These days antique and new spoons are often given as presents at weddings and christenings, but they were originally more like love letters from tongue-tied young men…
$1.49
In 1790, watchmaker Jakob Herbstreith invented the Jockele Clock, a miniature Black Forest wall clock with plates in porcelain or brass. His invention led to the development of an even smaller wall clock by the Sorg family of clockmakers, which in turn led to a boom in the mass-production of Black Forest clocks.
$1.49
Although lacquer is used in many Asian cultures, the art of carving lacquer is unique to China. It involves the immense patience of applying layer upon layer of lacquer – sometimes up to several hundred coats – and a steady and skilled hand to carve out the intricate scenes.
$1.49
When Henry VIII finally saw Anne of Cleves in the flesh, having seen only a miniature portrait, he declared her ugly and tried to halt their wedding. But what if he’d been able to see a portrait created by a silhouette artist? Would the Tudor history have been different?
$1.49
Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne formed one of the most innovative and dynamic duos in 20th century art. Known since the 1960s as ‘Les Lalanne’, they took inspiration from the natural world, charming celebrities and surrealists alike and their creations now make millions of dollars at auction.
$2.99
In 1697, intrepid traveller Celia Fiennes described Newby Hall as ‘the finest house I saw in Yorkshire’. Judith Dunn takes a tour of that house, now wonderfully restored.
$2.99
Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee in June 2012, almost equalling the record set by Queen Victoria with her 63 years of rule. There will be plenty of royal memorabilia on offer to commemorate the event, in a tradition that goes back more than three hundred years.
$1.49
Naked emotion, charged sensuality and the pursuit of beauty. Ivor Hughes looks at Aestheticism in anticipation of a major exhibition appearing in London, Paris and San Francisco. “To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders…It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.” Oscar Wilde
$0.00
The so-called ‘Cliffies’ believe Clarice was a better designer than Susie… others would say Clarice’s designs were simply marketed better. But in many ways these two leading ladies were both trailblazers of the same era and their careers have many similarities.
$2.99
One of the most prolific of the Australian decorative wood carvers was Robert Wilhelm Prenzel (1866-1941), who migrated to Melbourne from Prussia in November 1888. Throughout the Federation period and into the 1930s, Prenzel created a harmonious blend of images of native flora and fauna with the international Art Nouveau style.
$2.99
Louis Comfort Tiffany set out to design a light fixture that combined show-stopping beauty with straightforward functionality. The result was his spectacular range of Tiffany lamps.
$2.99
In St Petersburg in Russia, within the magnificent Winter Palace, is a remarkable room. Tall columns of banded green stone flank the walls, while a grand fireplace carved from the same emerald-green material commands attention in the heart of the room. This is the Malachite Room.
$1.49
Charles Schneider (1881-1952) was one of the most daring and innovative French glassmakers of the early 20th century. From the end of WWI he began producing an array of glass objects in amazing forms and with a palette of colours that was virtually unseen in glassmaking prior to the war.
$1.49
Think 18th century French porcelain and two centres immediately come to mind: Vincennes-Sèvres and Limoges. They were indeed the big two, but they were by no means the only ones and were certainly not the earliest. In this two-part series we trace the history of French ‘soft-paste’ porcelain in the years before France found its own kaolin.
$1.49
It’s arguably the most attractive and sought-after of the Scottish potteries: Wemyss Ware. It was the brainchild of Robert Methven Heron (1833-1906), the cultured owner of the Fife Pottery who returned from The Grand Tour with a group of six craftsmen from Bohemia.
$1.49
Probably the best-known of all the Royal Worcester artists, members of the Stinton family painted at various company factories for almost 160 years.
$1.49
“Every specialist has an object that they dream of having in their sales,” says Matthew Rubinger, Christie’s UK head of Handbags and Accessories. “For me, it’s the aluminium Explorer trunk by Louis Vuitton.” Given that Louis Vuitton produced just a handful of these aluminium trunks in 1892, and taking into account that today only two examples are known to exist, it would seem Matthew’s wish was unlikely to come true. Until the day one came through the doors at Christie’s London.
$1.49
The true passion of Catherine II (ruled 1762-1796) was for art. She called herself ‘a glutton’ for it, and by the time of her death in 1796 she had amassed more than 4000 canvases and tens of thousands of other works of art. She had a great belief in the civilising power of art and its potential role in international soft diplomacy, and during her reign she transformed St Petersburg into one of the most glittering and civilised capitals in Europe.
$1.49
Pearls are for girls, diamonds for dowagers, emeralds and amethysts for fashionable married women, garnets are for unmarried women, amber is for working girls, and paste is only for actresses…or so thought the tres chic French followers of fashion of the 18th century.
$1.49
Despite being closed off for much of modern history, Japan’s artistic impact on the west in the late 19th century was explosive. We look at the intrigue behind some masterworks of Meiji.
$1.49
George Nelson is credited as being instrumental in bringing European modernism to the United States of America, but Australia’s connections to the European modern movement also emerged in the pre- and post-WWII period.
$1.49
It was a piece of marketing genius. The term Ironstone China conjured up visions of a supremely strong material – far stronger than porcelain – and yet with its Imari-style decoration, it had enormous popular appeal.
$1.49
The ultimate peaceful tree change location, an ideal ‘work from home’ setting and a showplace of recycling… it could be a modern couple’s dream, but it was the reality for Joan and Daryl Lindsay at Mulberry Hill in 1925.
$1.49
Until the 1960s Christmas festivities were relatively low-key in France, the major celebrations taking place at New Year.
These centred around the réveillon, from the idea of staying awake through midnight and involving an elaborate meal shared with groups of friends. Traditionally, a feast would also take place on Christmas Eve as the family returned home after midnight mass
$1.49
Visitors to the Great Exhibitions of the 19th century often wrote of being dazzled by the monumental glass structures, fountains, lighting fixtures and sculptures they saw there, but of all the glassware on display it was the French firm of Baccarat that most consistently impressed contemporary observers.
$2.99
When he bought a painting while on holiday in Tasmania and a bronze Nubian figure was thrown in as a bonus, David Freeman had no idea that he was about to embark on a path that has seen him acquire more than 300 figures – and the number just keeps growing.
$2.99
From their initial use as a decorative but functional food dispenser to their transformation into the ultimate dining room frippery, the epergne has always had a place on the well-laid table.
$1.49
Throughout history people have invented machines, devices and contrivances to improve all aspects of our lives. Author Damien Lewis decided it was time to reintroduce some of them.
$1.49
Many people confuse the term ‘vintage’ with ‘antique’ when discussing jewellery, because they think they are the same. However , there is a difference, they do not mean the same thing.
$1.49
Tribal art has come in from the fringes and it’s turning into big business. New York and Paris are the major trading centres, with specialist auctions where the biggest collections and major pieces are offered. But there are also dedicated venue-based tribal art fairs in Brussels, London, Amsterdam and Burgundy, as well as in Paris and New York, and some impressive prices are being paid.
$1.49
When Arthur Lasenby Liberty borrowed £2000 and opened his ‘half-shop’ at 218A Regent Street in London in May 1875, his timing could not have been better: his collection of ornaments, fabric and objets d’art from around the world proved irresistible to a society intoxicated at the time by Japan and the Far East.
$1.49
In the 17th century, the exotic shells brought back by The Dutch East India Company stimulated an infatuation for shells that took hold of European collectors: the very wealthy and royalty competed to collect the prized rare shells with great passion. But it was the Victorians who took shellwork to a new level.
$1.49
Since the 1930s, the paintings of Austrian artist Alfons Walde have been representative of and nearly synonymous with the snowy alpine landscapes, skiing and other winter sports of Tyrol: Walde was the first artist to successfully use skiing as a subject in painting.
$1.49
Ghosts in the Hunter Valley? They say spirits haunt some of the lovely old homes and buildings that dot the pretty towns and countryside of this beautiful region, including the National Trust’s historic Tomago House, five kilometres from Raymond Terrace.
$1.49
The Blue Willow is most familiar to us as a pattern on pottery, but over the last two centuries it’s actually been used in advertising for everything from airlines to dinner sauce.
$1.49
Considered one of the greatest couturiers of the 20th century, in 1948 Dior was first couturier to establish a luxury ready-to-wear house and in 1949 became the first to arrange licensed production of his designs. Miss Dior, released in 1949 was named for his courageous sister and he was highly superstitious…
$1.49
Subscribe now to read and download these articles and hundreds more for free.
Our Mid Century Modern section puts the spotlight on some collecting trends including the psychedelic charm of Carlton Ware, Harry Winston jewels, Novo Rumo from Brazil, Higginsware, McLaren Pottery and the Tretchikoff legend as well as bite-sized snippets from the Mid Century market.
MEMBERS ONLY
Art Nouveau represented a break from creative tradition that was exotic, extravagant and modern. The Art Nouveau woman was not the quiet, shy, unassuming figure of her Victorian predecessor: she exuded confidence, with wild flowing hair, a flirtatious smile and provocatively closed eyes.
MEMBERS ONLY
Coveted by collectors for hundreds of years, Chinese porcelain is admired for its exceptional beauty and quality.
MEMBERS ONLY
Bugatti is not a name that most associate with art, yet the works of Rembrandt Bugatti (1884-1916), who was one of the most remarkable sculptors of the early 20th century, are displayed in many of the world’s major museums.
MEMBERS ONLY
Everyone loves a chocolate egg at Easter, but in the case of the Russian royal family the concept of Easter egg giving was taken to extremes.
MEMBERS ONLY
In our Autumn 2023 issue, we discovered the factors that combined to sink what many engineers believe is still the strongest ocean-going liner ever built. Even after it became obvious there was no way to save the Titanic, there was still a three-hour window between the collision and total immersion. So why did so many of her passengers and crew die?
MEMBERS ONLY
In October 2022, the Ann and Gordon Getty Collection achieved a total in excess of US$150m, making it one of the top three collections of fine and decorative arts ever sold at Christie’s. Across two weeks and ten auctions, more than 1500 lots were sold with a 100% success rate.
MEMBERS ONLY
In the wake of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Ivor Hughes takes a look at the royal memento market and its prospects.
MEMBERS ONLY
The Fabergé egg is probably the most famous form of enamelling familiar to collectors, although it’s odds-on you have somewhat less artistic enamelling in your kitchen or bathroom. But the world of enamels is far wider than Fabergé and the kitchen sink…
MEMBERS ONLY
Many designers are fashionable and some reach the peak of their profession, but only a handful are so innovative that their work both defines a period and shapes that which follows.
MEMBERS ONLY
Troika Pottery was the dream of three men who wanted to create pottery that was all about art and design, with little regard for function. They were surprisingly successful.
MEMBERS ONLY
The invention of fine creamware and the development of transfer-printing on glazed clay in the 1750s coincided with the great age of British printed satire, leading to radical politics, murders and royal scandals appearing on mugs, jugs and other everyday ceramics.
MEMBERS ONLY
Conceived and developed in the beautiful environs of its namesake town in Ireland’s county Fermanagh, the translucent porcelain of the Belleek pottery is hailed as the thinnest and most delicate in the world.
MEMBERS ONLY
Scotland’s unique relationship with silver started during the occupation by the Romans and continued through medieval times. It remains an important ingredient in folk and ceremonial items.
MEMBERS ONLY
The ancient craft of intarsia – the making of decorative and pictorial mosaics by the inlay of precious and exotic material into or onto a groundwork of solid wood – was the inspiration for the development of marquetry.
MEMBERS ONLY
He was a key figure in the 18th century Grecian revival and his high quality wares featured ‘a constant supply of every kind of fashionable Furniture,’ but unless you’re a furniture specialist you probably haven’t heard of George Oakley.
MEMBERS ONLY
