Though it’s not English, I bought the piece, shown above, from a British collector (a long-time source for goodies in my shop). It is made by Ipsen, the Danish ceramics workshop, and is dated 1911. It has the gentle, feminine curves of the Art Nouveau, but is energized with a dripping metallic over-glaze of silver […]
Normally, it’s a straight-forward matter to decide whether an object is a vase or a piece of sculpture. Occasionally, however, it’s not quite so simple. Take the West German piece above, made in the 1960’s by ceramicist Rudi Stahl. One could put a flower stem (or two) into each little spout. Would that do the […]
While borders may change and territories expand and contract, art continue to press on. Art—a fundamental expression of human creativity—is challenged by conflict, sometimes changed by conflict, but rarely killed by conflict. The piece of art pottery, pictured above, was birthed in a time and region of tremendous conflict—and has survived beautifully. Having been made […]
Legend has it that the King of Siam would present courtiers—specifically annoying or obnoxious ones—with the royal gift of a White Elephant. Despite the gift’s incredible rarity, the animal was such a burden to sustain that the unpleasant courtier would be ruined financially just trying to keep the animal fed and maintained. Today, the term […]
On this day in 1724, British artist George Stubbs was born in Liverpool to a leather “currier” (finisher) and merchant. He worked with his father until he was 16, at which point he was apprenticed to a local painter and engraver, a position which didn’t last long—Stubbs did not like the repetitive copying which was […]
It was just an ordinary day in Pompeii: 24 August 79 AD. People were going-about their regular business, bustling-along the marble-clad streets and roadways of the ancient Roman city. Then, without warning, Mons Vesuvius—five miles away—exploded, sending molten rock and poisonous gasses straight up, over 20 miles into the sky. When the dust settled, Pompeii […]
On 10 August 1792, the “Storming of the Tuileries Palace” effectively brought an end to the French monarchy (later restored in 1814). Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were arrested and locked away—later to be killed. This bloody chapter in French history was followed, exactly one year later, with the official opening of the […]
