Innholdsfortegnelse for Special 2021 i Homes & Antiques

Welcome to the stealthy 13th issue of H&A , our annual month-less edition, which we have dedicated to heritage and sustainability in the world of antiques, craft and design. Throughout the magazine you will find carefully produced pieces that are as much about form and function as they are about beauty and considered consumption. Naturally, when one talks of good design in a domestic context, William Morris’s thoughts on beauty and utility come to mind, and this philosophy can be felt across our pages: from the elegant reimaginings of classic chairs on page 34, to his own home, Red House (p129). And our Style Now pages (from p18) are filled with ceramics, textiles and furniture that undoubtedly demonstrate the spirit of Morris’s views, though whether or not he would feel…

Woven walls The fervour for furniture and accessories made of rattan, both old and new, continues unabated. This beautiful textured look can be extended to walls with the hand-painted Rattan Grasscloth wallpaper from Madeaux, which comes in 12 colourways. Rattan Grasscloth wallpaper in Pumpkin, pictured, £72 per m. madeaux.com Perfectly poised The National Trust has teamed up with Anglepoise to launch three new lights inspired by the 20th-century interior of The Homewood, a modernist house designed by architect Patrick Gwynne in Esher, Surrey, cared for by the Trust. The National Trust + Anglepoise Original 1227 table, desk and floor lamps come in Sage Green and each features the Trust’s oak leaf motif. A proportion of the sales will go towards restoration of The Homewood. From £139. anglepoise.com PRETTY GREEN These…

On our journey through the history of British porcelain, our most recent stop was Derby, which by about 1770 had taken over from the pioneering large factories in London. But Derby wasn’t the only rising star; just under 80 miles away, in Worcester, people were busy working on the development of their own porcelain. It all started when Dr John Wall, a physician, realised in the 1740s that the lead-glazed vessels that people drank cider from made them ill. He did pioneering research into lead poisoning and it motivated him to find a new, safer material to drink from. Naturally enough, he turned to porcelain, which was taking Britain by storm, and started experimenting in the kitchen of his friend, the apothecary William Davis. In 1751, the two men partnered…

The country house sale has always been a tour de force within the auction world. One could say it all began with the sale at Stowe House in 1848, when Christie’s sold the collection of the Duke of Buckingham, an epic 40-day affair that included the only known portrait of William Shakespeare, now hanging in the National Portrait Gallery. In 1882, Christie’s held the Hamilton Palace sale. A mere 17 days long, it was a tad shorter than its predecessor, but a sign of things to come in the early 20th century as grand country houses fell like skittles, simply too expensive and too demanding for their owners to keep. During the 1930s alone, Sotheby’s conducted 20 country house sales with a team of auctioneers known as the ‘flying squad’.…

‘This house has a wonderful surprise element when you walk through the front door and are met with walls of brick, wood and glass,’ says Nicki Jackson of the house nestled in the shadow of the Chiltern Hills that she shares with husband Richard, pet schnoodle Archie and, occasionally, their two grown-up children, Oliver and Rose. Never judge a book by its cover, as what appears to be an agricultural-style dwelling from the outside and much in keeping with the local vernacular of its quintessential rural setting is, inside, a house that bravely champions modernism and is filled to the brim with an enviable collection of mid-century vintage. ‘Part of the charm, and appeal,’ says Nicki, ‘was the subtle exterior, blending into the local houses with its brick and wood…

BUDGET: £1,500 BILL: £1,312.50 The hallway is perhaps the most important space in your home, not only providing a welcoming atmosphere for family and friends but also setting the tone for your decorative style. An elegant console table will probably be your biggest investment and there are plenty of antiques that will instantly do the trick – side tables, card tables, demi-lune tables, even sofa tables from the past three centuries, made in lovely woods that include mahogany, walnut and oak. Good storage in a small space is essential, so factor in a coat rack or stand, an umbrella rack or pot, plus drawer space in the console for tidying away gloves, spare keys, pens and household paraphernalia. You’ll need a mirror, too, not only for checking how you look…

WIREWORK TREASURE Once a home for pet birds, an early 20th-century bird’s eye maple, Indian rosewood and fruitwood cage is now a decorative addition to a room. Estimate £400–£600 DUTCH CRAFTSMANSHIP A perching parrot eats a nut in a rare Gouda Delft ‘bird on a nail’ or spijkertegel tile. Dating to c1640, it’s painted using polychrome enamels. Estimate £800–£1,200 REGENCY RESTRAINT Regency diners favoured simple canework chairs. Made of rosewood, this set of six (one shown) has turned top rails and brass inlay on the middle rails. Estimate £300–£500…

Smooth as silk Beautiful bedding is key to ensuring that your bedroom feels restful and calming – and few things are more luxurious than silk. Gingerlily’s range of duvet covers and pillowcases is crafted from long-strand mulberry silk, which is both naturally hypoallergenic and breathable, so you can stay cool in the summer and cosy in the winter. Sand silk pillow case from £93. Sand silk flat sheet from £300. Sand silk duvet cover from £435. gingerlilylondon.com Sheep Soundly Whether you prefer something soft and feathery or firm and supportive, we all know that a well-crafted mattress is key to a good night’s sleep. This year, for the first time ever, John Lewis is launching a collection of mattresses made with British wool – a material that often goes to…

Stoves and fires have come on in leaps and bounds over the years, but more can be done to ensure they are a practical and safe heating solution, with minimal environmental impact. Older stoves, especially those over 10 years old, do not feature up-to-date technology, meaning they burn with a much lower efficiency, and in some cases are not suited to be used in Smoke Control Zones. Particulate matter and other harmful gases are not burnt off, and end up being released into the air. Leading manufacturers are paving the way to a better environment and cleaner air. DEFRA-exempt stoves made a positive start. These products usually feature triple airflow systems that provide secondary burning of gas and smoke particles before they can go up the chimney. The result is…

Rhiannon Batten  wrote ‘Best Seat in the House’ Rhiannon writes about design, travel and food when she’s not wrangling her two small boys around the Somerset countryside. ‘We live in a farmhouse that dates back to the 17th century and, because it has such lovely old bones, I’ve found myself drawn to simpler, more sculptural pieces. Comb-backed Welsh stick chairs seem ‘plain’ yet they each have such personality. I’d love to have one by the fire!’ Joe Berger  illustrated ‘Royal Warrants: By Appointment’ Joe is an illustrator and animator based in Bristol. He is one half of cartooning duo Berger & Wyse, producing a weekly cartoon for The Guardian since 2003. ‘It’s probably a cliché but I’m going to go Eames Lounge chair (can I have the ottoman too?) It’s…

A leading figure in international studio ceramics, Lucie Rie emigrated from Vienna to London in search of a better life in 1938. In the years during and immediately following the Second World War, Rie supported her new life while establishing her studio in London by working at Fritz Lampl’s company, Bimini, producing glass buttons. Many of these buttons can be found in the V&A Museum, usually pressed, gilded and with brass backs bearing the company’s trademark flowerpot design. Rarer still are the stoneware buttons and jewellery Rie began producing around the same time at her own studio in Hyde Park. These were often made by hand, folded, twisted and glazed in a variety of forms and sold direct by Rie from the studio. They command premium prices. Recent sales of…

I’m never surprised by the things people collect. Take the late Alistair McAlpine – one of the greatest collectors in living memory. His varied collections included: paper money from the Soviet Union, rare tribal flags, old roses, Venini glass, antique Venetian beads, early Scottish weapons, second-hand Hawaiian shirts and rare cattle. And police truncheons – 900 of them: for there’s more to a truncheon than at first meets the eye. Until the mid-1990s, every British police officer carried a traditional wooden truncheon, as they had done since 1829 when Sir Robert Peel founded the London Metropolitan Police: generally recognised as the first modern police force and a model for other police forces around the world. By 1856, every borough and county had, by Act of Parliament, to form its own…

Looking around the tasteful, curated London home of interior designer Henry Bickerton and his wife, Sophie, it’s difficult to imagine it in its previous incarnation as a ‘weird Christmas grotto’, as Henry describes it. Filled with antiques and wonderful paintings, expertly pulled together by Henry’s discerning eye, this four-bedroom Victorian terrace in Parsons Green is the epitome of a grown-up, period family home, and couldn’t be more different from the shabby student house they set about transforming 10 years ago. Gone is the warren of bedsits, gone too are the dark green paint on the woodwork and the Christmas decorations in every room, and thankfully also gone, is the paint job on the façade. ‘Someone had painted the whole of the front red, then painted in the black outline of…

Explaining what prompted him to divert from his city career to buy Athelhampton House, near Dorchester, two years ago, Giles Keating says, ‘There are so many dimensions to the house: you’ve got the incredible beauty of the place, the architecture, the history, the family stories.’ Even so, the economist in him hadn’t vanished entirely. The idea of owning a historic home that could operate as a business, as well as provide a place for family to congregate, encouraged him to delve into the colourful, romantic world of this Tudor manor. ‘I hate the idea of a house that is not being used; it’s terribly wasteful. So having somewhere anyone can come in, enjoy and have people look after them, to me was important.’ History is all around you in Athelhampton’s…

Cupboard Love I wonder if your experts could help me identify the use of this small cabinet that I bought recently for £10. Unfortunately it did not come with a key to lock the doors, but has a position pin to secure one of them. It is quite heavy and has a mysterious (to me!) indented circle on the shelf inside. Thank you for a very enjoyable magazine. Kath Hannabus, Coulsdon, Greater London Your small cabinet is an oak table-top smoker’s compendium dating from c1900. They typically have an arrangement of drawers for accessories; some may even have a pipe rack. The mystery depression is where a tobacco jar would have stood, probably a ceramic example. The decorative brass bindings might possibly have been originally silver-plated. Cabinets of this type…

Wood-fired stoves offer timeless and flickering warm of a real fire Multi-fuel stoves are a versatile choice, burning either wood a smokeless fuel HEART OF THE HOME…

One pan wonder The seamless eight-in-one Always Pan (£125) is prime for those tight on space. Available in a chic colour palette, the non-stick pan comes complete with a removable steamer basket and a handy wooden spoon rest. fromourplace.co.uk Mussel building Trivets are an easy way to protect precious solid-wood or laminate worktops from hot pans – but few are as pretty as this Coral Terrazzo Trivet (£11.50) by Sorbet Living. It’s crafted from heat-resistant white eco resin and peppered with flecks of colour and crushed recycled mussel shells. sorbetliving.com COCKTAIL PARTY What could be a more delicious pairing than a warming autumnal cocktail and cool, rich ice-cream? The latest flavours from Häagen-Dazs – Rum Salted Caramel & Biscuit and Irish Whiskey & Chocolate Waffle (£4.99 each) – are indulgence…

I started out working as a local radio journalist, but I’d always liked antiques and history and at 24 I enrolled at Southampton Solent University to read Fine Art Valuation. I did some work experience with Woolley & Wallis with ceramics and Asian art expert John Axford, and joined full-time to cover a maternity leave, and never left, stepping up in 2011 to become head of the European ceramics and glass department. To start with I was terrified of touching things, but you get used to handling pieces. My very first auction was the last ever Staffordshire figure sale to be held at Woolley & Wallis. John and I sat in a small office for two weeks surrounded by some 300 figures! One of my first ‘finds’ was an ‘A…

By the Book I have been collecting your magazine since 1993 when we bought our first period home. After 25 years there we retired to the seaside to our ‘forever’ home. The first room we renovated was a former dining room, which we transformed into a much-longed-for library. So I really enjoyed your September article on libraries and books. Mine are not by the yard, but have been collected since childhood, as I am an avid bookworm. I still love your magazine, which has come back to the forefront in our latest home. Carmen Keeble, Bexhill-on-Sea Welcome to the Gallery I have bought H&A from the very first issue and have been a subscriber for many years. I love to see how other people decorate their homes. I have a…

“I’m the only curator based full-time at the Museum of Making, but I work across the collections team at Derby Museums. We work across all three sites – the Museum of Making, Derby Museum and Art Gallery, and Pickford’s House. Getting the museum ready for opening after a huge £18m refurbishment project has been a massive joint effort. We’ve been open for just over two months now and this is the first time in about 10 years that Derby Museums have had all three sites open. I’ve been involved in the project since 2015 and my job has included moving all the objects out, getting them into storage, checking them, moving them back in, and then writing all the interpretation, in co-production with a large team of staff and volunteers.…

One furniture-maker stands out as spanning, not only decades, but also multiple styles and genres within its reign between 1730 and 1897. Gillows is a name that conjures fine quality and innovation in cabinetmaking in the same way that Rolls-Royce does for cars. Sometimes items are marked with a stamp and occasionally a design number, so always check drawers and the backs of chair legs. The breadth of repertoire and style is extraordinary, always on trend for the period spanning George II through to Victoria. At Halls we recently sold an Arts and Crafts bed, fully stamped and attributed to the designer Bruce Talbert, achieving £1,800. A set of 11 hide-covered walnut dining chairs reached £900 and a huge walnut sideboard sold for £460.…

Not many people can lay claim to writing 119 books, or establishing an international bestselling publishing brand that’s been called the ‘bible of antiques’. Yet Judith Miller’s long and illustrious career in the world of antiques publishing had little to do with her family background. Judith grew up in Galashiels, Scotland. ‘My parents were part of what I call the Formica generation: after the war, they got rid of everything my grandparents had and bought new: what we now call mid-century modern.’ From an early age, history fascinated her, and by the time she was a teenager, the passion was unstoppable. ‘I loved it so much that I started going to junk shops. I sat on the floor looking at plates. Some dealers would just say take them; sometimes I’d…

As I drove up to Dunrobin Castle in summer 2020, it was the sheer scale of the place that amazed me. In the form of a French château, it’s perched right on the Sutherland coast and you can see waves crashing down below,’ remembers Charlie Thomas, director of house sales at Bonhams, and the man responsible for mounting the castle’s attic sale last April. With a history reaching back into the early 1300s and a present-day incarnation that offers 189 rooms, the family seat of the 25th Earl of Sutherland is no ordinary castle, but a 19th-century pleasure palace fashioned to entertain the great, the good and even Queen Victoria during the ‘Scottish season’ (July to early autumn) of yesteryear. Being shown up into the attics for the first time…

Stonecrest – one of the most beautifully unaltered Edwardian Arts and Crafts homes on the Westcliff Ridge in Johannesburg – is named after the carved stone crest, high on its red-brick façade. Set above two tall, gracefully arched windows, the crest features a noble-looking hound at its centre. ‘One early owner, I was told, had 17 dogs,’ says Annabelle Desfontaines, who has lived here for the past 30-odd years and can still remember walking up the driveway for the first time as a young woman with her heart pounding. She has a couple of hounds who look very similar to the one on the crest, which adds a strange sense of timelessness to the way she and her family inhabit Stonecrest – it seems they could always have been here.…

‘When I see a textile with a design that intrigues me I’ll buy it,’ Meg Andrews says. ‘Then I’ll research it. That’s what interests me and I’ll trot off to libraries on a voyage of discovery.’ Meg established her expertise in the world of antique textiles more than 35 years ago when she set up the Costume and Textile department at Sotheby’s Belgravia. She soon learned that there was much research to be done. ‘Costume was coming up for sale but there were few books on world textiles, so I learned by living at the V&A library,’ she says. Libraries, including the large one she has at home, remain essential tools of Meg’s trade. ‘When I started dealing, Chinese court costume was my main area of selling, though now there’s…

The GCC is a group of arts industry activists and lobbyists committed to making the art world more sustainable by targeting transport, packaging, energy and building management to lower carbon emissions and reduce waste. The GCC is currently involved in a collaboration with Christie’s and environmental charity ClientEarth on a landmark project called ‘Artists for ClientEarth’. Works donated by major international artists will be auctioned in Christie’s 20th/21st Century Marquee sales in October, November and February in London, New York and Hong Kong, to raise funds directly in support of ClientEarth, alongside a programme of talks about the vital work that the charity undertakes to help protect the planet. galleryclimatecoalition.org…

If you have space to play with, one of the best ways to make your stove a focal point in the room is with a large, panoramic door. Choose a single door rather than doubles, to really maximise your view of those fantastic flames through the glass as you cosy up by the fireside on a crisp evening. There are plenty of designs to choose from in both contemporary and traditional styles, so you can create impact in any room. When choosing a stove for a garden room or outdoor space, consider one with a top oven and hotplate. This gives you the option to warm up your afternoon snack and boil the kettle for a well-earned cup of tea when you take a break from potting, planting or working.…

Cod ‘Cassoulet ’ A quick one-pan meal, this cassoulet is wholesome, full of flavour and freshness, with a touch of spicy heat SERVES 2 2 skinless cod fillets (each approx 140g) 4 large pinches of sea salt flakes 4 turns of ground black pepper 1/2 white onion 100g chorizo 1 tin (400g) mixed beans 6 tablespoons olive oil 400g tomato passata Generous pinch of cayenne pepper 2 heaped teaspoons smoked paprika (optional) TO FINISH Juice of 1/2 lemon Extra-virgin olive oil Small handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley I know, I know, it is cassoulet with fish, and not the traditional cassoulet of south-west France, which is made with half a pig. It really doesn’t need an accompaniment, but can be served with a salad or a side dish of wilted…

FAIRS AROUND THE UK NOTE please contact fair organisers or keep an eye on websites and social media for updates regarding these events as they could be cancelled or postponed at any time. North & Scotland 17th Manchester Vintage Home Show, Victoria Baths, Hathersage Road, Manchester, M13 0FE. 10.30am–3.30pm. £4 (£6 before 11am). 07880 910361; vintagehomeshow.co.uk 23rd–24th The Great Wetherby Racecourse Antiques and Collectors Fair, Wetherby Racecourse, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS22 5EJ. 8am–5pm Sat, 9am–4pm Sun. £4 (£5 before 9am Sat). 01332 830444; jaguarfairs.com 29th–31st The Pavilions of Harrogate Decorative, Antiques & Art Fair, The Pavilions of Harrogate, Railway Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG2 8NZ. 11am–5pm. £5. 01278 784912; cooperevents.com Central 14th–17th The Cotswold Art & Antiques Dealers’ Association Fair, Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park, Compton Verney, Warwickshire, CV35…