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Scarab Bracelet of Tutankhamun,

New Kingdom, late 18th Dynasty, reign of Tutankhamun, ca. 1332-1323 BC. 

The scarab bracelet of Tutankhamun is considered a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian jewelry. The rigid gold bracelet is composed of two semicircles joined together by a hinge on one side and a clasp on the other. The central plaque bears a cloisonné scarab inlaid with lapis lazuli.

The scarab, symbol of the morning sun, rebirth and protection in ancient Egyptian culture, was the most popular motif used in jewelry. The small circumference of this bracelet suggests that it was made for King Tutankhamun when he was a child.

The bracelet itself is also inlaid with carnelian, lapis lazuli, and colored glass. It was found in the cartouche shaped box that contained several other objects, including the fine pair of earrings which also seem to have been personal possessions.

In ancient Egypt, scarab bracelets were a popular form of jewelry. The scarab beetle held great significance in Egyptian culture, symbolizing rebirth and protection.

These bracelets were often made of precious materials such as gold or semi-precious stones, and they featured a scarab beetle motif. The scarab beetle was believed to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits.

Scarab bracelets were worn by both men and women and were considered a fashionable accessory as well as a symbol of religious and spiritual beliefs.

The Egyptians adopted the scarab (Ateuchus sacer) as a symbol of the sun god, because they were familiar with the sight of the beetle rolling a ball of dung on the ground and this action suggested to them that the invisible power that rolled the sun daily across the sky could be represented pictorially as a scarab.

From the Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), Valley of the Kings, West Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 62360

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Marble disk depicting Eros on a dolphin, playing the flute, 1st century CE

Considering the iron remnants at the top, the disk was probably suspended from the beams between columns, where it could swing freely.

Altes Museum SK 1041

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Türkiye'de kadının var olma mücadelesinin öncülerinden olan yazar Duygu Asena'yı aramızdan ayrılışının 19. yılında saygıyla anıyoruz.

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“We do not remember days. We remember moments.”

— Cesare Pavese

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“You have to meet people where they are, and sometimes you have to leave them there.”

— Iyanla Vanzant

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Denizde Gün Batımı (1877) - Ivan Ayvazoski (1817-1900)

Sakıp Sabancı Museum

w85 h46

Oil on canvas

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I take pride in being a funny ass mf.

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sometimes staying in one place actually takes more energy than allowing yourself to move forward

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Back of a chair of King Tutankhamun, depicting the god Heh, spirit of the million years and eternity.

Egyptian chairs were constructed with a variety of materials with wood often as the base material. For extra comfort, seats could be outfitted with cordage, as well as covered with cloth or leather.

This chair is an excellent example of the construction of ordinary chairs in Egypt. The high quality of its joinery and the harmony of its proportions testify to the skill of ancient Egyptian carpenters.

Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62). Valley of the Kings, Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 62029

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Marine-style lentoid "pilgrim flask" with stylized octopus motif, c. 1500-1450 BCE, from Palaikastro, Crete. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion, Crete (JSTOR)

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Benito Mussolini: Founder of Fascism

Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) was the founder of fascism and dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He led the country into a highly authoritarian regime and then dragged it into the Second World War (1939-45) on the side of Nazi Germany. Mussolini was captured and shot by Italian partisans in April 1945.

Fascism is a complex ideology to define. Fascism’s main characteristics include a cult of the leader, opposition to parliamentary democracy, the exaltation of violence and militarism, the supremacy of the state over individuals, and totalitarian and imperialistic ambitions. Mussolini was the first to establish a fully-fledged fascist regime and became a model for other movements in Europe, thus contributing to the spread of totalitarianism across the continent between the two world wars.

From Socialism to Fascism

Benito Mussolini was born on 29 July 1883 in a rural town, Dovia di Predappio, in the region of Emilia-Romagna. His father, Alessandro, was a socialist blacksmith, and his mother Rosa was a devout Catholic school teacher. From childhood, Benito was exposed to radical, republican, and anticlerical ideas, which profoundly influenced him. After graduating as an elementary school teacher, he worked briefly in Switzerland between 1902 and 1904, where he joined local socialist circles and became acquainted with the international Marxist organization. Arrested several times for his political activities, he returned to Italy after an amnesty (1904), where he resumed teaching and began his political career within the Italian Socialist Party (PSI).

Over the years, Mussolini gained prominence as a journalist and revolutionary theorist. The oratorical skills he developed as a journalist would later be useful, together with his theatricality, in his speeches as Duce with which he managed to woo the masses. Thanks to his rhetorical prowess and aggressive editorial stance, in 1912 he was appointed editor of the socialist newspaper Avanti!, the official voice of the PSI. From this position, Mussolini became one of the party’s most radical voices. However, at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, he suddenly changed his stance: although the PSI was neutralist, Mussolini declared himself in favour of Italy’s intervention in the conflict, believing it to be a historic opportunity to regenerate the country and spark a social revolution. This change of direction led to a split with the party, from which he was expelled in November 1914. In the same month, Mussolini founded a new newspaper, Il Popolo d'Italia, this time supported and funded by industrialists, through which he propagated nationalist and interventionist ideas.

When in 1915 Italy entered WWI, Mussolini volunteered and was wounded in an explosion in 1917. At the end of the conflict in 1918, Italy found itself in a dramatic situation of inflation, unemployment, labour unrest, and widespread dissatisfaction with the so-called “mutilated victory”, according to which Italy, despite being victorious, had been betrayed by the Allies and had not obtained what it had been promised, particularly the territories of Fiume and Dalmatia. In this unstable and violent climate, Mussolini founded the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento in Milan in 1919, a movement that united former combatants, nationalists, revolutionary trade unionists, and anti-communists. The movement exploited the discontent of the middle classes, the fear of communism, and the support of the landowners.

In 1919, the fascists failed to win any seats in the national elections. However, starting in 1920, they began to expand rapidly, thanks in part to the systematic use of political violence. In this first phase Mussolini benefitted from the action of the squadristi, paramilitary groups which attacked unions, socialist cooperatives, and opposition newspapers, often with the tacit complicity of local authorities. In 1921, Mussolini founded the National Fascist Party (PNF), and he was elected to parliament that same year. The party espoused a strongly nationalist, authoritarian, and anti-communist rhetoric, and presented itself as a bulwark against social chaos and parliamentary paralysis.

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⇒ Benito Mussolini: Founder of Fascism