An exquisitely sculpted ancient bust of a woman from Palmyra, Syria, is returned to view for the first time since 2006 at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Named "Haliphat," it will be accompanied by images of 18th-century engravings and 19th-century photographs of ancient Palmyra selected from the Freer|Sackler Libraries and Archives. A newly created 3-D scan of the bust will also be released for viewing and download at a later date as part of the Smithsonian X 3D Collection.Funerary Bust from Palmyra, Syria, 231 BC [Credit: Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery]
Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Near East, and one of the best preserved city-states in the world.
"In the face of current tragic upheavals in Iraq and Syria, every stone, arch and carved relief plays a greater historical and cultural role than it has in the past," said Julian Raby, the Dame Jillian Sackler Director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art. "Like the relief of Haliphat, each stone can remind a people of its past, and fashion identity both individually and collectively."
Once lush, wealthy and cosmopolitan, Palmyra ("the city of palms") was an oasis in the desert at the hub of trade between the Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, ancient Iran and Southeast Asia. Two millennia ago, its inhabitants constructed monumental colonnades, temples, a theater and elaborate tomb complexes, a significant amount of which survives today.
Dating from 231 AD, the limestone funerary relief sculpture depicts an elegant, bejeweled figure with both Roman and Aramaic artistic influences, reinforcing Palmyra's status between the Eastern and Western worlds.
The accompanying photographs were taken 1867-1876 by prolific photographer Fèlix Bonfils and provide the most complete visual record of Palmyra from the 19th century.
The engraving images are from Robert Woods' 1753 The Ruins of Palmyra, a publication that inspired the popular neoclassical architecture style in Britain and North America. Its image of an "Eagle Decorating an Ancient Roman Temple" was the model for the image on the seal of the United States, and its depictions of Palmyra's coffered ceilings shaped the ceiling of the north entrance of the Freer Gallery of Art.
The display will be on view indefinitely.
Source: Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery [June 09, 2015]
A stolen bronze Indian religious relic worth an estimated $1 million was recovered Wednesday by federal customs agents as part of a continuing investigation into a former New York-based art dealer.The item recovered this week is a Chola-period bronze representing a Tamil poet and saint that dates to the 11th or 12th centuries [Credit: John Taggart/The Wall Street Journal
The dealer, Subhash Kapoor, is now awaiting trial in India for allegedly looting artifacts worth tens of millions of dollars.
Mr. Kapoor operated a now-defunct gallery on the Upper East Side called Art of the Past. Prosecutors allege that between 1995 and 2012 he illegally imported and sold stolen antiquities from India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere, often using forged documents to pass the items off as legitimate.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit and the Manhattan district attorney’s office have together recovered more than 2,500 artifacts worth more than $100 million from the gallery and storage facilities in and around New York City.
Kenneth J. Kaplan, a lawyer in New York representing Mr. Kapoor, declined to comment Wednesday, but said his client had asserted his innocence both to him and to his counsel in India. Mr. Kapoor has not yet entered a plea in India, according to a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
The item recovered this week is a Chola-period bronze representing a Tamil poet and saint that dates to the 11th or 12th centuries, according to Brenton Easter, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations. The statue, which stands nearly two feet tall and weighs more than 80 pounds, was allegedly looted about a decade ago from a temple in a village in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The theft of the figure was “completely devastating” to the villagers, Mr. Easter said on Wednesday afternoon, as he stood by the open door of the van containing the relic parked on East 91st Street near Park Avenue. The item was smuggled into the U.S. labeled as a handicraft, and then offered for sale at Mr. Kapoor’s gallery on Madison Avenue.
In recent months some institutions that purchased objects from Mr. Kapoor have surrendered the items to Homeland Security Investigations. They include the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts.
In a statement, Honolulu Museum Director Stephan Jost said in April that “clearly the museum could have done better” with its past vetting of objects. Dan L. Monroe, the Peabody Essex Museum director, said in a statement that month that the institution has undertaken “a rigorous internal assessment of its collection and is working in full cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security.”
This time around, the stolen object was voluntarily surrendered by an anonymous collector who had been contacted by investigators about the piece. Officials said the buyer was considered a victim because the statue was accompanied by a false provenance, or ownership history, that predated its theft.
“We commend this collector for his conscious decision to return this stolen idol,” said Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., special agent in charge of HSI New York. “We hope that other collectors, institutions and museums will continue to partner with HSI, and to see this surrender as a successful way to move forward when dealing with artifacts that might be of concern.”
The agency has recovered at least six other sacred Chola bronzes that it anticipates repatriating to the Indian government.
In April, the Manhattan district attorney’s office filed papers in New York State Supreme Court seeking the forfeiture of 2,622 items seized from the gallery and storage units in Manhattan, Queens and Long Island. The items were worth $107 million, according to the summons. Among them: a statue from India valued at $15 million, a large bronze statue from Cambodia or Thailand worth $5 million and a large standing Buddha from North India estimated at $7.5 million.
According to the April summons, Mr. Kapoor and his gallery manager, Aaron Freedman, “engaged in a common plan and scheme to illegally obtain and sell stolen items of art and conceal or disguise the nature, source and ownership of the illegally obtained property.”
Mr. Freedman pleaded guilty in December 2013 to five counts of criminal possession of stolen property and one count of conspiracy, according to the summons. Prosecutors said the antiquities were forfeitable from Mr. Kapoor and his gallery as proceeds and/or instrumentalities of crime.
Author: Jennifer Smith | Source: The Wall Street Journal [July 03, 2015]
Miss California USA - Alyssa Campanella Crowned Miss USA 2011 More photos: * Miss Congeniality : Miss Kentucky USA - Kia Hampton * Miss Photogenic : Miss Arizona USA - Brittany Brannon source: (Thank you and credits to http://us-beauty-pageant.blogspot.com/ and all sources for the information and pictures)
MISS USA 2011 - Top 4
* Miss Alabama USA 2011 Madeline Mitchell (Photo Gallery)
* Miss California USA 2011 Alyssa Campanella (Photo Gallery)
* Miss Tennessee USA 2011 Ashley Durham
* Miss Texas USA 2011 Ana Rodriguez
MISS USA 2011 - Top 8
* Miss Alabama USA 2011 Madeline Mitchell (Photo Gallery)
* Miss California USA 2011 Alyssa Campanella(Photo Gallery)
* Miss Hawaii USA 2011 Angela Byrd
* Miss Maine USA 2011 Ashley Lynn Marble
* Miss Maryland USA 2011 Allyn Rose
* Miss South Carolina USA 2011 Courtney Turner
* Miss Tennessee USA 2011 Ashley Durham
* Miss Texas USA 2011 Ana Rodriguez
Miss USA 2011 - Top 16 * Miss * Miss * Miss * Miss * Miss Hawaii USA - Angela Byrd * Maine USA - Ashley Lynn Marble * Miss Maryland USA - Allyn Rose * Miss South Carolina USA - Courtney Turner * Miss Arizona USA - Brittany Brannon * Miss Florida USA - Lisette Garcia * Miss Georgia USA - Kaylin Reque * Miss Indiana USA - Jillian Wunderlich * Miss Missouri USA - Hope Driskill * Miss New Mexico USA - Brittany Toll † * Miss New York USA - Amber Collins * Miss Utah USA - Jamie Crandall source: (Thank you and credits to http://us-beauty-pageant.blogspot.com/ and all sources for the information and pictures) LAS VEGAS -Alyssa Campanella from California was the winner of Miss USA 2011! THE FINAL RESULTS: Miss USA 2011 : Alyssa Campanella (Miss California) 1st Runner-up: Ashley Durham (Miss Tennessee) 2nd Runner-up: Madeline Mitchell (Miss Alabama) 3rd Runner-up: Ana Rodriguez (Miss Texas) Miss Congeniality USA: Miss Kentucky Kia Hampton Miss Photogenic USA: Miss Arizona Brittany Brannon Special thanks and credits tobangordailynews Special thanks and credits to Global Beauties source: (Thank you and credits to http://freedom-guy.blogspot.com/ and all sources for the information and pictures) More photos of the newly crowned Miss USA 2011, Alyssa Campanella Special thanks to beautypageantnews and all sources of photo taken source: (Thank you and credits to http://freedom-guy.blogspot.com/ and all sources for the information and pictures)
Las Vegas -Alyssa Campanellawas crowned Miss USA on Sunday night.
Miss California Alyssa Campanella: The New Miss USA 2011
The 21-year-old, auburn-haired Miss California beat out 50 other beauty queens at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
The 21-year-old, auburn-haired Miss California Alyssa Campanella, who originally hails from New Jersey but now lives in Los Angeles, will represent the United States at this year's Miss Universe pageant in September in Brazil.
When asked if marijuana should be legalized, she said that medical marijuana should be legal, but otherwise banned. So ... she's a natural politician.
See Exclusive Picture Gallery of the Miss USA 2011 Pageant here Below:
Miss California Alyssa Campanella: The New Miss USA 2011
Miss California Alyssa Campanella: The New Miss USA 2011
Miss California Alyssa Campanella: The New Miss USA 2011
Miss California Alyssa Campanella: The New Miss USA 2011
Miss California Alyssa Campanella: The New Miss USA 2011
Notre Dame is one of the most iconic buildings in the world. Built from 1160 to 1345, the massive cathedral is one of the most recognizable landmarks of Paris and is one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture that exists today. For all its storied past, however, little information survives about the architects and designers who raised the building. That’s where art historian and laser modeler Andrew Tallon has stepped in, with new methods of gathering data about Notre Dame that shed light on some of its earliest history.Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris [Credit: osc-vector.com]
The actual laser modeling is done by mounting a laser from a tripod and shooting the gallery, taking time to measure the distance between the scanner and every point it hits. Each one of these points represents a distance — by mapping millions of points from a single location, historians can measure how the building expands and contracts during the day, as well as how it shifts over longer periods of time. By combining the point cloud data generated by the laser scanner with on-site photographs taken at the same time, Tallon has created extremely accurate models of the underlying structure and design of the cathedral, and identified points where the cathedral’s masons either deviated from the original plan or paused work to allow the ground to settle.
The point cloud data from the laser scans builds a virtual model of the church [Credit: Andrew Tallon/Vassar College]
Tallon’s research, for example, has found that the Gallery of Kings — the massive, three-doorway facade that dominates one side of the cathedral, had shifted almost a foot out of plumb. Researchers had previously suspected that work had stopped on the area for up to a decade, and this new work suggests why that might have occurred. The masons, realizing that the building was shifting in the thin, sandy soil, halted progress to give the ground time to settle and resumed a decade later.
Tallon’s laser scans reveal that some of the columns in the nave of Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral don’t line up because they were built around existing structures [Credit: Andrew Tallon]
Other findings from Tallon’s work include data that shows the internal columns of Notre Dame don’t align perfectly, and that workers likely incorporated existing structures in the area as part of the cathedral rather than tearing them out altogether. The flying buttresses, which were often thought to be a later addition to the architecture, were likely installed from the very beginning to counterbalance the effect of the vaulted ceilings (which tended to force the walls outward). External support from flying buttresses would push the walls inward, counterbalancing the vaults. The walls of Notre Dame have scarcely moved since they were constructed — a testament to the exquisitely balanced and counterbalanced supports.
The triple archways of Notre Dame [Credit: Benh Lieu Song/Flickr]
National Geographic has a full update on the process and technology used to create the laser point models and a discussion of the work done at Notre Dame and other Cathedrals. Laser and LIDAR-assisted mapping has become more prominent in recent years, thanks to its ability to show us where long-buried structures or archaeological remains may still exist. Thermal maps and subtle gradation variations can also show remnants of mankind’s activity in an area, even when shifting sands or jungle terrain has obscured the more obvious visual reminders. Human buildings and structures absorb heat differently than surrounding terrain even when buried, which gives us a window into the past when conventional methods or other records come up short.
Author: Joel Hruska | Source: Extreme Tech [June 24, 2015]
For more than a decade, he was the self-styled Indiana Jones of Egypt, presiding over its antiquities and striding through temples and tombs as the star of TV documentaries that made him an international celebrity.In this June 18, 2015 photo, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's former head of antiquities, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office in Cairo. For more than a decade, he was the self-styled Indiana Jones of Egypt, presiding over its antiquities and striding through temples and tombs as the star of TV documentaries that made him an international celebrity. But four years after the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and nearly ended his own career, Hawass can be found in a cramped office, lamenting the state of the antiquities bureaucracy he once ruled like a pharaoh and dreaming of a new museum whose fate lies in limbo [Credit: AP/Hassan Ammar]
But four years after the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and nearly ended his own career, Zahi Hawass can be found in a cramped Cairo office, lamenting the state of the antiquities bureaucracy he once ruled like a pharaoh and dreaming of a new museum whose fate lies in limbo.
His trademark wide-brimmed hat and safari vest may be hung up for now, but he is brimming with ideas on how to revive Egypt's antiquities and bring back tourists after years of unrest.
A long-planned new facility out by the pyramids, called the Grand Egyptian Museum, was intended to open this year, but the government says it is short the one billion dollars needed to complete the project.
"Government routine cannot work for museums," Hawass said in an interview in his office, asserting that state bureaucracy is one of the main reasons the current Egyptian Museum has fallen into disrepair. For the new museum, "the directorship, the curatorship, it can be from America, from Germany, from England, from any place in the world. You need this museum to be international."
He also says private, international sponsorship is needed.
"If you pay $10,000, I put your name, written on the wall of the museum. If you pay $100,000, I put your name on the facade of the museum. If you build a whole gallery, I will name (the gallery after you)," he said, adding that the government should announce that Egyptian monuments belong to the entire world, not just Egyptians.
As to the challenge of moving artifacts from the current museum in downtown Cairo over bumpy roads to the site of the new facility on the city's outskirts, Hawass says "any TV channel" would pick up the tab in return for exclusive rights to document the artifacts' restoration and transport. "They will run in competition to do this," he said.
Hawass knows TV. He was once a staple on the Discovery Channel and had his own reality show on the History Channel called "Chasing Mummies," the promo for which introduced him by saying "100,000 years of history belong to one man... Only he holds the key to the world's greatest ruins."
The productions earned him droves of fans abroad but led to accusations of grandstanding in Egypt, where he was seen by many as a self-promoter who mistreated subordinates and abused his position for personal gain. He lost his job as head of antiquities after the 2011 uprising and faced corruption charges, of which he was later cleared.
But his swashbuckling antics gave a boost to Egyptian archaeology, with fundraising efforts and international tours of King Tut artifacts generating tens of millions of dollars.
His name is still associated with many of Egypt's most famous digs, including grand discoveries such as the Valley of the Golden Mummies in Bahariya Oasis in 1999 and the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut almost a decade later. He has long campaigned to bring home ancient artifacts spirited out of Egypt during colonial times, and once said he had managed to recover 5,000 pieces.
Zahi was an outspoken supporter of his longtime patron Mubarak, and has praised President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who led the military overthrow of an Islamist president in 2013 and was elected last year. But that support has not translated into an official role other than promotional work for tourism in Egypt.
When asked about the state of antiquities today, Hawass says things have improved over the last year, carefully avoiding direct criticism of anyone in particular. But he points out that there is still theft, mismanagement and corruption - noting two incidents in recent months in which artifacts were found to have been replaced with replicas.
"This did not happen before," he said, adding that in order to prevent such abuses, "we need to restore the people before we restore antiquities," by boosting employees' salaries and providing them with health insurance.
Hawass insisted during the interview that he is focused on writing and has no desire to return to his previous position as head of the country's antiquities. "People come here every day and ask me to come back... I think I did my duty, and it's time for me now to publish all that I discovered."
But at the glitzy launch of his latest book earlier this month at a ceremony at a five-star hotel attended by hundreds of Cairo's elite, he was less guarded about possible ambitions to return.
"Maybe," he said, as a torrent of fans pressed to take photos next to him.
Author: Brian Rohan | Source: The Associated Press [June 30, 2015]
The Manhattan district attorney’s office on Tuesday made public the largest antiquities seizure in American history and asked a judge to grant it custody of a startling 2,622 artifacts recovered from storage rooms affiliated with an imprisoned Madison Avenue art dealer.The recovered artifacts are from India and other places in southern Asia. Prosecutors said the dealer had cached the items in an assortment of hideaways in Manhattan and Queens [Credit: Michael Kirby Smith/The New York Times]
The artifacts, valued by the authorities at $107.6 million, were described in papers filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan as having been looted from India and other places in southern Asia and smuggled into the United States by the dealer, Subhash Kapoor.
In their complaint, prosecutors said Mr. Kapoor, 65, had cached the items in an assortment of hideaways in Manhattan and Queens. They were confiscated during raids that began in 2012 and continued through last year.
The seized items included bronze and stone statues of Hindu deities, many of them ancient masterworks worth several million dollars each.
The authorities said their goal in gaining custody of the items was to set in motion the return of the stolen objects to India and their other countries of origin. Officials also hope to prosecute Mr. Kapoor, an American citizen, in the United States. Currently he is awaiting trial in India on charges of plundering archaeological sites and conspiring with black market traders to send illicit artifacts overseas. American officials are planning to extradite him after his case is settled.
Mr. Kapoor, whose defunct gallery, Art of the Past, sold hundreds of objects to prominent American museums and collectors, has denied any wrongdoing.
Federal agents recovered looted artifacts from public storage rooms in Queens in March. The rooms were affiliated with an imprisoned Madison Avenue art dealer [Credit: Michael Kirby Smith/The New York Times]
“At the present time we are at a distinct disadvantage because Mr. Kapoor is in an Indian jail and all the facts in this matter are known by him,” said Kenneth J. Kaplan, a lawyer for Mr. Kapoor. Manhattan prosecutors declined to comment on the case.
Since an initial raid on Mr. Kapoor’s gallery by Homeland Security Investigations agents in 2012, three of his associates have agreed to criminal penalties in exchange for cooperating with investigators, according to officials and lawyers. The case, which now extends to four continents and is being pursued in conjunction with Indian officials, has been named Operation Hidden Idol.
Mr. Kapoor’s office manager, Aaron M. Freedman, 43, of Princeton, N.J., pleaded guilty in 2013 to six counts of criminal possession of stolen property valued at $35 million and, according to his lawyer, helped officials track down some of Mr. Kapoor’s hidden storage locations.
In addition, Mr. Kapoor’s sister, Sushma Sareen, a 61-year-old Queens resident, pleaded guilty in November to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing justice and was sentenced to conditional release. In 2013, she had been charged with receiving and possessing several million dollars’ worth of ancient bronze statues, which remain missing. She is also cooperating, according to investigators.
Federal authorities have identified 18 American museums as owning a total of 500 items sold or donated by Mr. Kapoor. Several museums have recently turned in objects judged to be illicit, while others have said they are satisfied that their Kapoor items were legally acquired.
Author: Tom Mashberg | Source: The New York Times [April 14, 2015]
A team of American explorers on Thursday claimed to have discovered silver treasure from the infamous 17th-century Scottish pirate William Kidd in a shipwreck off the coast of Madagascar.A diver handles the suspected loot [Credit: Malagasy Presidency]
Marine archaeologist Barry Clifford told reporters he had found a 50-kilogramme (110-pound) silver bar in the wreck of Kidd's ship the "Adventure Gallery", close to the small island of Sainte Marie.
But UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural body, immediately criticised Clifford's methods and said he may have damaged a precious archeological site in his hunt for treasure.
Captain Kidd, who was born in Scotland in about 1645, was first employed by British authorities to hunt pirates, before he himself turned into a ruthless criminal of the high seas.
After looting a ship laden with valuable cargo in 1698, he was caught, imprisoned and questioned by the British parliament before being executed in Wapping, close to the River Thames, in 1701.
The fate of much of his booty, however, has remained a mystery, sparking intrigue and excitement for generations of treasure-hunters.
Clifford, who was filmed by a documentary crew lifting the silver ingot off the sea bed, handed it over to Madagascan President Hery Rajaonarimampianina on Sainte Marie on Thursday.
Underwater explorer Barry Clifford, right, presents a silver bar he believes is part of the treasure of the pirate Captain Kidd, to the president of Madagascar, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, left, on Sainte Marie Island, Madagascar [Credit: AP Photo/Martin Vogl]
Soldiers guarded the apparent treasure at the ceremony, which was attended by the US and British ambassadors.
"We discovered 13 ships in the bay," Clifford said. "We've been working on two of them over the last 10 weeks. One of them is the 'Fire Dragon', the other is Captain Kidd's ship, the 'Adventure Galley'."
October Films, the British production team behind the project, struck a more cautious note, saying that the silver ingot was of the correct date and appeared similar to other ingots linked to Kidd.
"Further analysis of the ingot will be required to confirm these preliminary findings," the company added.
Archaeologist John de Bry, who attended the ceremony, said the shipwreck and silver bar were "irrefutable proof that this is indeed the treasure of the 'Adventure Gallery'."
The ship, which was armed with 34 big guns, is thought to have been scuttled by Kidd during an expedition to the Indian Ocean.
Treasure hunt criticised
"This is a fantastic find that shows the hidden story of Madagascar," Robert Yamate, US ambassador to Madagascar, said. "This is great for tourism... and it is just as important as historical preservation."
But UNESCO said it was "very worried" about Clifford's methods, and expressed concern that a professional archaeologist had not been permanently on site to oversee the search.
"It is basically a film team going and directly intervening at an archeological site -- that should not be the case," Ulrike Guerin, underwater specialist at UNESCO in Paris, told AFP.
"You should have a competent underwater archaeologist there. We do not say everything that has been done is bad. We will go and check, but there are certain doubts about the scientific handling of the intervention. It is not enough that you find the treasure if you destroy the whole archaeological site with it."
Guerin said that Madagascan authorities last week asked UNESCO to send a team to take control of the site.
Soldiers watched over the silver at a ceremony attended by the president and diplomats [Credit: BBC]
UN experts are due to arrive by the end of next month.
UNESCO has clashed with Clifford before when he announced last year he believed he had identified the wreck of Columbus's flagship that sank in 1492 off the northern coast of Haiti.
The claim sparked global publicity but was soon disproved by UNESCO, which determined it was a ship from a later period.
Clifford is best known as the discoverer and excavator of the world's first fully verified pirate shipwreck, the Whydah, in 1984.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Egypt's embassy in London, the Ministry of Antiquities succeeded to recover a piece of a column that was stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country many years ago.The recovered piece [Credit: Ahram Online]
Ali Ahmed, head of the Antiquities Repatriation Department, told Ahram Online that the returned piece is carved of sandstone and engraved with a scene depicting the god Amun Re. It was a part of a column found at Tuthmosis hall at Karnak Temple on Luxor's east bank.
The piece was in the gallery of Karnak that was subjected to looting in the aftermath of January 2011 revolution.
The piece is registered in the Ministry of Antiquities official documents and dates back to the 18th dynasty. It is 36cm wide and 29cm tall.
Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty explained that the piece was in the possession in a British citizen who bought it from the market without knowing that it was a stolen piece. Upon his knowledge, the British citizen agreed to return the piece back to Egypt.
The piece is to be sent to the restoration lab of the Egyptian museum for inspection and restoration before returning it to its original position in Karnak.
«Not a secret, that each of us is drawn by personal fears, and at times they, our fears clear up such desires which we admit to nobody», — the architect of the Concrete Moon, Antonino Cardillo philosophises. — «People always are surprised, how the culture on different continents is unlike. But it seems to me, the difference in cultures is rather doubtful. And it is frequent, as it is paradoxical, discrepancies become the unique tool in search of own individuality».
The Concrete House in suburb of Melbourn
Uniqueness of the Concrete House just in not similarity of two half. The building is constructed by request of the private person, on a rectangular site, in suburb of Melbourn. It's divided on two excellent from each other parts: one — for public — is similar to the turned ship or on the amusing concrete moon which follows directly from a lobby. Such design — an unexpected deviation from a direct way.
The Second — private — half of building is similar to a narrow and long case on which perimetre the gallery with an exit in a garden lasts.
Similarity and Distinctions
«Each of two so unlike parts introduces the mite in creation of the general harmony of the house», — the architect adds. Details of one half of building unexpectedly arise in another though are developed by different principles. So the concept of this house falls outside the limits simple understanding about two half conflicting among themselves. Design elements are interconnected, and sounding of one finds an echo in other. Especially well it is visible in a main hall in which visitors have doubts: where similarity comes to an end and distinctions begin.
About Me: Teresa Fay Vålbekk Basic Info Hometown: Oslo County: Oslo School: Academy Secondary School Height: 170 Hair Color: Brown Eye color: Brown Ethnic background: Norwegian PHOTO GALLERY Special thanks and credits towww.frokennorge.no source: (Thank you and credits to http://freedom-guy.blogspot.com/ and all sources for the information and pictures)
Miss England 2011 will be crowned on 19th of July 2011 at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole. The winner will represent England in Miss World 2011 Pageant. Over 80 heats have been held over the last year with over 10,000 girls entering the competition. Now just sixty one winners will participate in the national final of Miss England 2011. Check out the photos of some finalists.
hfinalist
Courtesy of Miss England.
Gallery: Miss England 2011 Pageant
source: (Thank you and credits to http://us-beauty-pageant.blogspot.com/ and all sources for the information and pictures)
About Me: Ellen Svendsen Basic Info Hometown: stavanger County: Rogaland School: wang elite Height: 170 Hair Color: blonde Eye color: brown Ethnic background: Norwegian PHOTO GALLERY Special thanks and credits towww.frokennorge.no
Following diplomatic negotiations, Egypt has succeeded to stop the sale of a unique ancient Egyptian statue at auction hall in Germany.The ivory statue dates from the Late New Kingdom to Early Late Period [Credit: Aton Gallery]
Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty announced that legal procedures and investigations are now taking place in Germany in order to return the statue to its homeland.
Eldamaty told Ahram Online that the statue was discovered in 2008 in Aswan by a Swiss archaeological mission and was stored since in the Elephantine archaeological galleries.
In 2013, the Elephantine galleries were subject to looting and the statue was stolen among other objects.
At the time, the Ministry of Antiquities created a list of the stolen objects and put it on the red list of Interpol, in order to guarantee its return if it appeared in any auction hall or on the antiquities trading market.
Ahmed Ali, head of the repatriation of stolen antiquities section, said that the statue is carved in ivory and depicts a figure holding a gazelle on its shoulders.
The United States on Tuesday officially returned 25 artifacts looted over the decades from Italy, including Etruscan vases, 1st-century frescoes and precious books that ended up in U.S. museums, universities and private collections.A third century B.C. terracotta head, left, and a second century Roman bronze figure representing Mars, are shown during a press conference in Rome, Tuesday, May 26, 2015 [Credit: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino]
Italy has been on a campaign to recover looted artifacts, using the courts and public shaming to compel museums and collectors to return them, and has won back several important pieces.
A first century B.C. fresco taken from Pompeii is displayed during a press conference in Rome, Tuesday, May 26, 2015 [Credit: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino]
The items returned Tuesday were either spontaneously turned over to U.S. authorities or seized by police after investigators noticed them in Christie's and Sotheby's auction catalogues, gallery listings, or as a result of customs searches, court cases or tips. One 17th-century Venetian cannon was seized by Boston border patrol agents as it was being smuggled from Egypt to the U.S. inside construction equipment, police said.
A Carabinieri Italian paramilitary police officer stands next to ancient artifacts returned to Italy by The United States, on display in a Rome Carabinieri barracks, Tuesday, May 26, 2015 [Credit: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino]
U.S. Ambassador John Phillips joined Italy's carabinieri art police to show off the haul. It included Etruscan vases from the Toledo Museum of Art and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 17th-century botany books from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and a manuscript from the 1500s stolen from the Turin archdiocese in 1990 that ended up listed in the University of South Florida's special collections.
"Italy is blessed with a rich cultural legacy and therefore cursed to suffer the pillaging of important cultural artifacts," Phillips said, adding that Interpol estimates the illicit trade in cultural heritage produces more than $9 billion in profits each year.
An ancient Etruscan 'Kalpis', a vase dated 500 B.C., right, is displayed during a press conference in Rome, Tuesday, May 26, 2015 [Credit: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino]
Police said several of the items were allegedly sold by Italian dealers Giacomo Medici and Gianfranco Becchina, both convicted of trafficking in plundered Roman artifacts. After the objects were recovered, Italian authorities confirmed their provenance.
A detail of the lid of a second century Roman marble sarcophagus, representing a woman, is seen as it's displayed during a press conference in Rome, Tuesday, May 26, 2015 [Credit: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino]
Police stressed that most collectors and museums willingly gave up the artifacts after learning they had been stolen. The Minneapolis museum director contacted the Italian culture ministry after reading an article about one suspect piece, police said.
An Italian Carabiniere paramilitary police officer stands next to an uncredited first century fresco, displayed during a press conference in Rome, Tuesday, May 26, 2015 [Credit: AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino]
Phillips praised the collaboration between Italy's police and U.S. Homeland Security and border patrol agents. He also said the U.S. had returned more than 7,600 objects to over 30 countries and foreign citizens since 2007.
Father's Day: Kim Kardashian with her grandma MJ in Beverly Hills
E! Reality starKim Kardashiangreeted her millions of fans across the globe and sent her well-wishes onFather’s Dayby tweeting "Happy Father's Day to all of the daddys out there!"
Father's Day: Kim Kardashian with her grandma MJ in Beverly Hills
Kim Kardashian spent her day with her grand parents and went on excursion trip in Beverly Hills on Sunday (June 19). She spent her time with her grandma MJ, shopping off at Williams Sonoma to pick out more items for her wedding registry.
Then she met with her brother Robert and her grandpa, Kim tweeted, "Spending the day w @RobKardashian & my grandpa! He is 96 years old but just tried to sneakily tell me he was 75! LOL"
Then she met with her brother Robert and her grandpa, Kim tweeted, "Spending the day w @RobKardashian & my grandpa! He is 96 years old but just tried to sneakily tell me he was 75! LOL"
With the family time coming ahead of tonight's all-new episode of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians (airing at 10PM on E!), Miss Kardashian also sent out well-wishes to all the proud papas around the globe, as she warmly messaged to her millions of followers, "Happy Father's Day to all of the daddys out there!" See More pictures in the gallery below:
Father's Day: Kim Kardashian with her grandma MJ in Beverly Hills
Father's Day: Kim Kardashian with her grandma MJ in Beverly Hills
Father's Day: Kim Kardashian with her grandma MJ in Beverly Hills
About Me: Hannah Grave Basic Info Hometown: BODØ County: Nordland Height: 174 Hair Color: Brown Eye color: Blue, but use brown lentils to normal. Ethnic background: Norwegian PHOTO GALLERY Special thanks and credits towww.frokennorge.no
About Me: Guro Olaussen Basic Info Hometown: Karasjok County: Finnmark School: Sami High School Karasjok Height: 179 Hair Color: Brown Eye color: Brown Ethnic background: Norwegian PHOTO GALLERY
About Me : Anette Hunstad Frøland Basic Info Hometown: Askim
County: Østfold
School: Askim Upper Secondary School
Height: 173
Hair Color: Blond
Eye color: Blue
Ethnic background: Norwegian
PHOTO GALLERY Courtesy ofwww.frokennorge.no source: (Thank you and credits to http://freedom-guy.blogspot.com/ and all sources for the information and pictures)
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