World History Archive & Compendium

https://worldhistoryarchive.wordpress.com

[vintage-treasures]

Tánggǔ (堂鼓), Wood, oxhide, lacquer, brass, teak (Qing Dynasty) Traditional double-headed barrel drum crafted during the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911). This instrument belongs to a lineage of ceremonial and theatrical percussion, central to Chinese music since antiquity.

Used in lively theatrical performances or solemn Buddhist rituals, the drum was designed to be suspended within a wooden frame or carried on poles during festive processions. Loc. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Dim. H. 22 in. (55.9 cm) W. 22 in. (55.9 cm).

[postcard-from-the-past]

Moroccan woman on a vintage postcard

[postcard-from-the-past]

Buddhist shrine in Vietnam

French vintage postcard, mailed in 1906 to Void, France

[vintage-treasures]

Pair of Candelabra, silver (1884) Tiffany & Co. (American, 1837–present) produced these monumental silver candelabra under the artistic direction of Edward C. Moore (American, 1827–1891). As virtuosic examples of Gilded Age silver, the pieces feature sinuous floral and vegetal ornament influenced by Moore's collection of global art.

Commissioned to illuminate high-society ballrooms by pioneering collector Mary Jane Sexton Morgan (American, 1823–1885), the project utilized over 3,000 ounces of silver, marking one of the firm's most technically ambitious undertakings. Loc. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, US. Dim. 178.4 cm H x 57.2 cm W (70 1/4 x 22 1/2 in.).

[postcard-from-the-past]

View of Gérardmer during winter, Lorraine region of eastern France

French vintage postcard

[postcard-from-the-past]

Jewish woman in the red light district of Casablanca, Morocco

French vintage postcard

[postcard-from-the-past]

City garden in Hanoi, Vietnam

French vintage postcard

[postcard-from-the-past]

Moorish girl from Algeria

French vintage postcard, mailed in 1906

[postcard-from-the-past]

Tomb in the Nantes Cathedral, Brittany region of France

French vintage postcard

[japaneseaesthetics]

Haniwa.  Head and Torso of a Dancing Figure, 5th-7th century, Japan

Earthenware 48.3 x 35 x 15.8 cm Gift of the Auxiliary Board of The Art Institute of Chicago, 1989.85.

Haniwa (literally “clay rings”) were made as funerary sculptures for Japanese nobility. Unlike Chinese tomb figures, which were buried with the deceased in underground chambers, haniwa were placed on the surface of earthen grave mounds. Rows of haniwa, partially submerged in the soil for stability, outlined the sacred contours of a burial site or were set up at its front. This male figure appears to be dancing, perhaps a common event at funeral ceremonies.

[postcard-from-the-past]

Dutch operatic soprano Anna Kappel on a vintage postcard

[postcard-from-the-past]

Locals and Europeans in Ceylon, modern-day Sri Lanka

British vintage postcard

[calledback-blog]

Portrait of two women and a camera. Tintype c.1870’s

[egypt-museum]

Painted stele of Renseneb

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1550-1292 BC.

From Abydos. Now in the Penn Museum. E6783

[postcard-from-the-past]

Wreck of a Zeppelin in Compiègne during the First World War, Picardy region of France

French vintage postcard

[vintage-ukraine]

Two Hutsul women with a horse, early XXth century

[postcard-from-the-past]

Physics class room in the Pensionnat Saint-Euverte catholic boarding school in Orléans, Loire Valley region of France

French vintage postcard