France
Circa 1750
the paper clad bust top of later date, circa 1940
beautiful feminine wood dress forms
on iron frame terminating to wood wheels at base
There’s a certain romance to metal….
Metal with patina, age, irregularities, character…
I sometimes am perplexed by what on the surface appears
to be inconsistencies in my “finds”…the hard versus the soft…
But I think there is an overwhelming aggregate of naturalism
in everything I love: the romance of imperfection, randomness,
the vagaries of shape and hue…
Is the appeal of this exploding peony really
that different from the molting and blooming
finish on this vintage metal cabinet?
Belgium
Circa 1910 – 1920
“As the sword of the best metal is most flexible, so the truly generous
are most pliant and courteous in their behavior to their inferiors”
Thomas Fuller 1608-1661
Embossed metal serving platter with scrolled arms
against nubby grain cloth…
Classic French bistro…
c. 19th century
the romance of story behind an object…
Ebay here
The ruffled sweep of petals…
their incandescent ruffled edges
Even my obsession with ruffles…here in full metal palette…
seems to echo wanton blooms with ruffled edges.
Love this large wire basket…wanted to go back for
another but dear husband thought I was crazy. I
occasionally listen to his design advice. C’est dommage.
This metal basket has occasionally been mossed to
accept plants, or left as is for pretty files in my office…
Yes…that’s a sketch of a flamboyant 3 on the back…
I seem to always prefer unfinished…whispery…
the trailing end of a sentence…
On Wisteria’s zinc ball table…
A flea market bird cage shell…
Bought it for the shape so the missing wire wasn’t a problem..
Clearly met with the good cat seal of approval…
Earlier blooms were herbaceous peonies from my garden…spring ’09
Above is a tree peony bloom…less demanding of a winter chill
and thus favored for a warmer climate. The blooms reach 12 inches
across…chaotic, random, ephemeral, transient, hue-tastic
This is a particularly beautiful sequence—the peony reflecting the patina on the lovely surfaces of the furniture. Thank you for this reminder that my tree peony (Sunnyvale, California) is getting ready to stun my senses again.
Lovely, utterly lovely…
hard and soft, frilled and smooth, gentle and tough
my favorites as well..
thanks
annie
and OH those dress forms!
LOL! That is such a cat maneuver!! I do love the metal.
Contrast and texture…..a post for the senses!
Beautiful peony, metals and kitty!
Thanks Trish!
Do you think a tree peony would thrive in Santa Barbara? I haven’t seen them growing here, but then who knew you could grow regular peonies in your neck of the woods. Fascinating how opposites attract and attract our affections. ~jermaine~
Hi Jermaine. Yes…when we lived on the Palos Verdes peninsula (below LA) someone was growing Herbaceous Peonies (I was shocked). Perhaps they iced them (threw a bag of ice on them several times in winter). But Tree Peonies are less demanding. Worth trying one
These are all so spectacularly beautiful. Your explaining them through your eye makes them more so. Peonies have always been my favorite flowers. I saw some in a catalog one in an exquisite coral color and another in yellow. I would love to find them.
Thank you for the inclusion, I feel as if you have given me one of my greatest blog compliments ever.
Can’t wait to read more and more and more.
Tishx
Hi Trish,
Lovely romantic post.
I adore your peonies, all the fabulous metal and especially the French paper clad dress forms with the frame.
Happy week
Hugs
Carolyn
Those dress forms are so wonderful. I love the bird cage frame. I have been looking for an antique aviary for ages. Beautiful post.
I sit here in a garden just thawed and now hear that dreaded of all “wintry mix” assaulting my house and garden. Peonies do very well here. No ice bagging required. Of course, with that hideous timing thing usually the peonies open to grandeur the night just before a tornado or something that feel like it hits. Gardening in the midwest is a form of hopeful masochism. Love the metals and anything on wheels makes my heart go round. There’s a wonderful comment on dress forms in novel Mrs. Bridge. Deemed too provocative for a young boy’s eyes, it was banished to the attic! This lovely lady is a wonderful art form.
Hi,
I ran across your blog this morning-what a treat! Love the peony photos and the juxtaposition between those and the antiques, so clever…
We grow peonies for the wholesale market, last year we cut 6,000 blooms in 10 days…lots of work but lots of fun too.
jackie
bliss farm antiques
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