Author Archives: carolinemmurray

Bambini

Posted on 13/10/2016 by carolinemmurray

Anyone who spends any time mooching around art galleries cannot fail to be struck by the quite remarkable ugliness of many infant Jesuses. I’m not talking about the extreme stylisation – derived from the Byzantine tradition – of Virgin and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Cambridge, History, London, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Object of the Month: October

Posted on 06/10/2016 by carolinemmurray

I came across this fragment in the online catalogue of the Fitzwilliam Museum while looking for something else. Ha! Corinthian, I thought, in my ignorant way, but it isn’t: it’s sixth-century BCE Clazomenian, as classified  (no. 7 in the Tübingen … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Cambridge, Classics, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A History of Gardening in England

Posted on 29/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

The author of this work, Alicia Amherst, was subject more than most to changes of nomenclature. Her father was William Amhurst Tyssen-Amherst (1835–1909). His father was William George Daniel-Tyssen, but in 1852 both father and son had taken the name … Continue reading →

Posted in Bibliography, Botany, Gardens, London, Natural history | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Object Of The Month: September

Posted on 23/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

For one reason and another (one being the Christmas craft fair events for charity, which are looming), I am busier with knitting at the moment than usual. Hedgehogs and Christmas puddings are lining up unseasonably early, though I guess I … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Exploration, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The King’s Faithful Servant

Posted on 16/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

Rustat Road in Cambridge is where, in a former century, one used to go and pay one’s water rates to the Cambridge Water Company. I haven’t been able to find a picture of the building online, but I have a … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Cambridge, History, London, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Plant Of The Month: September

Posted on 12/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

Bramble or blackberry, friend or foe? I can afford to regard the bramble as a friend because I don’t have any in my garden. Another (human) friend, who is slowly reclaiming an overgrown allotment, reports that brambles (along with nettles … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, Gardens | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Details, Details …

Posted on 05/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

In the Eremitani Museum in Padua the other day, I was struck (as so often) by some of the details in the paintings on display as much as by the overall effect of a particular composition. Take this clog (left), … Continue reading →

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Il Primo Orto Botanico

Posted on 03/09/2016 by carolinemmurray

The Botanical Garden of the University of Padua, set up by a decree of the Republic of Venice in 1545, is the oldest in the world. Well, actually, the University of Pisa founded its in 1544, but it moved site … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Gardens, History, Natural history, Venice | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

The Dotterel

Posted on 27/08/2016 by carolinemmurray

I was dining at the Reform Club the other night (not something that happens to me particularly often). I didn’t get to see Alexis Soyer’s legendary kitchens – do they indeed still exist? – but we did take coffee in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge, History, Natural history, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Object of the Month: August

Posted on 22/08/2016 by carolinemmurray

The apotheosis of Nelson was already well under way in 1836, when one George Gunning, of Frindsbury in Kent, presented a snuffbox to the Fitzwilliam Museum. Books, prints, portraits, medals and ceramics preserved the great naval hero in the public … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Cambridge, History, Museums and Galleries, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments