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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 1d

The Fleet's In!, by Paul Cadmus, 1934.

A scene of sailors on shore leave, showing their playful, risqué side and the rowdy, boisterous energy of life.
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#art #painting #satire #navy

The Fleet's In!
Oil and tempera on canvas, 94 x 170.2 cm, by Paul Cadmus, 1934
Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington
'It represents a most disgraceful, sordid, disreputable, drunken brawl. Apparently, a number of enlisted men are consorting with a party of streetwalkers and denizens of the red-light district.'
~ Retired Navy General Admiral Hugh Rodman

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 2d

A mandarin duck paddles along, its smorgasbord of colours turning the scene into a painting.

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#photography #birds #animals #wildlife

Male Mandarin Duck
Photograph by Stuart Bartlett

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 2d

ICONSIAM building: interior, view towards the ceiling.

A mixed-use development situated along the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, its architectural design combines contemporary elements with traditional Thai influences.

#architecture #building #art #thailand

ICONSIAM building: interior, view towards the ceiling
Photograph by Jash Chhabria

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 3d

On the water at sunset. He floated on the calm water beneath an empty horizon, while plans formed beneath the surface, none offering a graceful exit.

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#beach #shark #fantasy #horror

On the water at sunset
Photograph Timothy Casey

UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 3d

In a Buenos Aires shop, rows of ham legs dangle from the ceiling, slowly maturing in the open air.

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#food #meat #photography #argentina

Hanging Iberian hams
Photograph by M. Gaxiola

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 3d

Cameo of the Emperor Claudius, anonymous, 17th century

A finely carved sardonyx cameo of the Emperor, previously owned by Louis XIV.

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#art #portrait #rome #history

Cameo of the Emperor Claudius
Sardonyx, gold and enamel; 7.1 x 6 cm, anonymous, 17th century
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 3d

Postcard of a Swimmer with Chest Toupee. A nostalgic seaside postcard [note real-feel hair.]

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#postcard #beach #art #hairy

Postcard of a Swimmer with Chest Toupee
Print on card, 10.4 x 18 cm, by Inkognito, after a painting by Steffi Gritz-Sowa, 1990s

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 3d

A rooster steps from the hedgerow, not unlike a village constable on his morning rounds.

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#photography #birds #farm #country

Rooster in a field
Photograph by Happysurd Photography

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 4d

'Fine Dining'

A cat seizes its treat with the ferocity of a tiny lion who fears the feast may vanish at any moment.

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#cat #animals #pets #photography

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 5d

Nature's Cool Palette. This chameleon's swivelling eye peers about like a periscope, scanning the world with patient, reptilian calculation.

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#animals #photography #wildlife #lizards

Nature's Cool Palette
Photograph by Pierre Bamin

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 5d

American composer and pianist Scott Joplin, whose ragtime works, including ‘The Entertainer’ and ‘Maple Leaf Rag’, brought the genre to prominence in the early 20th century and influenced generations of musicians.

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#music #piano #photography #jazz

Scott Joplin
Photograph published in 1903

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 5d

Ludovisi Medusa, anonymous (photographer), 1895–1925.

This 2nd-century BC marble relief, also known as Sleeping Fury, depicts a wild-haired woman with closed eyes, leaving viewers wondering if she sleeps or is dead.

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#art #sculpture #mythology #photography

Ludovisi Medusa
Photographic print, anonymous, 1895–1925
Bildarchiv Foto Marburg

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 6d

Anima Sola, Mexican, 18th century.

A solitary, chained figure in flames symbolising purification in Purgatory, embodying suffering, hope, and eventual salvation.

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#sculpture #mexico #religion #art

Anima Sola
Wood on stone base, 18th century
Church and Former Convent of San Agustín, Queretaro, Mexico

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 6d

Then garlands they brought to her by two and by two And placed them all on the bride's head (wedding of Robin and Marian), by Lucy Fitch Perkins, 1906.

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#illustration #folk #art #literature

Then garlands they brought to her by two and by two, and placed them all on the bride's head
Illustration by Lucy Fitch Perkins, from the Robin Hood series, 1906

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 7d

Postcard of a street corner in Benghazi (then Bengasi), Libya, during the period of Italian colonial rule, 1930s-1940s.

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#postcard #vintage #photography #history

Bengasi (Benghazi): Corso Italia and Via San Francesco d'Assisi.
Postcard by Ed. Cav. G. Nascia & F.ᵒ - Bengasi, 1930s-1940s
Private collection

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 7d

Admiral AM radio, 1958.

A bright red body, the now-yellowed grille, and two chunky knobs giving this radio a friendly, well-aged charm.

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#radio #music #vintage #nostalgia

Admiral AM radio, Model 245
By Admiral Continental Radio & Television Co, Chicago, 27 x 15 x 15 cm, 1958

UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 8d

Caesar in battle, from a 14th century manuscript.

An episode from Caesar's military campaigns, showing him in the midst of strategic negotiation.

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#history #rome #illustration #art

Caesar in battle
From Les anciennes hystoires rommaines: Li Fet des Romains, Royal 16 G VII, f. 272, 14th century
The British Library, London

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 8d

Pug Dog in an Armchair by Alfred de Dreux, 1857.

Not resembling pugs of today, this one mocks the habits and airs of mid-19th century fashionable society.

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#art #dog #painting #satire

Pug Dog in an Armchair
Oil on canvas, 58 x 40 cm, by Alfred de Dreux, 1857
The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 9d

A Capri Girl, by Adriano Bonifazi, 1879.

An example of Bonifazi’s characteristic depictions of rural Italian life and youthful subjects, with this young girl from Capri in traditional dress.

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#painting #art #italy #country

A Capri Girl
Oil on panel, 44.4 x 31.1 cm, by Adriano Bonifazi, 1879
Location unknown

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 9d

A Camel in Turkmenistan.

Camels don’t really store water in their humps, but they do have three sets of eyelids and two rows of eyelashes to protect their eyes from the annoying sand.

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#animals #transport #desert #photography

Camel, Turkmenistan
Photograph by Hanmuhadoo

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 9d

Vase of Flowers, by Jan Davidsz. de Heem, c. 1670.

A lush and intricate bouquet of flowers, with fruits and small creatures scattered about.
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#art #painting #flowers #insects

Vase of Flowers
Oil on canvas, 74.2 x 52.6 cm, by Jan Davidsz. de Heem, c. 1670
Mauritshuis, The Hague

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 10d

The Bull, by Paulus Potter, 1647.

A bull with a scruffy farmer, accompanied by other animals, including a frog.
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#art #painting #bull #farm

The Bull
Oil on canvas, 236.5 x 341 x 5 cm, by Paulus Potter, 1647
Mauritshuis, The Hague

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 15d

The Rosebud Egg, by Fabergé, 1895.

In the Louis XVI style, the egg was restored in the 1980s after allegedly been thrown about during a marital dispute by its previous owners.

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#jewellery #eggs #art #russia

Rosebud Egg
Gold, enamel, diamonds, velvet lining, and rubies; h. 7.4 cm, by House of Fabergé, and Mikhail Perkhin 1895
Fabergé Museum, Saint Petersburg
Photograph by Mikhail Ovchinnikov, 2018

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UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 16d

Colima 'Dancing' Dogs. Depicting the Xoloitzcuintle breed, this pose is thought to symbolise the passing of knowledge and wisdom from an old dog to a young one, rather than a literal dance.

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#dogs #mexico #dance #sculpture

Colima 'Dancing' Dogs
Terracotta exemplar, 20th century
Private collection

UniversalCompendium @universalcomp.bsky.social · 16d

Puffin Talk.
A classic puffin tableau: one puffin doing all the talking, the other quietly judging

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#birds #photography #wildlife #puffin

Puffin Talk
Photograph, by Wynand van Poortvliet

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