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Wednesday, August 1, 2018

History of Gems

If you have a particular material of interest, this is a great blog where you can start:

https://www.jewelpedia.net/medieval-anti-poisons/

Breasted Fountains

Throughout history, fountains have been a sign of ingenuity, engineering, wealth, and civic generosity. They also became an interesting site of sculptural exploration. One of the main questions for the artisans would be where the water spouts should lie. We often see dolphins and other sea creatures spitting water, but there are also many, many human figures doing the same--from various parts of the body. The famous Mannikin Pis in Brussels features a small boy, well, pissing it out. More commonly, we see females aiming their breasts and shooting water from the nipples. The Fontana Delle Tette of Treviso also served wine at times--red from one boob, white from another. A whole slew of women (or "virtues") do the same in Nuremberg's Tugendbrunnen. HERE is a slightly larger list, but with a bit of looking (yes, I'm saying you can go look at boobies), there are certainly more to be found.

Tugendbrunnen, Nuremberg



Threads from Poop and Milk

Using animal proteins to make clothing is not a new concept, but it is gaining a resurgence in interest.

Under fascism in Italy, milk proteins (casein) were being used to create fabric on a wide scale: see HERE

More recently, New Zealanders have been looking at using cellulose extracted from cow dung for fabric: see HERE