Purple Martin Gallery

Black Stork in a Landscape ca. 1780

The distinctive white neck feathers, purple-streaked wings, and red-tinged beak identify this tall bird as a woolly-necked stork (Ciconia episcopus), a native species of India known for its unusual plumage and height. The meandering watercourse on the right side of the composition could be a reference to the riverine areas in which such birds are typically found. A digit from the bird's right foot rests upon its left, illustrating the artist's close study of the standing position of these creatures. This work, like the image of the nightjar (2004.175)nearby, has been attributed to a set of 658 ornithological paintings commissioned by the French serviceman Claude Martin

© https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Lava field Dimmuborgir during winter near lake Myvatn in the highlands of Iceland in deep snow

Lava field Dimmuborgir during winter near lake Myvatn in the highlands of Iceland in deep snow. View towards south into the central highland wiht mount Sellandafjall . europe, northern europe, iceland, February

© Martin Zwick / DanitaDelimont.com

At Evening, Atlantic, Attraction, Awesome, Bizarre, Blue Hour, Chill, Cold, Dawn, Dimmuborgir, Eerie, Europe, Evening, Highlands, Ice, Iceland, Idyllic, Island, Lava, Lava Field, Lava Lake, Legendary, Myvatn, Nordurland Eystra, Norh Iceland, North, North Atlantic, North Polar, Northern, Northern Europe, Polar, Purple, Red, Ring Road, Rock, Rock Formation, Romtantic, Scandinavia, Sellandafjall, Snow, Subpolar, Sunset, Volcanic Flow, Winter

St. Edwards Crown with which the Sovereign is crowned, 1953

St. Edward's Crown with which the Sovereign is crowned, 1953. St Edward's Crown, the official coronation crown of British monarchs and part of the Crown Jewels. It was made for Charles II after Oliver Cromwell had the crown destroyed during the Civil War. Its design is said to be a copy of the crown of Edward the Confessor. The piece (1661) is part of the Royal Collection at the Tower of London. From The Crown Jewels, by Martin Holmes FSA. [Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1953]

© The Print Collector