The Splendour.

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A black jaguar called ‘Boogie’ walks in his cage at the zoo in Tbilisi on February 10, 2010. Black jaguars such as Boogie are found in several South American countries.

 

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Austrian National Library

 

[paulmodibe]

Frame 4301 The restored Royal Bedroom of Louis XVI at the Palace of Versailles, France

 

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^ Thankyou Paul Have a peaceful Christmas.

Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770 – 1844) Portrait bust of Thomas Hope 1817

 

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Cameo: Head of a Woman.
Italy, Roman, 1st Century, 1-100

 

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Ulysses and the Sirens, Léon Adolphe Auguste Belly

 

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Shield Of Pharnaces I, King of Pontus, C. 185–169 BC

 

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[LittleDove]

Frame 4301 The restored Royal Bedroom of Louis XVI at the Palace of Versailles, France

Actually, no it isn't. Wrong Louis and wrong palace.

Ignore the two rows of chairs lined up on either side of the bed; the fauteuils in the foreground, and the chaises lined up behind them, and the écran (the folding screen) on the far side of the bed. They come from a different source. The rest -- the bed, the canopy, the screen a bit of which can be seen on the far right, and the corner of the balustrade to the ruelle, a glimpse of which can be seen on the far left, and which served to separate the bed from the rest of the room, derive from the King's State Bedroom at the Tuileries.

The bed dates from the Restoration, and was made for Louis XVIII. He in fact died in that bed. The bed has been mucked about with, in particular the foot. It originally bore the King's arms carved and contained in the rectangular framing, somewhat similar to those which perch atop the headboard. I don't recall when that happened, whether it was done under Louis Philippe, or whether they were hacked away during the sack of the Tuileries in 1848. The hangings on the bed and those displayed on the wall to both sides are also not original. Not 100% certain, but I think those date to the reign of Louis Philippe.

IIRC, the bed was made by Pierre-Antoine Bellangé (1757–1827), who had also manufactured, in 1817, the furnishings for James Monroe which are now (in part) in the Blue Room of the White House, in Washington DC.

I know, I know ... TMI.

 

[MJEH89]

 

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A mountain goat nanny and kid at Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. Mountain goats are not true goats at all but belong to the antelope family. The hooves of mountain goats consist of two toes that can move independently from each other, allowing for its stunning agility on steep terrain.

 

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Little Rock Central High School

 

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lifesavers of the Matterhorn

 

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The Iniciatic Well, Regaleira Estate, Sintra, Portugal

 

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[gsdx]

Tea Toss in Nunavut

A spectacular photo taken in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, is generating a lot of attention on social media.

The photo shows local resident Markus Siivola throwing hot tea into the air as he bends backwards. In the –40 C weather, the tea freezes as soon as it’s tossed.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/tea-toss-photo-40-c-145946419.html

 

[DonQuixote]

Some great and interesting pics.

 

[rareboy]

The jewels are pretty splendid too.