Two World Fantasy Nominations for Nisi Shawl!

Congratulations Nisi! Nominated for Best Novella, for "Good Boy" (one of my favorite stories) and for Best Collection for Filter House.
Nisi is a tremendous writer and a stand-up kinda woman. If you don't have Filter House already, what in the world are you waiting for?

Some amazing examples of ancient craftsmanship

From the Bagdad Museum --- this is part of a series of hundreds of slides, without any text. I am guessing from other reading and context that it is a documentation of the artifacts that museum staff hid during the war. This crown is exquisite, but by far not the only item.

If you go through the slideshow, the first few dozen show them opening the vault under heavy guard, and opening the crates. As they unpack them, the wonders grow increasingly eye-popping.

The crown looks to me to be Assyrian. The flowers are lovely, and the angels are recognizable by their four wings, not anything like a modern representation. Are the angels there to protect the wearer, as a symbol of his authority, or just because they are cool?

You can start with the crown and some of the details here: http://www.baghdadmuseum.org/secret/pages/409.htm
or check the whole thing out from the beginning here: http://www.baghdadmuseum.org/secret/pages/000.htm