Latest news with #culturalheritage
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Vienna to beam Strauss' iconic Blue Danube waltz into space to mark his 200th birthday
To mark Johann Strauss II's 200th birthday, Vienna is sending his iconic waltz The Blue Danube into space - decades after it was left off the Voyager Golden Record. View on euronews
Telegraph
20 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Trigger warning put on ancient Egyptian slave statues
The National Trust has put a trigger warning on a pair of ancient Egyptian slave statues. The statues, at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire, depict two children clothed in gold, raising torches and standing on either side of a staircase. A report published by the Prosperity Institute revealed that a trigger warning has been placed next to them. A placard says the Trust is 'working to redisplay and reinterpret these statues' so that the 'appalling histories of slavery and the slave trade' can be recognised. It reads: 'Today, the depiction of black people in European sculpture causes upset and distress to many. We don't want to censor or deny the way colonial histories are woven into the fabric of our places. 'Cliveden, including these statues, is Grade I-listed, meaning it has been identified as nationally significant. So we're working to redisplay and reinterpret these statues in a way that acknowledges the appalling histories of slavery and the slave trade. 'We invite you to consider what they represent about British and global history.' Dr Radomir Tylecote, managing director of the Prosperity Institute, said the report exposes how the National Trust 'uses woke rhetoric while pursuing policies that patently reduce accessibility.' He added: 'Supporters of the Trust have defended its woke initiatives by claiming they make the organisation more accessible and inclusive.' The statues, also known as torcheres, were created in the 19th century by Val D'Osne, a leading French art foundry, after a model by the French visual artist Mathurin Moreau. They were bought by Hugh Grosvenor, the 1st Duke of Westminster, who lived at Cliveden from 1868 to 1893. They incorporate several stylistic motifs reflecting the fashions and cultural interests of the time. 'Legacy of colonialism' The figures are modelled as children, but their pose and function derive from a much older European decorative tradition known as the 'Blackamoor,' which was a European art style that depicted highly-stylised figures, often African males, in subservient or exoticised form. The term is now viewed as racist or culturally insensitive. A trigger warning was also added to the website of Trengwainton Garden, a National Trust property in Cornwall. The website discusses the history of Sir Rose Price, the owner of the property in 1814, whose wealth came from inherited sugar plantations in Jamaica. A box reads: 'Please be aware: The following web page discusses the legacy of colonialism at Trengwainton and historic slavery and includes references to histories that some people may find upsetting.' The Prosperity Institute report argues that in recent years the management of the Trust, which is regulated by the Charity Commission, has been neglecting its principal duty of restoring houses and instead focused on projects that 'do not fall within the charity's core remit'. It also claims the Trust has started to added labels to its properties highlighting links to slavery and colonialism 'without providing sufficient context or balance' in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. A National Trust spokesperson said: 'Everything we do is guided by our charitable purpose. 'Our new strategy is clear that we want to increase people's access to places of nature, beauty and history and looking after our shared national heritage will always be a crucial part of that.'
New York Times
a day ago
- General
- New York Times
A Global Community Joins ‘the Conversation' at the Met's Rockefeller Wing
Round tables covered in white cloths surrounded the Temple of Dendur. Women wore fascinators, Nigerian geles and Hawaiian lei po'o, while men wore Yoruba agbadas, Hawaiian kāʻei and the occasional tuxedo, all in sartorial attempts to honor the lineage that brought them to the event. Curators, artists and archaeologists gathered for dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate the culmination of four years of work — and the legacy of a historied American family — on Friday night. They were toasting the reopening of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing and its collection of work from Africa, the ancient Americas and Oceania. Over lobster, foie gras, wine and champagne, friends of the Met and members of the Rockefeller family mingled among the 1,726 objects in the new gallery, which cost $70 million to complete and has 40,000 square feet dedicated to the arts of those regions. 'It is a coming together of a very global community,' said Max Hollein, the chief executive and director of the Met. 'And in this time, it's so much about respecting cultural heritage in many different ways but also making sure that there's a deep understanding, a deeper appreciation.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Nearly 3,000-year-old Mayan city unearthed. Why it's named 'The Grandparents'
An international team of archaeologists has announced the discovery of a nearly 3,000-year-old ancient Mayan city in a northeastern region of Guatemala known for its tropical forests and ruins. The site Los Abuelos, Spanish for 'The Grandparents," was a ritual center for the entire region, the country's culture ministry said in a statement May 29, and home to one of the oldest and most prominent Mayan shrines yet discovered. It takes its name from the discovery of two human-like sculptures found at the site, called an "ancestral couple" by researchers. The city, along with two other nearby sites, Petnal and Cambrayal, constitute an urban triangle researchers say are key discoveries in the study of the origins of Mayan society in the Petén region of northern Guatemala, which borders Mexico and Belize. "The discovery of the city called Los Abuelos stands out for its ancient characteristics and its exceptional features of historical value, which contribute significantly to the understanding of the Mayan civilization," the ministry said in the statement. The Mayans lived in modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras, with origins dating back 4,000 years, around 2,000 B.C, with the heart of its empire based in Guatemala's tropical lowlands. Northern Guatemala's Petén Province, where the ruins were found, is a large forest region with thousands of architectural and artistic remains of the Mayan civilization. They date from the Preclassic Period of 600 B.C. to the decline and eventual collapse of the empire's urban centers around 900 A.D., according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO. More: Lasers reveal Mayan civilization of 'unimaginable scale' More archaeological news: Iron Age find: British 'bling' from 2,000 years ago included horse harnesses Archaeologists found Los Abuelos was occupied as early as 800 B.C., Guatemala's culture ministry said, which makes the city more than 2,800 years old. In a palace in the nearby settlement of Cambrayal, archaeologists found what they call a sophisticated system of canals, the statement said, and in Petnal, they found a 108-foot pyramid with murals. The excavation was funded in part by the Comenius University of Bratislava, Slovakia, under the direction of Dr. Milan Kovác, and aided by an international consortium of researchers and supporters. The discoveries are part of the wider Uaxactún Archaeological Project, a 17-year effort to expand archaeological research across a 460-square-mile area surrounding the original Uaxactun archaeological site. Los Abuelos is roughly 13 miles northeast of Uaxactún. Uaxactun is one of the earliest archaeological sites in the Mayan lowlands, according to the World Monuments Fund, and became a foundation for modern Mesoamerican studies when formal research into the site began in 1924. It lies within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Tikal National Park, though it does not get nearly as many visitors as the nearby Tikal site. It was included on the 2014 World Monuments Watch, a list curated by the nonprofit organization to highlight monuments facing urgent challenges and preservation opportunities. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ancient Maya city unearthed in Guatemala
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
Tourist jumps into China's Terracotta Army damaging ancient warriors
A domestic tourist climbed over a fence and jumped into a section of the world-famous display of China's terracotta Army, damaging two ancient clay warriors, authorities said Saturday. The 30-year-old was visiting the museum housing the terracotta Army in the city of Xi'an on Friday when he 'climbed over the guardrail and the protective net and jumped', public security officials said in a statement. The man surnamed Sun was found to 'suffer from mental illness' and the case is under investigation. He 'pushed and pulled' the clay warriors and two were 'damaged to varying degrees', the statement said. He was 'controlled' by security personnel. The pit he jumped into is up to 5.4 metres (18 ft) deep, according to the museum's website. Built around 209 BC to stand guard over the tomb of the first emperor, the 8,000-strong terracotta Army is one of China's most important archaeological discoveries and considered a symbol of ancient Chinese artistic and military sophistication. A major tourist attraction in Xi'an, capital of the northern province of Shaanxi, it has been a Unesco world heritage site since 1987. A worker at the museum told AFP on Saturday that the display was open as usual.
