Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2015 November 13

= November 13 =

Dali's Mustache (St. Petersburg): Which artist?
Next to the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg a sculpture of Dali's mustache can be found. I am not able to identify the artist who is at its origin. I appreciate your help! Bikkit ! (talk) 07:21, 13 November 2015 (UTC)


 * Hi Bikkit, I can't find any mention of it on the museum website. But you could ask the curator, her email is on the right at this page.184.147.131.85 (talk) 14:28, 13 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks, it was a helpful idea. I wrote and they have answered already! Bikkit ! (talk) 21:08, 13 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Excellent! Glad to hear you found your answer.184.147.131.85 (talk) 22:05, 13 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Care to share the sculptor's name? Thanks! -- Paulscrawl (talk) 17:49, 14 November 2015 (UTC)
 * I can share the pragmatic answer, I received by e-mail:
 * The mustache in our garden was removed from a Billboard advertising our Museum at our opening in 2010 [!B!: They advertised in 2010 and re-opened early 2011]. The mustache is made from styraform [!B!: Probably styrofoam?] with black lacquer by the billboard company and we thought it made a great photo-op. It is 40 feet wide and 14 ft. high.
 * So probably the artist's name is Tom, Dick or Harry.
 * I needed this information for the Dali' Mustache article in which I want to include not only the reception/perception of the book but also the reception/perception of the mustache itself [trademark, (pop) icon, ...] - and in St. Petersburg they make ample use of it: E.g. kids are guided (headphones) through the exhibition by ... Dalí's TALKING mustache... ! Bikkit ! (talk) 08:42, 15 November 2015 (UTC)

Historical Silver Polishing method
I'm trying to determine what materials were historically used to polish silver throughout the ages. Was it just soap, water, and cloth, or did they have a polishing compound of some sort, or was there a particular chemical reaction known? Would the exact time period and location matter, between, say, ancient Egypt in its heyday compared to the European middle ages? The best I can find via google is that silver WAS polished and cleaned, but not how. Fieari (talk) 14:25, 13 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Here are two (slightly contradictory, however) for Ancient Egypt. (1) This says both gold and silver were polished with Egyptian agate (though not the method). (2) This, on the other hand, says: "We cannot always assume that ancient silver was intended to have a bright, shiny surface. The deliberate production of a black surface on Classical silver objects has been the subject of some debate in recent years while in the ancient Near East some such tradition is implied by the Talmudic ruling against burning sulphur on the Sabbath to blacken silver." 184.147.131.85 (talk) 14:49, 13 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Note that the Talmud also refers to polishing silver with a substance named ?gretikon; see Jastrow's dictionary (p. 273, no direct link possible) who identifies it as Greek (κρητική), chalk or "white earth", and note Rashi's interpretation cited there.  הסרפד  (call me Hasirpad) 16:02, 13 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Some brief info and historical quotes at Conservation_and_restoration_of_silver_objects. SemanticMantis (talk) 14:53, 13 November 2015 (UTC)


 * Jeweller's rouge springs to mind. DuncanHill (talk) 13:32, 15 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Powdered pumice mixed into a paste with water is still used today according to Google. There's plenty of the stuff in Italy apparently. Alansplodge (talk) 01:40, 16 November 2015 (UTC)

Julian calendar in Wikipedia article
France switched calendars in 1582. So, in the article Henry III of France is the listed date for the beginning of his reign over France in Julian and the listed date for the end of his reign in Gregorian, or does Wikipedia use a different standardized date to switch calendars? —Arctic Gnome (talk • contribs) 19:31, 13 November 2015 (UTC)


 * See WP:JG.—Wavelength (talk) 19:39, 13 November 2015 (UTC)