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County Wexford, Ireland.
Loftus Hall is a large mansion house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland that is said to have been haunted both by the devil and by the ghost of a young woman.
The Redmond family built the original building in about 1350 during the time of the Black Death. It replaced their original castle at Houseland near Portersgate. The Hall became the property of the Loftus family in the 1650s as a result of the Cromwellian confiscations and this was confirmed after the Restoration of King Charles II of England by the Act of Settlement of 1666.
The building that exists today was built between 1870 and 1871 by the 4th Marquess of Ely. In 1917 Loftus Hall was bought by the Sisters of Providence and turned into a convent and a school for young girls interested in joining the order. In 1983, it was purchased by Michael Deveraux who reopened it as "Loftus Hall Hotel", which was subsequently closed again in the late 1990s.
It was privately owned by Deveraux's surviving family until late 2008, when it was sold to an unnamed buyer, rumoured to be Bono of U2 fame.
The name 'Loftus Hall' is also applied to the townland surrounding the mansion. The entire townland of Loftus Hall, including the building itself, can be overlooked from Hook Lighthouse.
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In 1642, the future Loftus Hall - then known as Redmond's Hall - was attacked by English soldiers loyal to Charles I of England.
The Irish Confederate Wars had broken out in 1641 and hostilities commenced in Wexford in 1642. An English garrison of around 100 men under the command of Lord Esmonde was based at Duncannon Fort on Waterford Harbour. On 23 February, this garrison was reinforced by a further 200 soldiers under the command of Captain Anthony Weldon and Captain Thomas Aston along with six cannon.
On 19 June a party of these soldiers from the fort were attacked by a group of Irish Confederates under the command of Captain Rossiter and Major James Butler at Shielbaggan while their on way to Tintern. The English were routed and driven back to the fort.
Redmond's Hall was clearly visible to the beleaguered garrison at Duncannon. The Hall's owner, Alexander Redmond, was known to be sympathetic to the rebels. The Hall was known as a place that gave assistance to the rebels. Captain Aston believed it could be easily taken and on 20 July 1642 took ship from Duncannon with around ninety men and two small cannon, landing near the Hall.
Although he was sixty-eight years old, Alexander Redmond barricaded the Hall and prepared to defend it. He was assisted by his sons, Robert and Michael, some of their tenants, two men at arms and an itinerant tailor who happened to be at work in the Hall when the attack took place. The defenders numbered ten in all and were armed with long barrelled fowling pieces.
Captain Aston drew his men up in front of the Hall and demanded admission in the name of the King. Alexander Redmond retorted that Aston was welcome to come in provided only that he left his soldiers and weapons outside. A lengthy gun battle ensued. Aston discovered that his cannon were too small to make much impression on the main door. To add to his troubles about half his men abandoned him to pillage the countryside. As the fight dragged on a heavy sea-mist descended on the Hook Peninsula.
Meanwhile, the Irish Confederates under Captain Rossiter and Captain Thomas Roche were still encamped at Shielbaggan. Hearing of the attack they marched rapidly to the aid of the defenders and surprised the attackers under cover of the fog. About thirty of the English escaped to their boats and back to the fort. Captain Aston himself was one of those killed. Many of the others, including Lord Esmonde's two nephews Lieutenants John and Walter Esmonde were taken prisoner. Several of the English prisoners were hanged the following day on Thomas Roche's orders, probably at Ballyhack. On 20 August eleven others were hanged at New Ross including one of the Esmonde brothers (see also, Siege of Duncannon).
[edit]Dispossession and Change of Ownership
The official Redmond family pedigree (registered in the Ulster Office, Dublin Castle 1763) alleges that Alexander Redmond had to defend the Hall one or even two more times against soldiers of Oliver Cromwell in the autumn of 1649. There is a tradition that the defenders used sacks of wool to block up breaches in the walls created by enemy cannon. These woolsacks and a representation of the Hall can be seen in the coat of arms issued to one of their members in 1763. It is alleged that Alexander Redmond received favourable terms from Cromwell and died in the Hall in 1650 or 1651 after which his surviving family were evicted.
The Loftus family were English planters who had owned land in the neighbourhood from around 1590 when Sir Dudley Loftus was granted the lands around Kilcloggan. Nicholas Loftus acquired the Manor of Fethard-on-Sea in 1634 and Fethard Castle became the family residence. After the end of Cromwell's campaign Nicholas Loftus was given extensive lands in the south of County Wexford and purchased the Hall from 'several Adventurers and soldiers', but it was only in 1666 when his son Henry moved to the Hall from Dungulph that it became the principal residence of the Loftus family. To establish the new name of his property he had the following inscription inscribed in stone on the entrance piers at Portersgate: ' Henry Loftus of Loftus Hall Esq. 1680'. Nonetheless, the old name remained in use till the end of the century. In 1684 Henry Loftus carried out extensive repairs to the Hall, which presumably needed repairing after the turbulent events of the previous decades. The Loftus family rose in the peerage over the following centuries. In 1800 the then owner of the Hall, the first Earl of Ely, previously Baron Loftus of Loftus Hall, was created Marquess of Ely.It was his descendant, the 4th Marquess, who demolished the old Hall and built the present house, in about 1870.
The Redmond family had disputed the claim of the Loftus family in court but without success. In 1684 they were compensated with lands in the Barony of Ballaghkeene in the north of County Wexford. Some of their descendants joined the movement of the Wild Geese and served in a number of foreign armies most notably that of France. Others were involved in banking and politics, and became a prominent local political dynasty in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in support of the Irish Party of Isaac Butt and Charles Stuart Parnell. The most famous of these was John Redmond who led the party till his death in 1918.
[edit]The Ghost Story
Charles Tottenham and his family came to live in the mansion in the middle of the 18th century. Charles Tottenham's first wife had been the Honourable Anne Loftus.
Charles came for a long stay in the house with his second wife, and his daughter Anne from his first marriage. During a storm, a ship unexpectedly arrived at the Hook Peninsula, which was not far from the mansion. A young man was welcomed into the mansion. Anne and the young man became very close. Then, one night they were in the parlour; when the young man dropped a card on the floor and Anne went to pick it up she glanced under the table and noticed that the young man had a hoof in place of a foot.
It is said that Anne screamed and the man went up through the roof, leaving behind a large hole in the ceiling. Anne was in shock and was put in her favourite room in the mansion, which was known as the Tapestry Room. She refused food and drink and sat with her knees under her chin until she died in the Tapestry Room in 1775. It is said that when she died, they could not straightin her body as her muscles had seized and she was buried in the same sitting position in which she had died. A rumour states that the hole could never be properly repaired, and it is alleged that even to this day, there is still a certain part of the ceiling which is slightly different from the rest. This, of course, is a myth, since the present house was built more than a century after the events described above. Meanwhile it was believed that the stranger with the cloven hoof returned to the house and caused persistent poltergeist activity. A number of Protestant clergymen apparently tried and failed to put a stop to this. The family, who were themselves Protestants, eventually called on Father Thomas Broaders (a Catholic priest, who was also a tenant on the Loftus Hall estate) to exorcise the house.
The apparent success of Father Broaders' exorcism did not end the ghostly visitations at Loftus Hall. The ghost of a young woman, presumed to be Anne Tottenham, was reported to have made frequent appearances in the old Hall, especially in the Tapestry Room, until the building was finally demolished in 1871.
Although the present Loftus Hall is an entirely new building, interest in the ghost story has remained strong and many aspects of the story seem to have attached themselves to the newer house. Also mentioned in a documentary about the mansion many years later after the last owners had gone had said that there were reports from staff that had previously worked at the mansion, that they have seen annes ghost walk down the stairs, and that horses can be heard around the building.
[edit]The current Loftus Hall
In 1870 or 1871 the old Loftus Hall was levelled to the ground and work commenced immediately on the new building which was largely built on the foundations of the old. Only the circular foundation of one of the towers in the 'Ringfield' and an underground passage survive of the original building.
The new Loftus Hall was built with no expense spared. The entrance hall and main staircase alone cost £5000 and are considered very fine. The staircase was created by Italian carpenters and took many years to complete. The house was supplied throughout with lighting by gas which was made on the premises and all the apartments heated by hot air pipes.
Loftus Hall was sold privately in September 2008 after it was withdrawn from auction. Much speculation abounds as to who the new owner is, but it is widely rumored to be a Dublin financier of considerable wealth with strong business links to the IFSC.
The starting bid of 1.9 million euro was not met, and the building, land, and private beach were speculated to have been collectively sold to a single party for an amount bellow €1,000,000.
The sale of Loftus Hall fell through and at present has not been sold due in no small part to its state of disrepair and vandalism to its interiors, it would cost several million Euros to restore the house, grounds and estate buildings such as the massive old stables and orangery to its original condition and given its previous use as a hotel was an unprofitable period there is not much chance of it becoming a hotel again. Sadly the Tottenham family, descendants of the 4th Marquess of Ely who built it and now reside in Canada, have neither the financial resources or interest in their former stately home to help save it. Local residents and historians have lobbied local government and heritage bodies in Ireland to buy and restore the property for use as a museum but there is no interest and given the state of the Irish economy at present scant resources for such a project.
Source: Wikipedia.
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Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. The decoration consists, as a rule, of Arabic inscriptions that are manipulated into sacred geometrical patterns wrought into arabesques. Painted tiles are largely used as panelling for the walls. The palace complex is designed in the Mudéjar style which is characteristic of western elements reinterpreted into Islamic forms and widely popular during the Reconquista, the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims by the Christian kingdoms.
Unidentified
EVIDENCE
Provenance evidence: Inscription
Location in book: Inside Back Cover
COPY
Repository: Huntington Library
Call number: 700886
Collection: Grace K. Babson Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton
The Burndy Library Collection at the Huntington Library.
Copy title: Metamorphoses/P. Ouidii Metamorphosis, seu fabulæ poeticæ : earumque interpretatio ethica, physica et historica ... / Georgii Sabini, poetæ nostri seculi fere principis.
Author(s): Ovid, 43 B.C.-17 A.D. or 18 A.D.
Published: Francofurdi [Frankfurt, Germany], 1593
Printer/Publisher: Ex officina typographica Ioannis Wecheli [Johann Wechel]
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Grace K. Babson Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton
The Burndy Library Collection at the Huntington Library.
Ovid, 43 B.C.-17 A.D. or 18 A.D.
Ancient Side.....The ruins of ancient Side are among of the most spectacular that remain in the modern world and showcase hundreds of years of Greek life in the Roman Empire. Its coastal location made Side a desirable trading port and, despite the prominence of piracy, Greek settlers flocked to the city around the sixth century BC. Unusually, this resulted in the preservation, rather than destruction, of the native culture and Side became a cultural melting pot - indeed, many original inscriptions found at the site today are written in the indecipherable native language. Hellenic influence in Side grew, however, and it was under Roman rule that the city really flourished - even gaining repute as the best slave market of the period. Many of the Roman ruins still remain, and the city has become a popular destination for eager explorers interested in discovering the rich history of the ancient Mediterranean. Today, this ancient metropolis showcases the skill with which the Romans were able to seamlessly combine elements of Greek culture, which they so admired, with their own recognisable Roman stamp of identity. Certainly, when Titus Flamininus declared the ‘freedom of the Greeks’ in 196BC he would not have imagined that the two cultures would have merged so comprehensibly centuries later. Reflecting this combined cultural legacy, and ranking among the most prominent sites at Side is the 2nd century AD ancient theatre. A unique example of fusion design, it was born out of this combination of Hellenic plans and Roman construction. Moreover, the theatre’s decoration dates to the period of the Antonine Emperors and the exterior columns tell the story of Dionysus (or Bacchus in Roman), the Greek God of wine and patron of the theatre. Among Side’s other fascinating remains are the temples to Apollo and Athena, which are picturesquely perched at the very tip of Side’s harbour. The sight of these ancient columns set against the picture-perfect Mediterranean sea makes for an ideal sightseeing spot. If that isn’t enough, the archaeological site at Side also features the remnants of the colonnaded main street, Roman baths, a nymphaeum and a Hellenic gate that decorates the exterior walls. The nearby museum is an ancient site in itself, being housed within a baths complex dating back to the second century AD, and contains many of the finds discovered during excavations of the ruins in the mid-twentieth century.
Inscription of Kineas. Ai Khanoum 2nd century BCE.
© Musee Guimet. Personal photograph 2006.
Païs ôn kosmios ginou (As children, learn good manners)
hèbôn enkratès, (as young men, learn to control the passions)
mesos dikaios (in middle age, be just)
presbutès euboulos (in old age, give good advice)
teleutôn alupos. (then die, without regret.)"
(Ai Khanoum inscription)
Plenty of leg room.
2016–present 320 PS (235 kW; 316 hp) @5700 400 N⋅m (300 lb⋅ft) @2200–5400 1,969 cc (120.2 in3)
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Starting with the 2018 model year, all Volvo S90s sold in Canada and the USA will be of the long-wheelbase variety, which are assembled in China, a market that prioritizes rear-seat accommodations. Volvo’s familiar 400-hp T8 Twin Engine plug-in-hybrid powertrain also is joining the lineup, sitting at the top of the range above the existing 250-hp T5 and 316-hp T6 choices.
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Inscription: LONGARUM / HAEC META VIARUM (=This is destination of long way)
Unidentified
EVIDENCE
Provenance evidence: Inscription
Location in book: 3b1r
Associated name(s): Jane Katherin
COPY
Repository: Folger Shakespeare Library
Call number: 22273 Fo.1 no. 38
Copy title: Mr. Vvilliam Shakespeares comedies, histories, & tragedies: published according to the true originall copies.
Author(s): Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Published: London, 1623
Printer/Publisher: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed. Blount
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Identified
EVIDENCE
Provenance evidence: Inscription, Shelf Mark
Location in book: Inside Front Cover
Transcription: G 1-45/Case A.A. A15, Barnsley/£700
IDENTIFICATION
Identified: Musgrave Family , owner
Identified place(s): Barnsley Park, Gloustershire, England
COPY
Repository: Huntington Library
Call number: 700886
Collection: Grace K. Babson Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton
The Burndy Library Collection at the Huntington Library.
Copy title: Metamorphoses/P. Ouidii Metamorphosis, seu fabulæ poeticæ : earumque interpretatio ethica, physica et historica ... / Georgii Sabini, poetæ nostri seculi fere principis.
Author(s): Ovid, 43 B.C.-17 A.D. or 18 A.D.
Published: Francofurdi [Frankfurt, Germany], 1593
Printer/Publisher: Ex officina typographica Ioannis Wecheli [Johann Wechel]
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Grace K. Babson Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton
The Burndy Library Collection at the Huntington Library.
Ovid, 43 B.C.-17 A.D. or 18 A.D.
Francofurdi [Frankfurt, Germany]
One of the rock-cut temples carved into the cliffs of the Wadi Sikait, at ancient Mons Smaragdus, bears a dedicatory inscription carved into the lintel (SEG 27: 1108).
An emerald miner named Polyphantos begins by specifying the date, which fell during the reign of Gallienus and his father Valerian somewhere between 253 and 268. Thanking various Egyptian and Roman gods, he specifies that this sanctuary is for Berenike, for whom Polyphantos and his fellow workers made a statue and a cup made of two pounds of silver (neither of which remains in the niche!)
The last two sections of the text are seen here, the rest on other lintels. Unfortunately the inscription has suffered horrendous damage in the past century; older transcriptions and drawings make clear that more than half of the text has been destroyed – by the elements, vandalism, or a combination of both – as pieces of stone have fallen from the lintel.
Egypt, Eastern Desert, Wadi Sikait: ca. 260 AD
Spliced photograph taken by Edward M. Catich in his The Roman Inscription in Rome. Published by the Catfish Press, St. Ambrose College, Davenport, Iowa.
inscription on the wall of a former classroom of an abandoned boarding school along the road from Bayamo to Las Tunas in eastern Cuba
L'iscrizione sulla facciata di San Giovanni in Laterano (eretta nel 1732-1735 da Alessandro Galilei) proclama che si tratta della chiesa "madre e origine di tutte le chiese di Roma e del mondo", in quanto cattedrale della Città Eterna e fulcro originario delle sede di Pietro.
From Edward M. Catich's The Trajan Inscription in Rome. Published by the Catfish Press, St. Ambrose College, Davenport, Iowa.
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Sheep are a common motif in Inscription Canyon which has one of the largest concentrations of Native American petroglyphs in the Mojave Desert.
Dimanche . Le ciel est d'une humeur opposée à celle d'hier, il boude et boudera toute la journée .
On est arrivé au « centre-bourg » de Trégourez . Ici aussi l'église est fermée .
Voyez le blog de Marta : knockaertmarthe.unblog.fr/le-patrimoine/patrimoine-religi...
Le porche .
Trégourez, Finistère, Bretagne, France .
Photographie J-P Leroy, tous droits réservés .
Fiona lives in the moment. On the back of her head is the inscription "in every moment is the surprise of joy" ... and that is what she wants to bring to you. Joy, the ability to enjoy each moment as it happens ... and she will be right by your side!
Fiona is a lavender hug base dolly with a winsome willow scalp trimmed into a very layered, angled bob with pointed bangs. She has airbrushed make-up with handpainted details and four pairs of my handpainted chips. Her lids are a gorgeous soft rose color with gold overlay.
Fiona's outfit is designed and made by me, and consists of a darling little bubble dress in silk cotton Blythecon fabric with sequins on the bodice, and an apple hat in red wool felt, lined in Blythecon fabric and decorated with red sequins, a brown felt stem and green wired leaf, and a green beaded heart on the back. Coolcat stripey tights and black boots complete her look! Fiona comes on her little grass flowered stand so she is never far from her beloved Central Park! <3
CARITÀ NAPOLETANA
I proprietari della case dell'umile Vico delle Rose a San Potito dispongono un "maritaggio", ovvero "dote maritale" (senza la quale una giovane povera non si sarebbe mai potuta sposare) a Pasqua e all'Epifania. Oppure la distribuzione del fondo tra tutti gli abitanti del vicolo (sec. XVIII). Foto Carlo Raso.
"Si fà noto agli abitanti in questo comprensorio di case che da possessori del medesimo nel dì della S. Pasqua d'Epifania in ciascheduno anno si dispenserà un maritaggio di docati quindeci ad una donzella vergine in capillis che si mariterà nelle case de medesimi abitanti ed in mancanza di dette donzelle detti docati quindeci si distribuiranno per soccorso caritativo alle case de medesimi abitanti in detto dì festivo. Il tutto secondo li requisiti contenuti nell'atto che si conserva dal magnifico notar Nicola Ranieri di Napoli"
Consolidated Press
Inscriptions: "Grace Cavanagh Photo: Consolidated Press"--On mount; Consolidated Press copyright stamp on verso.; Part of the collection: Australian Women Pilots' Association.; Catalogue record generated as part of a batch load.; Also available in an electronic version via the internet at: nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn5015569.
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Kathmandu Durbar Square (Nepali: वसन्तपुर दरवार क्षेत्र, Basantapur Darbar Kshetra) in front of the old royal palace of the former Kathmandu Kingdom is one of three Durbar (royal palace) Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Several buildings in the Square collapsed due to a major earthquake on 25 April 2015. Durbar Square was surrounded with spectacular architecture and vividly showcases the skills of the Newar artists and craftsmen over several centuries. The Royal Palace was originally at Dattaraya square and was later moved to the Durbar square.
The Kathmandu Durbar Square held the palaces of the Malla and Shah kings who ruled over the city. Along with these palaces, the square surrounds quadrangles, revealing courtyards and temples. It is known as Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square, a name derived from a statue of Hanuman, the monkey devotee of Lord Ram, at the entrance of the palace.
CONTENTS
HISTORY AND CONSTRUCTION
The preference for the construction of royal palaces at this site dates back to as early as the Licchavi period in the third century. Even though the present palaces and temples have undergone repeated and extensive renovations and nothing physical remains from that period. Names like Gunapo and Gupo, which are the names referred to the palaces in the square in early scriptures, imply that the palaces were built by Gunakamadev, a King ruling late in the tenth-century. When Kathmandu City became independent under the rule of King Ratna Malla (1484–1520), the palaces in the square became the Royal Palaces for its Malla Kings. When Prithvi Narayan Shah invaded the Kathmandu Valley in 1769, he favored the Kathmandu Durbar Square for his palace. Other subsequent Shah kings continued to rule from the square until 1896 when they moved to the Narayan Hiti Palace.
The square is still the center of important royal events like the coronation of King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah in 1975 and King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah in 2001.
Though there are no written archives stating the history of Kathmandu Durbar Square, construction of the palace in the square is credited to Sankharadev (1069–1083). As the first king of the independent Kathmandu City, Ratna Malla is said to have built the Taleju temple in the Northern side of the palace in 1501. For this to be true then the temple would have had to have been built in the vihara style as part of the palace premise surrounding the Mul Chok courtyard for no evidence of a separate structure that would match this temple can be found within the square.
Construction of the Karnel Chok is not clearly stated in any historical inscriptions; although, it is probably the oldest among all the courtyards in the square. The Bhagavati Temple, originally known as a Narayan Temple, rises above the mansions surrounding it and was added during the time of Jagajaya Malla in the early eighteenth century. The Narayan idol within the temple was stolen so Prithvi Narayan Shah replaced it with an image of Bhagavati, completely transforming the name of the temple.
The oldest temples in the square are those built by Mahendra Malla (1560–1574). They are the temples of Jagannath, Kotilingeswara Mahadev, Mahendreswara, and the Taleju Temple. This three-roofed Taleju Temple was established in 1564, in a typical Newari architectural style and is elevated on platforms that form a pyramid-like structure. It is said that Mahendra Malla, when he was residing in Bhaktapur, was highly devoted to the Taleju Temple there; the Goddess being pleased with his devotion gave him a vision asking him to build a temple for her in the Kathmandu Durbar Square. With a help of a hermit, he designed the temple to give it its present form and the Goddess entered the temple in the form of a bee.
His successors Sadasiva (1575–1581), his son, Shiva Simha (1578–1619), and his grandson, Laksmi Narsingha (1619–1641), do not seem to have made any major additions to the square. During this period of three generations the only constructions to have occurred were the establishment of Degutale Temple dedicated to Goddess Mother Taleju by Shiva Simha and some enhancement in the royal palace by Laksminar Simha.
UNDER PRATAP MALLA
In the time of Pratap Malla, son of Laksminar Simha, the square was extensively developed. He was an intellectual, a pious devotee, and especially interested in arts. He called himself a Kavindra, king of poets, and boasted that he was learned in fifteen different languages. A passionate builder, following his coronation as a king, he immediately began enlargements to his royal palace, and rebuilt some old temples and constructed new temples, shrines and stupas around his kingdom.During the construction of his palace, he added a small entrance in the traditional, low and narrow Newari style. The door was elaborately decorated with carvings and paintings of deities and auspicious sings and was later transferred to the entrance of Mohan Chok. In front of the entrance he placed the statue of Hanuman thinking that Hanuman would strengthen his army and protect his home. The entrance leads to Nasal Chok, the courtyard where most royal events such as coronation, performances, and yagyas, holy fire rituals, take place. It was named after Nasadya, the God of Dance, and during the time of Pratap Malla the sacred mask dance dramas performed in Nasal Chok were widely famed. In one of these dramas, it is said that Pratap Malla himself played the role of Lord Vishnu and that the spirit of the Lord remained in the king's body even after the play. After consulting his Tantric leaders, he ordered a stone image of Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as Nara Simha, the half-lion and half-human form, and then transferred the spirit into the stone. This fine image of Nara Simha made in 1673 still stands in the Nasal Chok. In 1650, he commissioned for the construction of Mohan Chok in the palace. This chok remained the royal residential courtyard for many years and is believed to store a great amount of treasure under its surface. Pratap Malla also built Sundari Chok about this time. He placed a slab engraved with lines in fifteen languages and proclaimed that he who can understand the inscription would produce the flow of milk instead of water from Tutedhara, a fountain set in the outer walls of Mohan Chok. However elaborate his constructions may have been, they were not simply intended to emphasize his luxuries but also his and the importance of others' devotion towards deities. He made extensive donations to temples and had the older ones renovated. Next to the palace, he built a Krishna temple, the Vamsagopala, in an octagonal shape in 1649. He dedicated this temple to his two Indian wives, Rupamati and Rajamati, as both had died during the year it was built. In Mohan Chok, he erected a three roofed Agamachem temple and a unique temple with five superimposing roofs. After completely restoring the Mul Chok, he donated to the adjoining Taleju Temple. To the main temple of Taleju, he donated metal doors in 1670. He rebuilt the Degutale Temple built by his grandfather, Siva Simha, and the Taleju Temple in the palace square. As a substitute to the Indreswara Mahadeva Temple in the distant village of Panauti he built a Shiva temple, Indrapura, near his palace in the square. He carved hymns on the walls of the Jagannath Temple as prayers to Taleju in the form of Kali.
At the southern end of the square, near Kasthamandap at Maru, which was the main city crossroads for early traders, he built another pavilion named Kavindrapura, the mansion of the king of poets. In this mansion he set an idol of dancing Shiva, Nasadyo, which today is highly worshipped by dancers in the Valley.
In the process of beautifying his palace, he added fountains, ponds, and baths. In Sundari Chok, he established a low bath with a golden fountain. He built a small pond, the Naga Pokhari, in the palace adorned with Nagakastha, a wooden serpent, which is said he had ordered stolen from the royal pond in the Bhaktapur Durbar Square. He restored the Licchavi stone sculptures such as the Jalasayana Narayana, the Kaliyadamana, and the Kala Bhairav. An idol of Jalasayana Narayana was placed in a newly created pond in the Bhandarkhal garden in the eastern wing of the palace. As a substitute to the idol of Jalasayana Narayana in Buddhanilkantha, he channeled water from Buddhanilkantha to the pond in Bhandarkhal due bestow authenticity. The Kalyadana, a manifestation of Lord Krishna destroying Kaliya, a water serpent, is placed in Kalindi Chok, which is adjacent to the Mohan Chok. The approximately ten-feet-high image of terrifyingly portrayed Kal Bhairav is placed near the Jagannath Temple. This image is the focus of worship in the chok especially during Durga Puja.
With the death of Pratap Malla in 1674, the overall emphasis on the importance of the square came to a halt. His successors retained relatively insignificant power and the prevailing ministers took control of most of the royal rule. The ministers encountered little influence under these kings and, increasingly, interest of the arts and additions to the square was lost on them. They focused less on culture than Pratap Malla during the three decades that followed his death, steering the city and country more towards the arenas of politics and power, with only a few minor constructions made in the square. These projects included Parthivendra Malla building a temple referred to as Trailokya Mohan or Dasavatara, dedicated to Lord Vishnu in 1679. A large statue of Garuda, the mount of Lord Vishnu, was added in front of it a decade later. Parthivendra Malla added a pillar with image of his family in front of the Taleju Temple.
Around 1692, Radhilasmi, the widowed queen of Pratap Malla, erected the tall temples of Shiva known as Maju Deval near the Garuda image in the square. This temple stands on nine stepped platforms and is one of the tallest buildings in the square. Then her son, Bhupalendra Malla, took the throne and banished the widowed queen to the hills. His death came early at the age of twenty one and his widowed queen, Bhuvanalaksmi, built a temple in the square known as Kageswara Mahadev. The temple was built in the Newari style and acted as a substitute for worship of a distant temple in the hills. After the earthquake in 1934, the temple was restored with a dome roof, which was alien to the Newari architecture.
Jayaprakash Malla, the last Malla king to rule Kathmandu, built a temple for Kumari and Durga in her virginal state. The temple was named Kumari Bahal and was structured like a typical Newari vihara. In his house resides the Kumari, a girl who is revered as the living goddess. He also made a chariot for Kumari and in the courtyard had detailed terra cotta tiles of that time laid down.
UNDER THE SHAH DYNASTY
During the Shah dynasty that followed, the Kathmandu Durbar Square saw a number of changes. Two of the most unique temples in the square were built during this time. One is the Nautale, a nine-storied building known as Basantapur Durbar. It has four roofs and stands at the end of Nasal Chok at the East side of the palace. It is said that this building was set as a pleasure house. The lower three stories were made in the Newari farmhouse style. The upper floors have Newari style windows, sanjhya and tikijhya, and some of them are slightly projected from the wall. The other temple is annexed to the Vasantapur Durbar and has four-stories. This building was initially known as Vilasamandira, or Lohom Chok, but is now commonly known as Basantapur or Tejarat Chok. The lower floors of the Basantapur Chok display extensive woodcarvings and the roofs are made in popular the Mughal style. Archives state that Prthivi Narayan Shah built these two buildings in 1770.
Rana Bahadur Shah was enthroned at the age of two. Bahadur Shah, the second son of Prithvi Narayan Shah, ruled as a regent for his young nephew Rana Bahadur Shah for a close to a decade from 1785 to 1794 and built a temple of Shiva Parvati in the square. This one roofed temple is designed in the Newari style and is remarkably similar to previous temples built by the Mallas. It is rectangular in shape, and enshrines the Navadurga, a group of goddesses, on the ground floor. It has a wooden image of Shiva and Parvati at the window of the upper floor, looking out at the passersby in the square. Another significant donation made during the time of Rana Bahadur Shah is the metal-plated head of Swet Bhairav near the Degutale Temple. It was donated during the festival of Indra Jatra in 1795, and continues to play a major role during the festival every year. This approximately twelve feet high face of Bhairav is concealed behind a latticed wooden screen for the rest of the year. The following this donation Rana Bahadur donated a huge bronze bell as an offering to the Goddess Taleju. Together with the beating of the huge drums donated by his son Girvan Yudha, the bell was rung every day during the daily ritual worship to the goddess. Later these instruments were also used as an alarm system. However, after the death of his beloved third wife Kanimati Devi due to smallpox, Rana Bahadur Shah turned mad with grief and had many images of gods and goddesses smashed including the Taleju statue and bell, and Sitala, the goddess of smallpox.
In 1908, a palace, Gaddi Durbar, was built using European architectural designs. The Rana Prime Ministers who had taken over the power but not the throne of the country from the Shahs Kings from 1846 to 1951 were highly influenced by European styles. The Gaddi Durbar is covered in white plaster, has Greek columns and adjoins a large audience hall, all foreign features to Nepali architecture. The balconies of this durbar were reserved for the royal family during festivals to view the square below.
Some of the parts of the square like the Hatti Chok near the Kumari Bahal in the southern section of the square were removed during restoration after the devastating earthquake in 1934. While building the New Road, the southeastern part of the palace was cleared away, leaving only fragments in places as reminders of their past. Though decreased from its original size and attractiveness from its earlier seventeenth-century architecture, the Kathmandu Durbar Square still displays an ancient surrounding that spans abound five acres of land. It has palaces, temples, quadrangles, courtyards, ponds, and images that were brought together over three centuries of the Malla, the Shah, and the Rana dynasties. It was destroyed in the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.
VISITING
Kathmandu's Durbar Square is the site of the Hanuman Dhoka Palace Complex, which was the royal Nepalese residence until the 19th century and where important ceremonies, such as the coronation of the Nepalese monarch, took place. The palace is decorated with elaborately-carved wooden windows and panels and houses the King Tribhuwan Memorial Museum and the Mahendra Museum. It is possible to visit the state rooms inside the palace.
Time and again the temples and the palaces in the square have gone through reconstruction after being damaged by natural causes or neglect. Presently there are less than ten quadrangles in the square. The temples are being preserved as national heritage sites and the palace is being used as a museum. Only a few parts of the palace are open for visitors and the Taleju temples are only open for people of Hindu and Buddhist faiths.
At the southern end of Durbar Square is one of the most curious attractions in Nepal, the Kumari Chok. This gilded cage contains the Raj Kumari, a girl chosen through an ancient and mystical selection process to become the human incarnation of the Hindu mother goddess, Durga. She is worshiped during religious festivals and makes public appearances at other times for a fee paid to her guards.
WIKIPEDIA
Unidentified
EVIDENCE
Provenance evidence: Inscription
Location in book: Inside Back Cover
Transcription: Ptolemaeus, Claudius/Incun. 1478 .P855 Rosenwald Coll
COPY
Repository: Library of Congress
Call number: Incun. 1478 .P855 Rosenwald Coll
Collection: Rosenwald Collection
Copy title: Geographia. Latin/Cosmographia/Claudii Ptholemei Alexandrini philosophi Cosmographia.
Author(s): Ptolemy, active 2nd century.
Published: Rome, 10 Oct. (VI Idus Octobris) 1478.
Printer/Publisher: Arnoldus Buckinck
FIND IN POP
Incun. 1478 .P855 Rosenwald Coll