Did you know

how old the oldest tree on the planet is?

You didn't? Neither did I. But I looked it up. The oldest tree on Earth is a Patagonian cypress. It is estimated to be 5484 years old. If you wish to see it all you need to do is travel to Chile and visit the Alerce Costero National Park. There you can admire it. You can look up to it, in every sense of the word. It is not too tall by the way – a mere 45 metres. It is nicknamed Great Grand Dad. With its age it overtook the previous record holder, called Methuselath, which is "only" 4853 years old. Just think about it! These trees were standing there as long ago as in the Antiquity.

Patagonia? Hm... Patagonia...

where on exactly is it? Yes, you are right, far away, at the back of beyond. Viewed from here. But of course, as we all know, everything is relative. So Patagonia is South America's southernmost tip. When hearing the word tip you think of a restaurant, don't you. No problem. So, Patagonia is made up of the Andes west and south, with lowland and highland plains in the east. A land of 1 061 000 km², about three times the size of Germany. With hardly anyone living there. No crowds, no peak time traffic. You mentioned Andes?

I say the Songs of the Andes ... El Cóndor Pasa

the "o" long drawn out You think it is a folk song? I also used to think so. But it is not! It was written in 1913 by Peruvian composer Daniel Alomia Robles, inspired a Peruvian zearzuela. Nothing to be ashamed about what we didn't know. Paul Simon didn't know either. He heard it in 1960 played by a Peruvian band and, alas, the song El Condor Pasa appears on one of his albums in 1970. Instant fame. I mean, the song became widely known. Simon was already famous. The composer's son also heard it after a while, and he credibly proved who the composer had been. The song was declared part of Peru's national heritage in 2004.

You also hear it being played on the pan flute, don't you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kQZHYbZkLs

Or Ynka Huasy singing it with orchestral accompaniment? Because I do. But if you don't, run a search for the names on YouTube. I recommend Simon & Garfunkel's performance – and not only because they made it world famous but also because Simon wrote lyrics to the piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6d3yVq1Xtw

Incidentally, zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre. But if it is Spanish, how did it end up in Peru? It's pure and simple. The Spanish visited the place in the 16th century. They conquered, took things away and left things there, including zarzuela.

And now that we happen to be around...

... do you know which the world's southernmost town is?

Hang on a minute! It's Ushuaia, founded by settlers on the Land of Fire in 1884. Just to recall a few facts: Land of Fire – or Tierra del Fuego in Spanish – is the name of the archipelago which belongs to South America, separated from the continent by the Magellan Straight, named so because Magellan saw fires lit by natives on the shore. Do not think in terms of a metropolis, though! Ushuaia has a population of only about fifty thousand. And another surprise: it is only a thousand kilometres from here to Antarctica. It's practically in the backyard of the town.

Would you have thought that a perfume has been named after The Land of Fire?

Indeed! It is recommended for men attracted to adventure. No wonder that the product is sold under the name Tierra del Fuego (no, this is not an ad). I haven't come across it yet – or I didn't realise it when I did – but I will take a sniff and let you know what it's like. Now that we have talked about the southernmost town...

do you know which town farthest to the north is?

I have looked it up and it is Longyearbyen. And it is a European one, at that. Residents enjoy six months of Arctic darkness and another six of Arctic sunlight. Complete with the northern lights. It must be beautiful, but I have never been able to convince myself to add it to my bucket list.

And now that we are on to bucket lists. Imagine, a friend of my told me about a friend of hers who has a dream on his bucket list. A cycling tour. This man in his early seventies flew from Budapest to Toronto where he got on an e-bike and never stopped before he got to Ushuaia. Astonished? Well, yes, it was not your usual weekend outing on a cycle. I do raise my imaginary hat, saluting his achievement! Say he used an e-bike? He did, but it has to be sat on, like a conventional one. I presume it must have been about 10 thousand kilometres. Share with me if you know it more accurately! I'll correct as appropriate.

Do you know who a milkwoman is?

One who delivers and sells milk at customers' homes. You ask me what made me think of them in an age of ESL milk sold in cardboard boxes? I tell you, I visited Budakeszi the other day. There's a confectionery called Milkwoman Cookies Shop there. On the Main Road. I took fancy of the word, so it stuck on my mind. The same thing will happen to you too if you visit them and yield to the sweet temptation. Do not, do not resist! Have a go at it... It will be worth your while! And now that we are on to milk... think of cats too. You must remember a nursery rhyme from our kindergarten years. How did it go? One little kitten, with fur soft as silk, left all alone to drink a dish of milk.

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece "Nice idea, isn't it?

Do you know who I quoted?

I'll tell you. Leonardo da Vinci. Which reminds me:

did you know that there are formally employed,
or rather, "special purpose" cats?
And bats too?

You don't believe me? But it is true! Let's see then!

In the Hermitage there are seventy cats on duty. Their mission is to protect the collection from rodents. There's nothing new about this. Their employment was ordered by Cathaline the Great, following the footsteps of Tzarina Elisabeth. Her predecessor introduced cats in the Winter Palace as early as in 1735 which was – in spite of all the riches and opulence – fraught with mice. Then the cats came in and the mice went out.
Would you like to know what life may be for a cat in one of the world's greatest museums?
Well, it's like this: they have their own appointed spokescat, veterinary, foundation, bank account and a crew of three volunteers providing for their personal comfort and catering. Ironically, their media contact is allegedly allergic to cat hair. When those cats grow old, they "retire" and can be adopted. But only through tendering. The committee set up for this purpose thoroughly examines the psychological and financial status of the applicants and makes its decision on adoption. Provided the cat concerned undertakes to make the transfer to the world of civilians. If he or she won't, they can stay in the museum for life or move to a cats' cafe and enjoy popularity and being spoiled there. And the cherry on top is that they can even inherit. From cat fans or museum fans, and don't ask whether they pay tax on inheritance. I don't know but I'd like to know. I'll let you know once I've found it out.

And do you know what the 25th of April is known for?

You don't? Well, I didn't either, but I have read about it and now I share it with you. That's the Day of Hermitage Cats. Alas, they have their very own dedicated holiday. With hospitality, salutations, organised events. Now, that's something, innit? And we may also pride ourselves because even our Aquincum Museum has its very own cat. Search Facebook to see!

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about bats either.

I confess I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw that article about them. Just think about it! Biological insect and rodent control is in place in the library of the Palace of Mafra, a World Heritage site. And it's no new invention either. This has been practised ever since it was built in the first place. Bats slumbering in the library during the day start their shift when darkness falls. It should also be mentioned though that every morning starts with a thorough cleaning of the place from bat droppings. But never mind! Thanks to those creatures no chemicals damaging books, walls and tapestry need to be used, there are no books damaged by worms – only books read by bookworms.

And one more question:

Do you know who Behemoth is?

He is the cat of the museum in the house of Bulgakov - you know, the author of Master and Margarita. A cat the resident of the capital city, that is, a Moscovite. But whence the name? Let me help you. It's from his size. Not a small one. I dare say, a big one. Although, at a mere 6 kg, somewhat on the lean side in comparison to Garfield. Those who know him say he is a "complicated personality". A cat? I don't want to believe this... (hahaha)

Sorry, I must disappoint you, if you think Tzarina Elisabeth was the first cat fan... the saying that "as early as back in antiquity ..." because with the spreading of farming wild cats began to appear near granaries and got to be domesticated over time. Why? It's easy to see. It's even there in children's songs: If I were a cat I'd catch mice by the hundred ... And that's what they did. So, they started their journey to success. They became important. And there was no end to that journey. And all of a sudden they found themselves in the company of gods and goddesses, by the name of Bastet. As a lion at first, and later in the form of a real CAT. Cats were held in such respect in the ancient Egypt that they were allowed to eat from their owners' plates and killing one was punished by death, from which not even the Pharaoh had the power to save the culprit. (And what do you get for it today?) What's more, a deceased cat was mourned – often embalmed and buried – by its "family". As many as 300 thousand cat mummies were found by archaeologists in Bastet's temple. Now that is respect! How good it would be to have just a fraction of it for all those stray cats and dogs today

And humankind kept progressing... progressing... on and on, right into the dark Middle Ages. And there the glory of cats vanished. Indeed! Cats became feared and persecuted. How are witches depicted? Bent back, big nose with warts, with a BLACK cat on the shoulder. Got it? Good. Now I bid farewell with this picture for a few days....

And then let us have another go at the cat issue:

Let's fast forward, say, to the 1200s. It was exactly in 1233 that the Pope – Gregory IX, to be precise – proclaimed cats the earthly incarnation of the devil. That wasn't nice of him. And that was all it took for our predecessors of the day to start persecuting poor pussies. The cat-pogrom got underway. And there was no end to that persecution. Witch-hunt followed in the 15th to 18th century.

You remember this sentence, don't you: "There are no witches" This was proclaimed by King Coloman the Learned. But let us see how exactly this was declared! It was laid down in Section 57 of our good King Coloman and the exact wording is this: "De strigis vero, quae non sunt, ne ulla quaestio fiat", or "there shall be no action against witches, who do not exist". Now then, if he proclaimed this and even enshrined this in law, why was his law not abided by? Let's think about the thing! Could "strigis" not be the same as witches? Indeed, they aren't. Strigae are mythological beings. And their existence had already been refuted beforehand and our good King "only" confirmed this. This does not compromise his greatness, though. This was quite an achievement at a time when information spread – in lieu of Google – at a snail's pace. So there came the stakes where victims were burned. About 40-60 thousand people accused of being witches were burned – and at least as many cats. And this was the same in Hungary too. The last witch was sentenced to death by the sword in Nagybánya, in 1762. The last woman to be accused of witchcraft in England was sentenced in 1951 (!!). She was acquitted by Winston Churchill. This witchcraft thing however, is like bushfire and ever since then it has been rekindled here and there. But let's get back to cats!

The big question is whether a black cat brings good luck or bad luck.

I can hear you all saying "misfortune"! That's what my granny used to say too. But this is not so! It depends where you live. Because for certain peoples, including the French, the Scottish, the Lithuanians, the English and even the Japanese, black cats bring luck. A single white hair in the black fur is even more attractive to all the good luck they bring. So go ahead, there is nothing to worry about adopting a black kitten from a shelter. He or she will be very grateful for it.

And how is it in Hungary? Will that particular Black Cat crossing the road in front of you bring you good luck or bad luck? It's an exciting question and the answer depends on where it comes from and where it goes. Crossing left to right they bring good luck. Right to left they bring bad cluck. But there's a loophole in the latter rule: if you quickly turn around, that bad luck turns into good luck. My grandma had probably never heard of this because her advice was that I should stop and wait for someone else coming by cross the cat's path. Personally, I have some moral concerns about this solution. Once I was walking home at about midnight and a black cat strolled across the road before me. Right to left. Bad luck, that is. In a part of Buda where there is not only no rush hour but practically no traffic at all at that time of day. I didn't feel like waiting until dawn so I drove on. At any rate, I found it very lucky for both the cat and myself that I managed to step on the brake and both of us survived the encounter. With this positive balance I fell asleep without worries.

But let's get back to black cats!

Colour does not matter at all to a true cat fan.

Indeed, such discrimination is a serious insult. Therefore members of the staff (meaning: owners, and yes, I'm sorry, but I can use this wording because I was also one of them, for twenty one long years) assigned to black cats, have taken up the fight for their favourite ones. So now we can celebrate the black "velvet-pawed" (!) ones on 17 August, the "National Black Cat Appreciation Day" and on 27 October "National Black Cat Day". Where? In Anglophone countries. Dear present-day black cat owners! Come and join!

Incidentally, based on recommendations of the International Fund for Animal Welfare and some other animal protection organisations 8 August has for 21 years been International Cat Day. But let us return to cats of a particular colour:

Many have been inspired by black cats, the impersonators of bad luck. Many have said and written down what they thought. The opinion I most like and with which I can identify, is that of French journalist Max O'Rel, who was born Paul Blouet in Bretagne on 2 March 1848, and died in Paris in 1903. His verdict regarding the black cat versus bad luck issue as follows (and I think very aptly):

""Whether a black cat means good or bad luck depends on whether you are a human or a mouse."

Well, accordingly...

For a while I take farewell from the velvety pawed purring machines, because of the "accident" that occurred on the 38th Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix. To avoid any misunderstanding, I hasten to reassure everybody: no cars collided, and no bones were broken. What actually broke was porcelain. What happened was that "thanks to" Lando Norris the winner Max Verstappen's trophy fell down and broke. And that is the big problem category, because the Hungarian Grand Prix trophies are made by the Herend Porcelain Manufactory. And they are not just some ordinary knick-knackery either. It took six months to produce just a single trophy and its ideological value is 15 million forints. The conclusion to be drawn is that porcelain is fragile and the finely crafted, hand-painted pieces are true works of art and, as such, are worth a lot. Indeed, they are worth very much. That's where the idea of reading up on it a bit came from.

Where was porcelain first made?

I think not surprisingly from China. The first pieces were produced back between 618 and 907, during the reign of the Tang dynasty. We – Hungarians – were still busy looking for a place we can call home, roaming the lands. The use of porcelain objects began to spread thereafter. Of course not here but in China. People found their fine beauty, their grace, very interesting. So, porcelain objects began to travel all over the world. In a few hundred years – no matter how their very existence was kept secret and how their exporting was banned – they made it to Korea and Japan, and finally to Europe. Of course the objects themselves, not the technique of making them. That had to be found out first. And it took time! Until as late as 1710. That's when the first European porcelain factory could be launched in Meissen. Followed by others and the ancestor of the Herend Porcelain Manufactory was built up in by Vince Stingl in 1826. And thirty-five years later the world wondered at a bowl produced by porcelain painter Mór Fischer. The bowl, 90.5 cm across and 12 cm deep, painted on the enamel, featuring the words Moriamur Pro Rege Nostro! is not one to be placed at the centre of a dinner table. I suppose it is invaluable. I was on display at two world exhibitions and amazed whoever set eyes on it. The success of the Herend porcelain products has been unbroken ever since, even though a piece happens to be destroyed by accident every now and then.

We have every reason to be proud of the porcelain objects made in Herend. Herend porcelain was the most sought-after luxury porcelain brand in 2006 in the USA, with all other traditional brands lagging behind it.

Note: it is rumoured that a replica of the broken trophy will be manufactured by the Herend Porcelain Manufactory for Max Verstappen.

The older a porcelain object, the more valuable it is.

So if any one of you has a Chinese porcelain object (a bowl, a cup, a dragon, a chamber pot, whatever) left behind his or her great granny, I beg you not to throw it away because it is a treasure.

And now that we are on to treasures, let's take a peek into the secret world of auctions. Auctions? Perhaps Sotheby's? Yes, indeed, when it comes to auctions, they should be Sotheby's. The auctioning house was established by Samuel Baker in 1744. Since then it has developed into one of the world's leading auctioning houses. The company is headquartered on New Bond Street in London. Indeed, they also have a branch in Budapest, on Krisztina körút. And the reason I mention this: Sotheby auctioned the world's two most expensive porcelain pieces. The most expensive one in 2017, which was none other than the Ru Guanyao brush washer bowl. Nothing gaudy, indeed it is a small bowl of a very modest appearance, made between 960 and 1127. The unnamed bidder paid 37.7 million dollars for the item. No mistake there! There are only for of these in the world. This price beat that of the 8 cm small drinking dish called chicken cup produced during the time of the Ming dynasty, auctioned three years earlier. There are fourteen known pieces of that cup. The buyer was Liu Yiqian, a Chinese new billionaire. An interesting note: he started off as a cab driver. Thanks to his business flair he is living the life of the super wealthy today. He can afford to collect antiques. Like for instance that small cup. That was a real bargain, for 36 million dollars. And unlike other collectors, he does not stow away his treasures immediately in some super safe vault. He buys them and he even shows them at periodical exhibitions, if not at permanent ones. And people rush to take the chance and see them.

And while we are talking about auctions, let us not forget about Christie's Auctions House. Christie's entered the scene not long – only 22 years – after Sotheby's, founded by Samuel Baker. It was James Christie's idea and he named the "house" after himself, right away. And that immortalised him instantly. Christie's has been dealing with works of art and other favourable investments ever since 1788, the year of its foundation. And last but not least, it is the only international auctioning house with a trading right in China. Just think about this fact. What an opportunity! What a MARKET!

I cannot help but be attracted to beautiful jewellery. And stones. But of course not your ordinary pebbles. Or pea gravel. What I am attracted to, are a bit rarer and more expensive. This is a glorious opportunity to read up on precious stones. Firstly...

What stones do we call 'precious'?

Minerals that are beautiful, tough (withstand the passing of time) and rare. And two more important things: people like them, which is why they have a generally agreed value. Accordingly... These rare stones come in two categories: precious stones and semi-precious stones. The first category includes diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald while the rest of the valuable stones are semi-precious stones. Looking for brilliant cut diamond among precious stones but not finding it. You won't! "Brilliant" is not a kind of stone but a method of cutting. This provides an opportunity to deceive buyers without adequate knowledge regarding the world of precious stones. For the question is what stone has been "brilliant cut"? Diamond or...? So one should not buy precious stones without proper knowledge. Indeed! One must insist on being provided with a certificate as well. Proper sellers do provide certificates with their merchandise. Of course not around precious stone mines, where cheating is rather the norm. Talking of diamonds: I think I make no big mistake when I say that diamonds are considered to be the most precious thing in the world, for most people. But in fact that is not true. There are more valuable precious stone, like for instance Paraiba Tourmaline. It costs about sixteen times more – for those who really want to have it. And many do, and demand, as we all know, drives prices up. What does the word Paraiba mean? This is a designation of origin. Because tourmalines found elsewhere are less valuable. And Paraiba is in Brazil. A state, the size about that of Croatia. This precious stone was discovered in the 1980s. And since then its healing powers have also been uncovered. So much about tourmaline, then. But there are also rubies that are worth more than diamonds.

And now let us link stones, jewels and auctions! But let's clarify this first! Carat designates the weight of a precious stone. 1 carat equals 200 milligrams (0.2 g)

But why carat? What does this word mean anyway?

The word carat originates from carob, that is the seed of the carob tree. This was used for a long time for measuring precious stones and precious metals. It wasn't until after 1910 that a standard unit of measurement was introduced. I see you have some dilemma about what attributes gemstone is assessed and evaluated. Let me tell you about it. Weight, clarity, cutting and polishing, and colour. But there's a little twist in it. If you think you can by a 5.0 carat diamond for the price of five 1.0 carat diamonds, then you are wrong. The larger the stone, the rarer. So price increases exponentially with size. The larger a stone is, the higher the price per carat. I looked up on the prices of some special jewels. Let's begin with the diamond known as Koh-i-Noor. It means: Mountain of Light. It is part of the crown jewels of the United Kingdom. 105.6 carats! An invaluable piece. Let's see emeralds. The "Rockefeller Emerald" is worth 305 thousand dollars per carat. The "Sunrise Ruby" is a lot more valuable, at 1.18 million dollars per carat. But even these are dwarfed by the price of blue diamond: 3.93 million bucks a carat.

I think however hard I may try to dethrone the diamond, the concept of precious stone or gemstone is inseparable from diamonds. So before bidding farewell to real gemstones, let's see

the three most valuable diamonds of the world!

The winner is the Koh-i-Noor diamond. 105.6 carats and part of the British crown. On rare occasions when Queen Elizabeth II donned her crown, it glittered in the middle, a little above the Queen's eyes. Now it glitters like that on the head of Charles III. The Cullinan diamonds are placed second. The originally 3106 carat uncut stone was cut first into three and then into 9 larger and 96 smaller pieces. The largest one is worth about 2 billion dollars and is part of the English royal mace. The Hope Diamond is the third most valuable one. It is also called serial killer Hope diamond, a 112-carat blue diamond. Legend has it that it is cursed. Every single owner of this diamond met with bad fortune after acquiring it. At present it is on display in the Smithsonian's national mineral and gem collection under bullet-proof glass. The question is whether this is meant to protect the diamond from thieves or visitors from the curse. Feel free to decide for yourself. At any rate, the diamond must not be touched and if it has to, for whatever reason, they use gloves to protect the employee from the curse... I would never have thought that working in a precious stone collection is such a dangerous job! Knowing this, I make no efforts to possess such values. I remain a distant admirer of gemstones and go to sleep with no worries.

Another exciting question is, of course, is this: which are the most pricey jewels. But more about that later, because I have got bogged down at the price of porcelain. So old porcelain is valuable. That's OK. But does this apply to everything? Is anything old automatically precious? Let's see:

Can we, for instance, appreciate and enjoy the music of ages gone by?

Or do we think that only the "privileged" may enjoy such things and we reject them off hand? Let's see an old one. I think the music composed by French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau born on 25 September 1683 and died on 12 September 1764 may be regarded as quite 'old'. When you listen to his works you find yourself in the world of Baroque. I hear some saying 'no way, not that....' But is anyone sure that it is not up-to-date or enjoyable today? Well, I have done some wandering around, following the footsteps of our ancestors. I have chosen the opera ballet "Les Indes galantes". I was surprised to find how many orchestras, choruses and corps de ballet perform it in the original and remakes. I tested my family and I share the link to the most voted for performance: I recommend that you watch the video from 1 minute and then see it out, so that you can hear the audience's ovation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIi_TvIvUdk

I hope you liked it. My favourite part is when the conductor also gets up on the stage to join the dancing. And in the end, the ovation among the audience! Something you can rarely hear. It gives me shivers. And now that we are talking about music and Baroque, let me look a bit around my favourite instrument, that is, the violin, and the best violinists of the age.

It happened in Venice, sometime in 1716,

that the young Giuseppe Tartini, then only 24, plays the first concert of his life. Which is somewhat surprising because he learned to play the violin late, as an adult. At that particular concert there was another young man sitting among the audience, only two years his senior. The 26 years old Francesco Maria Veracini, an eminent, already established musician of his age. You might say that playing the violin was in his DNA. His grandfather had been a famous violinist and director of a violin school, succeeded after his death by Veracini's uncle. He was the one, by the way, who taught Francesco how to play the instrument. So there he was, Veracini, listening to Tartini playing at the concert and, recognising his talent, offered to give him lessons in playing the violin. From that point, Martini's career as a violinist soared. He played in concerts as a violinist, he studied music theory and composed music. He wrote about a hundred and thirty pieces. He founded a violin school and reformed bowing. Playing his violin sonatas takes virtuosity, extreme technical skills. His most well-known, most played piece of work is called Devil's Trill Sonata.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXEu43LaAXk

Tartini said about this sonata that one night he heard the devil play the violin for him in his dream and when he woke up, he attempted to record what he'd heard. He claimed this one to be his best piece of work but what he'd heard being played in his dream was even better. This is the story of the birth of the Devil's Trill. Incidentally, the devil has often been mentioned in connection with the way both Tartini and Paganini played the violin.

But who was the most well-known violinist of the time?

The Italian Veracini and his German rival Pisendel vied for the title. Bach, Vivaldi, Albinoni and Teleman dedicated violin sonatas to the latter. Another important element of his biography is that he'd spent a long time at the helm of the Dresden Court Orchestra as concert master. So, he was a successful and famous person. Veracini was tormented by the feeling of losing in their contest and eventually he jumped off the first floor (at that time there were no help lines for those suffering from fits of depression). Well, he had no luck with that. Or rather, he was lucky. He survived; however, the incident left him with a paralysed arm and he could never play the violin again. That was a big misfortune but even so, his life continued to be filled with music. He composed music. Luckily – at least for posterity. My personal favourite is his Largo, played by Ruggiero Ricci. It's worth listening! The one when he's playing a Gasparo da Salò (1542-1609) violin, which must have been manufactured between 1570 and 1580. Just think about it! A more than 440 years old musical instrument with a perfect sound. I'm always amazed, whenever I hear it. Ricci's bowing technique is fantastic, by the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZulXrG44VI

It'd be worth watching it.

What happened in the world between 1601 and 1700?

Let's see:

For Hungary the most important thing was the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz.As a result, the Turks withdrew from Hungary after a lengthy visit (of 150 years!). Interestingly, no Hungarian diplomat participated in the peace negotiations. Although it was enshrined in law by the 1681 national assembly but Leopold I King of Hungary excluded the Hungarian member, who knows why. Only diplomats from Vienna negotiated about the peace.

Spain and Portugal begin to fall. England and Holland begin to rise. The Ming dynasty is overthrown in China. The Manjus taking power after its fall unite the whole of China. Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov takes the throne of Russia starting the 300-year reign of the Romanovs. The Thirty Year's War was waged between 1618 and 1648. The whole century was a period of territorial and religious wars. Hardly had a peace treaty been signed when another war broke out. Like bushfire! It kept breaking out now here, now there. The sad thing is that this has hardly changed at all during the past centuries.

And I only picked a few of the events of that interesting century. There are more things to write about, so I decided to return to it later...

I see now that I have digressed somewhat... So let us return to porcelain. Unless I am distracted by something fascinating, let us see...

what porcelain is!

But before I continue, let's have some music for relaxation. A piece from 1902. Not 'antique' but not contemporary either. Or is it? I think this is an evergreen one. Just listen and enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYrlKGYUcBM

If you liked it, I'll tell you who performs it, and I will bring here things from him again at times.

So, I continue...

If you liked the above, come and visit me more frequently because I continuously share things I like, things that surprise me and things I think others may also like.

If you'd like to read more, you are welcome to browse my website.

https://www.illes-krisztina-iro.hu