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☆ Berlin Was a Beacon of Artistic Freedom. Gaza Changed Everything.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Jason Farago | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She lived for a time in West Berlin. Fitting, then, that she would accept a prestigious guest professorship this year at a German art school. Rather than distill her thoughts about “this unbelievably tragic war” into the kind of public statement they seemed to want, she withdrew. “It did teach me that I didn’t really want to have that kind of sponsorship,” she concluded. The arts scene in Germany — and especially Berlin — has been turned upside down by Hamas’s attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, and the siege and bombardment of Gaza.

Persons: Laurie Anderson, —, “, ”, Anderson, Lou Reed, Berliner, fulminated, Berlin — Organizations: Germany — Locations: Germany, West Berlin, Israel, Palestinian, Berlin, Gaza

☆ Scientists unveil 240-million-year-old ‘dragon’ fossil
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Newly-discovered fossils have allowed scientists to reveal a 240-million-year-old “dragon” in its entirety for the first ever time, National Museums Scotland (NMS) said in a statement on Friday. An artist's rendition of the ancient marine creature. Marlene DonellyNow, newer fossils indicate that the creature had 32 vertebrae, creating an extremely long neck that likely helped it to catch fish, though scientists are still unsure of its precise function. “I’m still baffled by the function of the long neck,” Fraser said. They added that the Dinocephalosaurus’ long neck resembled another ancient, and equally baffling, marine reptile Tanystropheus hydroides.

Persons: Dr Nick Fraser, “, Li Chun, Fraser, Chun, Marlene Donelly, “ I’m, ” Fraser, ” Organizations: CNN, National Museums Scotland, National Sciences, Environmental, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Vertebrate Locations: China, NMS, Scotland, Germany, USA, Palaeoanthropology, Beijing, Guizhou Province

☆ Caspar David Friedrich: The German artist’s rise from obscurity to fame
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Catherine Hickey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Caspar David Friedrich's work "Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon." Staatliche Museen zu BerlinThe Berlin exhibition, “Caspar David Friedrich: Infinite Landscapes,” will examine the Nationalgalerie’s role in rediscovering the artist at the beginning of the 20th century. Thanks to the royal purchases, Berlin has one of the most significant collections of Friedrich works in the world. SHK/Hamburger Kunsthalle/bpkThe German museums were in discussion about loans from Russia before February 2020, Verwiebe says. In 1974, long queues formed for a Friedrich exhibition at the Hamburger Kunsthalle marking his 200th birthday.

Persons: —, Caspar David Friedrich, Alte, Dresden’s, Caspar David Friedrich's, “ Caspar David Friedrich, Birgit Verwiebe, Friedrich, Clemens Brentano, Heinrich von Kleist, Frederick William IV, ”, Frederick William III, Charlotte, Tsar Nicholas I, Friedrich's, Verwiebe, — Hitler, London’s Tate, Christina Grummt, Friedrich sketchbook, Gerhard Richter, Julian Charrière, Olafur Eliasson, Ulrike Rosenbach, Kehinde Wiley, “, ” Grummt Organizations: The Art, CNN, Hamburg’s Kunsthalle, zu, Berlin Academy, SHK, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Staatliche, Villa Grisebach, Kunst, Metropolitan Museum of Art Locations: Germany, Weimar, Greifswald, Friedrich’s, zu Berlin, Berlin, Dresden, Oakwood, ”, Russia, Hermitage, St Petersburg, Hamburger, Ukraine, German, Villa, Greenland, Hamburg, Winterthur, New York

☆ ‘Lost’ Botticelli masterpiece worth $109 million found in home in southern Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Jack Guy | Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Rome CNN —A painting by the 15th-century master Sandro Botticelli, recorded as missing since the 1980s, has been found at a home in southern Italy. The depiction of the Virgin Mary and infant Christ was discovered in a home in the town of Gragnano, near Naples, according to the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Naples. The painting by the artist most famous for “The Birth of Venus” and “Primavera” is estimated by Italian authorities to be worth at least €100 million ($109 million). “The family continues to hold the title of the work, which, however, will be preserved in a museum,” Croce added. The Somma family declined to comment when contacted by CNN.

Persons: Rome, Rome CNN —, Sandro Botticelli, Virgin Mary, Christ, Venus ”, Santa Maria la Carità, Massimiliano Croce, Croce, ” Croce, “, Botticelli Organizations: Rome CNN, Protection Unit of Naples, Primavera, Roman Catholic Church, CNN, Cultural Locations: Italy, Gragnano, Naples, Neapolitan, Santa, State

☆ Skeletons unearthed in ‘incredibly rare’ 5,000-year-old Scottish tomb
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The ruins of an “incredibly rare” 5,000-year-old tomb have been uncovered on one of the Scottish Orkney Islands, National Museums Scotland said in a statement on Tuesday. “In the Neolithic, it would have been an incredibly impressive 15 meter diameter, enormous mound, very substantial stonework, very impressive architecture. Those cells are real feats of engineering,” Hugo Anderson-Whymark, one of the excavation’s co-directors and senior curator of prehistory (Neolithic) at National Museums Scotland, told CNN. National Museums ScotlandOnly 12 other similar tombs are known to exist in Orkney, referred to as Maes Howe-type passage graves. There’s nothing on the surface to suggest this tomb ever existed there but it would have once been an incredible monument.

Persons: ” Hugo Anderson, Whymark, Vicki Cummings, Maes Howe, James Walls Cursiter, ” Anderson, “, they’ve, ” Organizations: CNN, National Museums Scotland, Cardiff University, Museums Scotland Locations: Scottish Orkney Islands, Holm , East Mainland, Orkney, Britain

☆ An opulent ancient Egyptian tomb containing 5,000-year-old wine may have belonged to a long-forgotten female pharaoh
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A female royal from the first ancient Egyptian dynasty was found buried in a lavish tomb. Researchers think she may have been the first female pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Now researchers excavating her grave in Abydos, Egypt, say that the sheer extravagance they have discovered suggests she may have been the first female pharaoh in ancient Egypt. AdvertisementAdvertisementIf proven to be right, Meret-Neith would then become the first female Pharaoh of Egypt, rewriting the ancient Egyptian dynasty. The next known female pharaoh was Neferusobek and then Hatshepsut, who ruled about 500 years after Neferusobek.

Persons: —, King Djet, Ronald Leprohon, Neith, EC, Christiana Köhler, Margaret Maitland, Elizabeth Carney, Pharaoh of Egypt, Hatshepsut Organizations: Service, University of Vienna, University of Toronto, National Museums Scotland, Science, Clemson University Locations: Egypt, Abydos, Meret, South Carolina

☆ The Met, the Louvre and the British Museum Should Never Have Hoarded Looted Artifacts - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Jason Felch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

These revelations have shaken the staid museum world and raised important questions about security, record keeping and funding priorities. The British Museum must use this scandal as an opportunity to update the dusty notion of the so-called universal museum — rethinking how these institutions can exist in a 21st-century world where the sharing and blending of cultures has never been more crucial. Rather than resisting calls to repatriate contested objects in their collections, museums should be transparent about their holdings and how they were acquired. They should embark on a campaign of generous, long-term loans that allows objects to circulate freely across borders. This is an opportunity to radically reimagine the mission and purpose of the universal museum — places like the Metropolitan Museum, the Louvre, the Prado and the British Museum — and what they owe to the world.

Persons: Prado Organizations: British, Metropolitan Museum, British Museum —

☆ British Museum appoints new interim director after theft crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters —Mark Jones was appointed as the new interim director at the British Museum on Wednesday as the institution seeks to restore its reputation following the theft of about 2,000 artifacts from its collection. Jones replaces German art historian Hartwig Fischer after he stepped down last month over failings in the investigation into the theft of artifacts at the museum. Jones, who previously held roles as director of the National Museums of Scotland and the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A), was appointed following approval by the British government. The British Museum houses the Parthenon sculptures, sometimes referred to in the UK as the Elgin Marbles. The British Museum initially said it had carried out a thorough investigation, but a follow-up probe found the first response to be insufficient, Osborne said last month.

Persons: Mark Jones, ” Jones, Jones, Hartwig Fischer, Stone, Toby Melville, Sir Mark Jones, George Osborne, Osborne Organizations: Reuters, British Museum, Museum, National Museums of, Victoria & Albert Museum, Elgin, British Locations: London, National Museums of Scotland, British, Danish

☆ Fact Check-Revived Titanic-Olympic ‘switch’ conspiracy sunk by ships’ differences
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

In particular, design differences between the Titanic and Olympic, visible in photographs of the two ships, are consistent with the wreckage of Titanic being, in fact, Titanic, and making the switch theory implausible. Another of the ships, Olympic, was put into service the year before, on June 14, 1911, and retired in 1935, with many of its fixtures and fittings auctioned off before it was scrapped. Magellan and its collaborator Atlantic Productions released sample images and animations of the Titanic wreck site scans to media outlets in May 2023, which can be viewed (here), (here). Olympic’s hull number was 400, and Titanic’s was 401. “Meanwhile,” Layton said, “the Titanic’s correct hull number, 401, has been observed at the wreck site and on items recovered from the wreck.

Persons: Robert John Welch, J, Kent Layton, ” Layton, Olympic’s, Layton, Titanic’s, Tim Maltin, Read Organizations: Titanic, Facebook, National Museums Northern, White Star Lines, Olympic, Belfast shipyard, Library of Congress, Bain News Service, Getty, Magellan Ltd, Atlantic Productions, HULL, Reuters Locations: Atlantic, Belfast , Northern Ireland, National Museums Northern Ireland, Southampton, England, New York, Titanic

☆ Butchery marks on a fossilized bone suggest human ancestors ate each other, shocking researchers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A researcher found what appear to be cut marks on the bone of a human ancestor. I was really not expecting to find these sorts of cut marks." Almost all of the bone's marks could be classified as cut marks with a high degree of confidence, Pobiner said. Not all cut marks mean cannibalismTwo marks (5 and 6) were identified as tooth marks, and the rest were identified as cut marks. Pobiner hopes the findings will inspire other researchers to return to existing collections to look for more cut marks.

Persons: Pobiner, —, Michael Pante, Jennifer Clark Defleshing, it's, Paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey, It's Organizations: Service, Smithsonian's National, of, National Museums, Kenya's, Museum, Colorado State University Locations: Kenya's Nairobi, anvils, Kenya, Gough's Cave, England

☆ Cut marks on fossilized bone may reveal ancient cannibalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Nine cut marks on a fossilized shin bone suggest that ancient human relatives butchered and possibly ate one another 1.45 million years ago, according to a new study. “These cut marks look very similar to what I’ve seen on animal fossils that were being processed for consumption,” Pobiner said in a news release. Jennifer ClarkWhat the cut marks revealStudy coauthor Michael Pante, a paleoanthropologist at Colorado State University, created 3D models based on molds of marks on the bone. He said cut marks were reported on the cheek bone of a hominin fossil found in Sterkfontein, South Africa, in 2000 that could be about 2 million years old. Pobiner, however, said the source of the cut marks in that case was disputed.

Persons: Briana Pobiner, Pobiner, ” Pobiner, Marks, Jennifer Clark, Michael Pante, boisei, hominins, ” Silvia Bello, ”, Bello, Chris Stringer, Stringer Organizations: CNN, National Museums, Kenya’s, Museum, National Museum of, Washington DC, Colorado State University Locations: Kenya’s Nairobi, Washington, what’s, France, Sterkfontein, South Africa

☆ My Instant Pot brings me joy and a sense of freedom. That's why I'll never abandon it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Tola Onanuga | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some say the Instant Pot has passed its expiry date, but I couldn't disagree more. podcast by Curbed, one guest said people who owned an Instant Pot often talked about it as if it was their lover. Instant Brands continues to operate after filing for bankruptcy protection, but the Instant Pot is seemingly no longer the company's golden goose. I may be in the minority, but I'll passionately continue using my Instant Pot until the day it finally runs out of steam. One thing is for sure — my Instant Pot will give up on me long before I give up on it.

Persons: —, that's Organizations: Service, Brands, Associated Press, Instant Brands

CAIRO — Known as Egypt’s “golden boy,” the mummified remains of a teenager buried 2,300 years ago have long remained shrouded in mystery. Now they have been “digitally unwrapped” by scientists, revealing intimate details that went undiscovered for over a century. Radiologists at Cairo University in Egypt used CT scans to non-invasively unwrap the remains, uncovering signs of wealth as well as efforts to ensure his safe passage to the afterlife. Amulets were both placed inside the “golden boy” and between the wrappings used to mummify the remains, the study published Tuesday found. The new study comes as museums in the U.K. reckon with whether the term "mummy" is appropriate to describe mummified remains, because of what some say are its “dehumanizing” connotations.

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