Tag: antiquities

My Time In Portugal, Part 3 – Sintra National Palace
art · culture · international · life curation · luxury · travel

My Time In Portugal, Part 3 – Sintra National Palace

Mstldelano1 Comment

Happy Monday, friends! It’s another Portugal post (one more Portugal post is scheduled, then we’ll dive into the Spain and Greece portions of my trip). This post is about Sintra National Palace, a fabulous historical and cultural site located just outside of Lisbon. I loved touring the building and learning more about this incredible region.

I really enjoyed coming to this site, and learning so much about the history of Portugal’s ruling elite. The luxury on display at this palace was nothing short of inspirational: I felt right at home!

Here are some of the pics from my tour:

Sintra National Palace
Exterior of the palace
Swan detailing
Look up!
A stunning chest in one of the rooms
More ceiling details
Bird symbolism
Detail of one of the tiles
This golden globe had me transfixed
Detailing on the globe
See “leo”?
Incredible desk that I want to own!
Fountain outside
Painting detail: see the Turkish flag?
Yup, I need all of these plates.
The most stunning ceiling in the building
The most intricate room in the palace
Another view of the ceiling
Tile detaling
Crests representing teh future marriages of the royal daughters
More details of the stunning ceiling
Religions veneration surrounding by swan imagery
More ceiling details
A better view of this lovely nook
An indoor fountain! I’m in heaven!
Mirror in the Queen’s boudoir
Breathtaking chandelier
The Queen’s dresser
Another mirror in the Queen’s apartment
Fireplace in the Queen’s apartment
Painting of a Portuguese royal
Another chandelier in a perfectly appointed room
A garling grotto
Look at these details!
O grotto (The grotto)

The National Palace was certainly a highlight of my trip, and one of my favorite features of Portugal in particular. Have you all visited here before? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below!

art · life curation

The Dark Side of the Art World

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As an art fanatic and insatiable autodidact, I stay on the lookout for interesting resources for learning more about the art world. My current favorite e-learning website, Future Learn, has yet another great course related to art. This time, the course dives into the dark side of the art world. Antiquities Trafficking and Art Crime “delve[s] into the seedy underbelly of the art world, looking at smuggling, theft, fakes, and fraud […]”.

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I don’t know about you, but this course sounds like it will be great for indulging my inner spy! So yes, I’ll be doing this course. Depending on how quickly I go through the materials, I may explore another Future Learn course before the end of summer. For now, though, I’m going to concentrate on this course.

Thinking about art crime, I remember watching a cute Audrey Hepburn movie years ago, about an art forger that was on the brink of getting caught. I can’t remember all of the details of the movie, but I may watch it again to refresh my memory. The movie is How to Steal a Million, and it’s starring Audrey Hepburn (as mentioned previously) and Peter O’Toole. From what I recall, it was a light and cute comedy, so you may want to check it out.

Anyhoo, that’s it for today. I’ve got some running around to do today but I’ll be back tomorrow. Ciao!