Category Archives: Art

Only A Pigeon

Posted on 20/02/2016 by carolinemmurray

I have discovered (as I imagine that many (very) amateur naturalists do) a strong strain of speciesism in my makeup. It’s only a daisy, when looking for wild orchids at Fulbourn Fen; it’s only the collared doves, eating the nyger … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Cost of Sunshine

Posted on 05/02/2016 by carolinemmurray

‘Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how was the evening?’ My recent encounters with the criminal fraternity of Palermo were pretty trivial by comparison with the assassination of a President of the United States, but they really brought home to me … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Sicilian Vespers

Posted on 30/01/2016 by carolinemmurray

Medieval European history is one of those subjects, I think, which can be approached only when one is still very young. All those Ottos and Heinrichs, Guelphs and Ghibellines (Welfen und Wibellingen), Hohenstaufens and Wittelsbachs, Frederick Barbarossa and Frederick II … Continue reading →

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Object of the Month: January

Posted on 26/01/2016 by carolinemmurray

Among the most popular objects on display at the Museum of Cambridge (aka the Folk Museum) are two blue glass balls, known as witch balls. I do like a nice bit of glass, and these two attractive blue globes are … Continue reading →

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The Computus

Posted on 18/01/2016 by carolinemmurray

The recent Anglican conference at Lambeth led to some controversial decisions, of which the most surprising, perhaps, was an agreement to work with other churches worldwide to fix the date of Easter. It was almost as surprising that the initiative … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Classics, History, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

‘Hee Gathered Many Notable Things’

Posted on 14/01/2016 by carolinemmurray

I was recently given one of the most infuriating books it has ever been my misfortune to read. Bound in Venice: The Serene Republic and the Dawn of the Book, by Alessandro Marzo Magno, translated from the Italian by Gregory … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bibliography, Exploration, History, Literature, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Halcyon Days

Posted on 07/01/2016 by carolinemmurray

The myth first. Halcyone was the daughter of Aeolus, the god of the winds. She and her husband Ceyx, king of Thessaly (or of Trachis, in some versions), were among the dim bunch (see Niobe, Marsyas, Ixion et al.) who … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Cambridge, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Armenian Bole

Posted on 04/01/2016 by carolinemmurray

No, me either, but I came across the term when I was looking up ‘gesso’, which is (among other things) the adhesive gunge on to which gold leaf is laid in illuminated manuscripts. The recipe for this type of gesso … Continue reading →

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Object of the Month: December

Posted on 30/12/2015 by carolinemmurray

(Coming in just under the wire …) I had already selected this Christmas print from the Fitzwilliam Museum collection when I was astonished to have another confirmation of my theory that Everything is Connected to Everything Else. I’m reading the … Continue reading →

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A Grand Palais Day Out

Posted on 22/12/2015 by carolinemmurray

In order to mark one of those Significant Birthdays, I was offered a jaunt, and, throwing my usual caution (Ely?, or perhaps Bury St Edmunds?) to the winds, said ‘Let’s go to Paris for the day, to see the Vigée … Continue reading →

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