The End of History: August 2014

Saturday, August 30, 2014

On The Floor

A very handsome mid century German floor vase by Carstens Tönnieshof. Although it looks black and white at first sight, it's really a very dark brown and white with grays. 18 inches tall.

Friday, August 29, 2014

A brutalist small tabletop wire sculpture from the 1960s. Just in from California and unsigned, the painted surface of the iron is worn off in places but this only adds to the age appropriate patina. Ten inches tall.

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Thursday, August 28, 2014

Global Transparency

A spectacular and large lucite floor globe. The globe itself is 32 inches in diameter and with the custom lucite stand 50 inches tall.Made in the USA in 1986.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Italian Tortoiseshell

A very chic mid century acrylic tortoiseshell lidded box with bronze mounts. Please note that we would never sell anything made from real tortoiseshell, or ivory at The End of History.
The Italians made some of the best faux tortoiseshell items for export during the 50s and 60s and this fine example still has the sticker from the German store where it was first sold, "Holzback Heidelberg". Last time we had a piece, a tray, it had a "Saks Fith Avenue" sticker still attached.
7 inches tall.

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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Back to Africa

A magnificent Ashanti Chief 's stool from Ghana. This beautiful example is carved from one solid piece of wood and it was created to convey great power and status to it's owner. Recently purchased at auction and believed to have been collected originally in the early 20th Century, measuring 20 inches wide and 13 inches tall.

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Monday, August 25, 2014

Swedish Reflection

This elegant Art Deco mirror in a pewter frame was designed in 1928 by C.A. Mattinsson for the Swedish interior design firm, Svenskt Tenn, founded in 1924 by Estrid Ericson, who later recruited Josef Frank to design for the firm and are responsible for introducing many of the classic Swedish furniture designs we know and love.
21.5 inches by 27.5 inches.

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Sunday, August 24, 2014

Barovier Beauty

White cased glass with a layer of shimmering gold leaf make this mid century Barovier & Toso Murano vase perfect for your next bouquet of roses. ten and a half inches tall.

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Saturday, August 23, 2014

Lion King

A large and spectacular Italian mid century ceramic box with a gorgeous recumbent lion as a lid. Marked Meiselman, an American importer of Italian ceramics, much like Raymor. One of our largest zebras was also imported by them. This big box is just under 11 inches in length.

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Friday, August 22, 2014

Our First Beatrice Wood

Although we are best known for our focus on European mid century ceramics, every once in a while we acquire a great piece of American ceramic art. A small but wonderful primitive figural vase in multi colored luster glaze, dating to the 1960s and 4.5 inches tall.

Beatrice Wood (1893-1998) was an Artist and ceramicist who was born in San Francisco, studied art in Paris and worked with Marcel Duchamp in New York. In 1916 she founded The Blind Man magazine with Marcel Duchamp and writer Henri-Pierre Roché. She was know as the "Mama of Dada"

Beatrice Wood at an Exhibition of her Work at the Takashimaya Department Store in Tokyo, 1961.

In her early forties she moved to Los Angeles after a series of artistic careers, most notably as an actress, on the East Coast.
While on a trip to the Netherlands she purchased a pair of baroque plates with a luster glaze. She wanted to find matching pieces but after an unsuccessful hunt, decided to enroll in a ceramic class at Hollywood High School and make her own.
This hobby turned into a passion that would last the next sixty years, she studied with some of the most notable names in American ceramics, including Gertrude and Otto Natzler. Ultimately she developed a signature style of luster glaze that draws the metallic salts to the surface by starving the kiln of oxygen.

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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Bitossi Trio

A perfect set of 3 vases designed by Aldo Londi for Bitossi, circa 1950s. The tallest one is just under 20 inches tall. Sold as a set of three.

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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Mod Espresso

Hand made in Italy over 40 years ago and signed just Italy, this purple, celadon and gray espresso set looks as modern today as when it was made in the 1960s.

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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Bold Gold

A porcelain floor vase from German manufacturer, Heinrich. Dating to the 1960s and 17.5 inches tall, the 24k golden peonies give this big beauty all the flower power you need.

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Monday, August 18, 2014

Swirling Sterling

A modernist show stopper from renowned Mexican silversmith Los Castillos. This 7.5 inch tall, mid century pitcher has swirling inlays of abalone shell and a sleek modern styling.

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Sunday, August 17, 2014

Composition in Green

An oil painting titled "Composition in green" by Max Standley (1942-2013) and dated 1969.
Visionary artist, Max D. Standley, was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1942.
He lived on a secluded 40 acres, deep in the forests of Arkansas. This lifestyle gave him the freedom to immerse himself in his oil painting, engraving, poetry and drawing -- the result was intimate paintings that vibrate with realism. Standley's work begins in the realm of realism, and develops with hints of biomorphic and magical imagery, showing a depth that continues to surprise, delight and move us.
"My work is a part I play in nature's drama and is a form of self development," said Standley. "Archetypical symbolism is an integral part of the process."

Friday, August 15, 2014

Fratelli Fanciullacci Girls

Four girls decorate this fanciful, 12 inch tall, vase by the Italian studio of Fratelli Fanciullacci from the 1960s.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Baldelli Box

This beautiful ceramic box was made in Italy for Dayton's department store in Minneapolis, in 1967 by Balldelli.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Pink Again

A lovely blush pink Empoli cased glass mid century jar, 10 inches tall.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Large in Lavender

An unusually large purple cased glass vase by Kastrup of Denmark from the 1950s. This piece has the original factory label as well as the American importer, Raymor, label. 16.5 inches tall.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Baca Box

The BACA line was introduced in 1965 by Nils Thorsson for Royal Copenhagen, Denmark. Both he, Johanne Gerber and later Ellen Malmer were responsible for the design, often with abstract motifs. A new technique of silkscreen application was used. Every design in the BACA line is marked with a circle which contains the designers initials (BACA means circle in latin).
Our lovely little box was designed by Johanne Gerber and is 4.5 inches in diameter.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Amazons at War

A bronze wall plate by Rudolf Kaesbach (1873-1955), "Sudrad," depicting Amazons at War."dating to 1947 and 11 inches in diameter.

Friday, August 8, 2014

More Meiji

Another example of late 19th Century Satsuma ware from Japan, this time a little less opulently decorated example, but with wonderful typical Japanese floral motifs on both sides. 10 inches tall.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Gorgeous Geode

Although this beautiful bowl is unmarked, it looks to me like a Murano piece from the 1980s/90s.
The inside is covered with a layer of rose gold leaf and the outer layers of glass are clear and rust.
8.5 inches in diameter.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Cased Perfection

Chartreuse and oxblood red make this mid century Aseda vase by Bo Borgstrom, one of the most appealing pieces in the shop right now. 7 inches tall & 6 inches wide.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Rarest Rörstrand

A unique beautifully shaped stoneware vase with shimmering semi matte light brown glaze, made by Carl Harry Stålhane for Rörstrand in 1949. This vase was made for one of his first solo exhibitions, either at Röhsska konstslöjdsmuseet, a design museum in Gothenburg or at Malmö Museum in 1949. 7.5 inches tall.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Golden Years

A trio of German porcelain vases from the 1960s, two by Hutschenreuther and in the middle a spectacular Art Nouveau revival piece by Rosenthal that's 12 inches tall.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Italian Obelisks

A chic pair of mid century Italian chocolate brown & white marble obelisks, just over 12 inches tall.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Straight To The Point

A crystal clear Orrefors Swedish oblelisk from the 1970s. Signed "Jan Johansson Orrefors Expo"
17.5 inches tall.

Friday, August 1, 2014

Bitossi Beauty

Decorated with what look like pink and white coffee beans, this delightful little Bitossi vase dates from the 1950s and is 7.5 inches tall.