Why Ottoman Sultans Locked Away Their Brothers
Fratricide among rival princes was legal and widely practiced until 1603, so confinement to the palace was actually an improvement.
The Lumpy Pearls That Enchanted the Medicis
There’s a specific term for these irregular pearls: “baroque,” from the Portuguese barroco.
The Man Whose Face Got Stuck Like That
No one could have predicted Franz Xaver Messerschmidt’s turn to the bizarre.
A Roman Feast… of Death!
The banquet hall was painted black from ceiling to floor. By the pale flicker of grave lamps, the invited senators coud make out a row of tombstones.
Burn This Book!
Li Zhi’s exasperation with the corruption, greed, and superficiality of the powerbrokers in his society fueled his rebellious writing.
The Occult Remedy the Puritans Embraced
Why did the Puritans embrace a medical treatment that looked suspiciously like black magic?
The Afterlife of Royal Hair
Whether worn as a lovelock or set in elaborate jewelry, the clipped-off hair of Kings and Queens outlived the monarchs themselves.
Paper Theaters: The Home Entertainment of Yesteryear
In the nineteenth century, enterprising toymakers developed a novel way to bring theater into the home.
The Souls of Magnets
Lodestones are dull, lumpy, and slate-gray, but their “magnetic intelligence” made them fabulously expensive.
The Movable Tent Cities of the Ottoman Empire
The most lavish among them were festooned with colorful appliqué and brightened with gilded leather.