i can feel a great age ending

A mouth-watering fuck-ton of hand angle references.

Scythian Pectoral (4th century BCE)

Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine, Kyiv

The pectoral is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Scythian goldsmithing and one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Ukraine. Its artistic sophistication demonstrates the close interaction between Scythian and Greek craftsmanship in the Northern Black Sea region during the 4th century BCE.

Place of origin: Northern Black Sea region

Findspot: Tovsta Mohyla kurgan (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine), discovered by Borys Mozolevskyi (1971)

Materials: Gold

Techniques: Enameling, casting, repoussé, stamping, forging, wire drawing, inlay, soldering

Decoration: The ornament is crescent-shaped and divided by four twisted torques into three horizontal registers, each filled with sculptural scenes. The pectoral consists of more than 160 individual elements

Suddenly I saw in front of me the Statue of the Faun, the Statue that I love above all others. There was his calm, faintly smiling face; there was his forefinger gently pressed to his lips. In the past I have always thought he meant to warn me of something with that gesture: Be careful! But today it seemed to mean something quite different: Hush! Be comforted! I climbed up on to his Plinth and flung Myself into his Arms, wrapping my arm around his Neck, intertwining my fingers with his Fingers. Safe in his embrace, I wept for my lost Sanity. Great, heaving sobs rose up, almost painfully, from my chest.

Hush! he told me. Be comforted!

Nighttime shots.

Kalevala, Elias Lönnrot

The little white lioness on the morning of 23 January 2025, shortly after sustaining her iconic face injury.

"What I am trying to say, is that I trust you. I am comfortable around you. I know that you will be there when I need you.