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Many call the fifteenth-century codex, commonly known as the Voynich Manuscript, the world's most mysterious book. Written in an unknown script by an unknown author, the manuscript has no clearer purpose now than when it was rediscovered in 1912 by rare books dealer Wilfrid Voynich. The manuscript appears and disappears throughout history, from the library of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to a secret sale of books in 1903 by the Society of Jesus in Rome. The book's language has eluded decipherment, and its elaborate illustrations remain as baffling as they are beautiful. For the first time, this facsimile, complete with elaborate folding sections, allows readers to explore this enigma in all its stunning detail, from its one-of-a-kind Voynichese text to its illustrations of otherworldly plants, unfamiliar constellations, and naked women swimming though fantastical tubes and green baths. The essays that accompany the manuscript explain what we have learned about this work from alchemical, cryptographic, forensic, and historical perspectives but they provide few definitive answers. Instead, as New York Times best-selling author Deborah Harkness says in her introduction, the book invites the reader to join us at the heart of the mystery.

This DPhil thesis explores the origins and development of one of the most famous traditions within the Islamic Hadith corpus: the hadith of ʿĀʾišah bt. ʾabī Bakr's marriage to the Prophet at a young age. To this end, I surveyed all of the modern literature pertaining to the great debate over whether-or to what extent-we can date hadiths and their content, culminating in a defence of a specific-rigorous and systematic-version of the ʾisnād-cum-matn analysis. Thereafter, I collated every available version of every hadith pertaining to this topic and subjected them all to an ʾisnād-cum-matn analysis, which allowed me to reconstruct the underlying urtexts or redactions of various earlier tradents (mostly operating from the mid-to-late 8th Century CE), known as \"common links\". I then subjected these common-link redactions to various form-critical, geographical, and historical-critical analyses, which produced a striking conclusion: all versions of the marital-age hadith likely derive a single archetype or ur-hadith. This ur-hadith appears to have been created and disseminated by the Madinan tradent Hišām b. ʿUrwah b. al-Zubayr (d. 146-147/763-765) after he moved to Iraq towards the end of his life, probably as a reaction to local proto-Šīʿī polemics against his great-aunt, ʿĀʾišah. Following on from this, I traced the spread and diversification of the hadith across the early Abbasid Caliphate, including the way in which some Hadith scholars reworked its content and/or replaced the original isnad with local and/or familial isnads, thereby naturalising it in their respective regions. Thereafter, I explored the reception of the hadith by the proto-Sunnī Hadith critics, who rejected or criticised some versions, but accepted others, seemingly without a thorough or systematic investigation of their provenance and transmission. Finally, I explored the broader implications of all of this, including the ways in which my findings variously confirm or disconfirm the conclusions and predictions of other scholars, concerning the authenticity of the marital-age hadith in particular and the historical development of Hadith in general. In short, this thesis tracks the provenance and development of a famous and widespread hadith, from its genesis in the sectarian milieu of mid-8th-Century Iraq, to its spread and diversification across the early Abbasid Caliphate, to its canonisation at the hands of the proto-Sunnī Hadith critics.

The study of provenance - the history of the creation and ownership of an artefact, work of art, or specimen - provides insights into the history of taste and collecting, illuminating the social, economic, and historic trends in which an object was created and collected. It is as much a history of people as it is of objects, and its study often reveals intricate networks of relationships, patterns of activity and motivations. This book promotes the study of the history of collecting and collections in all their variety through the lens of provenance, and explores the subject as a cross-disciplinary activity. Perhaps for the first time in a publication, it draws on expertise ranging from art history and anthropology, to natural history and law, looking at periods from antiquity through the 18th century and the Holocaust era to the present, and materials from Europe and the Americas to China and the Pacific. The issues raised are wide-ranging, touching on aspects of authenticity, cultural meaning and material transformation and economic and commercial drivers, as well as collector and object biography. The book fills a gap in the study of collecting and provenance, taking the subject holistically and from multiple standpoints, better to reflect the widening interest in provenance from a range of disciplinary perspectives. This book will be a service to the field, from established scholars and museum professionals to students of collecting history, cultural heritage, and museum studies.

This paper explores the meaning of provenance in its broader social and organisational context, ambience, through a records continuum lens, bringing a reflexive and critical perspective to records continuum thinking over the past 30 or so years. It begins by introducing key recordkeeping concepts and goes on to explore records continuum theory and the records continuum model, a four-dimensional map of the recordkeeping and archival contexts of creation, capture, organisation and pluralisation. Continuum principles of provenance and ambience are situated in the model. An analysis of how provenance is currently narrowly applied in practice leads into an exploration of the power of ambience and provenance in the continuum. The following sections on Participatory Rights in Childhood Recordkeeping in Out of Home Care in Australia and Living Archives on Country illustrate how these concepts, together with those of multiple, simultaneous and parallel provenance, can be powerful tools in transforming the subjects of records into active recordkeeping agents. The illustrative examples relate to pioneering research on co-designing extensive suites of rights for co-creators of records who were previously relegated to the status of subjects of the record, and Indigenous archival sovereignty. They enable acknowledgement, enrichment, empowerment and coexistence of multiple, even contrary, positions, and provide frameworks for participatory recordkeeping and archiving.

\"In the tradition of The Lady in Gold and The Hare with the Amber Eyes, the remarkable story behind one of history's most enigmatic portraits. Five hundred and thirty years ago, a young woman sat for her portrait, which was to be painted by a tall, Grecian-nosed artist known as Leonardo da Vinci. Her name was Cecilia Gallerani, and she was the teenage mistress of the Duke of Milan. With shining hair and alabaster skin, and a thin veil framing her delicate features, Gallerani held a white ermine--an emblem of pregnancy and childbirth--close to her breast. Their slender bodies appeared almost as one. Her lover, Ludovico Sforza, was a ruthless man who was betrothed to the daughter of a powerful family; he was aware that da Vinci's brilliance as a painter would not only capture his mistress's beauty, but reflect Sforza's own political prowess. Indeed, with this beguiling image, da Vinci revolutionized the genre, changing not just what a portrait looked like, but also its purpose. While the painting faithfully captures the young woman's likeness, it also bears something deeper: the essence of a \"soul,\" one conveyed with brush strokes and more effectively than with words used by any writer. But despite the work's importance in its own time, no records of it exist during the two hundred and fifty years that followed Gallerani's death. Author Eden Collinsworth illuminates the startling history of this unique masterpiece, as it journeyed for over five centuries from one owner to the next--from the cunning Milanese duke, likely to have murdered his seven-year-old nephew for the title, to an unconventional Polish noblewoman, who counted as acquaintances Benjamin Franklin and Voltaire. From Hitler, who designated it for his private collection, to Hans Frank, the Nazi high command in Poland, who hung it above his desk until it was returned after the War to the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków. Along the way, Collinsworth reveals a bewildering maze of social alliances and cultural upheavals, polarizing political divisions and territorial fragmentation. Expertly researched and deftly told, What the Ermine Saw is an enthralling account of Renaissance Italy and its actors; a comprehensive study of artistry and innovation; a riveting tale of Nazi plunder; of art lost and found; and a reminder that genius, power, and beauty always have a price\" -- Provided by publisher.

Purpose This study aims to examine the blockchain landscape in supply chain management by drawing insights from academic and industry literature. It identifies the key drivers, categorizes the products involved and highlights the business values achieved by early adopters of blockchain technology within the supply chain domain. Additionally, it explores fingerprinting techniques to establish a robust connection between physical products and the blockchain ledger. Design/methodology/approach The authors combined the interpretive sensemaking systematic literature review to offer insights into how organizations interpreted their business challenges and adopted blockchain technology in their specific supply chain context; content analysis (using Leximancer automated text mining software) for concept mapping visualization, facilitating the identification of key themes, trends and relationships, and qualitative thematic analysis (NVivo) for data organization, coding and enhancing the depth and efficiency of analysis. Findings The findings highlight the transformative potential of blockchain technology and offer valuable insights into its implementation in optimizing supply chain operations. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of product provenance information to consumers, with blockchain technology offering certainty and increasing customer loyalty toward brands that prioritize transparency. Research limitations/implications This research has several limitations that should be acknowledged. First, there is a possibility that some relevant investigations may have been missed or omitted, which could impact the findings. In addition, the limited availability of literature on blockchain adoption in supply chains may restrict the scope of the conclusions. The evolving nature of blockchain adoption in supply chains also poses a limitation. As the technology is in its infancy, the authors expect that a rapidly emerging body of literature will provide more extensive evidence-based general conclusions in the future. Another limitation is the lack of information contrasting academic and industry research, which could have provided more balanced insights into the technology’s advancement. The authors attributed this limitation to the narrow collaborations between academia and industry in the field of blockchain for supply chain management. Practical implications Practitioners recognize the potential of blockchain in addressing industry-specific challenges, such as ensuring transparency and data provenance. Understanding the benefits achieved by early adopters can serve as a starting point for companies considering blockchain adoption. Blockchain technology can verify product origin, enable truthful certifications and comply with established standards, reinforcing trust among stakeholders and customers. Thus, implementing blockchain solutions can enhance brand reputation and consumer confidence by ensuring product authenticity and quality. Based on the results, companies can align their strategies and initiatives with their needs and expectations. Social implications In essence, the integration of blockchain technology within supply chain provenance initiatives not only influences economic aspects but also brings substantial social impacts by reinforcing consumer trust, encouraging sustainable and ethical practices, combating product counterfeiting, empowering stakeholders and contributing to a more responsible, transparent and progressive socioeconomic environment. Originality/value This study consolidates current knowledge on blockchain’s capacity and identifies the specific drivers and business values associated with early blockchain adoption in supply chain provenance. Furthermore, it underscores the critical role of product fingerprinting techniques in supporting blockchain for supply chain provenance, facilitating more robust and efficient supply chain operations.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219574.].

The 'shadow line' is a term Royle uses to describe the faint line on the top edge of the text block that allows him to see whether a book on a shelf contains an inclusion - those items inserted into books and long forgotten.

[Objective] ect the provenances adaptive to future's climate change.[Method] The different responses of tree ring width of fifty-two provenances to climate were studied by the method of dendroclimatology.[Result] It indicated that the response of the whole tree ring width, earlywood width and latewood width to mean annual temperature was obvious, the maximum correlation coefficients are -0.515, -0.590 and -0.451 respectively. The response of the whole tree ring width, earlywood width and latewood width to the maximum annual temperature was also obvious. The maximum correlation coefficients are -0.482, -0.624 and -0.499 respectively.[Conclusion] In recent years, there is an increasing trend of mean annual temperature of test plot, which will be unfavorable to tree growth to a certain extent. It will be an effective way to solve this problem to select appropriate provenance in the process of afforestation. [目的] 为选择适合试验区域未来气候变化条件下生长的杉木种源，[方法] 运用年轮气候学方法，研究52个杉木地理种源3个树轮宽度指标对气候因子的响应。[结果] 整轮宽度、早材宽度和晚材宽度与年平均气温的响应呈强负相