Vintage love is in the air!

I'm in the mood for (vintage) love! Check out these beautiful and romantic finds on Etsy:

vintage lingerie / ... DearGolden $60.00	Victorian Valentine... LaMeowVintage $25.00	ANTIQUE VICTORIAN S... RobinsNestMidw... $90.00	Antique Lot of Love... reginasstudio $9.95
1823 Large 3-Page M... bananastrudel $90.00	Vintage Italian Mos... CatsEyeFinds $68.00	1960s lingerie / v... DearGolden $42.00	10K Gold Antique Ar... laurenrosedesi... $329.00
Vintage Amor Framed... JaanasVintage $25.00	1950s burlesque fre... laboheme $50.00	Vintage Victorian S... atticism $14.00	vintage victorian l... FrenchFrouFrou $9.95
Vintage Welsh Love ... BlueAngelJewel... $12.50	1900s Antique beade... KellettKreatio... $79.00	Antique French post... minouc $3.00	Silver Valentine Ar... SundayandSunda... $1495.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Are you planning a vintage Valentine too? If yes, let us know what you are doing in the comments below! :)

Today's Etsy Treasure: Cocteau vases

 

Today's Etsy Treasure is not an antique per se but what I consider as an antique of the future . These two exquisite vases are available for $275.00 on Mascarajones's Etsy shop, here.

This set of vases by Jean Cocteau are incredibly stylish works of art. I am convinced that Cocteau's art is still undervalued and it is worth investing in it before it gets too expensive (which I am sure, will happen soon). Mid-century designs are doing incredibly well at the moment - in particular on Etsy- and these vases have such clean lines that they could fit in any interior.

Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) was a French all-round artist, famous for his poems, plays, designs, movies and art. His movie Beauty and the Beast (1946) is probably his most famous work (being French myself, I must say that I have seen it broadcast on French tv many, many times). This movie is a beautiful black and white adaptation of the well-known fairytale. Cocteau used new movie technology of the time to create a fantastic feeling of magic and surrealism. Even when I see it today, I can't help but feel transported by its lyrical quality. 

Beauty and the Beast (1946), Jean Cocteau.

 As an artist, Cocteau was close to the avant-garde movement before and after the WWI and knew  Modigliani, Picasso and Diaghilev, Coco Chanel, writers Proust and Gide, and composers Stravinsky, Satie and Poulenc. Even though he is often classified as a Surrealist, he denied having anything to do with the group of Surrealists including Salvador Dalí and André Breton.

Cocteau was deeply inspired by Greek mythology and many of his artworks include illustrations of famous myths. His theory was that commonplace objects were containers of hidden beauty, which the artist, through his gifts and eye, could bring out.

Profil aux Points. Dot Profile. Jean Cocteau, 1950.

 
Some of Cocteau's works will be exhibited alongside Picasso and Chagall paintings in the Lightbox gallery in Woking this week (read more about it on The Guardian website ). Also, a new museum dedicated to Jean Cocteau only just opened in Menton, France: the Jean Cocteau Museum.

The blind poet believes that he is the emperor of China, Jean Cocteau with birds, 1949.

Don Hong-Oai's photographs of Chinese landscapes

Yes, these are photographs. These amazing pictures of Chinese landscapes were taken by artist Don Hong-Oai who died in June 2004. You can read more about him and see more of his beautiful photographs here.

Happy new year!

I know I am  nearly a week late but I still wanted to wish you all a very happy new year! May it be full of joy, success and great antiques!

As for me, I started the new year with the flu (not great) and with some new books (really great!!)! Here they are:

I found in a charity shop 'Miller's Understanding Antiques' (which is great because it explains many things about furniture and glass- two kinds of antiques I don't have much knowledge about); a guide of the Ashmolean Museum with beautiful plates (that was on sale at the University of Oxford Shop); I ordered the 'Antiques Roadshow Quiz Book' and 'How to deal in Antiques' on Amazon, and finally, I subscribed to the Antiques Trade Gazette a couple of days ago and have already received their Art and Antiques 2012 Diary!

I am shivering with excitement (or it might be the flu...?) - I look forward to read them!

What about you: do you know any good book that you think every antiques lover should read? Please let me know in the comments below ;-)

The Heart Book of Denmark

Perhaps it is because I am watching Pride and Prejudice at the same time as I am writing this post, but I feel very much in the mood for love now - and what is more romantic-looking than this 'Heart Book' from Denmark?

The Heart Book is considered as the oldest ballad manuscript ever written in Denmark. It dates back to the beginning of the 1550s and is a collection of eighty-three love ballads. The book was compiled in the circle of King Christian III's Court but nobody knows who did it nor instigated its writing. The only thing known is that all the ballads - except no.66- were written by the same person.

The picture above shows the ballad no. 43, Store længsel, du går mig nær (Great Yearning, thou touches me). A mysterious Christen Masse, a later reader of the Heart Book, added notes on several pages, amongst which this prayer: "May god end and turn my misery into a good and happy ending amen". Nobody knows what he was referring to, but I like to think that this was the complaint of a tormented lover... What do you reckon? 

Underwater Ink Photography

Dreamy underwater ink photography taken by Mark Mawson. You can see more photographs of this series untitled "Aqueous Fluoreau" on the So Bad So Good blog. I absolutely love these pictures - it's incredible how something so simple can look so beautiful!

Medical oddities - Selection by Vintage Rescue Squad

Cool - but slightly creepy - medical items available on Etsy and selected by Vintage Rescue Squad. Take a look at her blog here and her Etsy shop here - I love her Dreaming of Junking 2012 Calendar!

Happy Holidays!

Dreamy Christmas card by Ernst Haeckel. More beautiful designs by Haeckel on the Retronaut blog.

Happy holidays to you all! I hope you will spend a great time with all the people you love. May your stockings be full of great presents and beautiful antiques!


Ally x

Christmas-themed home decor: Vintage Santa

Don't know how to decorate the house for Christmas? Want to invest in art and find something to put above the fireplace? I have the perfect solution for you! What about Andy Warhol's "Santa Claus" from the "Myths" portfolio (1981)?

Not bad, eh? This screenprint on board with diamond dust (yes, diamond dust!) is available on artnet.com for a cool $16,000 (!). Hurry, only two days left!

 Just in case you don't have $16,000 to spend on a Warhol print right now, here is a small selection of vintage Santas you can find on Etsy for a much cheaper price:

1958 Santa Claus advertisement for Coca Cola by FrenchFrouFrou available here ($12.95).

 

Santa Christmas Lemon Crate Label by Labelstone available here ($9.99).

'Nose like a cherry' Christmas print by SkitterCats available here ($12.00).

 

 1951 "Flying Santa" vintage Christmas print by ArcaniumAntiques available here ($75).

More Christmas-themed posts to come!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

'silver' by birdandbloke

Vintage Fluted Tin ... 5gardenias $21.50	Vintage Silver Cand... raemj $15.00	Love the cold said ... ZenzPhotograph... $30.00	Jingle Bell Tinsel ... cattales $21.00
1800's silver s... nevastarr $19.95	Silverplate Serving... thisOtherthing $17.99	Letterpress Holiday... jerseyicecream... $15.00	3 Holiday Spoon Tre... daisychestnut $35.00
Silver Winter Chand... seequin $46.00	24 Vintage Metal Be... RobertaGrove $6.00	Couple of pretty vi... AllysAntiques $8.00	Vintage Silver Plan... amberfilkins $32.00
Antique General Sto... LittleKittenVi... $45.00	Reclaimed Glass Clo... BirdinHandVTG $18.00	Custom Silver Bells... PotterandButle... $12.95	Large Estate 13 Pie... ParisCoutureAn... $925.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

A gorgeous silver treasury that gets me in a Christmas mood!