charnel-chapel-now-accessible-new-3d-model/


Dealing with the dead on medieval battlefields

http://www.medievalists.net/2017/10/dead-medieval-battles-preliminary-survey/


Memorialised on a biscuit tin

http://museumcrush.org/grave-marker-made-from-zulu-wars-biscuit-box-saved-by-bourne-hall-museum/


Those who enjoy this section might be interested in this book on 19th century surgery

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/oct/12/the-butchering-art-by-lindsey-fitzharris-review


Miscellany


Early for Christmas, but nice French castle for sale, at a very reasonable price…

http://www.medievalists.net/2017/10/castle-sale-montaiguillon/


France launch appeal to buy Francis I’s book of hours

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/book-of-hours-set-to-leave-britain


Princesses and Amazons


Portrait of Mary Queen of Scot’s identified

https://www.theguardian.com/artandd...n-of-scots-lost-for-centuries-goes-on-display


Mata Hari: 100 years since her death

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41595828

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/arts/mata-hari-netherlands.html


Cannons to the left, cannon to the right


Saratoga’s new cannon leaves a bad smell

https://dailygazette.com/article/20...toga-museum-adds-utica-artifact-to-collection

http://www.uticaod.com/news/20171021/historic-utica-cannon-quietly-moves-to-new-home


Four cannons found in Visakhapatnam, India

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...thed-in-vizag-school/articleshow/61254254.cms

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nati...h-era-cannons-found-at-queen-mary-school.html




Things that go Bang…


Fireworks in India

http://indianexpress.com/article/research/a-crackling-history-of-fireworks-in-india-4890178/


Fireworks in Indonesia- not so happy

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...fireworks-factory-explosion-jakarta-indonesia


Hatfield and its connection to the Gunpowder plot

http://www.whtimes.co.uk/what-s-on/...harington-guy-fawkes-night-hatfield-1-5255805


Living in the past


How to bring up a baby samurai

https://www.livescience.com/60738-ancient-samurai-book-reveals-warrior-rules.html


Jousting today

http://www.medievalists.net/2017/10/modern-world-medieval-sport/


Café Basiliscoe: on this week’s menu


Stone Age banquets

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ers-feasted-animals-scotland-feast-exhibition


Viking haggis

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...nvented-by-Vikings-claims-master-butcher.html


Or Mameluke mutton

http://www.medievalists.net/2017/10...rket-place-rereading-curious-tale-mamluk-era/


Washeddownwith cider

https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kit...r-from-the-old-testament-to-the-apple-orchard


Nautical news


Update on the Esmerelda- mainly the astrolabe –with some nonsense about it being the oldest astrolabe ever…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41724022

https://news.nationalgeographic.com...rolabe-vasco-da-gama-shipwreck-esmeralda-spd/


Ottoman guns raised for Antalya Museum

http://sabahdai.ly/UDG82g


UK hand Franklin’s ships over to Canada

http://artdaily.com/news/99765/Britain-to-gift-Arctic-shipwrecks-to-Canada



Museum news and exhibitions


News


Benin bronzes to be returned to Nigeria

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/looted-benin-bronzes-to-be-lent-back-to-nigeria


Trouble in the museumworld of AbuDhabi

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/british-museum-ends-loan-deal-with-abu-dhabi


New museums


Vienna’s World Museum re-opens

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/vienna's-new-look-weltmuseum-takes-on-colonialism


Museum musings


Protecting culture under fire

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/uk's-cultural-protection-fund-makes-headway-in-conflict-zones


This week instatues- Theodor Roosevelt under attack

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news...natural-history's-theodore-roosevelt-monument


Conservation corner


Reconstructing Henry V’s helm

http://www.wallacecollection.org/collections/exhibition/131


TLC for the bed of Frederick of Prussia

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news...ssia's-bed-gets-the-royal-treatment-in-berlin


Exhibitions


Code breaking in Cambridge

http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/calendar/whatson/codebreakers-and-groundbreakers


Rembrandt in Norwich

http://artdaily.com/news/99719/Majo...s-by-Rembrandt-opens-in-Norwich-#.WfGi0DFe59A


Netherlandsportraits in Edinburgh

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/e...herlandish-painters-working-jacobean-scotland


Visiting Versailles

http://www.chateauversailles.fr/actualites/expositions/visiteurs-versailles-1682-1789#l'exposition


Pourbus in Bruges

http://artdaily.com/news/99561/Exhi...emish-Primitives--Pieter-Pourbus#.WeW-VDFe59A


MataHari in Leeuwarden

http://artdaily.com/news/99747/Largest-ever-Mata-Hari-exhibition-on-view-at-the-Museum-of-Friesland


Rubens in Vienna

http://artdaily.com/news/99558/Kuns...he-Power-of-Transformation--148-#.WeW-CTFe59A


Marie Antoinette and Count Fersen in Stockholm

http://livrustkammaren.se/sv/utstallningar/i-love-you-madly


Vermeer and co in Washington

http://artdaily.com/news/99673/Exhi...n-Vermeer-and-his-contemporaries#.WfGm5TFe59A


Books


Kim Hjardar & Vegard Vike: Vikings at War

https://www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/vikings-at-war.html


Tim Jenkins & Rachael Abbiss (eds):Fortress Salopia

http://www.helion.co.uk/new-and-for...ieth-century-2016-conference-proceedings.html


New books at Ken Trotman

https://kentrotman.co.uk/new-books/


Online book


More fireworks than you can shake a leg at: BL’s renaissance festival booksto explore

https://www.bl.uk/treasures/festivalbooks/homepage.html



Popular culture


A match made in heaven- Napoleon and Rodin

http://artdaily.com/news/99756/The-...-s-Napoleon--found-in-New-Jersey#.WfGdcTFe59A


Cai Guo-Qiang and gunpowder art in Madrid

http://artdaily.com/news/99754/Gunp...ado-museum-hosts-Chinese-artist-Cai-Guo-Qiang


Gunpowder serial on BBC

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-10-21/gunpowder-guy-fawkes-bbc/


Mail back in fashion

https://www.ft.com/content/4ef279fc-6c6b-11e7-b9c7-15af748b60d0



Events


Diary Dates


Events at the Wallace

http://www.wallacecollection.org/whatson


Events in Dublin

https://www.museum.ie/Visit-Us/Events


Events at the Historial

http://www.historial.org/


Events in Vienna

http://www.hgm.at/


Events at the Met

https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs


Conferences


6 November 2017 London

Visible Identities: Symbolic Codes from Personal Heraldry to Corporate Logos

https://www.sal.org.uk/events/2017/11/visible-identities/


15-17 November 2017, Canterbury

Black Prince Conference

https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/whats-on/event/blackprinceconference/


Sales, fairs and auctions


30 October 2017 New York

Arts of the Samurai

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24721/


31 October 2017 London, Knightsbridge

Important Instruments of Science & Technology

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24096/


6-17 November Munich

Catalogue for Hermann Historica now online

https://www.hermann-historica.de/en/Auktionen/Laufende



Websites and downloads


Portugal’sMaritimeMuseum

http://ccm.marinha.pt/pt/museu/


Latest from Les Invalides: Le magazine du musée

http://www.musee-armee.fr/actualites/le-magazine-du-musee.html


Illustrated article about guns associated with British India

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Historic_Guns_of_British_India


1066 etc: Renaissance warfare, Vikings in winter & medieval ghosts


http://www.medievalists.net/2017/10...lian-warfare-ercole-ricotti-jacob-burckhardt/

http://www.medievalists.net/2017/10/winter-camp-viking-great-army-ad-872-3-torksey-lincolnshire/

http://www.medievalists.net/2017/10/medieval-ghosts-can-tell-us-afterlife/


Finally a ghost story for Hallowe’en


The stalls of Barchester by MR James

http://www.thin-ghost.org/items/show/155


And a tribute to the late Robert Hardy who starred in the TV adaption





This fortnight we tweeted visits to East Anglia

https://twitter.com/Basiliscoe



Compiled by Ruth Rhynas Brown –30 October 2017


Some people have asked me about making a contribution to the Newsletter – if you would like to support us, you can make a donation here through our Paypal account – see here for details:

http://www.basiliscoe.com/id2.html