The Chapel (Arnold Böcklin, 1873)

René Vincent (1879-1936), 'Son Breviaire', ''La Vie Parisienne'', #47, Nov. 20, 1920

By Peter Trapasso

temple at the end of the road

Manfred and the Alpine Witch (John Martin, 1837)

Illustrations for Yukio Mishima's The Sound of Waves | Shiosai | 潮騒, by Lâm Tùng Nguyễn.

2,300-Year-Old Plush Bird from the Altai Mountains of Siberia, c.400-300 BCE: this figure was crafted with a felt body and reindeer-fur stuffing, all of which remains intact

This plush bird was sealed within the frozen barrows of Pazyryk, Siberia, for more than two millennia, where a unique microclimate enabled it to be preserved. The permafrost ice lense formation that runs below the barrows provided an insulating layer, preventing the soil from heating during the summer and allowing it to quickly freeze during the winter; these conditions produced a separate microclimate within the stone walls of the barrows themselves, thereby aiding in the preservation of the artifacts inside.

This is just one of the many well-preserved artifacts that have been found at Pazyryk. These artifacts are attributed to the Scythian/Altaic cultures.

Currently housed at the Hermitage Museum.