Category Archives: auction finds etc.

Sanguimario – here boy!

Posted on July 8, 2018 by Editor

Tomorrow I head back to the house for the first time in a month. The decorating gods must have known this as yesterday they provided a little companion-animal for the trip in the form of this little oil painting. Until … Continue reading →

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Journey to a Hanging [My Version]

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Editor

  1. I have pressed a friend who hangs artworks for a living to assist me in hanging the pictures in the newly painted hall. The date arranged is a month away – the long Queen’s Birthday weekend. The day … Continue reading →

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Old friends and old rivals reunited

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Editor

  The other day while looking at an Old Sheffield Plate salver, a friend identified the marks, a pair of suns, as those of Mathew Boulton. Boulton was, he said, ‘a highly regarded Sheffield plate maker.’ I was fascinated. Why was … Continue reading →

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Sussex armchair envy

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Editor

A friend of mine recently acquired two superb Morris & Co., Sussex armchairs (c1860) Not that I envy him. It’s just one of those events that plays on your mind in quiet moments of décor envy. I had recommended he … Continue reading →

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Mistaken Identity

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Editor

The other day while viewing an art sale, for someone else, I had noticed (and immediately fallen for), a rather splendid Victorian painting, The Rape of the Sabine Women, attributed to the Irish painter Daniel Maclise. Daniel Maclise (1806-1870) is … Continue reading →

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A bowl, a plate, a conversation

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Editor

  Viewing the local antique sale my attention was captured by a Chinese bowl decorated with two red dragons and with a distinctive disk of gold in the centre. What initially caught my eye was the auction house’s accidental arrangement … Continue reading →

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A Georgian pursuit

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Editor

It began with my usual Maiden & Foster weekly viewing. This usually happens on a Monday, part of the new week although Douglas has said he prefers Thursday. (The auction occurs on a Wednesday.) Thursday is the official day for … Continue reading →

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The small travels of Reverend William Gilpin

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Editor

I recently acquired a little picture frame from the usual weekly source.  It is very nice example, a mottled wooden frame of good proportion. Even better it was in excellent condition without bumps, knocks, scratches or peeling veneer. It has … Continue reading →

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taking care of tapa cloth

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Editor

Tapa cloth has always played a big role in New Zealand decorating due to its ready availability. Go back thirty years and there was barely a student flat in which someone didn’t have a large tapa (or at least a … Continue reading →

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an oft-heard tale of silveriness

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Editor

I keep telling myself that is it is time to move on and stop posting about items made of silver – their neglect, ridiculous cheapness and how to clean them.  The problem with this all-together sensible thinking, is that I … Continue reading →

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