Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2023 i Homes & Antiques

Tell us what inspires you in this issue of H&A, Tag @homes_antiques on Instagram or use the email address, right Fabric takes centre stage in the August issue of H&A, a thread, if you’ll forgive the pun, that runs through the magazine, both intentionally and by chance. On page 31, Victoria Maw talks to the designers and artists using antique textiles to make bespoke curtains, furnishing fabrics and works of art; on page 80, Emma Longstaff explores the wonderful history of stumpwork - hard to believe this intricate and inventive form of embroidery was dismissed by some as ‘ugly' and ‘childish'. And in her regular column, The Fabric of Life (p70), Celia Rufey presents a round-up of the best textile collections to visit in the UK. Filled with colour and character, as…

LAST CHANCE TO SEE Fans of Post Impressionist big-hitters - Cézanne, Van Gogh, Rodin, Picasso, Matisse, Klimt, Kandinsky and Mondrian - are in for a treat with this major exhibition of over 100 works at The National Gallery in London. But you’ll have to be quick to see it before it finishes this month! Some of the most important works of art created between 1886 and around 1914 have been gathered from museums and private collections around the world. ‘After Impressionism’ celebrates Paris as the international artistic capital, while also focusing on the exciting and often revolutionary artistic developments across other European cities during this period, including Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels and Vienna. Navigate your way through a series of themed rooms as you admire the likes of Gauguin’s Vision of…

This Month THE RELAUNCH This year marks 50 years since Sir Robert and Lady Sainsbury donated their art collection to the University of East Anglia (UEA) and British architect Norman Foster designed the Sainsbury Centre to house it. For the last 18 months, the Centre has been preparing unique and radical ways to allow people to build relationships with the artworks, such as hugging Henry Moore’s Mother and Child sculpture, or dancing with first-millennium Tang dynasty figurines. ‘The art of the Sainsbury Centre can help reframe and answer the most important questions people have in their lives/ says Executive Director Jago Cooper. ‘It is not a museum to only learn more about artists such as Francis Bacon, or movements such as Modernism. It is a place of experience, to witness the…

What to Sell Now Folk Art crafts are probably one of the most uncategorised areas of the art world and encompass paintings, ceramics, metalwork, fabric and even horticultural and kitchen implements. The pieces are usually highly decorative and handmade by craftsmen. The market for antique Folk Art items has flourished in recent years as collectors seek out its simple charms. For example, at our Fine Sale in March, we sold a parcel lot of a gilded iron hare weathervane plus two painted metal bird decoys from the Handford Collection in Burford. Together, they made £2,340 against an estimate of £100£200. Similarly, four painted wood decoy wood pigeons, also from the Handford Collection, sold for £780 (est £l00-£200). Previously, these types of items would have made very little at auction; they…

WAYS OF LIFE Laura Freeman The biography of Jim Ede is addictive from the get-go. Author Laura Freeman, chief art critic at The Times, paints a detailed and vivid picture of the art patron’s life, from his childhood in Wales to his death in 1990. Ede is someone we want to keep reading about - a captivating individual, warm, passionate and intriguing - and Freeman is a deft storyteller. As well as being a warm, likeable soul, Jim created something truly wonderful at Kettle’s Yard - a gallery situated in ‘four former slum cottages in Cambridge that he filled with pictures, sculptures, stones, ferns, glass goblets, feathers, shells, tokens of friendship and, famously, pebbles’. His life reads as a who’s who of 20th-century greats (he dined with Picasso in Paris)…

As a set decorator for period dramas, Jo Kornstein is adept at spotting furniture and decorative pieces that strike just the right historic note. But she always looks for an extra element, too. ‘For me, interiors are all about storytelling and that often comes from textures’, she explains. ‘Visually, a flat wall is far less interesting than one that catches the light with its dips and dents, and materials such as linen, wood and ceramics are what add comfort and character to a home’. This approach informed the way that she reworked and decorated the rooms of her family’s cottage in Whitstable on the Kent coast. Jo and her husband, Henry Littlechild, a commercials director, discovered the property on a weekend visit to the seaside town 12 years ago. Before…

Summer can often spark an inclination to go visiting in pursuit of a particular interest. For textile lovers, the Victoria and Albert Museum, open daily, could be one place to start. Galleries for each historic period display textiles in the context of furnishings of the time, giving illuminating overviews. In the British galleries, years around the 1850s demonstrate Pugin’s Gothic architecture inspiring textile patterns, Japanese motifs appearing on fabrics and screens, and William Morris starting to block-print using natural dyes. Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire is an extraordinary house worth a visit on its own account, with its towering façade and huge glazed windows. Built in the 1590s, on the wealth of four-times widowed Bess of Hardwick, this is a special place for the tapestry lover. Bess spent a fortune on…

Some buyers just want something colourful to put on the wall, and will stop at one Underground map. But serious collectors might try to acquire a map from each year of the Tube’s existence. Or they sometimes focus on so-called ‘specials’, like the Tube maps issued by department stores in the early 20th century. Others are only interested in the evolution of the iconic Beck design. Chris Berry explains that the map comes in lots of different formats, giving collectors plenty of options: ‘They range from tiny pocket maps, which are folded in three sections to the approximate size of a business card, to paper maps that folded out to A4 or A3, to the larger, and rarer, station maps,’ he says. ‘There are also huge maps made with rolled…

All antique textiles need to be protected from sunlight, heat and condensation. The antique silk used in stumpwork can be very unstable. Rebecca Scott cautions against buying damaged or dirty pieces, which might seem like tempting bargains. ‘Textile conservation is very expensive - I can easily spend thousands of pounds on a single piece - and good conservators are hard to find. Compared with paintings or furniture, a limited amount can be achieved. If the colour has been lost or the fabric has severely deteriorated, nothing will ever bring it back. ‘It’s very important to go to a specialist who understands the risks. Stumpwork needs to be properly cleaned, not just to remove dirt but also to get rid of any mould spores or moth, which can cause serious damage.…

Into the blue Please could you tell me a bit about this Whitefriars vase? It was given to me as a wedding present in the 1970s, and I’ve treasured it ever since. I would be really interested to know if they are easy to come by, as I’d love to collect a few more, and also how much this vase might be worth. Patricia D’Ath What a lovely wedding gift. Your Whitefriars vase was designed by Geoffrey Baxter in 1966. Known as the ‘bark’ vase, it was part of his textured range, and was produced from 1967 until the factory closed in 1980. Each piece designed by Baxter was given a pattern number, as the cylindrical bark vase came in three sizes - at 6in tall, yours is pattern 9689.…

Studying fine art and fashion design, working as a fashion stylist for many years and - for as long as he can remember - buying vintage clothing for himself to wear, has given Jonathan Swanston a strong appreciation of good design and an understanding of how second-hand isn’t second best. A passion for well-designed pieces and years of visiting fairs for his own pleasure has led to him running a full-time vintage and antiques business, as well as appearing on our TV screens. Tell us about starting your business I have always bought and sold bits and pieces on the side, however the opportunity to do what I love for a living came about when I moved out of London to live in Derbyshire with my family. I set up…

19th The Virtual Vintage Bazaar 10am-5pm @thevintagebazaarevents; thevintagebazaar.co.uk HOW TO SHOP When the event opens at 10am on the Instagram account @thevintagebazaarevents, the dealers will be introduced one post at a time. All shoppers need to do is click through to the dealer and browse the stock they will have posted on their own account. Message the dealer to buy something and to arrange postage and payment. You can also access all the participating dealers on the website thevintagebazaar.co.uk…

The Fry holds a collection of works by Neo-Romantic artists who lived and worked in north-west Essex. It is joining forces with The Ingram Collection of Modern British Art to explore Neo-Romanticism through an exhibition of 30 works by artists including Graham Sutherland, John Piper, Keith Vaughan, John Craxton and Michael Ayrton. Neo-Romanticism infiltrated key areas of British creative life from the 1930s to the end of the 1950s, and was characterised by a renewed interest in the Romantic era’s artistic and literary themes. This movement was a reaction to abstract expressionism - the dominant style of the time and its artists craved a more intuitive and subjective approach to making art, while also evoking a sense of the mystical, imaginative and emotional. fryartgallery.org…

THE AUCTION The Scottish sale is an annual event, offering around 500 lots covering a wide range of periods, from 19th and early 20thcentury Wemyss ware ceramic pigs and cats and ‘cabbage roses’ china, to 18th-century provincial Scottish silver, to contemporary Scottish design, with estimates from £250 to £30,000. The pre-sale viewing and auction takes place in Lyon & Turnbull’s rather special saleroom: a deconsecrated neoclassical church in the heart of Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town. ‘Our buyers include those with specialised collecting interest, those from the Scottish diaspora who are drawn to the theme of the sale, and others who enjoy discovering quirky talkingpoint pieces, which could be anything from antler furniture to a hooded Orkney chair,’ says specialist Katherine Wright. Other prime items to bid on include Victorian hardstone…

Fabric Wallpaper…

‘Country house interiors’ sums up the aesthetic of Iris & Mabel perfectly. It has a lived-in, not-tooprecious look - think strong colours, quirky one-offs and pretty patterns. I’m like a magpie when it comes to antique and vintage textiles, an interest that was inspired by my degree in Textile Design. I have a section on my website called the ‘Linen Cupboard’, which is one of my favourites. It’s important for me to gain as much knowledge as I can about the items I sell, so I can offer my customers some background as well as a fair price. I have a huge appreciation for the work that has gone into hand-sewn quilts and bedspreads - it’s something that just can’t be emulated with new ones. They have a wonderful mix…

In 1894, Leonora Jenner successfully petitioned for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and adultery, ending her marriage to a wealthy American after only three years. The sensational details of the case, including the kidnapping of her daughter, were reported in newspapers across the UK, and as far afield as San Francisco. Five years later, she married distinguished polo player and senior army officer Leopold Jenner. In her book about the history of Avebury Manor in Wiltshire, Sian Evans describes how the couple spent many happy years in the early part of the 20th century bringing the dilapidated building back to life. Leonora was an exceptionally talented needlewoman, and made numerous stumpwork pieces for Avebury in a sumptuous 17th-century style. The richly embroidered mirror frames and caskets incorporated traditional motifs,…

• Earliest unmarked earthenware ‘lost’ • First porcelain period (1798-1816) initially only pattern numbers, after 1805 also a faux Sèvres mark. You can find the patterns in the pattern books at themintonarchive.org.uk. Many of these patterns were also used by other factories! • Second porcelain period (1824 onwards) sometimes Minton marks, sometimes no marks, sometimes retailer’s marks • Rococo Revival tableware: compare to shape books at themintonarchive.org.uk • Ornamental wares often not marked, or with faux Sèvres or Meissen mark • There were countless other marks as well! And after 1842 sometimes the standard ‘diamond’ mark • Introduction of the famous globe mark in 1863…

1. Roman connection Estimate £150-£200 Sold £117,000 In the 18th century, George Spencer, the 4th Duke of Marlborough and ancestor of Winston Churchill, built up a collection of engraved gems that was the envy of Europe. The cache was kept at the family seat in Oxfordshire, Blenheim Palace, and comprised over 800 pieces sourced by the Duke himself or amassed by ather aristocrats such as the Gonzaga Dukes of Mantua several centuries before. The unique collection was sold in 1875 by the 8th Duke to a mining magnate, then dispersed in 1899 at Christie’s. Now, the location of just over a quarter of the ’Marlborough Gems’ is known, so when an 18-carat-gold garnet intaglio ring-possibly carved with the head of Augustus Caesar, the first Roman Emperor - came up for…

To shop: Adin antiquejewel.com Blue Fonz bluefonz.com De Koninck Brewery dekoninck.be/en Grey Records greyrecords.nl Juwelenhuis Ruys ruys.be Kolonaki kolonaki-antiques.com Luddites luddites.be Makers Market morktistiek.be the Vélodrome develodrome.be To do and see: Cathedral of Our Lady dekathedraal.be DIVA Museum divaantwerp.be/en Met Steen visit.antwerpen.be/en KMSKA kinska.be/en Kloosterstraat kloosterstraatantwerpen.com The MAS mas.be/en MoMu Fashion Museum momu.be Museum Plantin-Moretus museumplantinmoretus.be/en The Nottebohmzaal consciencebibliotheek.be/en Port House portofantwerpbruges.com/en Vlaeykensgang visit.antwerpen.be/en Zoological Gardens zooantwerpen.be/en To stay: Botanic Sanctuary botanicantwerp.be Hotel Flora hotelflora.be To eat: Fiera fiera.be Frites Atelier fritesatelier.com RAS ras.today/en Travel info: City Pass antwerpcitypass.be Eurostar eurostar.com/uk-en Flights easyjet.com; ryanair.com…

Dame Lucie Rie (1902-1995) was an exceptional potter whose work continues to inspire today. Yet, despite this, there have been relatively few solo exhibitions focused on her pieces in UK museums and galleries. This exhibition at The Holburne will give visitors the opportunity to experience Rie’s pioneering work in depth; as a female potter working independently, Rie constantly took her own path, often at odds with prevailing trends. Rie is an important artist in the collections of both Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA), and the exhibition will draw from their holdings holburne.org…

While Woburn Abbey is closed until 2025 for major refurbishment, a selection of its outstanding Dutch and Flemish artworks will be on show at The Barber Institute of Fine Arts. ‘Mastering the Market’ has been curated by four Art History and Curating MA students at the University of Birmingham, with guidance and supervision from experts at Woburn Abbey and The Barber Institute. ‘The exhibition will present the public with the rare opportunity to view these works up-close in a gallery setting, and facilitate an appreciation of the ways in which patronage and collecting reflected and contributed to a dynamic period of European history,’ says Robert Wenley, Barber Institute Deputy Director and Head of Collections. barber.org.uk…

Sun Trap Fabric designs by Michael Szell and French artist Raoul Dufy for fabric house Christopher Farr Cloth are now available on a collection of outdoor cushions and parasols by Neptune. The fabrics are waterproof, so can withstand the British climate, and the items start from £125 for a cushion. neptune.com; christopherfarrcloth.com…

What to Buy Now One of the most influential Arts & Crafts designers and architects, Charles Francis Annesley (aka CFA) Voysey, is renowned for his fabric and carpet designs. Voysey paid meticulous attention to detail, and his fabric designs were produced on standard graph paper in vivid colours. They served as important interpretation tools for the weaving technicians who brought his ideas to life. To ensure the end products remained true to his original intent, Voysey often made annotations with instructions concerning the repeat and colouring. While his late 19th/ early 20th-century carpet designs for Tomkinson & Adam of Kidderminster can make five figures - we recently sold one at our Design Since 1860 sale for £12,600 - panels of his furnishing fabrics are much more affordable.…

We’ve got another not-to-be-missed offer this month - pay just £46.40 for a year’s worth of H&A (rather than the shop price of £71.50) when you subscribe to Homes & Antiques. Plus, you’ll also receive an Orla Kiely teapot, worth £40. We look forward to welcoming you! PS Subs copies are now posted in easyto-recycle paper - no more plastic wrap! SUBSCRIBER BENEFITS • Save a fantastic 35%* on the shop price • Pay just £46.40 every 13 issues by Direct Debit • Receive an Orla Kiely teapot worth £40 and a year’s worth of your favourite magazine • Delivered direct to your door never miss an issue!…

The precise history of Katherine Marland’s Welsh home, set beside a narrow winding track in a wood-fringed Monmouthshire hamlet, is unknown. What Katherine, an antiques dealer, call tell you is that the stone buildings originally began as turf-and-mud huts, built by smallholders working in the forest. Taking advantage of squatters’ rights, which existed between the 17th and t19th centuries, their descendants went on to build the low cottages that survive today. ‘Tŷ unnos, or ‘one night house’, was the Welsh tradition that if you could build a dwelling in a night and, according to folklore, boil a pot within the space of 12 hours, unchallenged, then you could lay claim to the plot,’ explains Katherine. ‘Successful squatters would then enclose some land around their new dwelling and rebuild it over…

WHAT AM I? I’m generally made from wood or metal and, since the first half of the 19th century, I’ve been a handy craft tool to have around the home. My ‘umbrella’, concertina design allows me to fold up I when not in use and, although I’m useful simply rotating on my own, I can also be used as a pair. You can buy modern versions today, which look very similar. KELMSCOTT FUND Described as ‘Heaven on Earth’ by William Morris, Kelmscott Manor was a huge influence on every aspect of the designer’s life, and he particularly loved the rare 17th-century Dutch tapestries that came with the property when he leased it in 1871. These tapestries eventually inspired a set of hangings that Morris designed with Edward Burne-Jones in 1890.…

Henry ‘Harry’ Beck received just ten guineas (now about £1,000) when he sold his pioneering design for the Underground map. In 1931, the unemployed draughtsman had started experimenting with imaginative new ways of mapping the Underground. But the first time he submitted his ideas to the UERL - then in charge of the network - they were rejected. Caroline Roope explains what happened: ‘It is easy to deride the UERL’s dismissal of Beck's Diagram, but the design was way ahead of its time. In those days, a map was expected to employ at least some degree of visual authenticity. Luckily, Beck knew his audience better than the UERL. He waited a year and then he decided to try again. By early 1933, the UERL was on the cusp of change…

Several National Trust properties, and museums, such as the Holburne Museum in Bath and the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool include stumpwork in their collections. The Lady Lever has an extensive collection of over 50 pieces but. due to their fragility, just a handful are on display. Martha Edlin’s casket, in the collection of the V&A, is not currently being exhibited, but you can watch a video of it here: vam.ac.uk/content/videos/m/video-martha-edlins-casket/ From October 2023, Witney Antiques is holding on exhibition of schoolgirls’ historical needlework, including rare 17th-century samplers and exceptional stumpwork pieces. WHERE TO BUY Witney Antiques @witneyantiques Didie Inglis Hall sells her work with her husband, Patrick, at the Battersea Decorative Fair decorativefair.com…

Midland Hotel Morecambe’s Midland Hotel is a must-visit for those with a love of Art Deco design. A restrained 1930s counterpoint to the more decadent Art Deco bling of Burgh Island Hotel in Devon (also worth a visit), this monumental Lancashire hotel was built on a headland by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway in 1933. Reopened in 2008, having been saved from demolition, the decor now swings more towards South Beach motel than Savoy-style splendour, but the hotel’s liner-like silhouette remains as spectacular as it was in the days when Coco Chanel, Laurence Olivier and Noël Coward stayed there. inncollectiongroup.com Rusacks St Andrews Commissioned in 1887 by Johann Rusack, a German farmer who settled in Scotland after the Franco-Prussian war, Rusacks is hallowed ground among golfers; many of its…

I grew up in Rome, so got used to living around antiquities and places like the Forum - quite a magical place - and the medieval streets and alleys of Trastevere. At university I studied Chinese Language and Culture, and became very interested in ceramics, which are so tactile. I came to London to do an MA in Art and Archaeology and fell in love with the city and decided to work in the arts. In 2010 I got an entry-level job at Bonhams and, a year later, a junior-cataloguer job came up in the Asian Art department in Knightsbridge. In 2016 I became head of department. That time was a wonderful opportunity to handle beautiful and rare things, such as a 400-year-old Ming dynasty inlaid brass padlock and key…

I bought this delightful ‘lovey dovey’ pair of Italian porcelain doves from Vintage Pieces (vintagepieces.co.uk) at an online fair. They came with an old repair, which the seller told me about (the price also reflected this). A mend like this would never put me off buying something I’d fallen in love with. I don’t like to think where this lovely decorative piece would have ended up had someone not taken the time to glue it back together. Follow Alice’s adventures: @alice.roberton…

Appley Hoare Appley has been dealing in predominantly French antique furniture and decorative pieces for over 20 years, familiarising herself with the flea markets of Paris while studying there when she was younger. As well as a website and Instagram account, this year she opened a shop in Tetbury. Most of her pieces have that faded elegance we so adore about French antiques. appleyhoare.com; @appleyhoareantiques The Boule-in Cathy and Peter love all things French, and their company, The Boule-in based in Suffolk, celebrates France, its antiques and interiors. As well as hosting three seasonal fetes a year from their courtyard, barn and garden in Bildeston, they also have an online shop selling French furniture, lighting, ceramics, kitchenware and more that they find on their buying trips across the Channel. On…

Profile What first sparked your interest in antiques? I left school at 15 and worked as an assistant cabinetmaker. In under a year I was lucky enough to get an apprenticeship with another antiques firm as a cabinetmaker/restorer. It was being surrounded by passionate restorers, eager to share their knowledge, that gave me the antiques bug. Tell us about the first antique you bought Part of the apprenticeship meant going to High Wycombe furniture college to get my trade under my belt. It was there that I purchased my first antique after a lesson on French polishing techniques. The item I worked on really caught my eye - so much so that I asked if I could buy it and my teacher said I could have it for £5. It…