Saturday, December 20, 2008

Korean Jar sells for almost $4.2 Million at Auction . . .

WOW! No recession here!

San Francisco, California:
International interest pushed the price for a circa 1800 Korean jar to nearly $4.2 million at Bonhams & Butterfields on December 9, 2008 setting a new auction world record.

The rare Joseon dynasty Korean blue and white porcelain jar was sold over the telephone, to an unidentified Asian buyer after a hotly contested bidding war among more than 12 clients, bidding from the salesroom floor and via telephones.

The mid-Joseon dynasty jar was discovered by Asian art department director Dessa Goddard in a monthly appraisal event held at the company's Sunset Boulevard gallery in Los Angeles. The jar was formerly in the collection of Mrs. Fiske Warren of Boston, part of the Mount Vernon Street Warren family. It has been in a family member's Southern California home for decades.

The jar was part of a worldwide tour prior to the auction. Its pre-auction estimate was $200/300,000, and the final selling price, including buyer's premium, was $4,184,000.

"We recognized that the subject matter of the Warren jar is unique," said Goddard. "One other jar in the Osaka Museum has a depiction of San Shin [mountain spirit] and his tiger; the Warren jar shows a bearded San Shin in the act of pulling the tiger's tail while basking under a pine tree, sun and clouds. The subject of the vase, together with its masterfully executed brush work, makes the jar of great importance to collectors of Korean art."


"Take care of your antiques and they will take care of you."




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This Christmas Tree is To The Point . . .


There are so many clever people out there creating wonderful Christmas images from ordinary objects.

via poppypetunia (2nd photo)



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Friday, December 19, 2008

Charles Dickens Christmas Card | FREE DOWNLOAD . . .


A Merry Dickensian Christmas to You!


"PLEASE SIR, MAY WE HAVE LESS?"
This Oliver Twist parody says it all, doesn't it?

Print as many cards as you need.

FREE DOWNLOAD from THE GUARDIAN, UK




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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Does Santa do on-site carpentry? . . .

I wonder if Santa can find room for this in his sack? Will it fit down the chimney? Will it have to be built in place? Only Santa knows!

via flickr



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Grown-Up Christmas List by Michael Bublé (video) . . .



Grown-Up Christmas List by Michael Bublé

This is so moving. Please watch. You will be happy you did. Michael Bublé has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard.



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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Wonderful Shakespeare Holiday Card ~ A FREE DOWNLOAD . . .


This is my Christmas wish for you!

I made this Christmas card years ago and it is my all-time favorite. All you need is one sheet of card stock. After printing, fold in half and write your own personal message inside. You might want to turn the page around and run it through the printer again. When you cut the page in half you will have two large postcards or gift tags. It uses only black ink so it is very economical, yet stunning!

You can thank me by leaving a comment!

Click here for my free download.



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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Monday, December 15, 2008

Antique Painted Floor with Dog | My favorite . . .

There is a long tradition of putting paint on floors and it's still fashionable. This is the best example of a painted floor surviving in Britain.

It's located in the Tyroconnel Room at Belton House in Lincolnshire. Its heraldic design and its use of only three primary colours is unusual by any standards, although the execution would still have been cheaper than marquetry, the other alternative for such decoration.

Incorporating the symbolic Belton greyhounds and the arms of the Brownlow family (former owners of the house) the floor is the subject of continuing controversy about the date of its paintwork. Some claim it as original to the 17th century; others believe the nature of its design places it in the 18th century. The present owners, The National Trust, do not believe it could have stayed intact for so long if it were the former. Since there is some evidence to support both of the claims, the longevity of the floor remains an enigma.

Here is a photograph of the entire floor.



The practice of painted floors was by no means limited to the United Kingdom. In early 19th century American colonial homes, they were as popular as painted walls and woodwork with many original examples remaining.

I only love the dog part of the design. Maybe one day I will duplicate it in my tiny hall that already has a painted floor in a solid color. I found this article in a very old Farrow & Ball Magazine and I ripped out this page so I don't know the exact date. I think it is probably around 8 to 10 years old in case you want to find a copy. This is an English paint company that sells paint with authentic colours from the National Trust and Archives. Did you notice that I used two different spellings for color? Color for America and colour for Britain.

I have wanted to post about this wonderful floor for quite a while but the top photo had printing on top of the image and it took me a while to clone it out with my photo editing software.

Please see one of my earlier posts on painted floors.

I hope you have enjoyed this article are now inspired to do something creative in your own home.

Belton House was completed in 1688 and has been used as the BBC's film location for Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and Tom Jones. See National Trust information here. Delightful slide show here. This is a real destination for your next trip to England. Will you please take me with you?



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Sunday, December 14, 2008

Friday, December 12, 2008

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (video) . . .

This beautifully designed graphic video by Seth Brau is well worth watching. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is 60 years old...but who among us has actually read it? Length 4:31


The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
from Seth Brau on Vimeo.




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Thursday, December 11, 2008

A watercolour of an unknown rabbit painted by Beatrix Potter has been sold at auction in London for £15,600.

Who is the mystery bunny who loves tea? And why didn't she get her own story? The watercolour of a girl rabbit with a pink ribbon tied daintily around her neck has left experts puzzled. The subject of this highly-finished painting never appeared in any of Beatrix Potter's rabbit tales. It has been in a private UK collection for the past fifty years.

Cropped version of the unknown watercolour.


Uncropped version of the unknown watercolour.

Bonham's
Knightsbridge London
Lot No: 275


Beatrix Potter (British, 1866-1943)
The little bunny drinking tea
signed 'H.B.P.' (lower right)
watercolour
12.5 x 10cm (4 15/16 x 3 15/16in)
unframed
Sold for £15,600 inclusive of Buyer's Premium
Provenance: A private UK collection for over fifty years.

The present lot was not published in any of Potter's childrens books. It exists in another version with contains exactly the same components except that the animal is a kitten, rather than a bunny. This reflects Potter’s practice of making a number of versions of her pictures and experimenting with poses and props. The version which depicts the kitten is much sketchier than the present lot which suggests that Potter found the composition with the bunny far more satisfactory. The version depicting the kitten was painted circa 1895 and was originally offered to Ernest Nisbet (see Anne Stevenson Hobbs, Beatrix Potter The artist and her world (Warne 1987), p. 58). Another press release regarding this sale.

Take care of your antiques and they will take care of you.



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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Economic Crisis | CAPITALIST FOOLS . . .



Hilarious photo illustration by Darrow

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and former Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan bookend two decades of economic missteps.

The Economic Crisis ~ Capitalist Fools
Behind the debate over remaking U.S. financial policy will be a debate over who’s to blame. It’s crucial to get the history right, writes Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel-laureate economist, identifying five key mistakes—under Reagan, Clinton, and Bush II—and one national delusion...
read more ~ Vanity Fair ~ January 2009




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Tuesday, December 9, 2008

The Face of The Great Depression | Update (video) . . .

As the U.S. slips into recession, a daughter reflects on Dorothea Lange's photo, which has come to symbolize the Depression.

'Migrant Mother' remembered (3:41)



A friend sent me the original CNN video but I could not embed it for some reason. Luckily I found it on YouTube. I found it very interesting to learn the real story of the most famous photograph from the Great Depression from one of the children in the picture. She is the little girl on the left with her head on her mother's shoulder.

Watch and listen.
There is a very timely message at the end.



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