2,400-year-old solid-gold bongs were used by Scythians for cannabis

These 2,400-year-old solid-gold bongs were used by Scythians for cannabis and opium, tests confirm.

Archaeologists in southern Russia recently found nearly seven pounds of truly spectacular, well preserved and solid gold artifacts from the Scythains, a nomadic people often written about by Greek historian Herodotus. In addition to the importance of the artistic depictions on the artifacts — which included jewelry, cups and a couple bucket-shaped vessels — the scientists made another important discovery when they had criminologists test the black residue inside the bucket-shaped containers.

The results showed traces of marijuana and opium, proving that these containers are indeed ancient bongs of sorts.

From the National Geographic report:

The results came back positive for opium and cannabis, confirming a practice first reported by Herodotus. The Greek historian claimed that the Scythians used a plant to produce smoke “that no Grecian vapour-bath can surpass … transported by the vapor, [they] shout aloud.”

Because the sticky residue was found on the inside of the vessels, Belinski and Gass think they were used to brew and drink a strong opium concoction, while cannabis was burning nearby. “That both drugs were being used simultaneously is beyond doubt,” said Anton Gass, an archaeologist at the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin.

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(Click the link within the above article for the National Geographic report)

OMG it's Tommy Chong!

Clumsy Tourist Trips and Smashes 4,000-Year-Old Greek Vase

Last Saturday, a hapless museum-goer was taking in the ancient exhibits at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum on the Greek island of Crete, when she suddenly tripped and fell. In doing so she, grabbed onto a 4,000 year-old Minoan vase to break her fall and shamefully smashed the prehistoric artifact.

The Greek Culture Ministry said the culprit suffered minor injuries to her legs, while the vase on the other hand, was completely destroyed. Restorers at the institution are optimistic, however. After assessing the damage and sending it to be repaired, they have declared that the vase could be back on display as soon as today.

The same vase was discovered by archaeologists bearing traces of an ancient restoration, suggesting that it was damaged by some clumsy Cretan 4,000 years ago.

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The Feast of the Gods 1514/1529 - Giovanni Bellini and Titian

Giovanni Bellini and Titian’s The Feast of the Gods is one of the greatest Renaissance paintings in the United States by two fathers of Venetian art. In this illustration of a scene from Ovid's Fasti, the gods, with Jupiter, Neptune, and Apollo among them, revel in a wooded pastoral setting, eating and drinking, attended by nymphs and satyrs. According to the tale, the lustful Priapus, god of fertility, stealthily lifts the gown of the sleeping nymph Lotis, as seen in the painting. A moment later, he will be foiled by the braying of Silenus' ass and the assembled deities will laugh at Priapus' misadventure.

The Feast was the first in a series of mythologies, or bacchanals, commissioned by Duke Alfonso d'Este to decorate the camerino d'alabastro (alabaster study) of his castle in Ferrara. Bellini completed it two years before his death in 1514. Years later, the Duke commissioned two reworkings of portions of Bellini’s canvas. Dosso Dossi made an initial alteration to the landscape at left and added the pheasant and bright green foliage to the tree at upper right. Most famously, Bellini’s student, Titian, made a second set of alterations, painting out Dosso’s landscape with the dramatic, mountainous backdrop now seen, leaving only Dosso’s pheasant intact. It is possible that Titian wished to harmonize the Feast with the other, later paintings he also created for the camerino at the Duke’s behest. The figures and elements of the bacchanal were untouched by the later artists and remain Bellini’s own. The original tonalities and intensity of the colors have recently been restored, and the painting has regained its sense of depth and spaciousness.

(click link below for larger version of image)
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Stairway to art heaven at latest RA Summer Exhibition

Michael Craig-Martin sitting on art covering the stairs multi-coloured striped transformation of the main staircase, by the Turner Prize-nominated Jim Lambie, leading to the Royal Academy's 2015 Summer Exhibition.

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