New Ye Olde Map

We are so pleased to be a part of the great West Village community that gave rise to this homespun guide! Created by Kimo Jung (of the fabulous shop "Leo Design") and Brad Soucy, whose illustrations adorn the fold-out map. This is an invaluable resource for those who cherish the indie shop culture that seems to be be dwindling in Manhattan with each passing year. Come by and pick up a copy and enjoy a walking tour of the neighborhood we adore.

Jack Frost Ceramics

Founded in 1901, the Majolica factory of Karlsruhe is one of the only ceramic factories in Germany which has survived every political and economical crisis of the last century and is still running today. This group of mid-century Karlsruhe Majolica has a distinctive crackle glaze commonly employed by the Bauhaus trained designers at the time. 


Heights:
Large vessels l to r: 16", 12", 12"
Shell: 3"
Box: 2"

O Tannenbaum

We also have a great selection of vintage Mini-X-Mas trees...all hand made and flocked in glitter and snow.
From 3" and up 

Suddenly Tis the Season

Just one of many incredible vintage Christmas ornaments to be found at The End of History.

Copper Keeper

A substantial piece of ceramic from Danish pottery company Hyllested Keramik. Made by Holger Jensen, this piece has a luminescent copper luster glaze that depending on the light looks rusty or rosy. Just gorgeous! Great size at 16" tall and 14" wide and quite weighty at around 15lbs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Bird" Image from a 17" Rosenthal porcelain vase. Germany, 1950s 


Please note we are closed for the Holiday today and tomorrow...open this weekend!

Metalliferous and Marvelous

This little lucite and metal box sits atop an equally ornate silver plated tray. Both by WMF, a company which dates back to the mid-1800s in Germany and is still in operation. Established for industrial metalworking in the early days, WMF quickly evolved to become a manufacturer of decorative home goods from the high-end to the well designed utilitarian goods it is known for today.

Boxtop measures 4.5" X 3.5" , shown here on a 10.5" Square tray.

White Light

A matte white cylindrical porcelain lamp in a mesmerizing thumbprint pattern, West Germany, circa 1960s.
14"

Dimpled Deluxe

Another big blue Empoli continues the theme...this is the tallest stopper bottle (of this shape) we've seen at 33" tall!

Mod Couple

Likely the same era and also from Empoli like yesterday's rare purple beauty this equally groovy pair is a color so saturated I can only describe it as Blood Orange. We purchased the decanter from a source in England and one interesting thing to note is that this kind of stopper is only found on decanters that were made for the British market. It also has a sticker on it that reads "Opalino", most likely an importer of Italian glass in the UK.
27.5"(w/ stopper), 25"

Double Bubble Bottle

This Italian bottle with a great big ball stopper, likely from Empoli, is just the most delicious shade of grape...24" of purple perfection. Very 1960s.

Another Cut Above

A technique we can't get enough of, quite literally, since it is rare and hard to find. The flowers you see are not painted, but hand-carved into the porcelain. Created for Heinrich as part of their Gemmo line designed by Karl Leutner in 1954. This turquoise beauty started off as a simple blue glazed porcelain vase and then after firing was carved and cut to reveal the white below the surface. The vessel's shape and design motif is likely an homage to the art of the Japanese Meiji period.
Massive and important at 10' by 10" 

Nailed It!

At 52 inches in diameter, this has to be the most massive nail sculpture we have ever had. Made anonymously mid-century using a fantastic collection of what looks like 18th-19th century railroad nails. The welding is meticulous and the starburst effect is a great treat for the eye.

Awning Announcement

For years we have been obscured by the dreaded scaffolding necessary for building renovations. Well, those days are over. At long last we were able to upgrade to a preservation society friendly awning... with our name up there is glorious black and white!

Frosty The Porcelain

A matching pair of Rosenthal porcelain pieces from the 50s in a pattern called "Frost", an ironic name given its "Sun Print" look.
Vase = 8"
Plate = 11.5" in diameter

Buddha as a Girl

Here's a bit of enlightenment on one of our favorite forms...Her name is Kwan Yin and she is often referred to as the female Buddha. Created by Bitossi in the 60s, we are inclined to believe she was made almost exclusively for the famed Copenhagen department store called Illums Bolighus, as it has on occasion had the store label still attached and is found for auction primarily in Scandinavia. It seems that few if any were sold even in Italy (where it was made) and we rarely acquire them stateside.
14" tall

Sassy Glass

Is it just us, or does this lidded jar have attitude!? It seems to be saying "Well, I Never!" ...but that would be false, since we've seen her here once before in a light blue. This Empoli lidded jar is an awesome olive green. Miss Thing (of beauty) stands just about 12" tall.

Exquisite Equus

A rare and very large 17" tall modern primitive chartreuse, yellow and black Spanish ceramic horse sculpture from the 60's by a ceramic company called Alfaraz made under the direction of Spain's foremost ceramic artists Miquel Duran-Lorgia & Jesus Martitegui, both who won the gold medal at a design exposition in Munich, Germany in 1960.
Very tall @ 17"

A Shroom for Your Room

We love a mushroom lamp! So 60s and a great source of ambient light to help illuminate a bookshelf or just to add a pop of color and whimsy. This one is from Sweden.

The Big Bang

One of the most heralded names in Scandinavian pottery is that of Danish ceramicist Arne Bang. This taupe colored fluted bowl is dappled with a naturalistic touch of rust. It is one of his rarest shapes...and therefore quite collectible. The fluidity of the form belies its heavy stoneware weight. Created in the 1940's, this bowl is an earlier work by a prolific artisan. Marked with his AB monogram and a nice size measuring 10" in diameter and 4" in height.

Wicked Lynx

Created by the noted Swedish sculptor Georg Gunmar (1915-1976) this piece is actually a study, or 'maquette', for what would eventually be cast in bronze or cut in stone. His subjects were almost always animals in motion and a dozen or so public works are found all over Sweden, many in Stockholm. The Lynx was his favorite form and we have a great example here from 1955.

I Feel Blue

Never has a single color been more closely associated with a particular artist than an indigo hue known as Yves Klein Blue...and deservedly so, given the fact that it was he who basically invented the process in which to achieve it (along with some rather clever chemists). His ability to capture the vibrancy of a perfect blue powdered pigment and the way he incorporated it into a variety of mediums gave him such notoriety within the art world that his influence must have been at play with the creation of the four West German 'Fat Lava' ceramic pieces you see above. 

Olive Object D'art

Another Bavarian beauty in olive and cobalt with a generous amount of genuine gold detailing
13"

Abstractly Fabulous

Sometimes a piece from an unknown artist can be even more intriguing to the eye given the mystery behind its maker. An Abstract Expressionist Oil on Masonite signed Audrey E. Harvey dated 1967 shows great skill with the brush and captures the era with an evocative use of color and style. I welcome input if anyone can shed light on this talented painter, or perhaps the beauty lies in the possible "outsider" appeal.
In its original frame, measures 18.5" X 22.5"

Required Reading

A marvelous new tome has just arrived from one of our very favorite interior designers: Expressive Modern...The Interiors of Amy Lau is all about vivid color, so when she needed to pull some accessories for a window display at her book launch party at Archivia Books last night, she came to The End of History. We were honored to offer our goods for loan - not too mention pleased to see our wares in the pages of her beautiful book. We couldn't be happier for her continued success in the world of design.
 
Come see the display in person and pick up a copy at Archiva Books, 993 Lexington Ave., between 72 and 71st Streets. www.archiviabooks.com
 

Bavarian Bounty

Our assemblage of German porcelain with gilded details is quickly growing as shipments arrive from Europe with exciting regularity.  We are concentrating on amassing enough similar styles from renowned factories such as Rosenthal, Alboth & Kaiser, Heinrich, Hutschenreuther (to name a few) in order to reunite like patterns and themes...thus making it possible to create 'instant collections' that decorators love.

Sizes range from small to monumental.

Deco-Rate

Make no mistake, this French 1920s Art Deco male is one major figure...28" in length and nearly 16" tall, the sculpture weighs 40lbs! The antiqued bronze look was achieved through a patination technique of cold painting over a metal-mix called "spelter". This is a perfect example of male perfection... and considering its age, it's in amazing condition. By "Bezin".

Hollywood Legacy

Mary Preminger, ex-wife of Hollywood legend Otto Preminger, was an accomplished artist in her own right. The painting above was created in 1964. 23" X 27"

Mary was an ex-model who forwent an obvious acting career and instead mastered most modernist mediums including the oil paintings seen above, but she was also a celebrated sculptor and had several serious exhibitions - even at The Museum of Modern Art.