/r/ImaginaryHistory

Photograph via snooOG

Artwork of the past. Places, people and moments that are based on real or alternate history.

Artwork of the past. Places, people and moments that are based on real or alternate history.

Rules (See More):

  1. Submission link must be from original source if available. Do not rehost images.
  2. You must include the real name of the artist in the submission title, not just the pseudonym.
  3. Posts less than three months old or currently in this subreddit's top 100 list will be removed.

If you are an artist and have made a submission, message the mods to receive special artist flair!


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  • /r/ImaginaryHistory

    17,248 Subscribers

    21

    Indian women admiring themselves in the mirror for the past 3000 years - This is the most repeated art pose in history, appearing again and again in sculptures and paintings for over 3000 years!

    7 Comments
    2023/02/24
    19:35 UTC

    52

    Karl Knutson Bonde Leaving Vyborg Castle for the Royal Election in Stockholm 1448 | Severin Falkman | 1886

    2 Comments
    2023/02/17
    13:59 UTC

    31

    Varangian Guardsman, by me

    4 Comments
    2023/02/02
    14:23 UTC

    67

    Buddug, Celtic Warrior Queen by AledThompsonArt

    2 Comments
    2023/02/01
    18:24 UTC

    0

    Its Like Wow

    0 Comments
    2023/01/28
    15:38 UTC

    15

    Though not technically an artwork, I hope yall could enjoy this imaginary history

    0 Comments
    2023/01/18
    06:57 UTC

    12

    History to Fantasy?

    0 Comments
    2023/01/14
    13:07 UTC

    8

    Another Year In The Books

    0 Comments
    2022/12/27
    14:26 UTC

    43

    Bishop Otto II of Utrecht is killed in the battle of Ane, Anno 1226 | Antonie F. Zürcher

    4 Comments
    2022/12/19
    14:16 UTC

    65

    John William Waterhouse (1849–1917) - The Favourites of the Emperor Honorius (1883) [3293x1913] [2,704 KB]

    3 Comments
    2022/12/18
    08:56 UTC

    39

    THE ONE WHO RESISTED, By Danilo Cicero, Digital collage piece, 2022

    1 Comment
    2022/12/16
    05:56 UTC

    4

    Annes Annex

    0 Comments
    2022/12/13
    15:13 UTC

    46

    FACES AND MASKS, By Danilo Cicero, Digital collage piece, 2022

    1 Comment
    2022/12/08
    08:43 UTC

    88

    1916 by TheMichaelMacRae

    2 Comments
    2022/12/04
    08:25 UTC

    9

    Questioning the Narrative

    0 Comments
    2022/11/22
    14:50 UTC

    62

    King John granting Magna Carta | Ernest Normand

    2 Comments
    2022/11/15
    13:50 UTC

    7

    ESPEJISMOS, By Danilo Cicero, Digital collage piece, 2022

    1 Comment
    2022/11/15
    03:17 UTC

    51

    Uncouth diplomacy

    0 Comments
    2022/11/14
    17:13 UTC

    17

    SAD REALITY, By Danilo Cicero, Digital collage piece, 2022

    3 Comments
    2022/11/09
    07:13 UTC

    26

    Sister Béatrice de Maussy (art by Humblebee, @lynx_imago on Twitter) (portrait in the style of Weather Factory's Cultist Simulator) || House of Mercury

    0 Comments
    2022/11/06
    19:39 UTC

    72

    Carl Gustaf Hellqvist - Danish King Valdemar Atterdag Holding Visby to Ransom in 1361 (1882) [3492 x 2152]

    0 Comments
    2022/10/28
    19:35 UTC

    42

    Ibn Battuta, by me

    2 Comments
    2022/10/27
    19:01 UTC

    68

    ESTELARES, By Danilo Cicero, Digital collage piece, 2022

    1 Comment
    2022/10/25
    21:06 UTC

    84

    Montagnana (Italy) 1362 by Giovanni Dossena

    1 Comment
    2022/10/23
    15:43 UTC

    78

    Bogatyr by Vladimir Motsar

    1 Comment
    2022/10/20
    13:45 UTC

    1

    Green Valley Radio: October 1942 - Tune in to the news and music of the 1940s in this fictional radio broadcast!

    0 Comments
    2022/10/15
    02:04 UTC

    91

    Roman Legionnaires by Donato Giancola

    1 Comment
    2022/10/14
    19:37 UTC

    13

    The Tainted Vase of Białowieża Forest

    I must admit that when I first obtained the Tainted Vase of Białowieża Forest, I did not think it was an item I would one day part with. At best, the trinket is a chilling reminder of a tragic affliction; at worst, it is something much darker. The truth is that I have not dared find out which, and the younger version of myself thought that nobody else should, either. However, with age comes wisdom, and I have decided that it is not my place to make this decision for another.

    The following is the history of the Tainted Vase of Białowieża Forest, as I have come to understand it.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In 1995, I was in Białowieża, a tiny village in the heart of Białowieża Forest, in Poland. For those unfamiliar, Białowieża Forest is an enormous, primeval forest; an ancient woodland which has remained largely undisturbed for centuries. This forest is among the deepest and darkest I have yet ventured, and the small town of Białowieża, in the midst of it, is riddled with mystery.

    It was in this village that I heard tell of a creature imprisoned in the old town dungeons; a monster the locals referred to only as ‘The Devourer’. The stories surrounding this man were fascinating, but misaligned, and reeked of exaggeration. Intrigued, and unconvinced of the histories the locals told, I decided to investigate myself. With a little convincing (and a well-placed bribe), I was allowed to visit the creature’s cell.

    In a dark, stone room, several stories below ground, I found the sallow, sickly figure cowering in a corner. His skin was pale, his clothes tattered, and his demeanour pitiful. I tossed him some raw meat which the guard had provided me, and the creature tore into it. As his hunger waned, his lucidity grew, and I was able to strike up a conversation.

    This is Adok Kaminski’s story.

    * It should be noted that, in addition to my conversations with Adok, I spoke to his mother, Lena, who to this day resides in Adok’s childhood home in Szczecin. This story features insights provided by her, by Adok himself, and by some of the more reputable Białowieża locals.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Adok was an adventurer. He spent his youth dreaming of faraway places, and as soon as he came of age, he left to explore the world. Every forest, every cave, every region of even moderate interest, he had to discover for himself. He was intrepid, excited, a young man with a thirst for adventure and a tireless interest in the unknown.

    It was several years into his wanderings when he came across a substantial, unmapped clearing in the depths of Białowieża Forest. This was a desolate, grotesque place, a stark wilderness of black rocks and oily moss. Adok immediately knew this land was corrupted, but even as a well-travelled man, he yearned for adventure, and the nameless meadow promised just that.  

    Deep in the clearing he came across a tiny, wooden cabin, inhabited by a hunchbacked old crone. They did not converse; whatever language she spoke, he was not familiar with. But intrigued by the woman, he followed her lead. When she handed him an old, brass vase, he took it. When she indicated for Adok to pluck a single flower and place it in the vase, he did so. But when he did, she cackled, entered her cabin, and locked the door.

    Chilled to the bone, even Adok, the most adventurous of adventurers, left the glade immediately – and he took the vase with him.

    * I feel the need to interject here. Adok could not speak of this encounter without breaking down in tears. He could muster only a word or two between sobs. The anguish and despair with which the man spoke was contagious; it sucked the air from the cell and drowned the spirit of all in his presence. I personally was overcome with grief; I can not begin to imagine, or perhaps I do not want to imagine, the depths of Adok’s sorrow.

    Upon returning to Białowieża, Adok told me that an urge built rapidly; a yearning for meat, a heinous desire to gnaw the flesh off human bones. He tried to suppress the craving, to silence it, but his hunger only grew. He was famished, starving, insatiable. He fought the compulsion for as long as he could, but awoke one day covered in blood, with the remains of his victim torn and butchered by his side. And even as his revulsion intensified, he could not stop himself. Sobbing, disgusted, horrified, he slipped another piece of human flesh into his mouth.

    When the locals finally caught him, Adok had lost most of himself to the curse. No longer did he dream of travel, or gaze up at the night sky. Instead, he cowered in dark alleyways, waiting for someone to tread too close, fixated on nothing but his next meal.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Adok told me that he had never removed the flower from the vase, for fear that doing so would end his life. But now he had been locked away for so long, and he was barely recognizable as the man he once was. He was ready for death. Adok told me where he had hidden the vase and pleaded with me to empty its contents. The once intrepid explorer now yearned for nothingness.

    I, of course, followed through with my promise. I located the vase and found it had a single wilted and rotten flower drooping over the edge. I dumped the remnants deep in Białowieża Forest, and upon returning to visit with Adok once again, found that he had passed away.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As noted previously, I added the Tainted Vase of Białowieża Forest to my collection, but never dared tamper with it. I do not know if the curse that afflicted Adok Kaminski is still carried by the vase, or whether placing a flower in it will plant the same burden on another. What I do know is that I am unwilling to find out.

    Perhaps you are.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To the person who purchases Tainted Vase of Białowieża Forest, the item will be meticulously packaged, and delivered with a copy of its history. Thank you for reading this tall tale, and I wish you all the best.

    Sincerely,

    J. W. Smithworth, www.talltalesandtrinkets.com

    0 Comments
    2022/10/03
    22:39 UTC

    40

    Leaflet encouraging English and Dutch support for the Blemmyes in the Abyssinian Wars, 1696 (art by u/EviLLs_Resurgence) || House of Mercury

    4 Comments
    2022/09/18
    02:43 UTC

    14

    Captain Nehaleinn, Ambassador from Doggerland (art by Humblebee, @lynx_imago on Twitter) || House of Mercury

    2 Comments
    2022/09/18
    02:30 UTC

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