CupGarden

Friday, November 18, 2005

Sanjo Sanetomi, Koshaku

In his youth he was a political leader of the court nobles gathered around the Emperor. In 1862, when the Emperor tried to reassert his

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Packard, David

After receiving his B.A. from Stanford University in 1934, Packard worked for the General Electric Company in Schenectady, N.Y. In 1938 he returned to Stanford,

Monday, August 08, 2005

Argentina is a federal union of 23 provincias and a federal capital district, the city of Buenos Aires. Federalism came to Argentina only after a long struggle between proponents of a central government and supporters of provincial interests. The constitution of 1853 was modeled on that of the United States. The constitution promulgated in 1994 provided for consecutive

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Saba'

Biblical Sheba kingdom in pre-Islamic southwestern Arabia, frequently mentioned in the Bible (notably in the story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba) and variously cited by ancient Assyrian, Greek, and Roman writers from about the 8th century BC to about the 5th century AD. Its capital, at least in the middle period, was Ma'rib (q.v.), which lies 75 miles (120 km) east of present-day San'a', in Yemen. A second

Monday, July 25, 2005

Lateen Sail

Triangular sail that was of decisive importance to medieval navigation. The ancient square sail permitted sailing only before the wind; the lateen was the earliest fore-and-aft sail. The triangular sail was affixed to a long yard or crossbar, mounted at its middle to the top of the mast and angled to extend aft far above the mast and forward down nearly to the deck. The

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Nephelinesyenite

Medium- to coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock, a member of the alkali-syenite group (see syenite) that consists largely of feldspar and nepheline. It is always considerably poorer in silica and richer in alkalies than granite. The extraordinarily varied mineralogy of the nephelinesyenites and their remarkable variation in habit, fabric, appearance, and composition

Friday, July 08, 2005

Arraiolos Rug

Embroidered floor covering made at Arraiolos, north of Évora in Portugal. The technique is herringbone or cross-stitch on a linen cloth foundation. Early Arraiolos rugs utilized designs derived from the Persians, from whom the Portuguese learned the craft. Portuguese artisans soon replaced these Persian designs with Portuguese folk-art patterns in more limited