Archive for March 16th, 2006
Sir Colin and Lady Anderson were among the first British collectors of art nouveau . The first pieces were bought in 1960, the last in 1971. During this decade the Andersons acquired according to style rather than value, forming a collection that includes not only pieces by leading exponents of art nouveau such as the American Louis Comfort Tiffany and the Frenchmen Emile Galle and Rene Lalique, but also inexpensive commercially produced items by unknown designers.
The Anderson Collection most fully represents the French exponents of art nouveau associated with the Ecole de Nancy and makers who, both in France and Britain, worked across a range of disciplines such as glassware and furniture, metalware and jewellery.
The term art nouveau is used to describe a group of national styles that flourished in Europe and America between 1890 and 1905.
The metalwork in the collection is largely by British or German makers, many of whom retailed their work at Liberty & Co. The collection includes some items that had been inherited by Sir Colin and Lady Anderson.
Liberty & Co’s policy of not crediting individual designers sometimes makes it difficult to identify the work of specific makers. However, there are two examples of Archibald Knox’s Tudric ware in the Collection. Tudric ware was introduced by Liberty & Co as a more affordable alternative to the highly successful Cymric range of jewellery and silverware.
On the basis of style, this inkstand has been attributed to Werttembergische Metallwarenfabrik (W.M.F), exponents of the German Art Nouveau Jugendstil (Youth style) designs. Designers at the W.M.F. adapted into commercially desirable commodities archetypal Art Nouveau motifs such as female figures with flowing hair and trailing foliage and flowers. This inkstand features a maiden seated at the ‘pool’ of her inkwell.
March 16th, 2006
The lion first appeared in Rene Boivin’s expanding iconography in 1956 as an oxidized silver, gold and diamond pendant. Over the years, the lion design evolved, not only in its style and varying gem material, but also expanded to include other species of cats. The tiger brooch offered here captures this progression, with its piercing emerald eyes and striped coat, richly-set with colorless, yellow and brown diamonds, as well as its distinct camaieu setting and fully articulated body.
The camaieu setting was considered to be a novel approach by the firm, one that deviated from the more realistic interpretations of the design by such jewelry houses as Cartier, adding life and vibrancy to the brooch. The masterful detail and execution and refined movement of the tiger’s crouching pose, exudes qualities of strength and agility as well as serenity, all prized characteristics of this exotic animal.
Designed as a crouching tiger, with a pave-set colored diamond and diamond articulated body, accented by marquise-cut emerald eyes, mounted in 18k gold, with French assay marks and maker’s mark (indistinct)
Price and details on www.chriesties.com
March 16th, 2006
The architectural detailing of many older homes is a large part of their appeal – but the grandeur doesn’t always carry through to the kitchen. Often the last rooms to be considered in the original design process, kitchens in older homes are often poorly designed and impractical.
Such was the case with the existing kitchen in this home. There was poor appliance placement – the fridge-freezer was a long distance from the main counter and sink. There was also very little storage, and no room for a television. In addition to the poor layout, there was no significant feature to draw the eye in.The owner, who had been a fan of Clive Christian kitchens for some time, commissioned a custom kitchen that would transform the room, in both a visual and practical sense.
This is the Alpha range of Bespoke Kitchen Furniture from Clive Christian - and you can see why it’s already being called the “moonlight kitchen”.
The dramatic moonlight effect is created by bespoke blue LED lighting built in to the furniture - designed to be a permanent feature when daylight fades and electric light is too severe.
Clive Christian say that Alpha bespoke kitchen furniture was inspired by the decadent mood of Stanley Kubrick’s film Eyes Wide Shut. Love it or hate it, this ground-breaking new direction for Clive Christian certainly mirrors the dramatic visual impact of the film.
More on www.clive.com
March 16th, 2006
The Loremo design is based on a simple linear cell steel structure: the patented chassis with its three straight longitudinal girders and one central transverse girder weighs only 95 kg. The steel girders provide Loremo with the required stability and safety. This clever principle of construction allows for a great crumple zone of 600 mm.
The realisation of the principles of simplicity, aesthetics and aerodynamics in design allow for the low air resistance. This low air resistance results from the excellent Cw value of 0.2 and from a frontal area which has been reduced to the minimum.
You get into Loremo via one gate instead of two doors: It has a front door which opens forward. This makes getting into Loremo as easy as stepping into a bathtub! Also Loremo’s interior focuses on the essential needs: Ergonomics and haptics. The same applies to the special features. The return to what is essential makes Loremo a sensational lightweight: With only 450 kg it weighs less than half of any comparable passenger car. Of course, this makes Loremo also sensationally affordable.
More details on www.supercarnews.net
March 16th, 2006
Insured for $6 million, the fabled Brasher Doubloon — the United States’ first gold coin — returns to Baltimore for the first time in a quarter century for a public display, March 17 & 18, 2006.
The unique, first gold coin made for the United States over 200 years ago, the legendary multi-million dollar Brasher Doubloon, will be publicly exhibited in Baltimore for the first time since Johns Hopkins University sold it a quarter-century ago.
The fabled gold coin was purchased at an auction in early 2005 by Steven L. Contursi, President of Rare Coin Wholesalers of Dana Point, California. Since then Contursi has set up educational exhibits of the historic rare coin in New York City, San Francisco, Kansas City, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Orlando and Houston. Now it’s coming “home” to Baltimore for the first time since 1981.
The unique Brasher Doubloon was kept in a Baltimore vault for most of the 20th century when it was owned by the family of Baltimore & Ohio railroad magnate, T. Harrison Garrett, and later bequeathed to Johns Hopkins University.
The school sold the Brasher Doubloon at a 1981 public auction for the then-astounding price of $625,000.
March 16th, 2006
