Fashion & style
fromElite Traveler
4 days agoThe History of the Snuff Box and Its Rise as a Luxury Collectible
Smoking has seen a cultural resurgence among celebrities, yet tobacco use in America has reached its lowest level in 2024.
The new webpage, entitled 'How have objects come to be in the V&A?', points out that for some objects, their journeys have involved known histories of violence, coercion or injustice, while for others there remains uncertainty over exactly how they came to be here.
This project demonstrates the combined power of science, the study of human remains and historical research to discover new information about the six mortuary chests and their occupants which would not have been available to us a generation ago.
The Grade II listed building is on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register and is currently recorded as being in poor condition. The national Marine Society and Sea Cadets (MSSC), which held the lease, has confirmed that it can no longer meet the building's repair obligations and will surrender the lease so that restoration can be carried out by new occupants.
Treasures unearthed by hundreds of archaeologists so far during work on the controversial planned HS2 train line have been shown exclusively to the BBC. The 450,000 objects, which are being held in a secret warehouse, include a possible Roman gladiator's tag, a hand axe that may be more than 40,000 years old and 19th Century gold dentures. It is an "unprecedented" amount and array of items, which will yield new insights into Britain's past, says the Centre for British Archaeology.
So, on Sunday 25th January, members of the reenactment society will converge on The Mall from all across the country, some arriving already dressed in buff coats and broad-brimmed hats, others changing into period clothing on arrival. There are pikes to be shouldered, muskets checked, and a few tentative practice swings as old drill is recalled, before the ranks are set and order restored.
During the mid-18th century, while Delhi was rocked by instability, many of its leading poets, painters and craftspeople migrated to Lucknow and Faizabad in search of new patrons. Through this population shift, Lucknow flourished as a courtly capital, its wealth matched by a cosmopolitan atmosphere that attracted Indian elites and European adventurers alike. The ruling Nawabs of Awadh were keen to eclipse Delhi and supported the trades, commissioning many fine jewelled and decorated objects - including, of course, ceremonial swords.
A magnificent leather and golden silk slipper believed to have once been worn, then lost, or given away by King James II, is going on display at Killerton, a mansion in Devon which houses the National Trust's costume collection. He is said to have worn the slippers when visiting Coventry in in 1687, where a grand banquet was held in his honour, and may have given them to one of his hosts.