Saturday, 21 September 2024

Albrecht Durer engraving from 1513 sells for 26 thousand pounds


500-year-old engraving by Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer sells at auction for £26,500 after it was found at a tip by an 11-year-old boy

A 16th century German Renaissance engraving found by an 11-year-old boy on a rubbish dump has sold at auction for £26,500.

Eagle-eyed Mat Winter spotted the black-and-white print with bags of rubbish being thrown out by a woman at a tip.

He asked her if he could have it and she agreed so he took the A4-sized picture back to his home in Cranbrook, Kent.

Mat kept the engraving, entitled 'Knight, Death and the Devil' in a cupboard for 13 years before having it valued earlier this year.

It turned out to be the work of German-born Albrecht Dürer, a painter and printmaker regarded as one of the most gifted artists of all time.

Titled 'Knight, Death and the Devil', it is a 16th century German Renaissance engraving

Titled 'Knight, Death and the Devil', it is a 16th century German Renaissance engraving

Jim Spencer, pictured, the director of the auction house in Lichfield, said there had been interest in the engraving 'from all over the world'

Jim Spencer, pictured, the director of the auction house in Lichfield, said there had been interest in the engraving 'from all over the world'

Mat Winter, pictured, spotted the black-and-white print with bags of rubbish being thrown out by a woman at a tip

Mat Winter, pictured, spotted the black-and-white print with bags of rubbish being thrown out by a woman at a tip

Completed in 1513, it is one of Dürer's most famous and influential works. Dürer was born in 1471 in Nuremberg, when the city was part of the Holy Roman Empire and became a key figure of the Northern Renaissance.

He knew renowned Italian artists including Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci and created works for Emperor Maximilian I, King of the Romans.

Mat, now aged 24, said: 'I've had an eye for antiques since I was 10 years old. I used to go to the local rubbish tip to see what I could find. I discovered some great stuff.

'One day a lady had some rubbish in her car including the print. I thought it looked interesting and asked if I could have it.

'She was more then happy to give it to me because she wanted it to go to someone rather than just throwing it away.

'I was 11 at the time and very happy she let me take it. It's been tucked away in a cupboard at home with all my other antique finds for the last 13 years.

'Recently, I decided to get it checked out to see if it was as special as it looked. I was amazed to find out it was.'

It turned out to be the work of German-born Albrecht Dürer, a painter and printmaker regarded as one of the most gifted artists of all time

It turned out to be the work of German-born Albrecht Dürer, a painter and printmaker regarded as one of the most gifted artists of all time

Completed in 1513, it is one of Dürer's most famous and influential works

Completed in 1513, it is one of Dürer's most famous and influential works

Including a buyer's premium, the bidder - who is a private collector in Germany - paid £33,390 for the engraving, which was listed with a guide price range of £10,000-£20,000. 

Jim Spencer, who is director of the auction house in Lichfield, Staffordshire, said there had been interest in the engraving 'from all over the world'.

'I guess you could say this German Renaissance print is going home,' he added.

A key feature proving the engraving is the work of Dürer is a faint scratch across the head of the knight's horse.

Mr Spencer added: 'I checked our example and the scratch was present. It disappears on later printings, so this sealed it. It was period and authentic.

'It's the most important print I've ever catalogued and offered for sale.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13869935/500-year-old-engraving-Renaissance-artist-sells-26-500-tip-boy-11.html

Albrecht Dürer (self portrait above) lived in Nuremberg, Germany and was famous for his paint making

Albrecht Dürer (self portrait above) lived in Nuremberg, Germany and was famous for his paint making

A drawing bought for $30 in a Massachusetts house clearance sale is expected to sell for a staggering $50million

A drawing bought for $30 in a Massachusetts house clearance sale is expected to sell for a staggering $50million

Experts believe the unpublished artwork, The Virgin and Child with a Flower on a Grassy Bank, was produced by the German Old Master in 1503

Experts believe the unpublished artwork, The Virgin and Child with a Flower on a Grassy Bank, was produced by the German Old Master in 1503

Experts believe the drawing may have been used as a study for one of Durer's finest watercolors, The Virgin with a Multitude of Animals (pictured)

Experts believe the drawing may have been used as a study for one of Durer's finest watercolors, The Virgin with a Multitude of Animals (pictured)


                       Erasmus, by Durer


     Trento, by Durer


       Rhinoceros by Durer


                                 Witch by Durer


                             Descent into Hell by Durer


                             The 4 Horsemen by Durer



                                             Piper by Durer


                                       Man with Syphilis by Durer


                                   Small Horse by Durer


                              Large Horse


Friday, 20 September 2024

Knifeman shouting "Allahu Akbar" goes on rampage in Rotterdam

One person is dead and another seriously injured after a man armed with 'two long knives' went on a rampage near a Rotterdam landmark

One person is dead and another has been seriously injured after being attacked by a man with 'two long knives' in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam. 

Local police were rushed to Erasmus Bridge, a landmark in the area, after reports of a knifeman on the loose on Thursday night. 

There they found two victims - one who had been fatally injured. 

The force also arrested the suspect, who was taken to hospital for treatment.

Police spokesman Wessel Stolle said officers were probing the stabbing. 

One person is dead and another injured after allegedly being attacked by a knifeman in Rotterdam, Netherlands last night

One person is dead and another injured after being attacked by a knifeman in Rotterdam, Netherlands last night

The alleged attacker was said to have stabbed people at random

The attacker stabbed people at random 

The horror occurred near Rotterdam's Erasmus Bridge, local police said

The horror occurred near Rotterdam's Erasmus Bridge

Mr Stolle said there was no immediate word on a motive, but 'we look into all possible scenarios'.

Dutch daily De Telegraaf cited witnesses at the scene who reported that a man had attacked people at random. 

Onlookers said the knifeman was armed with two blades, and shouted 'Allahu Akbar', the Arabic phrase meaning "Allah is greater than your God", as he attacked people. 

Mr Stolle said police at the scene also had heard that the man shouted the phrase, and that 'it's part of the investigation'.

A sports instructor, Reniel Renato David Litecia, said he hit the attacker with two sticks after seeing him attack somebody and managed to take the knives and throw them away.

He said he initially thought it was a fight, 'but when I started running in that direction I saw that it wasn't a fight'.

The instructor continued: 'It was a man with two long knives who was stabbing another young guy and when I started shouting he turned around and started approaching everyone who was around him.'

Another police spokesperson, Kristel Arntz, said the knifeman is believed to have attacked one person in an underground car park. 

She said a second victim was thought to have been attacked near a busy terrace at one end of the bridge that spans the New Maas river, which runs through Rotterdam.

Ms Arntz also said it was too early in the investigation to establish a motive.

She said: 'We have arrested a suspect, we are going to question him.

'We will look at all the witness statements and then we will look at what the possible motive was. 

The identities of the victims and suspect were not immediately clear.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13871667/knife-attack-dead-injured-rotterdam-police.html


Thursday, 19 September 2024

Hazards of Lithium Batteries


What's going to explode next? The fridge? My phone? The scenes in Lebanon are from a horror film - fleshless faces, eyes hanging out. With dozens dead and thousands hurt, none can feel safe

Thousands of walkie-talkies, solar panels and fingerprint recognition devices used by Hezbollah fighters have detonated across Lebanon in the past two days, killing 14 and wounding hundreds of people including mourners at a funeral.

The second wave of carnage comes a day after thousands of exploding pagers used by the group left almost 3,000 people injured and a dozen dead.

Security sources confirmed that hand-held radios were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago, at around the same time as compromised pagers. Lebanese media has also reported that home solar energy systems have blown up in several areas of Beirut.

The ensuing panic has caused terrified residents to tear the batteries from their walkie-talkies and throw devices into the street in fear of more explosions. 

In a sign of the alarm caused by the devices, the Lebanese Armed Forces have been carrying out controlled explosions of suspicious items - including bags of rice suspected to be rigged with explosives in a pit of the parking lot at the American University of Beirut Medical Centre.

The attacks amount to the biggest security breach in Hezbollah's history.


Hezbollah fighters carry a coffin of one of the people who died a day earlier in pagers blasts, during the funeral procession in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon

Hezbollah fighters carry a coffin of one of the people who died in the pagers blasts, during the funeral procession in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut's hospitals are reportedly still full following yesterday's attacks, as the already crippled country deals with the catastrophe.

So far, at least 20 people have died and over 450 people were injured by exploding walkie-talkies. Casualties are expected to rise overnight. Lebanon's health system is overwhelmed.

The compromised walkie-talkies were said to be part of Hezbollah’s emergency back-up communications system, in the event of their pagers not working.

Hezbollah has been left deeply embarrassed by the security failure. Sky News reported that 'thousands and thousands' of pagers are currently being destroyed by the terror group in the wake of the detonations.  

A walkie-talkie that was exploded inside a house, in Baalbek, east Lebanon today

A walkie-talkie that exploded inside a house, in Baalbek, east Lebanon

A fire breaking out in a car as a result of a device exploding in Lebanon

A fire breaking out in a car as a result of a device exploding in Lebanon

Beirut has collapsed into panic. The WhatsApp groups are going non-stop. There are wild rumours doing the rounds that solar panels might explode, batteries, fridges – anything. The army is even blowing up bags of rice imported from Thailand.

When the dreadful sound of the explosions of walkie-talkies and radios began, the women started ­crying.

I saw a paramedic stumbling out of an ambulance which was billowing smoke. He collapsed.

A man holds a walkie talkie device after he removed the battery during the funeral of persons killed when hundreds of paging devices exploded in a deadly wave

A man holds a walkie talkie device after he removed the battery

Dr Elias Warrak, an ophthalmologist at Mount Lebanon University Hospital in Beirut, told the BBC the past 24 hours there had been 'a nightmare', adding that more than 60 to 70 per cent of the patients being treated ended up with at least one eye removed.

People stand near a crater after Lebanese army soldiers blew up a communication device in the parking lot of the American University of Beirut Medical Centre

People stand near a crater after Lebanese army soldiers blew up a communication device in the parking lot of the American University of Beirut Medical Centre

Home solar energy systems also exploded, along with fingerprint devices and radios.

A reporter in the southern suburbs of Beirut saw Hezbollah members frantically taking batteries out of any walkie-talkies that had not exploded, tossing the parts in metal barrels.

Walkie-talkie devices without batteries are shown at an electronic store, which the owner says he removed for safety reasons

Walkie-talkie devices without batteries are shown at an electronic store, which the owner removed for safety reasons

A vendor shows walkie-talkie devices without batteries as he took them out out of fear

A vendor shows walkie-talkie devices without batteries as he took them out

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13866291/panic-Beirut-Lebanon-hezbollah-pagers-army-explosions-basmati-rice-bags.html

A hand shows the destroyed pager or paging device that exploded on September 17, 2024

A destroyed pager or paging device that exploded 

Just one day after Hamas' October 7 attacks that triggered the war in Gaza, Lebanon's Hezbollah entered the fray in support of its ally.

Since then, hundreds of the group's operatives have been killed in  Israeli strikes, including several senior commanders and a top Hamas official in Beirut

Pagers have an extremely long battery life, with some models able to last up to three months on one charge.

Iran's ambassador 'lost an eye when his ''Hezbollah-issued pager'' exploded in his face'

Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, reportedly lost an eye when a pager exploded in his face during a deadly pocket bomb attack which tore through the country

Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, lost an eye when a pager exploded in his face

The stunning incident saw scores of Hezbollah members severely injured throughout southern Lebanon and in its capital Beirut

Scores of Hezbollah members were severely injured throughout southern Lebanon and in its capital Beirut

A partly damaged car after what is believed to be the result of a walkie-talkie exploding inside it, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon

A partly damaged car after a walkie-talkie exploded inside it, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon

An ambulance believed to be carrying wounded people, after multiple explosions were heard during the funeral of four Hezbollah fighters after their handheld pagers exploded, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024

An ambulance carrying wounded, after multiple explosions were heard during the funeral of four Hezbollah fighters after their handheld pagers exploded, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon

A picture circulating online appears to show one of the radio devices after it detonated

One of the radio devices after it detonated

Smoke billows from a house in Baalbek in east Lebanon after a reported explosion of a radio device, on September 18, 2024

Smoke billows from a house in Baalbek in east Lebanon after the explosion of a radio device

People watch as smoke rises from a building following an explosion, as hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated across Lebanon's south and in Beirut suburbs
People watch as smoke rises from a building following an explosion, as hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated across Lebanon's south and in Beirut suburbs

Smoke rises from a building following an explosion, as hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated across Lebanon's south and in Beirut suburbs

S motorcycle damaged in explosions of communication devices in Baalbek, Lebanon

Motorcycle damaged by explosions of communication devices in Baalbek, Lebanon

Casualties across the two attacks are in their thousands

Damaged motorcycles

People gather as smoke rises from a mobile shop in Sidon, Lebanon September 18, 2024

Smoke rises from a mobile shop in Sidon, Lebanon

People gather as smoke rises from a mobile shop in Sidon, Lebanon September 18, 2024

Smoke rises from a mobile shop in Sidon, Lebanon