How many of us really know how it sounds when two armies, fighting with shields, spears, and swords, collide? We have seen it in the movies, when Roman soldiers in shiny helmets slaughter their Pictish enemies, when the warriors of Rohan collide with ranks of […]
Previously, ethnographica.net has showcased shoes from the wonderful shoe collection made by Søren L. Tuxen, zoologist and shoe enthusiast. You can read about him in our previous post here: https://ethnographica.net/2015/04/14/tuxen/ In his collection of almost 250 pairs are shoes and other footwear from all over […]
Imagine not having a permanent home. Or, try to imagine being at home wherever you are. It can be quite a hard exercise for many of us, who live in our houses and apartments, surrounded by our stuff, travelling the same paths to work, to […]
Sometimes, we just need that bit of extra protection. To ward off evil spirits, protect us from accidents and jealousy, and to shield us from harm when we throw ourselves into perilous situations… For thousands of years, we humans have carried amulets and sacred objects, […]
Yesterday it was Saint Lucy’s Day or, as it is known in Denmark Santa Lucia. All over the country, children dressed up in white robes and sang as they walked the halls of schools, kindergartens, after-school centres, and hospitals, candles in hand. At the head […]
Modern and yet traditional – check out these Turkish Slippers! “Turkish slippers. Given to me on February 8th 1958 by M.E. Hovmand Hansen, who had acquired them in 1934 from a group of Greek sailors on board a steamboat called Pirdus. The slippers are modern. […]
Check out this beautiful Afghan chest! It was collected by botanist Lennart Edelberg in 1948 who participated in the third Central Asian expedition, in which a group of Danish scientists travelled to a number of different Central Asian countries to gather information on the nomadic […]
Here’s a little something from the highest nobility of a very small country! Back in the 1950’s, Ole Brande-Lavridsen was endowed with a full Bahraini outfit, given to him by the ruler himself – Sheik Sulman bin Hamed al Khalifa, whose descendants are still leading […]
Pillar with carvings of the goddess Sülmech riding on a ram. The pillar belongs to the Kafir period from before the Emir of Kabul forced the eastern part of Afghanistan to convert to Islam, which means that it is at least 100 years old, the […]
Would you have guessed what this is, if we hadn’t given it away in the title? Resembling a wallet more than an actual box, this 66-year old item was in fact used to kindle fires in mid-20th century Afghanistan. Appearing strikingly primitive with its iron plate, meant […]
How do you take your coffee? Traveling the world of coffee, I bet you’ll find more different styles of brewing and serving than you could possibly have imagined. Customs vary tremendously from country to country, and are of course also influenced by personal preferences. Zooming […]
It’s time to let your imagination run wild! Since the information from our collection does not tell us much about this chair that we cannot observe simply by looking at it, why don’t we free our minds from facts and devote a few minutes to […]
