Thanks A Lot

Can you even Cope-ia with these Barovier book-ends?!

One Strange Bird

Continuing my birdy theme I give you this oh-so-odd hybrid. Why this Murano Rooster has a Pheasant tail-feather is a mystery, but very funny indeed!

Bird Call...

While we all have bird on the brain, I serve up these two 1950's Italian Bird Boxes by Bitossi. Very FLAVIA-ful!

How Swede It Is

Called the 'Peacock' pattern, this is a classic vase from the Swedish company Elme Glasbruk, circa 1960's. A fine feathered friend for someone who loves these fall colors.

Back To Square One

That's not to say there is anything simple about this centerpiece. No less than 12" square and autumnal in its saturated burnt orange color, this is a statement-making masterwork from Barbini. You can get lost in the spiral effect of the controlled bubble pattern. The gold leaf adds that extra layer of richness.

Big Bang Theory

These green and brown spotted glazed pieces are from the workshop of Arne Bang circa 1940's. The tall floor vase measures 15" and is a prime example of his distinctive look which marries machine age with organic flair. The companion bowl is 15" in diameter. These are among the most desired of Danish ceramics with prices to match.

CinCin-Sational

With a neck like Audrey Hepburn...this hi-glaze minty blue vase comes from the most venerable American pottery company, the Ohio based Rookwood, est. 1880. This piece dates from 1940, just before the company filed bankruptcy due to The Great Depression. In 1941 the company was saved by Walter Schott allowing Rookwood to stay in business and its artists and employees to keep making beautiful American icons such as this.

http://www.rookwood.com/

Reunited

...and it feels so good! I was informed that these two Barbini bottles used to be sold as a set! Lovely in in the powder room or a ladies boudoir. One customer tells the tale of her long ago purchase of this very style and at the time it had to be put on layaway for the shorter of the two cost the equivalent of one month's rent on her Park Avenue apartment...this in 1950.

Grey Matters

And now the absence of color...from one extreme to another is how I like to keep 'em guessing. Just goes to show how we have something for every designer taste bud. This smokey glass bowl by Seguso, c. 1950's, is just so moody and marvelous in it's opalescence.

Color-Full Collectible

Never have I seen a single piece that incorporated more levels of color in one small bowl. I count 4 distinct layers with color combinations creating infinite mixes and hybrids of spectral light. Red, Blue, Green, and a hint of Acid Yellow make this piece one of the most wonderfully complex works I've laid eyes upon. UPDATE: I now feel this is quite possibly by Cenedese.

More Drinky Things

Crystal Ice Buckets from Strömberg.

For Serious Drinker's Only

Just in from Scandinavia are these simply stunning crystal decanters & shakers with sterling silver details. Most are from Strömberg (the full name is actually Strömbergshyttan) from the 1940's through 1960. The glass is created in Sweden (possibly designed by Gerda Strömberg herself) while the silver is crafted in Denmark. Thirsty yet?

Glossy Glass

We are featured in Town & Country's current issue, December 2009. On page 155 you will find a collection of glass bottles, most of which are from our shop. The spread features an ingenious showhouse created by decorator Richard Mishaan. In it he pays homage to the classic 1933 film by George Cukor, "Dinner at Eight". Our pieces help evoke a time when the powder room was a place of glamour.

Pale Shelter

This is our top shelf...literally. A mix of pale pink, sky blue, and opalescent lavender glass. The Buddha is not for sale, as he has always watched over our shop and brought us much luck over the years.

Seeing Things in BLACK & WHITE

Just a smattering of sublime striped ceramics from Upsala-Ekeby, SWEDEN c.1950's

Hold a Candle to These

Another entertaining idea for your Thanksgiving...these 7" tall Bitossi candle sticks in appropriately autumnal colors would look fantastic on your fall dining table. The shape of the opening allows for any size candle from a taper to a 3.5" wide pillar.

A Horse of a Different Color

We are accustomed to finding the Bitossi horse in the common "Rimini Blue", but were thrilled to come across this version in various shades of green.

Be STILL My Heart

We still love a still life. This 1950's cubist style decorated ceramic bowl would make Picasso proud.

Entertain This Idea

With the upcoming holidays approaching, it's time to start thinking about party planning. What could be more chic than a set of classic vintage Fornasetti coasters to place those festive cocktails upon!

Limonata Vase

Italian pottery from the '60's. What a great fizzy lemon colored glaze!

Pyramid Scheme

Can you believe that this solid Italian obelisk in pitch black glass has survived 4 decades without even a chip...right to the pointy 9'' tippy top. This is so future-modern, representing what mid-century visionaries imagined the future might look like.

Boxing Day

Two lightweight keepsake boxes from Italy. The yellow is a classic Bitossi with its signature embossed motif on the lid, while the orange pinstripe is from a company called Baldelli.

Eye Color

Eye can see you'll like this one. This amber colored elliptical shaped bowl was made in Murano Italy in the 1960's.

Fall Back

We may be called The End of History, but time keeps on tickin'. As we turn back our clocks and welcome a new season, I offer a Danish piece of off-white pottery adorned with leaf in relief design. The surface has a nice subtle crackle due to the passage of many an autumn before.

Happy Halloween!

Beech-Nut Gum Advertisement from 1958
image from www.plan59.com

Just in Time for HALLOWEEN

Seemingly typical Italian ceramics until you turn them around to reveal the sinister subtext of the artwork painted upon these flask-like vessels. All with drink in hand, perhaps these drunken damsels and creepy nymph are cautionary tales against the evils of alcohol. Scary good fun!

You Go Swirl!

Most likely created in Murano's Barbini factory during it's 1950's heyday, while under the direction of Maestro Alfredo Barbini himself. The coloration is lavender and blue with a dreamy, milky opalescence. I imagine seashells may have been an inspiration here. What a magnificent centerpiece this large bowl would make.

Going Back To Cali

We are excited to discover a new artist to add to our repertoire. Signed Rushall 1973, further research finds this late artist's first name is Dayle and that he lived in the San Diego area where he was a ceramicist and art conservator. This large vessel stands 14" tall. We love the modern primitive look. If you look closely, you'll see a bird that morphs into a smiling women in relief (see top photo). It is ornately carved all around and it's earthy glaze just screams Southern Califoria circa early 70's.

Norway? Yes way!

I love repetition. There is something so visually satisfying about a group of companion pieces that form an insta-collection. There is a slight variation in theme, but the three are obviously intended to be seen as a group. These pieces have that combination of glazed and matte that I adore. From Norway c. 1960's and signed Larholm on the bottom.

Gilty Pleasures

Over-the-top can actually be quite gorgeous... such as these 1950's Italian golden accessories. They'll immediately brighten up any room and perhaps your mood.

Pitcher Perfect

These two rather tall pitchers are by the hand of Gunnar Nylund for Rörstrand (incised with his initials on the bottom). The graceful lines are reminiscent of ancient Greek Amphora with a decidedly mid-century Scandinavian twist, given the striated and mottled glaze.

I'm Bowled Over

This is one of those pieces of glass that stuns at first sight. The label identifies it as Suguso Vetri D'arte the factory established in 1933 by the family whose tradition of fine Murano glass dates back 600 years. This bowl was made during the 50's under the artistic supervision of Flavio Poli. His mastery influenced the somersso style (multi layers/colors) that became one of Suguso's signature looks. This is an impressive size and weight. It measure 7" in diameter and nearly 3" in height. It offers a prismatic light-play throughout the day.

Polar Bear Expression

It seems likely that these Polar Bears would win the "Whimsy Award", if such a title existed. They are from a California pottery company called JARU -named after the founders JAck and RUth Hirsch back in 1950. These guys were created in 1974, as identified by a mark on the side of the sculptures. Two Cute!

FLAVIO of the week

Today's object d'art is this fabulous grey sommerso decanter by Flavio Poli for Seguso Vetri d'Arte, circa 1950s. Drink it up!

Prosaic Praise

Yesterday we were pleased to make the acquaintance of a fellow blogger and admitted aesthete. Michael Todd Cohen spent quality time with shop owner Stephen Saunders to learn more about our store and the result was a beautifully written entry on his blog called Newest York:

http://newestyork.blogspot.com/2009/10/end-of-history.html

* note: above iPhone photo is Cohen's own

Thanks Michael!

Pinch Me

This three sided pinched glass vase in a rare, rich grape shade of purple is from Empoli, Italy circa 1950. The hand-made feel adds to it's organic beauty.

Deco-Rate!

2 vases by Nils Thorsson for Royal Copenhagen, c.1937, the same year he showed at the World's Fair in Paris (also known as The Expo. Internationale des Arts et des Techniquesdans la vie Moderne, Paris 1937). This multi-dimensional glaze is called Solfatara, a term that references sulphur formed at the opening of a volcano.
UPDATE: The 3rd item is not actually Nils, but is also Danish and by L Hjorth, a small studio where they produced their own high quality works, perhaps influenced by the glazes of the above mentioned Thorsson.

A Boxtop Worth Saving

The word of the day is SGRAFFITO...a term of Italian origin that describes the tecnique of using a tool to scrape away the surface of plaster or ceramics for decorative effect as employed here in this beautiful Italian keepsake box.