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Monthly Archives: July 2007

(US): George Washington Lane’s Civil War belt

Friday, July 27, 2007

It unrolls easily. I coil it artfully on the black velvet under my camera. The leather is supple enough, but also feels fragile. The belt is very light, as if desiccated, and the buckle seems disproportionately heavy. Waxed black thread, worked erratically but securely, still holds the brass clip onto the tongue end of the […]

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Sancha de Ayala’s brother

Monday, July 23, 2007

On Tuesday afternoon I had the chance to inspect the tomb of Sancha de Ayala’s brother, now in the Museu Frederic Marès in Barcelona. A very fine alabaster effigy, like that of his uncle Pero Lopes de Ayala and those of his grandparents Fernán Pérez de Ayala and Elvira de Ceballos, at Quejana (Alava). The […]

Filed in heraldry, medievalia | Comments (1)

Cynthia’s sampler

Sunday, July 22, 2007

I was at the office of the fabric conservator at RISD when we pulled apart the frame. She was doubtful, since she had seen many of these things simply glued to some sort of acidic backing. But no, this one was actually just stitched to a piece of cardboard and was remarkably supple and stable […]

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