Posts Tagged ‘price’

Auction Prices for Various Antique Items

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

Dishes
Pair of George III oval meat dishes by Frederick Kandler, London, 1765, 73 oz 2 dwt Pair of Victorian octagonal entree dishes and covers with
vegetable dividers for each and ball finials, Sheffield, 1880,
120 oz 14 dwt 450 0
George III circular vegetable dish with ivory grips, pierced sides and four scroll and foliate feet, by W.S., London, 1809, 80 oz 2 dwt 360 0
William IV shaped oblong entree dish and cover with engraved armorials and foliate ring handle, by J. C. Eddington, London, 1835, 61 oz 5 dwt 260 0
George III muffin dish and cover, the domed cover with urn
shaped finial, by Henry Chawner, London, 1791, 15 oz 1 dwt        210 0
Jugs—Cream and Milk
George III helmet-shaped cream jug with ‘bright-cut’ engraving, loop handle and square pedestal foot, by George Smith, London, 1790, 3 oz 7 dwt 80 0
George II cream jug of conch shell type with serpent handle and
three coral-like supports. Circa 1755, 3 oz 5 dwt 80 0
George III oblong milk jug engraved with crests and with gadroon lip and scroll handle, by R. and S. Hennell, London, 1808, 6 oz 2 dwt 70 0
Victorian baluster milk jug chased with flowers and scrolls and on three feet. Possibly by William Brawn, London, 1845, 5 oz 7 dwt 52 0
Jugs—Water
George III pear-shaped hot-water jug, stand and lamp, the jug with rams’ masks and laurel festoons, the stand on three claw feet with female bust terminals, by Andrew Fogelberg. The jug 1776, the stand 1775, 40 oz

780 0
George III vase-shaped hot-water jug, plain with wood handle and on circular foot, by William Fountain, London, 1801, 25 oz 11 dwt 460 0
George II baluster hot-water jug chased with scrolls, leaves and flowers, raffia-covered handle and rim foot, by Gurney and Cook, London, 1755, 19 oz 15 dwt 270 0
Jugs—Wine and Ale
Queen Anne ale jug, die ground embossed with foliage and flowers and a satyr spout, by John Wisdom, London, 1712, 35 oz 280 0
Victorian wine ewer with baluster body and engraved with Grecian figures and leaves, entwined snake handle and butterfly finial, by E. and J. Barnard, London, 1862, 27 oz 11 dwt        170 0
Marrow Scoops
Queen Anne scoop of typical form by Charles Jackson, 1713,
1 oz 10 dwt 68 0
Early George III scoop, the larger bowl engraved with initials,
probably by William Tuite, London, 1767, 1 oz 12 dwt 20 0
Mustard Pots
George III drum mustard with moulded borders, flat hinged lid and simple scroll handle, with spoon of earlier date. Pot by Ernes and Barnard, London, 1813, 5 oz 10 dwt 165 0
some auction room prices : 1968-69
William IV mustard with ribbed baluster body and hinged domed lid with floral finial, scroll handle and shell thumbpiece and spoon of same date but different maker. Pot by C.G., London, 1830, 6 oz 17 dwt
George III oblong mustard with domed cover, urn finial and angular handle on four bun feet, London, 1813, 3 oz 11 dwt
Salts
Four George I plain oval trencher salts with incurved sides, by
Mary Rood, 1723, 6 oz 15 dwt Pair of George III boat-shaped salts, reeded at the lips and
pedestal feet, gilt interiors, by Peter and Ann Bateman, 1792,
4 oz 6 dwt
Pair of George II compressed circular salts, with plain engraved bodies below gadroon lips each on three shell-headed hoof supports, possibly by Isaac Cookson, Newcastle, 1747, 8 oz 1 dwt
Salvers
George II large circular salver on four lions’ mask and shell bracket feet, the shaped border pierced and chased, by George Wickes, 1744, 137 oz
George I plain circular salver on central foot with moulded border, by W.P., 1720, 13 oz 12 dwt
George III circular salver, engraved with initials, chased wave border and gadroon rim, on three claw and ball feet, by Robert Rcw or Rugg, 1766, 24 oz 3 dwt
Victorian salver engraved in the centre with an initial and also with scrolls and foliage, moulded border, by J. and J. Angell, London, 1845, 25 oz 14 dwt
Sauceboats
Pair of George II plain sauceboats each on three shell and scroll feet with gadrooned rims and double scroll handles, by Peter Archambo and Peter Meure, 1754, 29 oz
George II two-handled plain double-lipped sauceboat on collet foot, with double scroll handles and waved rim, with a moulded drop beneath the spout, by Peter Archambo, 1732, 17 oz 5 dwt
Pair of George III sauceboats, each on fluted shaped lozenge foot, with gadrooned borders and double scroll handles, by William Sampcl, 1766, 25 oz
Snuff Boxes—See Small Decorative Antiques Sugar Basins—See Baskets—Sugar Tapersticks—See Candlesticks Tankards
William and Mary tankard on three lion couchant feet, scroll handle, cylindrical body and moulded base, by Robert Cooper, 1692, 31 oz
George II baluster tankard with domed cover, openwork thumb-piece and double-scroll handle, on moulded spreading foot, by William Grundy, 1755, 34 oz 5 dwt 650 0
George III baluster tankard, with domed moulded cover and heart-shaped lower terminal to the scrolling handle, by William Caldecott or Gripps, 1765, 27 oz 15 dwt 570 0
Tea Caddies
George III oval caddy, the body with two bands of bright-cut engraving in beaded borders and the plain hinged lid with urn finial, by Hester Bateman, 1781, 14 oz 10 dwt 900 0
George III shaped oval caddy, the body fluted at intervals, decorated with bright-cut engraving, hinged domed cover with wood finial, by Robert Hennell, 1787, 14 oz 17 dwt 480 0
Teapots and Stands
George II bullet teapot with engraved shoulder decoration of satyr masks, leaves and flowers, straight spout, loose lid, ivory handle and finial, by Isaac Liger, 1729, 15 oz 1 dwt 2,100 0
George III teapot stand on four fluted panel supports, by Hester
Bateman, 1789, 4 oz 15 dwt 280 0
George III oval teapot with moulded girdles and a matching stand, supported on four feet, by Crespin Fuller, London, 1800, 16 oz 15 dwt 270 0
George III oval, semi-lobed teapot, with swan-neck spout, ivory handle and finial, by P. A. and W. Bateman, 1799, 17 oz 3 dwt 170 0
George IV teapot, compressed circular body, ivory handle and
finial, curved spout, by Eley and Fearn, 1823, 25 oz 16 dwt        150 0
William IV compressed circular teapot with moulded girdle, wood finial and similar wood handle, by E. E. J. and W. Barnard, 1830, 14 oz 2 dwt 135 0
Early Victorian bullet-shaped teapot with engraved body, Edinburgh, 1840, 24 oz 82 0
George III oval teapot stand, gadroon border on four panel
supports, but George Fenwick, Edinburgh, 1806, 5 oz 14 dwt 80 0
William IV small melon-shaped teapot, with slightly domed cover and ivory finial, scroll handle and curved spout, London, 1833, 13 oz 18 dwt 60 0
Tea and Coffee Services
Victorian tea and coffee service of compressed circular form, decorated with embossed flowers and foliate handles and on scrolled feet with shell motifs, by Rawlins and Sumner, London, 1838, 72 oz 600 0
George IV three-piece melon-shaped tea service with scroll handles and shell decorated panel supports, by E. E. J. and W. Barnard, London, 1829, 44 oz 7 dwt 500 0
George III circular three-piece tea service with curved lobes, gadroon rims and leaf decorated handles, on paw supports, the pot with rose finial, by John Angell, 1819, 41 oz 6 dwt 380 0
Victorian three-piece tea service of compressed circular form,
the plain ground richly chased, by I. J. Keith, London, 1840, 48 oz
Vinaigrettes—See Small Decorative Antiques Waiters
Pair of George III plain oval waiters each on four shell and beaded bracket feet, beaded rims, by John Scofield, London, 1777, 27 oz
George II plain shaped square waiter on four hoof feet, moulded border, by Thomas Farren, London, 1734, 6 oz 17 dwt
Early George II square waiter with raised border incurved at the angles, 1727, 3 oz 18 dwt
SHEFFIELD PLATE Candelabra and Candlesticks
Pair of candelabra, each for three lights, with reeded scrolling arms, gadroon bordered knops, detachable nozzles and circular bases, 17i in high to centres
Pair of three-light candelabra, the tapering vase stems, circular bases and campana-shaped sconces decorated with chased borders, each fitted with two detachable scrolling branches, one converting to form a

five-light and bearing flame finial, 20 in high
Pair of table candlesticks with V-shaped stems, gadroon shoulders, circular bases and detachable nozzles, llj in high
Pair of table candlesticks with circular bases, vase-shaped stems and gadroon borders, detachable nozzles, 11 in high
Coffee Pots
Vase-shaped coffee pot on pedestal foot with reeded borders, ball finial and wood handle, 13 in high
An oval coffee pot on pedestal base, with reeded shoulder, gadroon borders and angular wood handle, 9] in high
Urn-shaped coffee pot, body semi-lobed between ribbed panels, on pedestal base, ball finial and wood handle, 27 in high
Coasters—Wine
Four circular wine coasters with lobed sides below gadroon lips, the wood bases centred by crested bosses, 5J in diameter
Pair of circular coasters with beaded and ovolo rims, wood bases, 6 in diameter
Caddies—Tea
Two caddies of bombd form embossed with shell motifs Serpentined caddy with hinged lid and beaded borders
Dishes
Set of four entree dishes and covers on heater bases, oblong with scrolling foliate borders, 14 in wide over handles
Pair of entree dishes and covers with gadroon borders and
detachable foliate handles, 11 in wide 22 0
A rectangular entree dish and cover complete with liner, gadroon and leaf borders, wood end handles, on four supports, 141 in wide 20 0
Teapots
An oblong teapot, body semi-Iobed between gadrooned borders, short spout, ivory finial and angular wooden handles, 5J in high 25 0
A compressed circular teapot engraved with swirling leafage,
fruit finial and scroll handle, 5J in high 18 0
Tea and Coffee Services
Oval three-piece coffee service with vase-shaped pot, oval jug and basin decorated with bands of sprays and foliage, 10 in high the pot 160 0
Three-piece tea set with compressed circular bodies, fluted,
foliate collars, scroll handles and foliate panel supports 38 0
Tea Trays
Oblong two-handled tray, engraved with armorials within a chased surround of scrolls and floral sprays, gadroon border, 30 in wide 220 0
An oblong tray, gadroon bordered and reeded end handles
springing from chased foliage, 28 in wide 95 0
Tea Urns
An inverted compressed pear-shaped urn, the body engraved
with a crest, foliate handles and flower finial, 16 in high 75 0
An oviform urn with an applied plain shield, the cover with vase finial, reeded loop handles, on square base with ball feet, 221 in high 45 0
Tureens
Large shaped oval sauce tureen on four feet below heavily
chased floral motifs, detachable liner, 16J in wide 230 0
Pair of oval sauce tureens and domed covers with gadrooned rims, decorated with acorns and oak leaves at the handles, 8Ј in wide (end handles missing from one tureen) 120 0
Wine Coolers
Set of four coolers, the campana-shaped bodies engraved with contemporary armorials above lobing reeded handles and gadroon borders, on pedestal bases, 9i in high 520 0
Pair of coolers with campana-shaped bodies, reeded handles and
on pedestal bases, 9J in high 200 0
NON-PRECIOUS METALS
Brass
Pair of eighteenth-century andirons, with spherical finials, and
masks, 29 in high 100 0
SOME AUCTION ROOM PRICES ! 1968-69
A club fender
A Corinthian column floor standard
An embossed fire kerb
A two-handled log tub on paw feet
An alms dish with lobed centre and inscription border, the rim
with punched rosettes, 15} in diameter Pair of spirally-turned candlesticks on domed feet, 20J in high A hanging oil lamp Pair of chambersticks, with snuffers A heavy log tub with lion mask handles on paw feet Brass

and steel semi-circular fender
An oval fire insurance plate with a crest of a stag, dated 1774 Pair of carriage lamps A helmet coal-scuttle
A warming-pan with turned wood handle Pair of baluster candlesticks, 9 in high
Bronze
Figure of a racehorse and jockey after Isadore Bonhcur, I0j in
high
The Capture of Alexander by G. Halse. Two warriors hold a
struggling youth. Signed and dated 1860, 24 in high Eighteenth-century Italian figure The Dying Gladiator signed
Canova
Figure of a dancing fawn, holding up a bunch of grapes and
balanced on his left foot, 14 in high Figure of an infant satyr playing a set of pipes, 9j in high Pair of busts of Henry IV and Sully, three-quarter length, both
wearing ruffs and decorations, on rouge marble socles, 20} in
high
Pair of Art Nouveau winged figures stamped A. Moreau, 9J in
high
Pair of five-light candelabra on bulbous stems Italian figure of Venus, 7 in high
Copper
Early nineteenth-century tea urn on a square base
A street lamp
Three large saucepans (one with lid) Two coal scuttles A large kettle
Coal helmet with swing handle
Large two-handled urn and cover
A copper and brass tea urn with tap
A long turned wooden-handled warming-pan
Iron and Steel
Steel and brass basket grate with pierced frieze and baluster
uprights, 20 in wide Seventeenth-century Sussex wrought-iron fireback, 2 ft 10 in
by 1 ft 8 in and a log fork Wrought-iron shaped fire-back Regency iron and brass stick stand on paw feet
Victorian cast-iron corner stick stand 5 10
Victorian cast-iron oil heater 3 10
Pewter
A charger with secondary touch of Thomas Lanyon, circa 1730,
20 in diameter 36 0
Five quart tankards 35 0
A four-branch candelabrum, 24 in high 22 0
Eighteenth-century circular charger, 20 in diameter 22 0 Pair of altar candlesticks, baluster-shaped stems on triangular
bases, 20 in high 16 0
Pair of baluster and cup candlesticks, 18 in high 15 0
A hot-water meat dish with two handles and a grill, 22 in wide 15 0
A travelling chamber-pot, stamped Jas. Dixon 14 0
Two tankards and a mug 6 0

Antique 19th Century Spanish and Portuguise Furniture. PORTUGUESE SIDE TABLE. PORTUGUESE CENTRE TABLE. SPANISH CABINET. SPANISH MOORISH DRESSING TABLE. PORTUGUESE COMMODE

Monday, May 25th, 2009

Antique 19th Century Spanish and Portuguise Furniture.
ON THE IBERIAN PENINSULA, styles from
countries that had close relationships with Spain and Portugal, in particular, Morocco, were fused with a dominant French aesthetic. This resulted in
distinctive, solid furniture peppered with lighter touches.
SPANISH FUSION
“Isabellino” furniture was the Spanish interpretation of the French Second Empire style. Richly decorated with contrasting colours, it was more
exuberant than its French counterpart, and its symmetry allies it more closely with the Baroque than with the Rococo revival that swept across the rest of
Europe. Pieces made for the court of Isabella 11 (1833-68) were the most sumptuous of all and set the agenda for the aspiring merchant classes.
The use of mother-of-pearl inlays, frequently in geometric patterns, was very widespread. Other fashionable decorative elements included mounts of bronze or gilded wood, and painted decoration applied directly to the timber. Classical motifs, including carved putti and acanthus leaves, were also commonly used.
Openwork carving often made use of themes drawn from Morocco, Spain’s closest neighbour to the south, and one that has lent a distinctive
Islamic twist to the Spanish decorative arts for centuries. Moorish forms and decoration, such as woven upholstery and turned spindles, were widespread throughout Spain during this period. In fact, Moroccan influence was by now so well established that it broadened to include elements from other Islamic cultures.
Isabella It’s bedroom at the Palacio Real, Aranjuez The solidity of the dark wood furniture and fittings is offset by the sumptuous gilded carving that adorns the bed.
SPANISH MOORISH DRESSING TABLE
This walnut and ebony dressing table is inlaid with intarsia. The cabinet is surmounted by an arched mirror, at the base of which are two small drawers. A frieze drawer sits above a pair of panelled doors, which enclose a fitted interior. The case stands on block feet with casters. Mid 19th century.
SPANISH CABINET
The parquetry top of this tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, and walnut cabinet has projecting corners. The case has seven drawers, flanked by free-standing columns, and arranged around a central door and two drawers below. The Moorish influence is apparent in the Arab-style
design. Mid 19th century.
PORTUGUESE COMMODE
This is one of a pair of carved Rosewood petite commodes. The exaggerated waisted shape is a very common Portuguese form during this period. The ball-and-claw feet on cabriole legs are taken from mid 18th-century English designs. Late 19th century.
PORTUGUESE CENTRE TABLEPORTUGUESE SIDE TABLE
This centre table is made of rosewood and is in the style of those popular in the late 17th century. The rectangular table top has brass mounts at the corners and the frieze is fitted with drawers and dummy drawers. It stands on bulbous, twist-carved legs joined by twisted stretchers. c.1880.
This side table is made of stained walnut. Beneath the plain top is a single frieze drawer. The overall form, with its H-stretcher and central uprights, is 17th-century French, but the style of carving gives it a Portuguese provenance.
Cyrillic script betrays the central Asian provenance of some Moorish furniture constructed in Spain at this time. Carpets used as upholstery were sourced from the Tekke of Turkestan, for example. Heavy silver adornments were another decorative element borrowed From this part of the world.
The drawing-room suite, usually comprising a sofa and a pair of armchairs, became extremely popular in Spanish homes during this period. The occasional table continued to enjoy the popularity it had won in the earlier “Fernandino” period. Around 1870, Ater a period of civil war that Followed the end of Isabellas reign, designers
began to seek inspiration in traditional Spanish furniture from the 16th and 17th centuries.
PORTUGUESE ASSIMILATIONS The Portuguese had suffered greatly Lit the hands of Napoleon’s Forces but had been impressed by a system of government that freed them from the yoke of a repressive monarchy. Rebellion and civil war plagued the reigns of Maria 11, Pedro V, and Luis 1, the rulers of Portugal during the mid 19th century.
French influence had declined after liberation From Napoleon, and designers began to follow the work
of British cabinet-makers more closely. As a result, features such as the cabriole leg and paw foot became widespread in Portuguese furniture. Another important outside influence came from Germany. The Portuguese embraced the Fading Biedermeier style through Maria 11, who had a number of German consorts.
Towards the end of the century, Spain began to embrace styles based on the more distant past of their own peoples, while Portugal embarked on an
enduring affair with designs from the Joao V period (1706-50). Rosewood continued to be the favoured wood because of Portugal’s colonial interests.
LATIN AMERICAN NEOCLASSICISM The thriving Latin colonies in Central and South America had never been exposed to the French Empire style that had pervaded Europe and from which the bulk of European mid 19th-century furniture had developed. The widespread diaspora of patterns originally drawn by 18th-century masters, such as Chippendale and Hepplewhite, did reach these distant western outposts and were the basis for a Latin American Neoclassical revival. Latin American furniture in the mid 19th century was, therefore, far closer to British forms than that produced on the Iberian mainland.

Mid 19th Century Italian Furniture. WALL MIRROR. MAHOGANY ARMCHAIR. CABINET-ON-STAND.

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Mid 19th Century Italian Furniture

Despite a nationalistic fervour that eventually resulted in the creation of the modern Italian state in 1861, furniture production in mid-19th century holy was a fragmented affair, concentrated around the cities of Rome, Milan, Venice, and Florence, in the north. The poorer states and kingdoms of the south of Italy, with the exception of Naples seemed
content to continue using simpler, vernacular forms of furniture.
PERSISTENT FRENCH INFLUENCE Until the Risorgimento movement gathered pace, climaxing in the revolutions of 1848, Italy lived in the Cultural shadow of France, her more powerful neighbour to the north. The
prominence of the Rococo and Empire styles in Italy is a direct consequence of this relationship and, despite a wave of anti-French feeling following
Napoleonic occupation during the early 19th century, this influence persisted. The growing importance of Piedmont as the cultural and political apex
around which the emerging Italian state revolved, only served to protract this lingering Francophilia. The
Rococo- revival style was,
therefore, one of the most prominent in mid-19th-century Italy. Fussy forms, such as the canape en cabriolet, a padded sofa, were richly carved and enveloped in gilt. Side tables with pierced and scrolled detail were covered with marble tops in a typically Italian twist. The grotto or fantasy style, originating in medieval France, was one that Italian craftsmen had adopted with relish. Meticulously detailed representations of timber and shell forms characterized this look, which was particularly indebted to the work of French designer Bernard Palissy (1509-90). Although examples of- fantasy furniture from the mid-19th century are generally considered interior to earlier pieces, it was nevertheless a popular revival style.
ITALIAN TRADITIONS
The Renaissance revival was more representative of Italian history, and
the quality of furniture made in this style by Italian craftsmen demonstrates the high esteem in which it was held. The Florentine cabinet-maker Andrea Baccetti and the Sienese wood-carver Angelo Barbetti both produced
particularly fine pieces in the Renaissance style. Archaic forms, Stich as the settle and architectural wall mirrors, were made in walnut, with deep carving depicting Classical and grotesque forms.
Blackamoors, an 18th-century Venetian invention, remained popular well into the 19th century, either as bases for torcheres or as decorative objets in their own right. Venetian glass-makers continued to produce mirrors of the highest quality Particularly fine examples of mirrors with intricately etched glass frames
speak of the greatness of the glass-masters of Murano. Elaborate decorative techniques, such as micromosaic, provided a forum for the most accomplished artisans to demonstrate their proficiency.
In the later 19th century, the regional Italian furniture industry began to flourish, and regions such as Brianza and Pesaro, which are
famous today for their line
work, started to develop the
infrastructures and traditions
that would ensure their
future success.
Round table Designed by Michaelangelo Barberi, the micromosaic table top features a medallion design on a red, square-shaped cartouche and a black marble ground. In the centre is a view of St Peter’s Square, which is surrounded by ovals, representing
the four epochs of Rome. The ebony base has ornate ormolu mounts. c.1850. Dorn:102cm (40%in). DN
Four epochs of Rome
Micromosaic was developed within the Vatican in the 17th century as an alternative means of decorating altars with devotional tableaux. The paintings in the vast basilica of St Peter’s had been damaged by damp, and the enamel tesserae used in micromosaic overcame this problem. They became known in Rome as la vera pillura per eternita, meaning “eternal paintings”.
The technique is an evolution of the ancient architectural mosaics developed in the Greco-Roman period. An image is built up using tiny components, or tesserae, of different-coloured enamel or glass. Each tessera is a thread about 3mm ong with a diameter slightly wider than a hair. The thread is pushed into the putty of the mosaic base, leaving the end visible. The attention to detail and level of expertise
involved in then creation are remarkable –the finest examples include 775 tesserae per cm2 (5,000 per in’).
European gentlemen on the Grand Tour would purchase trinkets, such as boxes and jewellery decorated with micromosaic as mementoes of their time in Rome. The
wealthiest tourists brought home table tops made by craftsmen operating in work-shops in the Vatican. Typically, these table tops depicted scenes from antiquity or famous Roman vistas. They were highly prized throughout Western Europe as Fine-art objects. Other tables might have plain marble tops with panels of micromosaic incorporated within them.
There is a collection of micromosaic artefacts in the Gilbert Collection Museum in London and another in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia.

Art Nouveau Furniture

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Art Nouveau: Furniture
Furniture
The French, the main exponents of Art Nouveau, adapted Arts and Crafts designs to create inventive, sculptural furniture, embellished with fine organic decoration. Elsewhere in Europe interpretations of the style varied, although nature was always the main source of inspiration. In Belgium designers such as Victor Horta and Gustave Serrurier-Bovy combined originality
with traditional influences; in Austria the firm of Gebruder Thonet developed the bentwood technique, and the Wiener Werks6tte created rectilinear pieces. In Spain the designs of Antoni Gaudi were exotic, asymmetrical, and idiosyncratic, while in Italy those of Carlo Bugatti were highly inventive and inspired by North African motifs.
The two main centres of Art Nouveau furniture production in France were Nancy, in north-eastern France, and Paris. The Nancy School (est. 1901) drew heavily on nature for inspiration – a theme that was central to all Art Nouveau design. Furniture by members of the school typically features superb, Intricate marquetry panels, used to decorate organic-, naturalistic-, even zoomorphic-shaped supports and mouldings. The furniture made by the Paris School also took inspiration from nature but in a much more THE NANCY SCHOOL
Although perhaps more strongly associated with glassware, Emile Galle (1846-1904), one of the most prominent members of the Nancy School, also produced some of the most exquisite Art Nouveau furniture. He often ignored the conventions of traditional furniture construction and created sinuous, curving forms such as tables supported by huge dragonflies’ wings, bronze mounts in the form of insects, and handles in the shape of snails, grapes, corn, and barley. Much of his furniture. is embellished with fine marquetry decoration. In 1885 a cabinetmaking and marquetry workshop was added to Galle’s glassworks in Nancy: tea-tables, screens, nests of tables, and gueridons were produced until 1890, after Which larger, more sophisticated and exclusive furniture Was made. Furniture was produced in Galle’s workshop after his death, but these pieces are more traditional and have less inventive decoration than items produced during his lifetime.
Another celebrated member of the Nancy School was Louis Majorelle (1859-1926). An accomplished cabinetmaker with a sound knowledge of wood and veneers, Majorelle stayed within the established limits of furniture design, applying superb floral decoration to largely conventional carcasses. He combined dark, exotic, strongly grained hardwoods with mother-of-pearl and metal inlays. Majorelle worked mainly to commission, so his work is rare and highly sought after. Distinctive characteristics such as superb marquetry, often incorporating a chicory-leaf motif, pleated silk back panels, inlaid decoration, and symmetrical forms are found on his individual, elegant pieces. His finest pieces were produced between c.1898 and 1906 and were decorated with beautiful ormolu mounts of waterlilies and orchids. From 1906 to 1908 Majorelle’s workshop was industrialized and produced a wide range of lightly sculptured furniture, which was aimed at a more general market than his earlier, one-off pieces.
THE PARIS SCHOOL
Samuel Bing’s gallery, La Maison de I’Art Nouveau, provided a focus for the Paris School, with members including Hector Guimard (1867-1942), Eugene Gaillard (1862-1933), and Georges de Feure (1868-1928). Pieces were more restrained and sculptural than those of the Nancy School, but decoration was still based on nature. Guimard, heavily influenced by Victor Horta, whom he met in Brussels in 1895, is best known for the wrought-iron entrances he designed for the Paris Metro, which are the epitome of Parisian Art Nouveau. His finely made furniture, crafted mostly from fruitwoods, was equally stylized and sculptural. The same balance between naturalistic forms and elegant design is evident in the work of Gaillard and De Feure, whose symmetrical, graceful forms with bold outlines often feature organic marquetry designs and carved whiplash decoration.
The Nancy School
• STYLE most designs are highly imaginative in form, typically inspired by nature, and extremely decorative
• DECORATION this is important: designers used exotic-wood veneers, mother-of-pearl and metal inlay, ormolu Mounts, and superb marquetry, often with chicory-leaf or whiplash motifs
• COLLECTING all pieces are rare and valuable
The Paris School
• STYLE this is more stylized than that of the Nancy School, with nature often used symbolically
• DECORATION whiplash motifs are typical
Belgium Art Nouveau first took a clearly defined form in Brussels with the building of the Hotel Tassel, designed in 1892-3 by Victor Horta (1861-1947), but the style was short-lived and was quickly moderated after the International Exhibition of 1905 in Liege. However, Horta’s influence was longer-lasting, with his ideas and motifs – in particular his whiplash design –reinterpreted by many European designers. Elsewhere in Europe, although nature’s curves were a source of inspiration for all designers, interpretations of Art Nouveau were varied. Austrian designers preferred rectilinear, often severe forms, and Spanish and Italian designers created highly idiosyncratic furniture.
The painter, architect, and graphic designer Van de Velde gained renown after he created three rooms for
La Maison de I’Art Nouveau, the Parisian gallery owned by Samuel Bing (1838-1905) that acted as a centre of artistic inspiration for the Paris School. Van de Velde’s designs – similar to those of the Paris School – are characterized by an overall restrained sculptural form with little applied decoration. Chairs typically have slender splats, out-curving legs, and upholstery held in place by studwork. Van dc Velde designed whole interiors, including that of his own
house, Bloemenwerf, at Uccle, near Brussels, which he completed in 1896. He produced furniture mainly to commission, so his designs are rare, and correspondingly keenly sought after.
AUSTRIA
One of the major factors in the development of Art Nouveau furniture in Austria was the pioneering of the bentwood technique by the innovative furniture designer Michael Thonet (1796-1871). The process involved steaming
solid or laminated wood so that it could be bent into shape, allowing angular corner joints to be replaced by gentle curves. The sinuous curves associated with Art Nouveau featured heavily in the first catalogue of bentwood furniture, produced by the Viennese firm of Gebruder Thonet (est. 1819) in 1859; the first bentwood rocker was created the following year.
One of Thonet’s major designers was the architect Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956), a leading member of the Vienna Secession, an independent group of architects and designers who aspired to introduce a purer, more abstract style of design. Hoffmann was one of the founders of the Wiener Werkstatte (1903-32), an association formed with the aim of producing
V Recliner by Gebruder Thonet
The elegant, curving shapes typical of bentwood furniture were a precursor of the Art Nouveau style and have remained popular. Larger examples, such as bentwood rocking-chairs, are highly sought after and valuable. This Austrian bentwood and cane recliner (no. 7500), with an adjustable back hinged in the centre, is a rare and collectable model.
aesthetically pleasing objects, including furniture,
for everyday use. Hoffman’s furniture designs for the Wiener Werkstatte were strongly influenced by the work of the Scottish architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), and included tables and chairs made from beechwood, mahogany, limed oak, and other ebonized woods. The forms were characteristically linear and geometric, although his bentwood designs have gently rounded corners. Decoration consists largely of open-centred rectangles or squares, with a ball motif at intersections. From 1903 these rectangular and rectilinear shapes replaced the more French-influenced floral and curving style of the earlier Austrian Art Nouveau style.
SPAIN
In Spain the Art Nouveau style was dominated by a small group of Catalan architects, most notably Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926). Gaudi’s highly idiosyncratic furniture was generally designed for the interiors of his extraordinary, sculptural buildings: for example, he designed a kidney-shaped chaise-longue and dressing-table for the Guiell Palace (1885-9) in Barcelona, the home of the textile-manufacturer Count Eusebi Guell, who was one of Gaudi’s major patrons. Especially striking in the designer’s work is his bold rejection of symmetry and his use of twisting, strangely contorted forms. The employment of the central Art Nouveau theme of nature is evident in Gaudi’s preference for extremely sculptural, curving, organic
structures over straight lines, and his frequent use of floral decoration. In common with other Spanish Art Nouveau
furniture, Gauch’s pieces often serve multiple roles: sofas sometimes incorporate
small tables, while display-cabinets house mirrors and cupboards. Gaudi’s preferred wood was oak, but other Spanish designers used pale woods including ash, birch,
Lind sycamore, which were characteristically combined with burnished metal and fine marquetry decoration.
ITALY
The major designer of Italian Stile Liberty (Art
Nouveau) furniture was Carlo Bugatti (1855-1940), who, like Gaudi, designed furniture for specific locations, notably the Moorish interior he created for the Italian Pavilion at the Turin International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Arts in 1902. The influence of North Africa is evident in his use of subdued colours (largely browns and blacks), circular seat-backs, strips of beaten and pierced metal, tassels, and vellum upholstery. Bugatti’s lavish use of ivory, brass, and pewter inlay is also a predominant feature, but such intricate decoration is very vulnerable and often slightly damaged. However, the rarity and desirability of Bugatti’s work means that even less than perfect examples are still highly collectable. His range of designs included larger pieces
such as sectional bench seats, elements of which were produced as cabinets, tables, and chairs. As with Gaudi, Bugatti’s designs were highly inventive and often involved a combination of different elements – scats had integral lamps, and tables sometimes included cabinets. Another Italian designer of this period was Carlo Zen (1851-1918), whose furniture is typified by inlaid mother-of-pearl, silver, and brass and restrained forms similar to those of the Paris School.
Belgium
• STYLE Serrurier-Bovy: designs are more restrained than French pieces; Van de Velde: pieces have a restrained, sculptural form with no applied decoration; most chairs have slender splats and out-curving legs, with upholstery (often leather) held in place by studs
• COLLECTING commissioned furniture is rare and sought after; Serrurier-Bovy: Silex furniture is more accessibly priced; fakes are virtually unknown
Marks
Serrurier-Bovy: the Silex range is all clearly stamped “SILEX”; Van de Velde: work is rarely marked; pieces can often be identified from contemporary photographs
Austria
• STYLE Thonet; bentwood furniture is strongly characterized by sinuous curves; Wiener Werkstatte: their work is typified by geometric, angular designs
• COLLECTING Thonet: bentwood chairs with cane seats were mass-produced in various designs and in large quantities so arc readily available; more desirable are the rarer large rocking-chairs and recliners
Marks
Wiener Werkstatte: pieces are rarely signed but the quantities of original designs and contemporary photographs that survive make identification easier
A Dressing table designed by Antoni Gaudi
The keynote to this dressing-table, designed for the Guell Palace in Barcelona, is asymmetry The piece rests on five inlaid and carved legs, each of which is a different shape, with a curved iron stretcher. The mirror is placed at an angle, and the cylindrical cupboards at the sides are placed at different levels. Such a rejection of traditional forms is absolutely typical of Gaudi – both in his fantastic architectural work and in his furniture design.

art neuvou
art nouveau  +moulding +wood’
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art nouveau settee suite +museum quality+for sale
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art nouveau swedish armchairs
art nouveau table curved occasional
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art nouveau table legs
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art school wooden trestle second hand
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art.nouveau viener-metal

Arts and Crafts Furniture

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Arts and Crafts Furniture

 Although Arts and Crafts furniture cannot be identified by a single style, its designers and makers, who were based mainly in Britain and the USA, shared the same priorities of simplicity in design, modest use of ornament, honesty in construction, and emphasis on the importance of the role of the individual artisan. In practice these ideals were translated into extremely well-made,
functional furniture, characteristically based on traditional designs, in which the construction itself was the most important decorative feature. Thus, Arts and Crafts furniture typically incorporated many highly traditional elements, such as exposed mortise-and-tenon joints, dovetailing, faceting and chamfering, and metalwork strap hinges.
William Morris
Architect, designer, painter, printer, socialist, and poet, Morris was strongly influenced by the ideas of both Ruskin, the art and social critic, and Pugin, the architect who spearheaded the Gothic Revival movement. In 1861 Morris and a group of like-minded friends, including Ford Madox Brown (1821-93) and the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82), set up the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. in London. Early furniture designs by Philip Webb (1831-1915), an architect and close friend of Morris’s, were Neo-Gothic in style and clearly influenced by the furniture designs of Pugin and other Gothic-Revival architects including William Burger (1827-81) and Charles Locke Eastlake (1836-1906). Their expensive, collectable pieces were made by the London-based companies of J.G. Crace and Howard & Sons, and the Lancaster firm of Gillow (est. c.1730). From the 1850s to the 1870s these companies also made their own ranges of plain, simply constructed oak furniture.
William Morris
Architect, designer, painter, printer, socialist, and poet, Morris was strongly influenced by the ideas of both Ruskin, the art and social critic, and Pugin, the architect who spearheaded the Gothic Revival movement. In 1861 Morris and a group of like-minded friends, including Ford Madox Brown (1821-93) and the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82), set up the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. in London. Early furniture designs by Philip Webb (1831-1915), an architect and close friend of Morris’s, were Neo-Gothic in style and clearly influenced by the furniture designs of Pugin and other Gothic-Revival architects including William Burger (1827-81) and Charles Locke Eastlake (1836-1906). Their expensive, collectable pieces were made by the London-based companies of J.G. Crace and Howard & Sons, and the Lancaster firm of Gillow (est. c.1730). From the 1850s to the 1870s these companies also made their own ranges of plain, simply constructed oak furniture.
V Cabinet-on-stand by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.
The form and decoration of this mahogany, oak, and pine piece reflect the medieval influences that inspired the early practitioners of the Arts and Crafts. Designed by Webb, with panels depicting the legend of
St George painted by Morris, it was made for the London International Exhibition of 1862. Such fine pieces are rarely found outside museums.
(1861-2, ht 96cmI37′12in, value Q)
William Morris
Architect, designer, painter, printer, socialist, and poet, Morris was strongly influenced by the ideas of both Ruskin, the art and social critic, and Pugin, the architect who spearheaded the Gothic Revival movement. In 1861 Morris and a group of like-minded friends, including Ford Madox Brown (1821-93) and the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82), set up the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. in London. Early furniture designs by Philip Webb (1831-1915), an architect and close friend of Morris’s, were Neo-Gothic in style and clearly influenced by the furniture designs of Pugin and other Gothic-Revival architects including William Burger (1827-81) and Charles Locke Eastlake (1836-1906). Their expensive, collectable pieces were made by the London-based companies of J.G. Crace and Howard & Sons, and the Lancaster firm of Gillow (est. c.1730). From the 1850s to the 1870s these companies also made their own ranges of plain, simply constructed oak furniture.
doors and pierced carving.
• MATERIALS early designs were typically pically in ebonized wood; later designs are mostly in woods traditionally associated with country furniture such as oak andsh,
a although some were also made in mahogany; rush
seating is common on dining-chairs
• DESIGNS these are handcrafted and based largely on traditional country designs; most pieces are very sturdily made
• DECORATION joints and hinges used in construction play an important part in the decoration of a piece; many armchairs feature fabrics inspired by medieval designs, also by Morris
• COLLECTING all furniture made by Morris & Co. will be valuable and highly collectable; the finest pieces are found only in museums
Marks
Although many ‘ copies of the “Sussex” chair have been produced, any originals will be clearly marked – usually with a “Morris & Co.” stamp

Other British makers
Inspired by Morris, a succession of major designers embraced the Arts and Crafts style in Britain. Their interpretations, although varied, all focused on the same fundamental principles of craftsmanship and quality. An early influential figure was Edward William Godwin (1833-86), whose elegant, striking furniture sparked a trend for Japanese design that was to continue into the 1930s. Also notable were the host of medieval-style guilds based mostly in the Cotswolds, and the angular, architectural work of the Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). The production of furniture by commercial firms also helped to increase the accessibility of work in the Arts and Crafts style.
THE AESTHETIC MOVEMENT
The Aesthetic Movement, influenced by stark,
unadorned Japanese designs in dark woods and elegant, minimally decorated forms, overlapped with Arts and Crafts both in the ebonized furniture produced by Morris & Co. and in the simple, elegant, Japanese-influenced furniture designed by Godwin. The latter, an architect and designer, was an early pioneer of the Arts and Crafts total design ethic, in which the building, interior decoration, and fittings would all reflect a single ideal. From 1865 he designed furniture for his own architectural practice but after 1870 he was far more Successful as a designer of furniture than of buildings. Simplicity, elegance, and refined proportions are the hallmarks of Godwin’s exclusive, ebonized wood furniture. Decoration is minimal: moulding and carving are virtually eliminated and are replaced with inset panels of embossed Japanese paper, or sometimes with painted or stencilled symmetrical decoration of stylized geometric designs. Godwin’s designs were produced by such notable London cabinet-makers as William Wyatt, John Gregory (.race (1809-89), and the firm of Collinson & Lock (est. 1870).
GUILDS AND WORKSHOPS
In the 1880s a large number of Arts and Crafts organizations sprang up in London, with the aims of breaking down the hierarchy between fine and applied art and fostering the ideal of the artist/ craftsman. The Century Guild (est. 1882), headed by Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo (1851-1942), the Art Workers’ Guild (est. 1884), the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society v (est. 1888), and the Guild of Handicraft (est. 1888), set up in London’s East End by Charles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942), brought together the growing number of talented Arts and Crafts furniture designers.
Ernest Gimson (1864-1919), William Lethaby (1857-1931), and Sidney Barnsley (1865-1926) were among the founders of the short-lived
Kenton & Co. (1890-92), a London-based furniture company that used professional cabinet-makers to make mahogany and oak furniture. After the demise of Kenton & Co. in 1892, Gimson and Barnsley, along with Barnsley’s brother Ernest Barnsley ( 1863-1926), set up a new workshop in the Cotswolds, south-west England. Gimson’s designs, featuring exposed pins and joints, and exploiting the natural colour and markings of the wood, were finely executed by carefully trained craftsmen in such local woods as ash, oak, elm, and fruitwoods. Gimson’s pieces include rush-seated ladder-back chairs and plain oak furniture, as well as more elaborate cabinets featuring fruitwood, holly, mother-of-pearl, shell, and ivory inlay. After Gimson’s death,
his foreman Peter Waals still worked to Gimson’s designs and in 1920 set up his own workshop in Chalford.
The Guild of Handicraft moved to the Cotswolds in 1902, producing furniture to designs by Charles Francis Annesley Voysey (1857-1941) and Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott (1865-1945). The last in the line of the Cotswold School was Gordon Russell (1892-1980), whose work bridged the gap between the one-off, handmade pieces of Gimson and Barnsley and the need for functional, well-designed, affordable furniture for a mass market.
The Omega Workshops ( 1913-19), in Bloomsbury, London, established by Roger Fry ( 1866-1934), was the last of the Arts and Crafts groups. Superficially the group closely resembled the original Morris company, but it celebrated amateur craft skills and was more interested in aesthetics than social reform. Omega furniture to designs by Fry, Duncan Grant (1885-1978), and Vanessa Bell (1879-1961) was made by local cabinet-makers and then painted by Bell, Grant, and many others.
IMPORTANT DESIGNERS
Voysey, one of the most innovative Arts and Crafts furniture designers, never established his own workshop; his designs were produced not only by craftsmen such as William Hall, who had worked for Kenton & Co., but also by commercial cabinet-makers and such piano-makers as Bechstein. From 0.1895 Voysey produced designs that were simple, elegant, abstract, and stylized, relying heavily on the innate beauty of the wood. Stained oak, large metal strap hinges, and exaggerated, often tapering vertical supports were features popular with Voysey, among other designers, although they had originally been used by Mackmurdo. Other common features (by no means exclusive to Voysey) are heart-shaped decorative motifs and rush chair-seats.
The same stylish simplicity can be found in
the furniture of Baillie Scott, who was strongly influenced by Voysey. His simple, box-like furniture was mass-produced by the firm of J.P White, Bedford, while his other, more complex designs were produced by Ashbee’s Guild of Handicraft. Most of Baillie Scott’s furniture is in oak or inlaid mahogany, with the colour and grain of the wood providing the main decoration.
The two most famous Scottish interpreters of Arts and Crafts furniture were George Walton (1867-1933) and Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), both based in Glasgow. Walton set up a design and decorating business in 1888, and in 1896 was commissioned for the overall interior design of the Glasgow Buchanan Street Tea Room, for which Mackintosh provided some of the interior decoration. Walton’s highly collectable chairs for Buchanan Street were based on a traditional Scottish design, with a narrow back featuring a pierced heart-shaped motif, curving arms, and a rush seat. Other chair designs by Walton are more elegant and typically have narrow tapering, outwardly curving legs. Mackintosh designed
distinctive high-backed chairs with elliptical panels for the Dutch Kitchen extension that was added to the Argyle Street Tea Rooms (also in Glasgow) in 1906; for the Willow Street Tea Rooms he produced a side-chair in ebonized oak with a rush scat (1903).
COMMERCIAL FIRMS
Far less expensive than the exclusive pieces by the major Arts and Crafts designers was the furniture producedby
commercial companies. Liberty & Co., which opened in Regent Street, London, in May 1875, was a staunch supporter of the Aesthetic Movement and also produced and sold a wide range of Arts and Crafts furniture. Ambrose Heal (1872-1959) exhibited regularly at the Arts and Crafts exhibitions in London, and from 1897 his London-based firm of Heal & Son (est. 1800) sold furniture made to his designs, which were strongly influenced by the Cotswold School. Other well-known commercial manufacturers include Timms & Webb and Wylie & Lochhead, both in Glasgow, the firm of John Sollie Henry in London, and the Dryad Works (est. 1907) in Leicester, which specialized in the manufacture of cane and wicker furniture.
The Aesthetic Movement
• MATERIALS most pieces are in dark, ebonized woods
• DESIGNS elegant, simple forms with a strong Japanese influence are typical; many of Godwin’s designs feature a central cruciform block with radiating stretchers
• COLLECTING all pieces by Godwin are rare and highly sought after; the value of pieces in ebonizedwood will depend on the condition, as ebonized furniture is difficult to restore; an original finish in good condition is critical for maximum value
Marks
Godwin’s pieces arc never- marked; attribution is usually based on the style of his few surviving design sketches
Guilds and workshops
• MATERIALS oak is the most typical but other local woods such as elm, ash, and frunwoods were also used
• DESIGNS most pieces are plain in design; decoration is mainly limited to the effect of the wood’s natural grain and colour and the construction of joints
• COLLECTING the superb quality and workmanship of pieces by either Unison or Barnsley will be matched by correspondingly high prices
Important designers
• MATERIALS Voysey: oak is typical of his work
• DESIGNS Voysey: furniture is characteristically of traditional design, often with heart-shaped decoration, long tapering verticals, and rush seating; Baillie Scott: most of his pieces have simple, unadorned, boxy forms; Mackintosh: tall, geometric forms, reflecting his training as an architect, arc characteristic
• COLLECTING pieces by well-known makers will be sought after by collectors; all of Mackintosh’s work is extremely highly priced and valuable
Commercial firms
• -MATERIALS pieces by Liberty & Co. were usually in oak; most pieces by Heal & Son were in oak, with versions also available in mahogany and chestnut
• COLLECTING commercially produced furniture will be more affordable than pieces by leading designers
Marks
Liberty pieces arc marked simply “Liberty & Co.”
The majority of American Arts and Crafts furniture produced between the 1890s and the 1920s is of oak and made by or in the style of one of several members of the Stickley family. Such
furniture is commonly referred to as “Mission oak”, although this term, which suggests a
stylistic influence of the early mission churches of the American Southwest, is misleading.
THE STICKLEY FAMILY
Gustav Stickley (1857-1942) was the eldest of six brothers, most of whom worked in the furniture trade. He trained as an architect and designer and in 1898
established the Gustav Stickley Co. in Eastwood, New York State. In 1900 he introduced his “Craftsman” furniture range, the majority of which is of heavy, solid construction in American white oak.
Production of Craftsman furniture continued until 1915. From 1901 Stickley produced a magazine called The Craftsman, in which examples of his work were shown. Although many Stickley forms, including high-backed settles, stools, and trestle tables, show the influence of 17th-century colonial furniture in their style and use of traditional joinery, the most valuable examples of his work are those that are innovative and more modern in design. Typical forms include both horizontal and vertical slat-back chairs (including rocking-chairs and “Morris” chairs, which were based on the upholstered reclining chair by the British Arts and Crafts designer William Morris), benches, dining-, writing-, and library-tables, fall-front desks, sideboards, bookcases, magazine and umbrella stands, and mirrors. Spindle-sided and spindle-backed chairs in Modernist taste were produced from 1905, perhaps inspired by the furniture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1956) in 1904 for Darwin House, near Buffalo, New York State; this style of Stickley furniture is keenly sought after by collectors.
The oak that Stickley used for his furniture was fumed for preservation, a process that imparted a warm patination, which he described as a “friendly” finish. The subtlety and originality of colour and patina of his wood is important when assessing value, as is rarity of design. Upholstery is typically in green or brown leather and although original upholstery is preferable, pieces that have been well re-upholstered are still popular with
collectors. Most Stickley furniture is in very good condition owing to its sturdy construction and strong, well-reinforced joints.
Albert Stickley and John George Stickle), (1871-1921), operating as the Stickley Brothers Co. from (.1890 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, produced furniture in a style similar to that of their brother. Some of their work is marked “Quaint Furniture” but it is not greatly
appreciated by collectors. In 1900 Leopold Stickley (1869-1957) left Gustav’s Eastwood workshop to establish with John George the firm of L. & J.G. Stickle (known from (.1904 as the Onondaga Shops and from 1906 as Handcraft) in Fayetteville, New York State. Designs include settles, spindle chairs, serving-tables, and bookcases, and are typically produced in carefully finished oak. Upholstery is usually in leather, sometimes fastened with round-headed tacks. Hand-hammered copper hardware is characteristic on furniture in the “Handcraft” range. Better furniture by the brothers compares in quality to the less startling Craftsman pieces by Gustav and, being more widely available than these sought-after designs, has a strong following.
CHARLES ROHLFS, GREENE AND GREENE, AND THE ROYCROFT FURNITURE SHOP
Charles Rohlfs (1853-1936), a successful cabinet-maker in Buffalo, New York State, from (.1890 until the mid-1920s, employed a team of eight craftsmen to execute his furniture designs. Rohlfs participated in the 1902 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art in Turin, Italy, and the influence of Art Nouveau is evident in his use of carved or cut-out tendrils. Forms include desks, chairs, small tables, and storage pieces, some with carved Gothic lettering and a signature. The oak used for Rohlfs’s pieces is relatively pale compared to the wood used for most American Arts and Crafts furniture. Rohlfs’s work is less pure in design than that of Gustav Stickley, but its rarity and high standards of craftsmanship make it extremely popular with collectors.
The brothers Charles Sumner Greene (1868-1957) and Henry Mather Greene (1870-1954) operated to commission in Pasadena, California, in the early 20th century, and their furniture combined high-quality Arts and Crafts workmanship with simple, Chinese-inspired designs in mother-of-pearl or metal inlay. Hardwoods, including teak and ebony, often subtly carved with Oriental motifs, are characteristic. Joinery is usually by squared, ebony pegs. Some of the brothers’ work was produced by the furniture-maker John Hall; these pieces are very rare and considered the most finely executed of all American Arts and Crafts work.
The Roycrofters were an idealistic Arts and Crafts community founded in 1895 in East Aurora, New York State, by Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915). Hubbard, who has been called the “American William Morris”, produced furniture from c.1901 in the Roycroft Furniture Shop. Roycroft pieces are always in oak, of solid, heavy construction, and normally have a warm, nut-brown patina. Forms are extremely plain and simple and sometimes incorporate hammered copper hardware.
OTHER ARTS AND CRAFTS FURNITURE
It is widely agreed that the best work of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright was that produced during the first decade of the 20th century, when he worked principally as a residential architect in the Midwest. His furniture was produced mostly in oak in a style that blended American Arts and Crafts designs and ideals with European progressive Modernism. Most of Wright’s pieces were produced for architectural commissions and rarely come up for sale; prices are still among the highest of all American furniture from this period.
The architectural design firm of Purcell, Feick & Elmslie, near Chicago, produced furniture to commission in pale oak, mahogany, brass, and copper between c.1906 and 1922. After the work of Wright, the designs of George Grant Elmslie (1871-1952) and William Gray Purcell ( 1880-1965) are considered the most progressive of all American Arts and Crafts pieces. Tall, architectural forms with spindling, inlay, and carved details are typical and reflect the strong influence of the Glasgow School and the Vienna Secession. Purcell, Feick & Elmslie furniture is rare, particularly outside the Midwestern states, where it is most keenly collected.
The Furniture Shop was founded in San Francisco in 1906 by Arthur Mathews (1860-1945) and his wife Lucia Mathews (1867-1956). Unlike most American Arts and Crafts furniture, their work was painted in polychrome and gilded, or mounted with polychromed, embossed leather. Carved oak or mahogany is typical in forms evocative of medieval France and Germany. Images include troubadours or medieval saints, together with romantic Californian landscapes painted by Lucia. Output from the Furniture Shop was modest, but small
items sometimes appear on the
market. The style is referred to
as “California Decorative” and
objects are of lesser appeal to most
collectors than the purely designed
work of the East Coast craftsmen.
Charles P. Limbert (1902-44)
produced oak furniture in New
Holland, near Grand Rapids,
Michigan, in the early 20th century.
Forms can be compared to those
of Gustav Stickley, but many show
the direct influence of the Scottish
designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh
(1868-1928) and the Glasgow
School. Pieces are commonly
of pale oak and crafted to a high
standard and most are marked
with a large brand featuring a
craftsman at work. Prices are
comparable to those commanded
by Roycroft designs.
The Stickley Family
• FORMS designs are simple, geometric, and very solid; typically larger and bulkier than European counterparts
• WOOD white American oak, often quarter sawn, is typical, as is a reddish or grey tone achieved by fuming the wood in ammonia; some pieces may appear faded
• HARDWARE Most features a hand-hammered surface
• COLLECTING Gustav’s work is rare outside the USA; all forms are recorded in The Craftsman magazine; the work of L. & J.G. Stickley is most common
Marks
Gustav Stickley: pieces are usually inscribed “Als ik kan” (Flemish, “As I can”), after the Antwerp art society of that name, in a joiner’s compass, and signed beneath
Charles Rohlfs
• DECORATION carved or cut-out whiplashes are usual
• COLLECTING his fine-quality work is very sought after
Greene and Greene
• DECORATION Oriental designs in metal and mother-of pearl inlay are characteristic; visible dark pegs – often in ebony – may feature as decoration
• COLLECTING their work is extremely rare and very desirable; designs are unsigned but well documented
The Roycroft Furniture Shop
• FORMS most are rectilinear designs with strong proportions; many feature a distinctive tapered leg terminating in a bulbous foot
• DECORATION this is limited to hand-wrought iron or copper hardware
Frank Lloyd Wright
• FORMS most are rectilinear, with a vertical emphasis
• CONSTRUCTION complex and innovative; spindling is common on seat furniture and tables
The Furniture Shop
• DECORATION embellishment is mainly restricted to polychrome paintwork and embossed leather
• COLLECTING the output was relatively small; pieces are less desirable than the work of the East Coast designers
Charles R Limbert
• COLLECTING interest in his high-quality work is growing following an exhibition in New York in 1995

Antique American Clocks

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Clocks
Who the first person was in the New World that became fed up with the inaccuracy of sand timers and sundials and started to make clocks is entirely unknown.
Clocks were imported from both England and Holland. These were operated by
Hepplewhite style American clock in cherrywood with eight-day movement giving date and moon phases.
a spring mechanism. These were so expensive that only major settlements could afford them. Few people had a clock in their own house.
The first clock-makers were through and through craftsmen. They had to make every part themselves to the precise size. The tools available were often extremely rudimentary. The same person often had to make the clock case too.
Generally they sold too few clocks to make a living so that clock-makers were also locksmiths or gunsmiths.
This combination was particularly popular during the American War of Independence.
After this war there were still far too few people who could afford a grandfather clock and so the makers experimented with smaller clocks. Because a large number of original American clocks were introduced many homes soon had their own clock.
Clockmakers
The names are known of around 7,000 American clock-makers. Most of these made the usual types of clock but there are some of them that were so important in the introduction of major innovations that they have to be mentioned.
Abel Cottey arrived in America in 1682 on board the Welcome with William Penn (the Quaker leader whose name is given to the state of Pennsylvania).
He may well be the first clock-maker to establish a business in the colonies. In his workshop in Philadelphia he mainly made longcase clocks that became known as grandfather clocks.
These grandfather clocks later became very popular and can now be found through America. In common with other clock-makers, Cottey made the mechanism, the dial, the pendulum, and the weights himself but left the case to be made by a joiner. These joiners allowed their creativity to run free and many cases are superbly carved in minute detail. Philadelphia proved to be a good place for clock-makers to set themselves up.
Great names such as Christopher Sower, four generations of the Gogas family, the Chandlee family, and Edward Duffiels ring out from Philadelphia. The last of these was a good friend of Benjamin Franklin.
Duffiels was interrupted so frequently by people asking the time that he made a clock with a face on both sides that he hung outside his workshop. The most convivial clock-makers was David Rittenhouse.
Of Dutch origin, he anglicised his name from Van Ritterhuysen. He started making longcase clocks and scientific instruments at the age of 19 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. His clocks were the most accurate of their time (circa 1756) in the colonies. Rittenhouse was so good a craftsman that he made an orrery (complete miniature planetarium) when he was 23 which he sold to Princeton University.
In addition to being a clock-maker he was also a leading physicist, mathematician, and surveyor. His surveys were the basis for the Mason-Dixon line that formed the border between the emancipated states and those where slavery still endured prior to the American Civil War. Rittenhouse was also chairman of the American Philosophical Society. When older he became director of the United States Mint from 1791 to his death in
1795. In addition to Pennsylvania, there were also famous clock-makers in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Willard family of Grafton, Massachusetts, were born with a talent for clock-making.
Benjamin Willard (born 1743) learned the trade with Benjamin Cheney in Connecticut and passed his knowledge on to his brothers Simon, Ephraim, and Aaron when he returned to Grafton.
Benjamin started a clock-making business in Grafton and advertised in the Massachusetts Spy that he could supply clocks that played a different tune every day and a psalm on Sunday. His brothers travelled throughout Massachusetts to sell clocks to people. Simon Willard is the most famous clock-maker of the family.
He invented the bank clock. Aaron Willard developed a model of his own, the Massachusetts ’shelf clock’. Aaron’s sons, Aaron Jr. and Henry did not want to be left behind by the rest of the family and developed the ‘lyre clock’.
Eli Terry (born 1772) became known as the ‘Henry Ford of clock-makers’. He built a small factory beside a stream in 1803 so that a water wheel could turn his machines and lathes. Terry also designed a machine to make cogs. This made production so much more efficient that he was able to accept an order in 1806 for 4,000 clocks.
The prices dropped so much through mass production that he was soon able to export them to Britain. The methods of production continually improved and became quicker and clocks were being made on a grand scale by 1860. Some clock-makers made as many as 100,000 clocks per year.
This was at the expense of the quality of the — mainly wooden — clock cases. Some were so poorly made that any right-minded furniture maker would have thrown them in the rubbish bin straight away. Around 1860, the Litchfield Manufacturing Company was even making cases of papier mdch6, into which clock-makers then glued the mechanism.
Popular clocks of the United States
LONGCASE CLOCKS
The grandfather clock was the first clock for the home to be made in America. These stately clocks originally known as either tallcase or longcase clocks can thank their name to the children’s song
My Grandfather’s Clock.
The first longcase clocks were made in England around 1600 and the earliest known American example originated in
1680. The long case was necessary to house the long pendulum. This case was often designed and made by a cabinet maker.
The mechanism of the longcase clock was made of bronze and wood. The clocks were mainly driven by weights but wind-up clocks came onto the market later. The dial was often made of bronze with engraved or etched Roman numerals and decoration.
The hands themselves often had fine tracery in order to catch the light. Grandmother clocks are a smaller version of the longcase clock and they were extremely popular in the early nineteenth century.
They were mainly made by a group of Boston clock-makers including the Willards, Samuel Mulliken, and Levi Hutchins. The grandmother clock was no taller than 1,200mm (48in).
SHELF CLOCKS
Shelf clocks came into fashion in the New World following the America War of Independence (1775-1783).
This was because their mechanism was driven by a spring. Such mechanisms were more complex and hence less accurate and these clocks were often more expensive. Because metal was in short supply during the war mechanisms were generally made of wood. The first American shelf clocks are so similar to comparable English clocks of the time that many collector has been confused.
The Massachusetts shelf clock (also known as box on box or half clocks) is no taller than 600mm (24in). The clock is set on a shelf instead of on the ground as is the case with longcase clocks.
Because they were intended to be portable, lighthouse clocks had handles attached.
These clocks were fitted with an eight-day mechanism and also incorporated an alarm. The clock could be wound without removing the glass. This type of clock was not very popular and therefore few were made. This makes them now quite rare and therefore highly sought after.
The extremely eagerly sought OG clock first appeared around 1840. The simple rectangular case was completed with ogee moulding.
The wooden mechanism was replaced with bronze ones that were either weight or spring driven. The OG clock remained popular for almost a century. Chauncy Jerome developed a kind of conveyor belt (from an ideas of Joseph Ives) to mass produce bronze mechanisms for these clocks. His advertisements stated that these clocks were suitable for all manner of public places such as churches, banks, shops, ships, trains, saloons, corridors, and kitchens.
Jerome quickly dominated the American market and soon started to export his clocks to Britain. Because they were so cheap the British Customs thought he was trying to avoid paying duty and they seized his first consignment. The Customs paid him his declared value plus ten per cent. Jerome was delighted and sent a second shipment to England. This too was ‘purchased’ by the British government but he sent a third consignment and by now the British finally accepted Jerome’s valuation and allowed his clocks to be imported normally.
The style of his clocks follow furniture styles. The influence of Rococo is clearly apparent in the form of the clocks and their ornamentation in the Jerome & Co catalogue of 1852.
Clocks with pointed columns known as Gothic clocks first appeared around 1845 and originated from the imagination of Elias Ingraham (1805-1885). In common with the furniture style of the time these clocks had pointed columns on either side.
The mechanism incorporated innovations by Joseph Ives — the bronze eight-day movement was driven by an Ives spring. A closely related clock to the Gothic clock was the Beehive which mainly had cases made from mahogany and/or rosewood.
WALL CLOCKS
The ‘wag-on-the-wall’ clock is also derived from the longcase clock. This type of clock was mainly based on the ideas of Isaac Blaisdell for a clock for people for whom the longcase clock was too big. The pendulum is allowed to swing freely outside the case rather like a dog’s tail wagging to and fro.
The banjo clock was originally named by its designer Simon Willard as an `Improved Patent Timepiece’.
Despite the patent he was granted on this type of clock it was widely copied. There are some 4,000 genuine Willard banjo clocks. Willard introduced a number of improvements that enable his clock to run for eight days in spite of using lighter weights. The banjo clock was also more accurate than other clocks because the pendulum was suspended in front of the weights. The case was largely made of glass which was decorated with paintings of landscapes, flowers, and noteworthy buildings. This typical American clock is still very popular with the general public. The ‘girandole’ was designed in 1816 by Lemuel Curtis of Concord, Massachusetts.
This clock is a variant of the banjo clock with a rounded case. The upper and lower parts of the case are decorated with small gilt spheres that are reminiscent of a mirror girandole mirror.
The rounded glass of the bottom section often has paintings of mythological or historical tableaux. Some described the girandole clock as the most beautiful American design of clock. The ‘lyre’ clock was designed by two nephews of Simon Willard: Aaron and Henry Willard.
The clock is clearly related to banjo and girandole clocks. With lyre clocks the dial is positioned on an elegant double scroll that is reminiscent of a lyre. The sides of lyre clocks are often decorated with leaf motifs.
clocks have movements that have to be wound once in eight days. The pillar or scroll clock was the first type of clock to be made by Eli Terry in large numbers. The most unusual aspect of this clock was that the pendulum was mounted slightly to the right rather than centrally.
This type of clock was very popular in the 1830s.
Around 1875 the Americans hit on the idea of using a clock mechanism to make figures move. The ‘blinking eye clock’ was often used as an alarm clock. The clock contained a miniature male figure that blinked its eyes when the alarm went off.
Watches
Watchmakers emigrated to America from Britain, Holland, France, Germany, and Switzerland quite early. They attempted to set up their own businesses but quickly discovered that so many watches were imported that they could not earn a
living. Few watches were therefore produced in America before the mid 1800s. The first to try making watches in quantity as probably Luther Goddard (1762-1842) of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.
He started to make watches in 1809 during a period that imports of watches were restricted by import regulations. He employed a number of other watchmakers but once the ‘Jefferson Embargo’ was lifted in 1815 the American market was once more flooded with foreign watches.
These were much cheaper than the American watches and so Goddard was forced to shut down in 1817. He then decided to become a clergyman instead glass.
A second attempt to make watches in America was made in 1837 by Henry and J.F. Pitkin of East Hartford, Connecticut. They developed machines that made between 800 and 1,000 watches but this business also failed due to foreign competition. After the factory moved to New York in 1841 the Pitkins decided to abandon watchmaking. Finally Edward Howard and Aaron L. Dennison were the first to successfully mass produce watches.
In 1850, forty years after Terry started to mass produce clocks, affordable American watches finally came onto the market. The Waltham Watch Company, as their business was named, survived for a century.
The Elgin National Watch Company was set-up in Elgin, Illinois in 1864. Their first watch was not sold until 1867. At first their watches had to be wound up with a separate key but these keys were easily lost so that they are much prized by collectors.
The company began to make ’stem’ watches in 1873 which had a small wheel on the side with which the watch could be wound. Although watches could now be made in greater quantities they remained expensive. The development of an accurate but cheap watch was a challenge to inventors.

Turkish Carpets. Antique Ottoman Carpets.

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

Antique Turkish Carpets before 1700

The practice of weaving carpets may have been brought to Anatolia by the Seljuks, a Turkic people from Central Asia who ruled Anatolia from 1077 to 1307. Eight fragmented 13th-century Seljuk carpets were found in the Aladdin Mosque, Konya, in 1905. Some are enormous (6m/nearly 20ft long), several are decorated with geometric floral designs based on Chinese silk brocades, and all have wide borders of stylized Kufic script. These carpets are now in the Turkish and Islamic Museum in Istanbul. Of extraordinary graphic power and grandeur, they reflect a highly developed and sophisticated awareness of weaving as an art form.
THE OTTOMANS
The Ottomans, also originally Turks from Central Asia, established themselves in Turkey in the late 13th century. They took Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1453 and ruled until 1922. At the height of its power the Ottoman Empire extended from Egypt to Hungary.
Most surviving court weavings date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Early carpets show the geometric gul medallion) patterns that derive from the Central Asian tradition. The “Memling” gul (named after the 1 5th German painter Hans Memling, who depicted similar carpets in his work) consists of an octagon enclosing a stepped hooked medallion. Other carpets use the “Holbein” pattern (named after Hans Holbein the Younger), typically comprising rows of octagonal medallions framed by arabesques, interspersed with smaller lozenges. The distinctive “Lotto” design (after Lorenzo Lotto) is a development of the Chinese brocade designs of the Seljuk carpets; it features stylized yellow fines, leaves, and palmettes on a red ground.
Cairo, colonized by the Ottomans in 1517, had under the previous Mamluk rule (1250-1517) created carpets with dense, all-over geometric designs, usually in green, crimson, and white with a little yellow. Weavers from Cairo may have initially been responsible for the group of finely woven mid-16th-century rugs and carpets that show the development of the true Ottoman court style and are very different from the earlier geometric designs. Motifs include the cintamani (three balls above a pair of wavy lines), which became one of the most popular devices in Ottoman art (found in tiles, textiles, carpets, and metalwork). Other decoration includes cloudbands and lotus palmettes (from Chinese art), large leaves, and the four favourite Ottoman flowers: carnations, tulips, hyacinths, and roses. Many of these motifs appear stylized in 18th- and 19th-century Turkish village rugs.
A “Star” carpet made in Ushak
The star shape of the main medallion originated in China and is also found in 15th- and 16th-century Persian carpets. The repeat pattern, with its incomplete outer medallions, was intended to suggest infinity. (c.1550-1600; I. 1.8m/5ft 11 in; value Q)
In the late 16th and 17th centuries other designs were developed, including the large “medallion” and “star” carpets of Ushak in western Anatolia. Both these types show an endless repeating design cut by borders. The medallion layout, first used in bindings of the Koran, may have been borrowed from the contemporary Persian carpets of Tabriz (Tabriz artists were employed by the Ottoman court). The ground of the medallion carpets, which is of red vines and palmettes on blue, or vice versa, again recalls Chinese textiles. Other motifs are Persian-influenced, taking the form of sprays of flowers and arabesque scrolls. There are a number of border designs, many used interchangeably on the various carpets, including Kufic, cloudbands, palmettes with flower sprays, and floral cartouches. Turkish carpets were highly prized in the West. Many Tudor (1485-1603) portraits depict their subjects standing proudly on their Turkish carpets. European carpets are knotted with the Turkish, or symmetrical, knot in imitation of these early imports. Most Turkish and many Caucasian rugs of the 18th and 19th centuries have designs developed from the Ottoman production of the 15th-17th centuries.
T “Transylvanian” rug made in Ushak
Large quantities of these Turkish rugs were exported to Europe. In Transylvania many were used to decorate Protestant churches in the 17th and 18th centuries -hence their name. This example features stylized mosque lamps.

Antique Turkish Carpets after 1700

The Ottoman tradition of weaving established between the 15th and 17th centuries formed the inspiration for rug production in Turkey in the 19th century. What emerged was the creation of far more commercial rugs and carpets to appeal to a wider, Western audience — products that were still traditional in approach, but more accessible. This commercialization affected both village rug production and town and city workshop production, with designs evolving or being adapted from the earlier classic traditions.
VILLAGE AND NOMADIC PRODUCTION
Rugs woven in villages throughout Turkey share similar design formats, construction, and traditional influences with their Persian and Caucasian neighbours to the East and North, and with those from Central Asia further
East. Village products incorporate essentially geometric design elements, woven on woollen warps and wefts, and made with the Turkish knot. Inspiration is drawn from earlier classic renditions; the guls (medallions) used are frequently similar to guls seen in Turkoman carpets from Central Asia, while the influence of the early “Holbein” rugs is often evident in the shape of the medallions. Designs that were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries are reproduced today in similar formats and contemporary shades, although as is typical throughout the industry, products made after c.1900 lack the individuality and vibrancy of the earlier pieces.
Very little of the Turkish rug production is actually nomadic; most is cooperative and village-based. The Yuruk and the Kurds are two nomadic peoples who weave on their migrations. Rugs from these two groups share similarities with Caucasian Kazak and Karabagh rugs, with their bold, geometric patterns and strong palette. The pile is usually even deeper than in the Caucasian carpets. One of the major differences between the Caucasian and the Turkish village and nomad rugs is the lack of zoomorphic and human forms in the Turkish pieces: the design elements are almost exclusively floral-based.
TOWN PRODUCTION
Like Persian town production, Turkish town rugs and carpets have formal curvilinear designs, and in some centres are woven from cartoons (scale drawings); most production is on cotton or sometimes silk foundations, although town rugs and carpets in Turkey are also woven on woollen foundations. In western Turkey the town of Ghiordes (the name used to describe the Turkish, or symmetrical, knot) was a main weaving centre from the 17th to the early 20th century. Although on a wool foundation, the pile of Turkish town rugs and carpets is finely woven on red- or pink-dyed warps, and a cotton weft is used. Rugs from Ghiordes are often of prayer-rug form; others recall earlier design traditions. Zigzags, hexagonal medallions, and stylized floral motifs are typical. This type of rug design was popular in the 19th century.
Prayer-rugs are widespread in Turkish rug production. Ladik in central Anatolia is famous for those made in the 18th and early 19th centuries, depicting a plain mihrab (prayer niche) supported by a detailed border, presenting a striking image. These rugs also demonstrate the use of design elements adapted from older rugs. The town of Konya, close to Ladik, is also a centre for the production of prayer-rugs. Alternative prayer-rug formats included the use of a double mihrab — again a feature associated with similar rug production from the classic era. Konya produces bold geometric-design rugs very similar in character and colour to Kazak rugs from the Caucasus. Both Ladik and Konya rugs are highly sought after by collectors, due to their powerful and distinctive images.
MASTERPIECES OF TURKISH WEAVING
The town of Hereke, east of Istanbul, is famous for its extremely fine silk rugs with refined, elegant decoration. The finest silk rugs in the world are made there today. At the same time that Hereke started its production (late 19th century), workshops were established in Kum Kapi, the Armenian quarter of Istanbul. Exceptional, finely woven silk rugs were made there by Turkish Armenians who came from the weaving centres of Kayseri and Sivas; technically advanced in the art of rug-weaving, they produced rugs of a quality that had not been seen since the 17th century. They drew their inspiration from the Ottoman court style and the classic 16th-century Persian rugs of the Safavid period (1501-1732). Many of the products from these workshops are signed by the master weavers, with names that are now legendary: Zareh Penyamian, Hagop Kapoudjian, and the Tossounian family. These exquisite masterpieces are highly regarded and command high prices.
WESTERN INFLUENCE
In the late 19th century Western demand for decorative large-scale carpets increased, affecting both Persia and Turkey. Turkish carpet production during the 1890s responded to the new market, and Ushak in western Anatolia produced large, coarsely woven, decorative carpets for the European and American markets. These were often made to order by stores such as Liberty & Co. (est. 1875) in London, and carpets may still be found bearing their labels. Loosely woven on woollen foundations, many of these carpets were of indifferent quality and unattractive, the design most frequently produced being bright red with all-over bold green-andblue lozenges and palmettos: these are often referred to as “Turkey” carpets. However, some attractive products were made, generally based on Persian models of the same period.
• MAIN AREAS OF PRODUCTION Ghiordes, Ladik, Konya,
Hereke, Kum Kapi (Istanbul)
• WEAVE most town pieces are either cotton or silk on a wool foundation; less fine examples are woven in wool
• DESIGNS many patterns take their inspiration from classic prototypes and Persian models; nomadic and semi-nomadic rugs usually feature geometric designs
• COLOURS these vary enormously from bright, vibrant jewel colours to washed-out pastel shades – the latter especially typical of town production pieces; poor examples feature harsh bright colours; modern nomadic and semi-nomadic pieces are characterized by the use of soft pastel shades
• COLLECTING look out for harmonious colour combinations and well-balanced designs; fine silk rugs from Hereke and Kum Kapi are rare, exquisitely made, and usually extremely valuable; it is advisable to buy rare antique rugs only from reputable dealers – the most beautiful examples would have been made for export purposes so it is not usually advisable to travel to the country of production to find the best pieces

Antique Pressed Glass

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Pressed glass
The invention and development of mould pressing c.1820 revolutionized glass manufacture; previously an exclusive and highly priced commodity, decorative ,,lass became accessible to all. The technique involved pressing a gather of molten glass into a metal mould using a plunger. When the glass cooled, the mould was opened, and any excess glass attached to the seams was removed by hand.
NORTH AMERICA
The most important pressed-glass manufacturer in North America was the Boston & Sandwich Glass Co. 1826-88), founded by Deming Jarves (1790-1869), in Sandwich, Massachusetts. The firm produced inexpensive pressed-glass tableware in “lacy” glass with intricate stippled designs that resembled lace and covered the flaws caused by the pressing process; wares included table services and a range of coloured glassware. The earliest pressed patterns of Gothic arches, acanthus leaves, and scrolls were probably copied from cut glass. Another well-known company was the New England Glass Co. (1818-90), originally of East Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also founded by Jarves. Both firms specialized in the production of oil lamps and candlesticks with contrastingly coloured glass tops and bases. By the 1850s other pressed glass factories were also established throughout the Midwest.
Many firms produced brightly coloured pressed glass with a vivid orange or green iridescent surface, which is known as “Carnival” glass. It was made by spraying pressed glass with metallic powders, and was used to create eye-catching yet inexpensive tumblers, bowls, plates, and vases. Major makers include the Northwood Glass Co. (1888-1925) in Indiana, Pennsylvania, the Imperial Glass Co. (est. 1902) in Bellaire, Ohio, and the Fenton Art Glass Co. (est. 1904) in Williamstown, West Virginia. Between 1925 and 1950 mould pressing was widely used to mass-produce inexpensive glass items, such as trinkets, which were given away as premiums at petrol stations and in boxes of cereal, and also affordable pastel-coloured tablewares; these pieces are now known as -Depression” glass. Primary makers include the Jeanette Glass Co. (est. 1898) in Jeanette, Pennsylvania, and the Indiana Glass Co. (est. 1902) in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
BRITAIN
Mould pressing was used in the North of England before 1827, and from the mid-1870s was widely employed
by such firms as John Sowerby’s Ellison Glassworks (1847-1972) and George Davidson & Co. (est. 1867), both in Gateshead, Henry Greener & Co. (est. 1858) in Sunderland, and John Derbyshire & Co. (1873-6) in Manchester. Commemorative ware was
very popular in Britain, and in the 1870s John Derbyshire & Co. introduced patriotic mould-pressed figures to its range, including those of Britannia and Queen Victoria. In the 1860s
Henry Greener & Co. produced glass with a ground of small raised dots that was especially
well suited to press moulding. One of Sowerby’s most popular ranges was “Vitro-porcelain” glass, which closely resembled china. Launched in 1877, it was produced in several colours, including cream (registered as “Patent Queen’s Ivory Ware”), turquoise, white, green, and a marbled version known as “Malachite”. Ranges by George Davidson & Co., introduced in 1889, include opaque “Pearline” glass, which was produced in different shades of turquoise.
• DECORATION American pressed-glass designs are sharp; pieces with softer patterns are likely to be either copies or European; decoration is often in imitation of cut-glass designs; “lacy” patterns were also popular
• COLLECTING although primarily collected in the USA, pressed glass is now becoming more popular with collectors in Europe; generally, the more ornate the piece, the more desirable it will be
• BEWARE supposedly “rare” examples may be copies

Antique Mould Blown Glass

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Mould-blown glass
Mould blowing, a technique that dates back to Roman times, became fashionable when it was used to make Irish and Anglo-Irish glass in the late 18th century. However, its popularity in the USA, where it is known as “blown-three-mould” glass after the three-part mould in which it was produced, declined with the growth of pressed glass in the 1820s.
EARLY GLASS
Mould blowing was first introduced by the Romans C.AD 25 and was one of the most important developments in the production of glass. The simple technique involves blowing a molten, sometimes partly formed, gather of glass (paraison) into a mould. Once shaped by the mould, the piece can be removed and finished, perhaps by reheating and further blowing to enlarge it. The mould, which gives the object both shape and decoration in one operation, was typically made of a non-combustible material such as pearwood, clay, or metal. It was usually made in two or more parts to enable the glass, which does not shrink as it cools, to be removed without damage. Wares made include plain unguentaria, bottles, beakers, and drinking cups, as well as more decorative wares such as inverted bell-shaped “lotus-bud” beakers, hexagonal flasks with decoration showing scenes from the Roman circus, and “mythological” beakers, decorated with events and characters from Roman mythology.
EUROPEAN GLASS
Glassmakers in northern Europe continued to produce mould-blown glass after the Romans left the region. The type of unsophisticated glassware, which included cone and claw beakers, was made of green-tinted soda-lime glass in the forested regions in the Rhineland, France, and Belgium between C.AD 400 and C.AD 700. The most common wares were simple drinking vessels decorated with trailing.
In the 18th century mould blowing was popularly used in Ireland to mass-produce wares such as glasses and decanters, with decoration in imitation of cut-glass designs. Most wares were part rather than fully mould blown; this involved blowing a gather of glass into a shallow patterned mould to form the base of the ware – the bowl of a glass or the base of a decanter. The mould enabled the glassblower to produce a range of wares with a uniform shape and the moulded pattern (typically fluted on Irish decanters) helped to hide flaws in the surface of the glass or unsightly sediment from wine settled at the bottom. By the late 18th century Irish glassmakers were also working their factory marks into the base of the mould.
NORTH AMERICAN GLASS
Large quantities and many varieties of blown-threemould glass, often imitating Anglo-Irish cut glass, were manufactured in Western Pennsylvania,
Ohio, West Virginia, and Indiana from c.1815. The full-size hinged moulds had two, three, or more parts – the name is slightly misleading – and were used to produce pieces with patterns imitating cut glass;
wares, which were usually clear, included punch-bowls, decanters, tumblers, and even toy wine glasses decorated with a range of motifs from sunbursts and vertical and horizontal ribs to plumes and scrolls. Very popular at the time were flasks decorated with presidential portraits, the American eagle, or other political symbols, and portraits of celebrities. They were produced from c.1815 in a variety of sizes and colours – most common are clear or bottle-green examples, but wares in amethyst, blue, and various shades of green are also known.
Vast quantities of mould-blown glass were manufactured in North America during the 19th century for wine and spirit bottles, patent medicine bottles, and home preserving jars. However, in
the 1820s with the development of mould-pressing machinery they were able to mass-produce imitation cut glass.
General
• DECORATION unlike that on cut or mould-pressed glass, the design may be felt on the inside of the piece; as the glass stretches when blown, patterns are often contorted; mould-seams may be visible down the piece’s side
Early glass
• WARES flasks, beakers, cups, bottles, and bowls
• COLLECTING many domestic wares can be commonly found; unusual, coloured, or highly decorated items are very collectable and command high prices
European glass
• COLLECTING part-mould-blown Irish decanters (always of clear glass) are particularly sought after
American glass
• TECHNIQUE mould blowing mostly used in North America between c.1820 and 1870
• WARES much used for the production of inexpensive bottles, although other wares, including vases, punchbowls, and drinking glasses, were also produced

Art Deco Glass

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Art Deco Glass
After a decline at the end of the Art Nouveau period, art glass became popular once again during the inter-war years. France was the leader in design and innovation, with the prolific Rene Lalique being the foremost glassmaker in the Art Deco style. Functional pieces were very often turned to purely decorative purposes, and Lalique’s moulded, opalescent, or frosted glass,
ranging from vases to architectural panels, spawned a gre many imitators. In the USA the Steuben Glass Works produce fine engraved stemware. Moulded glass was usually max produced and sometimes hand-finished; makers also used such techniques as enamelling and engraving to embellish glass -will the fashionable stylized motifs of the era.
Lalique, Daum, and Marinot Glass
European industrial decorative-glass manufacturers of the Art Deco period, most of which operated in France or Bohemia, were primarily influenced by the work of Rene Lalique ( 1860-1945). Many chose to copy his style and techniques, making clear or opalescent glass vessels and statuary with a frosted finish. The wealth of output provides a wide range of choice for collectors, and many focus on only one category, or even on one colour or motif. The present-day market is similarly led by Lalique prices, and most glass by other manufacturers, found throughout Europe, North America, and beyond, rarely rises above decorative value.
RENE LALIQUE Glass
Lalique began glassmaking in 1910, having already established a successful career as the leading jeweller of the Art Nouveau period, and in 1921 took over a large glassworks at Wingen-sur-Moder in Alsace to produce his designs. He was a prolific designer, and made an enormous variety of items, ranging from , and tablewares to clocks, lighting, and architectural panels. Most of his work was machine-made to a high standard. Lalique relied on metal moulds for casting or mould-blowing glass, and many items, particularly panels and larger vessels, show evidence of “chill marks”, or ripples, on the surface. Mould seams were often left, or only partially polished off. Certain objects, including vases, were made by Lalique himself (rather than by the workshop) using the cire perdue (lost-wax) technique. Since the mould has to be broken in order to retrieve the glass, each cire perdue cast is unique, and such items are highly collectable.
The majority of Lalique wares, and virtually all architectural panels, lighting, and table glass, are clear with a frosted or partially frosted surface. Opalescent glass was also used. Some vases were produced in colours, including amber, electric blue, and black, and these command
premium prices. Lalique created various forms of lighting, often in inventive shapes or containing geometric or figural decoration. Clear or opalescent light bowls are generally more desirable than those of a Yellow colour. Lalique designed several hundred perfume bottles, the rarest and best of which are as valuable as some coloured vases. Other categories of collectable interest include the range of 27 automobile-hood ornaments (car mascots), made from 1925 to 1932, boxes, inkwells, ashtrays, and letter seals.
THE INFLUENCE OF LALIQUE GLASS
Marius-Ernest Sabino (1878-1961) produced a wide range of vases, statuary, and lighting from c.1923 until the closure of his glassworks in 1939. Much of his work clearl displays the influence of Lalique; however, few examples are as finely executed as Lalique wares, nor were Sabino’s designs as imaginative. The best examples are in deep, opalescent glass of milky blue. Most popular are the highly stylized figures of women, while coloured vases, mostly black or smoky topaz, have a limited following. Sabino also
produced car mascots, often copies of designs by Lalique. Reproductions of Sabino’s wares using the Original moulds have been made since the 1960x.
Edmond Etling &- Cie (active 1920x-1930x) commissioned moulded opalescent glass, comparable in standards of design and manufacture to Sabino. Figures of draped female nudes produced during the mid-1920s, often in a pale-bluish tint, are especially collectable, with values rivalling Sabino and lesser Lalique. Other typical subjects were animals and ships, and some vases were also produced.
Other French glassmakers in Lalique style include the firm of Verlys, which operated in France and the USA; Andre Hunebelle, who specialized in lighting and frosted vases of geometric design; and the firm of Genet & Michon, makers of innovative lighting, frosted architectural panels, and vases. A large variety of frosted glass, geometric-patterned
glass geometric-patte lampshades, and hanging lights is reproduced today and can be found at reasonable cost.
DAUM GLASS
The factory operated by the Daum family in Nancy from 1875 to the present day produced some of the best and most distinctive French Art Deco glass of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Daum Specialized in artistic Art Nouveau overlay and etched glass until the
1920s, but introduced new lines in the Art Deco style before 1930, mostly under the direction of Paul Daum. The two most characteristic types of Art Deco Daum glass are the mottled and the acid-etched lines.
Mottled glass was usually of amber colour, often with golden metallic inclusions, and was used for vases and some lamps (which are far more desirable than vessels), blown into heavy metal armatures. The typical wrought-iron metalwork may be signed “Edgar Brandt” or attributable to the firm of Louis Majorelle 1859-1926) in Nancy. Daum glass of this type is relatively low in value as pieces tend to be cumbersome and a little sombre.
Vases, bowls, and table-lamps in heavy, thick-walled, vividly coloured glass with deeply acid-etched decoration are the most collectable Art Deco Daum. Colours include green, amethyst, amber, turquoise, and grey; monumental vases in “electric” colours, particularly bright blue and vibrant yellow, are highly sought after. Matt and polished surfaces were sometimes combined. Value is directly in proportion to the depth and complexity of the etched decoration; vessels with shallow, sparse decoration tend to be of later origin and are relatively inexpensive. Pale colours and a smoky grey arc also indicative of late origin (possibly post-World War II). Table-lamps are usually in thick, clear glass with a frosted or grainy surface texture and vertically etched grooves forming a geometric, abstract pattern. Lampshades are bullet-shaped (the more popular) or mushroom-shaped. Any authentic Daum etched table-lamp is of considerable value, particularly if it is of large scale. A few- shades of similar style were also made, but are generally less popular than lamps.
MAURICE MARINOT GLASS
Maurice Marinot (1882-1960) was a painter and glass artist who worked largely independently from c.1911. This glass was not mass-produced and is rarely found on the market; however, it is easily identifiable and widely collected, particularly in Europe. Marinot created mostly functional pieces such as vases, jugs, and bowls, often of abstract, sculptural form, and experimented with decorative techniques such as trapping bubbles or metal foil within thick, heavy walls of glass. Between c.1915 and 1918 Marinot made enamelled glass, which is somewhat less collectable than his later work and consists mainly of pale-coloured or bubbly vases and decanters painted with Art Deco-style flora, fauna, or figures in bright polychrome enamel. Later, internally decorated pieces are often in the form of stoppered bottles (the stopper may be a glass sphere), free-blown in thick, clear glass decorated with bubbling, inclusions, and streaks of colour, and sometimes deeply etched with geometric or figural patterns.
Rene Lalique
• TYPES before 1930: clear glass with partially frosted finish is most common; after 1930: almost all frosted and clear; some pale opalescent and pale yellow/amber colour; designs remained in production after Lalique’s death, when a new crystal glass N as used
• ALTERATIONS authentic but altered pieces of Lalique include vases with ground necks, perfume bottles with “married” stoppers, and opaque vases with “plugged” bases; all designs are recorded in a catalogue raisonne
• FAKES mostly inferior and of poor quality with signatures added; beware of post-war Lalique with the pre-war signature added
Marius-Ernst Sabino
• TYPES opalescent glass using typical Art Deco motifs
• REPRODUCTIONS since the 1960s old moulds have been used to make certain items; the opalescence is more intense than on the originals and map appear “oily-
• COLLECTING large, stylized female figures are the most popular
Etling & Cie
• TYPES most pieces are in opalescent glass, comparable in standard to Sabino
• COLLECTING figures of draped female nudes produced during the mid-1920s 920s are especially collectable; values rival Sabino and lesser Lalique; reproductions in frosted glass were made in France in the 1970s
Marks
Opalescent glass is marked with the name, usually with “France” or “Paris” added
Daum
• TYPES most characteristic are mottled and acid-etched
• FAKES these exist as similar but ulterior pieces, including table-lamps, that appear to be acid-etched hut can be identified as moulded on close inspection
• COLLECTING monumental vases in “electric” colours
with deeply acid-etched decoration are preferred; metal armatures are often cracked and should be inspected
carefully;depth, quality,and complexity of decoration Lire vital for determining value – vessels with shallow, sparse decoration tend to be of later origin and have little value; pale colours and a smoky grey are indicative of later origin (possibly post-World War II)
Maurice Marinot
• TYPES handmade, small-scale items with heavy, thick-walled glass arc most typical; much of Marinot’s work is internally decorated or enamelled
• COLLECTING work is rare and consequently expensive
Marks
All pieces are engraved with the Marinot signature
Other French makers
ARGY-ROUSSEAU AND DECORCHEMONT
The style of the pate-de-verre (glass paste) specialists Gabriel Argy-Rousseau (1885-1953) and Francois-Emile Decorchemont (1880-1971) evolved from the Art Nouveau to the Art Deco during the 1920s. Argy-Rousseau produced vases decorated with stylized figures or geometric patterns in rich colours, together with table-lamps (the most valuable of all Art Deco pate-de-verre), plaques, and some translucent pate-de-cristal vessels. Popular Argy-Rousseau Vases were produced in large numbers, each one being hand-finished; motifs included Egyptian and mythological subjects. The output of Decorchemont, whose work is less collectable than that of Argy-Rousseau, is mainly in pate-de-cristal, often of bluish tone. Small vessels of Neo-classical form are typical. External decoration is subtle, and may be in the form of geometric engraving.
GOUPY AND HEILIGENSTEIN
Working from his Paris studio between 1918 and c.1936, Marcel Goupy (1886-1954) designed glass and ceramics sold mostly through the gallery of Georges Rouard in Paris. Goupy glass includes thin-walled vases, decanters, and goblets in clear or pale monochrome glass, painted with stylized flora, fauna, or figural decoration in semi-matt polychrome enamels. Auguste-Claude Heiligenstein (1891-1976) was an assistant to Goupy at Rouard from 1919 until 1926; he produced enamelled glass for several firms and independent commissions until the mid-1930s. Heiligenstein specialized in figural decoration, often featuring Neo-classical women in translucent enamels. Colours are naturalistic, often predominantly bluish and sometimes edged in gilt. Forms include vases, decanters, and pendants.
Other French Art Deco glass artists who used enamel decoration include Andre Delatte, who worked near Nancy in the 1920s and made mostly vases in opaque, bright colours. In his best pieces the decoration combines etching overlay with polychrome enamel painting. The firm of Muller Freres (est. 1895) in Luneville made speckled glass comparable to Daum c.1930, which may be fixed with metal armatures. The most valuable glass of this type was used for a series of lamps in the form of animals.
LESSER-KNOWN MAKERS
French Art Deco glass by small or lesser-known makers is widely available and varies greatly in quality. The unique, deeply acid-etched sculptural work of Aristide Colotte (1885-1959) in clear crystal ranks among the highest achievements in Art Deco decorative glass, but not widely collected. Similarly, the strikingly Modernists geometric glass desk items designed by Jean Luce (1895-1964) arc not greatly sought after, despite the practicality. Luce also designed glass for the ocean liners of the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique
(C.G.T.). Other Art Deco glass includes the
popular range of vases, lamps, and other wares
produced by Charles Schneider (1881-1953) from
c.1918 until the early 1930s. Most is of mottled.
bubbly glass mould-blown into heavily walled
vases and bowls. Vessels of this type, which may have applied feet or handles of contrasting colour, are common and of relatively little value. Schneider produced vases and a few table-lamps as “Lc Verre Francais”, typically in overlay glass etched with Art Deco decoration.
Argy-Rousseau and Decorchement
• WARES before c.1920: mostly small, Art Nouveau pieces, including jewellery and ashtrays; after c. 1920: larger items, including vases, in a more symmetrical style
• CONVERSIONS attention should be paid to large vases,
which may have been drilled for lamp attachments
• RESTORATION this may be visible on heavy, opaque pieces through transmitted light, and reduces value
• COLLECTING rich, deep colours and well-defined decoration are most desirable; heavier vases are popular
Goupy and Heiligenstein
• DECORATION polychrome enamelling
• COLLECTING Goupy: large-scale works and figural work are his most collectable pieces
Marks
Goupy: enamel or gilt script in the design or on underside of foot; Heiligenstein: most have an enamel or gilt signature, dates, and title of decoration
Lesser-known makers
• COLLECTING Luce: desk items arc popular with Art Deco collectors; Schneider: mould-blown vessels are common and of relatively little value; large pieces, geometric forms, lamps, and pieces with applied elements are the more valuable Schneider wares

Most American glass made during the inter-war years was in traditional style and of press-moulded manufacture, but inexpensive interpretations of French glass, particularly that of Rene Lalique (1860-1945), were popular during the early 1930x. American glass of this period is rarely found outside the USA, as it was not exported; a thriving network of American-glass collectors exists, but there is virtually no interest in this type of Art Deco glass elsewhere in the world.
STEUBEN GLASS
Steuben Glassworks (est. 1903) was founded in Corning, New York, by the Englishman Frederick Carder (1864-1963). Steuben is the most prestigious and highly regarded American glassmaker, partly owing to its elegant and distinctive work in the Art Deco style.
Before 1933 Carder designed much of Steuben’s ware himself; after that date most Steuben Art Deco glass was designed by John Monteith Gates (6.1905) or
Sidney Waugh (1904-63), who worked almost exclusively in clear crystal. Steuben glass is not Modernist or avant-garde; vase forms are typically restrained, often of Neo-classical or Chinese inspiration. Engraved decoration is impressive, comparable to that of contemporary glass made by the Swedish firm of Orrefors (est. 1898). Much of the engraving is figural, featuring slender forms with subtle, geometric stylization. During the late 1930s and 1940s Steuben also produced a range of heavy, cast, clear crystal animals, some in geometric Art Deco designs, for use as bookends and paperweights; these are highly collectable today. Decanters, often with air-trapped stoppers, are also common.
Stemware, bar items, and a few elegant vases designed for Steuben by the leading industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague ( 1883-1960) in the early 1930s are considered among the most innovative American Art Deco glass. Teague’s slender, elegant Art Deco cocktail and wineglasses are comparable in value to the best Lalique pieces.
VERLYS AND CACIQUE-STYLE GLASS
The trademark “Verlys” derives from “Venetic d’Andelys”, a French glassworks (est. 1920) in Les Andelys, Lure, founded by the American Holophane Glass Co. However, from c.1933 until 1955 most decorative Verlys wares were made in the USA, and pieces are often found on the market there today. Verlys ware is growing in popularity in the USA and also has some market in Europe. Typical of the factory’s output arc press-moulded vases and bowls, mostly with symmetrical patterns evocative of Lalique, in deep-bluish Opalescent glass. Smoky-grey, blue, and pink are rare and generally less popular; even the best designs have values comparable only to those of the plainest Lalique. From 1926 the Consolidated Lamp & Glass Co. of
Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, produced an inexpensive range of mould-blown vases and some figural plates in the style of Lalique under the direction of Reuben Haley. Production continued on the same site – trading as the Phoenix Glassworks – until the 1940s, under Reuben’s son, Kenneth Haley.
“RUBA RHOMBIC” AND DEPRESSION GLASS Between 1928 and 1933 the Consolidated Lamp & Glass Co. produced a stylish line of vases and table glass called “Ruba Rhombic”. Examples are highly collectable, although the line was relatively inexpensive when first produced. Liqueur sets and small vases in smoky grey are most common. Collectors focus on vibrant or rare colours such as green, yellow, lavender, and black. It is estimated that fewer than 1,500 pieces exist today.
Ruba Rhombic is the finest of the so-called “Depression” glass that was produced by scores of regional firms, and consisted mostly of heavily moulded kitchen- or tableware in pale monochrome, sometimes in the Art Deco style. Depression glass is collectable in the USA but remains very affordable.
Steuben Glassworks
• FORMS Neo-classical or Chinese-style vases, clear crystal animals,decanters with air-trapped stoppers; Art Deco stemware, vases, and barware by Teague
• ORNAMENT engraved, stylized figures or fauna
• COLLECTING elegant Art Deco cocktail and wineglasses are most valuable
Verlys
• FORMS press-moulded vases and bowls, with Lalique style symmetrical patterns
• COLLECTING becoming increasingly popular; opalescent colours are more desirable than smoky grey, blue, or pink
Phoenix Glassworks
• STYLE some copies of, or attempts to emulate, Lalique are found, but they can be distinguished by their light weight, poor definition, poorly finished rims, sugary frosted texture, and use of matt, pastel staining, sometimes in two colours
• COLLECTING as yet of no significant value

Ruba Rhombic glass
• FORMS angular, heavily moulded vases and tableware, mostly= pale monochrome
• COLLECTING angular “Ruba Rhombic” pieces in vibrant or rare colours such as green, yellow, lavender, and black are most desirable