S is for...

Serpent

and...

Salviati

Now playing: Blondie - Heart of Glass

Mid-century modern

A Mid-Century Eye: The Collection of Colleen Sullivan

Now playing: The Beauty Room - Visions of Joy

By Jove

c'est Jouve!

Sirenes  ceramic wall lights by Georges Jouve

I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each...
 
And they do sing to me.

Fabulous.

Now playing: This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren

Now you see it

Dreadful.

Now playing: The Cramps - Good Taste

Now you don't

Unfortunately, they come out much easier than they go in.

Now playing: Jack Johnson - Gone

Too soon...

to start showing clients things for their new house.  

Just hope these will still be available when the time is right.

Now playing: The Smiths - How Soon Is Now

Reflected glory

 

Designed by Angelo Lelli in the 1950s for Arredoluce, Italy

Now playing:  Foy Vance - Shed a Little Light

Wicked...

But,  couldn't help wondering whether the sale will be at Christie's or at Sotheby's?
And, would it be the scrum all the previous single collectors' sales have been in the past...
In the words of Noxeema Jackson, Miss Thing's got some stuff.
Undoubtedly, for the time being at least, nothing more than a baroque worry. 

Iris Apfel’s Exuberant Apartment

Architectural Digest, June 2011

Now playing: Salt 'n' Pepa - I Am The Body Beautiful

Burnt offerings

Large Chinese bronze censer in the form of a citron, 19th century

Pair of Japanese bronze Shishi censers, Taisho Period (1912-1926)

Large Tibetan silver alloy tripod censer,  early 20th century

A large Japanese bronze censer formed as a sailing vessel,  Meiji period

Chinese bronze peach formed censer, Qing Dynasty 18th/19th century

Now playing: Dinah Washington - Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Foreign accents

 19th century Chinese export carved hardwood etagere 

Four section pagoda form surmounted with a triple urn finial and carved throughout with various flora, birds and stylised dragons. Standing on claw feet.

 19th century ivory inlaid ebonised Milanese table cabinet 

Rectangular cabinet with pierced bronze corner mounts and carrying handles, the inlaid fall front enclosing ten inlaid paneled drawers and a central paneled recess with an additional two smaller drawers, standing on an associated ebonised base.

Now playing: Elton John - Tower of Babel

East meets west

 

Chinese 19th Century figure transformed by an ormolu lamp mount.

Now playing: Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls

Memento

18th century ivory oval box with cover

The slightly raised domed cover with urn finial and with gold wire inlaid monogram cartouches E H C, the box of slightly rounded form raised on six short feet, finely and delicately carved all over in openwork with geometric patterned panels, with original silk brocade partly covered cardboard box, with writing in ink to the interior of the cover partly reading " ...The Work that Beresford brought from Jamaica for .. his Daughter, This Box for Eliza Maria, My godchild and name sake"

11½in. (29.3cm.) wide




Now playing:  Cesaria Evora - Negue

The lantern is dead.

Long live the chandelier!

Now playing: Iggy Pop - Mass Production

Roll 'em and see

A 19th century George III style giltwood wall-mirror of grand proportions.  

Rocaille borders within an ornately carved cartouche frame surmounted by a C-scroll.

The great dealers (Geoffrey Bennison, Christopher Gibbs, Madeleine Castaing, Rose Cumming, et al) were inveterate gamblers. Gambling that their chosen pieces would find an audience. An audience with the desire and the means to share in their vision.

At least, that is what I tell myself as I try to justify the sheer madness of it all.

And, all I can think is it would be madness not to take a chance.







Now playing: Gnarls Barkley - Crazy