CROWN DERBY PORCELAIN FLOWERS

I had stopped buying from antique stores and junk markets; that is, until this beauty stopped me in my tracks. Rarely have I seen such a fine example of sculpted porcelain flowers, and I've poked around the ceramic museums of Stoke on Trent, Meissen and Sevres.  And so, with the help of a kind and careful driver I rescued this oversized decantor (?) from it's precarious perch amid lesser objects somewhere on Highway 10.

Although the mark looks a bit like the Meissen crossed swords it is actually a Crown Derby mark from the mid 1800's.  One of England's oldest porcelain manufacturers (around 1750) Crown Derby has gone through many ups and downs.  Most recently, after being amalgamated with Royal Doulton in the 1960's, the firm decided to revert to their own name in 2000, continuing production in England and employing over 300 people.

Major upheaval at the company was happening when this piece was made.  After a quick succession of different owners, the Crown Derby factory was closed in 1844.  An enterprising group of former employees got together, pooled their resources and bought the molds, patterns and some equipment, setting up their own small factory on King street in the town of Derby.  This inspired group carried on the tradition of high quality porcelain dinnerware, figurines and objects until one of the members, Sampson Hancock, took the helm and steered Crown Derby towards Queen Victoria's "Royal" mark of approval, giving the brand todays name of Royal Crown Derby.

Here is a more colourful example found in the V&A collection:

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O334837/bottle-and-stopper-derby-porcelain-factory/

ALISON BRITTON : DOUBLE VESSEL

This Alison Britton vessel from 1987 is currently on display at the Gardiner Museum in the contemporary collection.  I liked how the two patterns can exist independently from different vantage points.  Britton pre-paints the slabs that she uses to create her vessels, thus reversing the process of making.  Her work exists between art and craft and questions the relationship between the two.  She holds an Order of the British Empire for her sevice to the arts.

You can see more examples of an Alison Britton's work here 

BRITISH MONEY

Lately I've been listening to a lot of audiobooks by E. Nesbit in which jaunty Edwardian children, down on their luck, fixate on every sixpence and shilling they can get their hands on.  These British coins are from pre "decimation" and work on an enigmatic system of division. Confounded by the guinea, half crown and farthing I decided to get enlightened.

The current British coins were implemented in 1971.  Before this date, the British money system dated back to the Norman Conquest of 1066.  The main difference is that there are 240 rather than 100 pennies in a pound.  12 pennies make a shilling (a bob) thus there are 20 shillings per pound.  The money is further divided:

farthing= 1/4 penny

halfpence= 1/2 penny

thruppence= 3 pence

sixpence= 6 pence

shilling= 12 pence

florin= 2 shilling

half crown= 2 shilling + 6 pence

crown= 5 shillings

The guinea introduces some confusion being worth 21 shillings.  It's almost a pound but slightly more.  Tradespeople were paid in pounds while people like architects or writers were paid in guineas. The sovereign is a pound coin made from gold.  It's about the size of a the Canadian dime and would have been worth hundreds of dollars in today's money.

In 1279 a farthing could buy a chicken but by 1900 it could only get a single candy and ceased being legal tender in 1960.  However, the value of the farthing coin in 2013 currency is between 2p and 6p so perhaps we will soon see the British penny heading the way of the Canadian.

PIET HEIN

My friend Trelawnie recently gutted a storefront building at Gerrard and Woodbine.  The original state of the place was grim to say the least and I was amazed to see what she had accomplished in few months and with a limited budget.  Once the finishing touches are complete perhaps she'll allow a full feature, but in the meantime, here's an interesting story about her dining room table.

The table came with books.  Better books than bugs.  The Danish designer, Piet Hein, was also an author, mathematician, and inventor (and married 4 women).  Apparently the table could not be sold without these books.

At first glance this table seems typically midcentury, but on closer examination you notice the curved metal edge and the wonderful expanse of white unblemished by the central seam so often seen in similar models.

The books contain poems that Hein called Grooks (Gruk in Danish).  Written during the Nazi occupation of Denmark in 1940, the short poems often offer a cryptic political or social message. They offer a glimpse into the mind of one of the 20th century's most interesting thinkers.

 Art is this: art is the solution of a problem which cannot be expressed explicitly until it is solved. -Piet Hein

COLLAPSIBLE CUP

My nerves have gone to pieces 

My hair is turning grey

All I do is drink black coffee

Since my man's gone away*

Here's a cup for thrill seekers and highway ramblers.  It's a spill waiting to happen.  Gravity holds the sides vertical when in use but beware of setting your coffee down.  Regardless, it's a charming artifact found in a friend's East London home.

* from Black Coffee by Burke, J.Francis/Webster, Paul Frances 

MYSTERY BITS : PART 2

About a year ago, we got excited over a set of mysterious metal bits;  their purpose was elusive and their forms enticing.  And so, while waiting in line in the Tuileries garden, I was surprised to see, seemingly emerging from the lawn like so many mushrooms, another full set of mystery bits.

This public artwork offers sharp contrast to the grand gold tipped obelisk on one side and the anguished Rodin sculptures on the other.  Small and subtle, I saw the shapes as seeds of things to come.  The work, Grand Commandment Blanc (1984) is by Alain Kirili and is one of his ongoing Commandment Series began in 1980.  Kirili explains the title: 

It took me quite a long time to find a title for it.  I found "Commandment" when I visited the Jewish Museum in New York and saw pieces called rimonim, Torah finials.  There were many of them in the window; they were somewhat similar to my iron sign.  I was so impressed with the connection that I went to visit a rabbi on White Street to ask him why the objects were named rimonim, and he told me it was the Hebrew word for pomegranate; they were so named because there are as many seeds in pomegranates as there are commandments in the Torah.

The series (executed in iron, concrete or styrofoam) explores the ability of a simple form to have symbolic meaning.  The shapes can be seen as ancient glyphs, or scripture; a small but potent sign. Kirili's most recent Commandment project was installed in 2012 in the square by Paris' Hôtel de Ville and was open for the public to interact with.

quote from The Brooklyn Rail

HAPPY EASTER

I'm not sure whether paper cut outs have always been a pervasive art form in Denmark or if Hans Christian Andersen popularized the technique.  There is no direct connection between the author's paper cut illustrations and his fairy tales, though he used to accompany his paper cutting with a fantastic tale.  It has been said that at the end of telling a tale, to amuse friends and children, Andersen would unfold the paper to allow the amazed listeners to take in an intricately cut image.  Regardless, at each holiday the Danes love to decorate with paper cut outs. 

Walking this quaint little town I've noticed many Easter themed cut outs hanging in the windows of  people's homes.  Bunnies and daffodils, chickens and eggs brighten the streets when the weather is grey.  Admiring the cheerfulness of these seasonal ornaments, it was just my luck that the Red Cross second hand shop were selling these three, homemade by somebody. I purchased the small lot for 15 dkk ($1 each).  They are a perfect token of my spring here, not to mention lightweight and flat for easy packing!

EXPERIENCE AND YOUTH

I found these two gentlemen in a ragged folio at a community market circling a midcentury apartment block in the northwest of Paris.  I was pretty excited by the quality of the drawing and an older gentleman hovering around, anxious to see what I left behind, seemed to agree.  There were about 10 portraits in among architectural studies and watercolour landscapes and I liked these two best.  

I've christened the mustached man as "Experience": His eyes are knowing, his wiry arm is bent in a protective position, he knows what the world has in store.  The lad with the roman cut is "Youth": he has no idea what's coming, he's open to anything and is ready to prove himself.  I've decided that they are studies for a mural painted in some Parisian church around 1900.  The dealer could offer no providence but the paper is watermarked "Ingres 1870" and "Experience" bears a striking resemblance to John MacNeill Whistler......

WINDOW SHOPPING

Last Sunday, walking the streets of the left bank in the 7th arrondissement, we came upon Le Carré Rive Gauche, a conclave of high end antique dealers marked by blue and white flags.  Housed in 17th and 18th century buildings, some of the items on display are museum quality and clients include the Louvre, the Met and the Musée D'Orsay.  We spent the afternoon perusing the window displays and I captured some of what we saw through glass or open doorway.