Follow our MAAC dealers on Instagram for their spectacular spotlights. Like these items currently at their galleries (probably not for long). Contact the individual gallery for more information and prices. Chenier Perfume Bottle – at Kenneth James Collection (Find @kennethjamescollection and this bottle on Instagram) Chinese Carved Coral Statue – at Solomon Treasure (Find @SolomonTreasure […]
Love him or hate him (and there are plenty in both camps), Jeff Koons is undeniably one of the biggest artists in the world–certainly, the most successful living American artist, commanding the highest prices in a record-high art market. Like Warhol and Dali before him, Koons occupies the precarious space between high art, celebrity, and […]
Oh, to be in love, and with yourself, no less. This exquisite 18th century porcelain figurine by the preeminent Meissen porcelain modelleur, Johann Joachim Kändler (1707-1775) depicts a member of a commedia dell’arte comedy troupe in the guise of an innamorata, a character in love with another character, as well as himself. Begun in 16th […]
Tonight is Halloween, an evening seemingly reserved for drunken debauchery. Yet, like many light-hearted cultural rituals, Hallowe’en, or All Hallows’ Eve, has somber roots. Actually a contraction of the term “hallowed evening,” Halloween likely originated in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (“summer’s end”), held around October 31 at the end of the harvest season […]
As it’s the haunting season, in this week’s NEW Vintage & Antique Finds, we feature a beautifully sinister hawk okimono that could give Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre raven a run for its money. This richly sculptured Meiji period okimono (which translates to “objet d’art”) features a predatory hawk chiseled in a naturalistic style with its […]
This week’s featured NEW Vintage & Antique Find is this wonderfully dynamic bronze “okimono” (the Japanese term for objet d’art) from the artistically prolific Meiji period (1868-1912). The sculpture depicts two macaques performing the maxim embodied by sanbiki no saru (three monkeys): see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil. This playful realization has […]
Penguin cocktail shaker with original silver plate. American, ca. 1928-1932. Height: 12″ Sooky Goodfriend Gallery A couple of weeks ago, we covered A Global Collection of Vintage & Antique Chairs for summer home decor. With hot weather and Fourth Of July weekend upon us, our Antique Summer profile series continues with a collection of cool […]
The social circles of French artistic contemporaries, Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) and Jean Lurcat (1892-1966) overlapped at the glittering edges–both knew Pablo Picasso, another artist who painted ceramic plates in addition to participating in other innumerable artistic ventures in that heyday of Bohemian creativity in early 20th century Paris. Despite their differences, the spirit of their […]
Airplane Figure with Six Places for Cigars, silverplate, America, 1960s. 14″ x 8″ Sooky Goodfriend Gallery. Father’s Day is coming up Sunday, June 15, but it’s hard to deny that men get the short end of the stick when it comes to parental celebrations. Following Mother’s Day both in the calendar year and in its […]
Floral “Firework” Paperweight with Three Flowers, glass, 20th century. Michael’s Antiques. This week in our NEW Vintage & Antique Finds series, highlighting our favorite NEW additions to our vintage & antiques online catalog, we present these enchanting vintage floral paperweights from Michael’s Antiques. It’s likely that the first paperweights appeared alongside paper in ancient Egypt […]