Sandy UPDATE

No, this is not some sort of spiderweb decoration for All Hallows' Eve! We prepared the windows and are closed for obvious reasons. Not sure when electricity will be back.  Be safe.

Chain Link Luxe

At 22" tall this is indeed a rare monumental form from Carl-Harry Stålhane for Rörstrand, Sweden, 1950s. Buttery yellow with an elegant incised chain pattern.

NOTE: The End of History will be closed today, Sunday 10/27

Moorish is More

With its Moorish motif, this Italian box by Bitossi looks like it might have been plucked straight from "Shangri La', the Hawaiian estate of Doris Duke. This graphic look is an enduring design and has been making a real splash as of late. The colors are a shock of chartreuse and an almost purple blue.

A new coffee table book with photos by Tim Street-Porter

If in New York check out the related exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design:
http://madmuseum.org/exhibition/doris-dukes-shangri-la

NOTE: The End of History will be closed tomorrow, Sunday 10/27

Gorgeous Gunnars

Striations-a-plenty in calming tones of royal blue and teal from Gunnar Nylund's days at Nymole, Denmark circa 1960s. Multi-tonal and textural to the eye, yet smooth to the touch.
10" and 7.5"

All About Alabaster

Art Deco does Neo-Classical with these monumental lamps (YES, LAMPS... they light up from the inside, both the column & the urn!) circa 1930. Salvaged from a bank in Philadelphia, and now available through The End of History.
Ht: 57" Width: 13" Depth: 9"

You've Got Me Twisted, Again

A dozen drinking glasses in the manner of Fratelli Toso - paper-thin twisted filigree glass known as latticino. Each hand blown piece is octagonal in shape and feather-weight. Definitely a special occasion glass, perhaps an alternative to traditional stemware for wine.
Each measures approximately 3.5" tall

French/Italian

A mid-century Italian porcelain box depicting pre-Euro coins...both Francs and Lira decorate this box - perfect for you to keep your foreign coins and other sundry trinkets in.
Top = 3.5" x 5" Height = 3"

Fancy Apothecaries

Some items are best seen as pairs...like these just rediscovered, never-been-used, Seguso lidded vessels in raspberry with a generous smattering of gold dust. Elegance x 2.

20" tall to the tip of the tallest flame stopper!

Dots, Dashes, and Scratches

Terracotta with a million striations of sgraffito and adorned with raised tiles glazed in white and crimson. Italian 1950s.
12" and 8"

Mas Las Poñas

The latest work from our resident contemporary artist, Sculptor BJ Las Poñas. Entitled "Mujer Silenciosa" -there is a wonderful sort of gravity defying quality to this 38" welded bronze paneled piece on marble.

Glass Eye

Bowled over, yet again. Another great glass geode by Seguso, oval shaped, thick and heavy with a smokey grey layer and milky white interior.
7.5 diameter, 3.5 high

Yin/Yang Bowls

It's always fun to find variations on a theme, such as these two identical twins (well fraternal, really) from Barbini. One in creme and one in tangerine.
7" in diameter

Hey Squirrelfriend

This somewhat amazing and certainly unusual Squirrel glass figurine/vase was purchased originally in Manhattan in the 1950s - at  none other than the Camer showroom, America's exclusive agent for importing Barbini glass from Murano.
10"

House Beautiful, Indeed

This past summer we were approached by House Beautiful's Style Director Sabine Rothman to be involved in this year's Designer Visions showhouse. For a story featured in the November issue, famed designer David Rockwell headed up the charge to create a fantastic space for a fictional family in Manhattan's tony TriBeCa neighborhood. Located at 250 West Street, the apartment has many items lent from us, and we were only too pleased to help out!

Video Tour and Interview:
 

On The Hunt

Bronze Hunter with Big Cat, French 1920s signed by artist.
Fantastic for the mantle.

29" x 19" high

Gemmo Gems

From German company Heinrich comes this graphic selection of hand carved and gilt (24k gold) pieces of Bavarian porcelain in modernist patterns. Great displayed in groupings for added op-art effect.
Tallest among these is around 12"

Surreal Enamel

The tableau at the top is a clear homage to the surreal paintings of Italian artist Giorgio de Chirico. Notice the appearance of Roman architecture in both our framed enamel-on-copper art and again in the example of his own oil painting above. The enamel has provenance in the form of a handwritten inscription on the back that simply reads "Roma 1953" and the sweet remnants of a vintage Christmas label.
19" square (including frame)

Crowning Achievement

A monumental (24") example of West German studio pottery, by cermacist Hans Welling. From the Royal White Line for Cermano. A regal looking piece indeed.

D & Delighted

In what has become an annual event...we were pleased to participate once again in a window display at the D&D Building for Patterson, Flyyn & Martin (a division of Shumacher). We just received the items back from a successful trip uptown and the exposure was wonderful. We've had several customers comment that they discovered us through seeing us in the lobby display. 
Thanks to window wizard Patrick Mele for the continued collaboration.

Adventures in Glassblowing

From the hand of Franco Moretti, a wonderful citrus colored vase, luminescent in copper dust...a technique known as Aventurine.
Just under 11"

Pure Geometry

This is one of those bowls that just needs to be appreciated from underneath. Marked Italy and most likely Bitossi, 1950s. The color combination is a masculine mottled grey and cool blue. The design is a celebration of triangulations!
5" high, 9.5" in diameter

Compote Companion

Reunited and it feels so good. I recently featured the Italian compote to the right, and now we have the bowl to match. Obviously by the same hand, and in equally immaculate condition. Some collector should really take both and keep this couple together! Bitossi, 1950s.
7" high. 11" in diameter

Large & Lunar

A lava glaze in a particularly pleasing color palette which gradates from turquoise up top to a periwinkle/grape mottled mix, and finishes with a smooth chocolate brown base. Cool and cratered and oh-so-very German 70s. Created by Cari Zalloni for Steuler.
20" tall

Happy Anniversary

Today, October 5th, 2012 marks the 15th Anniversary of the opening of The End of History. As it turns out, there is no end in sight!

What a Drip

Black and white at its most chic...a studio ceramic pattern called "Roulette"  by Liesel Spornhauer for Schlossberg, Germany, 1950s
12" tall

Silver Stunner

Like all enthusiastic bloggers, I am not above the occasional hyperbolic statement. With that said....This is one of the most STUNNING pieces we have ever received in our shop!!! Silver overlay atop black Bavarian porcelain. Marked with both the Rosenthal logo and the name Johann Haviland. That would be the grandson of David Haviland (one of the first Americans to import porcelain created in Limoges back in the mid 1800's). Johann carried on the family tradition by setting up business in Germany in 1907. This piece was from the period after 1933, when his company was bought by Rosenthal.
8" high and 8" wide

Murano Macaroon

With cupcakes practically passé, the sweet spot for desserts among those in the know are the traditional French Macaroon. Why on earth do I bring this up on a blog about 20th Century objects?

The photo on top speaks for itself. 

This vintage design from Murano's Cenedese reminds me strongly of the revivalist dessert, albeit in Scavo glass and no less than 10.5" in diameter! Mouthwatering orange in color, and essentially a lidded glass box. Delicious!

Splatter Masterpiece

This take on the Jackson Pollock aesthetic as translated into glass comes from a Venetian glassblower who, like many before, was literally born into the craft. Born in 1965, Enrico Cammozzo was trained by his father and mentor in the traditions and secrets of the glass blowing techniques. This piece is outstanding in its craftsmanship...it appears to contain an entire gold bar's worth of gilding. Given its design and clear age to the label, we are placing this from the 80's, meaning Enrico would have be just in his early 20's at the time of its manufacture.
huge at 17" tall

Murano-Orb

Not quite a paperweight, this is what might be described as a modernist glass sculpture. From Murano's Cenedse factory comes this footed yellow sphere with a teal bubble floating at its center...oddly futuristic & certainly fantastic.
7"