Thursday, February 27, 2020

Palm Beach Show 2020 b


Callaghan's of Shrewsbury, England, offered paintings and realistic animal sculptures.
Richard Smith specializes in rabbits and has developed techniques for making
the patinas on his sculptures look exceptionally real.




Across the aisle was Steinitz Artworks.  They bring several complete rooms with them; the
walls and floors, as well as the objects are for sale.  The carved wood wall panels are from
a great house in Britain.  The classical heads are mounted on Renaissance marble busts.




Another room at Steinitz features primarily Chinese art.  Notice here the hand-painted
chinese wallpaper, the inlaid floor, the Chinese vessels all around the room, and the
cloisonné table in the center.




This piece is exceedingly rare.  To make this tabletop, the artist had to first solder the threads of 
copper you can see throughout the work.  The little fields thus made were then filled with
ground up glass, and the whole was put into a furnace to fuse the glass enamel to the
copper backing.  This was extremely time consuming, and the table was probably made
for the emperor, since the dragon has 5 claws, a symbol reserved for only the emperor.




The top of a side table showing top quality work in three styles.  The bird and branches are
made in pietra dura (different colored large pieces of stone sliced thin), surrounding them are very ting pieces in micro-mosaic, and finally the outer sections have larger pieces of regular
mosaic.  Such a piece was probably made in Rome and probably in the papal workshops,
which made the finest mosaics and micro-mosaics in the 17th-18th centuries.




Another view of the Chinese Room at Steinitz.




The cabinet is notable for its ormolu mounts and the three inlaid panels in the doors.
These are all made of pietra dura, different kinds and colors of stone cut to make
the forms.




Cabinet with clock, screen, and candlelabra.
These were at Butchoff Antiques.




A  table top made with dozens of varieties of rare stones.




This dealer specializes in ancient Chinese art and Lalique glass.
The ceramic horse is a tomb figure from the T'ang Dynasty of the 9th century, as are
the attendant figures on the far right.




An 18th century French gilt clock with enamel panels of flowers.
They are surrounded with Persian carpets.




Mellio Gallery specializing in classical busts and Neo-Classical sculpture.




The entrance to the Butchoff Antiques display.




Callaghan's of Shrewsbury features many animals in bronze, especially by Tobias Martin
and Richard Smith.  There were also a couple of other sculptors' work.




Tobias Martin bronze sculptures.





Bronze animal sculptures.





St. Roch, patron of those with the plague.  Mexican, 17th century, wood.
His symbols are the seashells (showing he was a pilgrim to Santiago Compostela) and
the wound on his leg( concerns one of the stories of his miracles).
He might be very useful this year.  Behind him to the left is a lacquer box, a blue and
white porcelain vase, and a multi-colored vase from China.




A French commode with two 19th century Impressionist scenes.




There were also American antique dealers.  This is a 19th century weather-vane.




American chest of drawers and two weather-vanes.




Greg Pepin had a fine display of silver by Georg Jensen and Lous C. Tiffany,
among others.




Nearby was a display of large silver center-pieces.




And always close at hand was a jeweler.  Here is a beautiful
ruby and diamond necklace.




Sapphire and Diamond Necklace




Van Cleef and Arpels Yellow and White Diamond Necklace.
Dealers are both primary and secondary.  Primary design and make their own jewelry;
secondary sell jewelry made by many sources over the years.





Emeralds and Diamonds Necklace




A diamond necklace by Harry Winston.




There were three dealers in Oriental rugs.  They were all extremely knowledgeable about
materials, processes, and images.  I don't know much, so I had questions.  This is a
dealer from Atlanta, GA.  There were carpets from Persia, China, Turkey, and elsewhere.
The brighter colors  tend to be the newer ones.  The gentleman on the left is from Iran.




A carpet dealer from Istanbul, Turkey; I have met him before, very nice.  The far left carpet is
from China and is all silk, the purple one to the right is silk and wool.  The geometric
patterns are traditional Persian patterns.




A modern Persian carpet in very delicate colors.




An 18th century traditional Persian carpet with geometric and floral motifs.




Boccara Gallery specializes in modern tapestries, usually designed by famous artists.
This large tapestry, "The Black Serpent," was about 10 feet long and designed by the French
artist of the early 20th century, Sonia Delaunay.




Adolph Gottlib, "Golden Orb," is a very interesting and large
work derived from his painting.  8 x 10 ft




This was the most contemporary piece, designed by the French
Graffiti artist, Jonone.  His murals are on Wynwood walls and his
paintings are in galleries all over.  This is "Waterfall."
8 x 10 ft.


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Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Palm Beach Show 2020 a




The Palm Beach Show of Jewelry, Art, and Antiques was held last week.
It was splendid, as usual.  They have artworks in every medium; glass is special.
There are two major dealers in Tiffany lamps, Macklowe and Lillian Nassau.
These range in price from $50,000 - $120,000.



 Tiffany Pink Peony Lamp with bronze base.  All Tiffany lamps have bronze bases,
and the glass is mottled, not flat.  Each is a separate piece of glass, and they are held
together with lead strips or copper foil.




Close-up of lamp.  You can easily see the mottled colors of the glass and the dark lines
of lead or copper.  In 2007 it was discovered that Tiffany did not design these lamps.
The chief designer was Clara Driscoll, and there was a whole studio of women 
designers who created all of the lamps.  Tiffany was the salesman only.



"Water Lily Lamp."
More than 300 workers were employed in Tiffany's interior design company.
Male artisans took the designs of Clara and fabricated the shades, each one by hand.
There were hundreds of bins of different colored pieces of glass from which the
craftsmen would select pieces.  Thus no two pieces are exactly the same.



Five Tiffany lamps in the Macklowe booth.



Pink Peony Hanging Shade.



Jade Green Lamp




Dragon Fly Lamp, which was very popular.  Tiffany printed a catalog showing 
the designs, and you could order from the catalog.  You can see the wings were
created separately and attached to the surface.  Copper foil held the smaller
pieces together, while lead strips held the larger.




Five Tiffany lamps in the Lillian Nassau booth.





Wisteria Lamp with bronze base is the most famous and designed by Clara Driscoll.
This piece was selling for $770,000.  The record at auction for a Tiffany lamp
is $2.8 million.




Close-up of the Wisteria Lamp.  Note here the variations in colors of the
individual pieces of glass.  They are endlessly fascinating.
The style came to epitomize Art Nouveau in America.




Red Tulip Lamp with unique base.




Multiple Lily Lamp with favrile glass.  This was sold in many sizes with different
bases.  There is a larger example with more lamps in the Driestadt Museum in Chicago.




Peony Garden Shade on Standing Lamp.




Venetian Table Lamp with very delicate base.




Pink Peonies Standing Lamp




Close-up showing the mottled colors in each piece.  These are what makes true Tiffany
lamps so beautiful and fascinating.




But there were other types of Art Nouveau glass in the early 20th century.
In Nancy, France, Daum began to create pieces using the ancient Egyptian technique
of pate-de-verre, in which ground up glass is put into a refractory mold and then
heated until it fused.  The Daum company is the only company in the world still
today using the technique.




Emile Galle, in France, created cameo glass.  Here, several gathers of glass
are used to create a multi-layered piece, which is then cut and ground to bring out
an image from the various layers.  The same technique as cameos in stone.




A French cameo glass vase, but not Galle.




Glass in 2020 is still a precious art form.  The Berengo Studio in Murano, Venice, Italy,
works with artists in other mediums to create unique artworks..  Here the Spanish artist, 
Juan Ripolles. creates the deigns which are then formed in glass by the expert glassblowers 
on the Island of Murano in Italy.




Thomas Hawkes.  "Crystal Persian Salad Bowl."  American
Mr. Hawkes started a business to create fine crystal.




Rene Lalique.  "Paradox."  Cast Glass.  France.
Art glass is produced in many ways: blown, cast, slumped, fused, cut, etc.
Lalique created beautiful forms by pouring the glass in molds, which could then be
re-used to create multiple forms.  He believed every, regardless of wealth, should
be able to enjoy fine art in their home.




René Lalique.  "Swan Centerpiece."  France.




René Lalique.  "Pair of Swans Cen terpiece."  Cast Glass.  France.




Massimo Lunardon.  "Alien."  Murano Blown Glass.
Lunardon is an Italian artist who works with the glass artists on Murano to create his
playful "Alens" in silver and bright colors.  He also designs function glassware for
upscale department stores around the world.  





Massimo Lunardon.  "Alien Meditating."  Murano Blown Glass. 



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A Colombian emerald and diamond necklace.
Jewelry plays a very large role at the Palm Beach Show; the ladies of Palm Beach arrive
each day with their checkbooks ready.  Most select a new piece each year - a new stone,
a new color, a new form.  They are of the finest quality and displayed in profusion,
more than I see anywhere else.  The jewelers generally are friendly and helpful.
They tell me about the stones and how they are worked, and they allow me to try on
a few spectacular pieces.  There are thousands of rings and brooches, but I prefer the
full flowering of the necklaces.



A Burmese ruby and diamond necklace.




A diamond choker necklace.




A necklace of blue sapphires and diamonds.
I tried on a $5.6 million sapphire ring.  Very nice.





A necklace of pink sapphires and diamonds.
I enjoy the colored stones particularly, and there are many of them.  The three best
dealers, in my opinion, were Takat, Bayco, and Yafa.  Bayco is a family business,
and I met three generations: young lady salesperson, her uncle, and grandpa, all
very nice.


More to come in other media.
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