29 Tuesday Sep 2009
Posted in Artist
I’ve been into late 18th, early 19th century French porcelain,
and cloudy glass lately…
… always a fan of berries, cherries,cupcakes,
nougat, and flowers…
Was so delighted to stumble upon
such a lovely French artist…
That mixes all these very pretty elements together…
15 Tuesday Sep 2009
Posted in Gardens
So emblematic of summer’s last gifts,
bushels of fall to look forward to…
Small, antique “Liberty” apple on an espaliered tree…
said to be Thomas Jefferson’s favorite…
Antique Sombreuil white Tea rose peeks into the frame…
c. 1850…named after Mlle de Sombreuil,
a heroine of the French Revolution…
Wonderful memories of driving out to the country
to pick apples and visit farm stands
when the kids were little…
varieties rarely seen in the supermarket…
crisp air…crisp apples…
House and Garden archives
11 Friday Sep 2009
Posted in Architectural salvage, French Interiors
Tags
18th century lifestyle, Architectural salvage, Feau & Cie, Flea Market, Flea Market Style, French, French Antiques, French design, Rough Luxe, Villas
This has a sort of “Beethoven was here” look…
“With its bleached, wide-plank floors, Gotland sandstone fireplace,
and handpainted wallpaper, the prima donna’s dressing room
…is the epitome of Gustavian style…“
Sweden’s Drottingholm Palace Theater
Guiletta Countess Guicciardi
Beethoven fell passionately in love with what he called
‘that enchanting girl’ , a pupil of his when she was 17,
and when this portrait was found in his desk after his death
it was assumed, erroneously, that she was his
“Guillaume Féau restores and copies magnificent
Antique boiserie-carved paneling”
“Thousands of plaster casts, looking like ancient artifacts,
are tucked away in the labyrinthine showroom…”
Can you imagine wandering into his workrooms…
any of these would transform a wall…
“When he sells a beautiful piece, Féau makes a plaster
cast so that he can recarve details at will…”
Click below to enjoy his extensive portfolio…
Limestone Louis XV facade on building facade
on rue de Seine, Paris
Parisian Interiors
Lisa Lovatt-Smith
Unattributed photos are House and Garden archives
10 Thursday Sep 2009
Posted in 18th century, Antiques, French Interiors, Shop profile
Tags
A group of costumed and masked revelers…
“Plaster statues of commedia dell’arte characters from the 40’s.”
Jean-Louis Riccardi apartment…
Provence Interiors
“Up a flight of stairs, at the back of a leafy courtyard off the rue
Saint-Honoré in Paris, the apartment where Robespierre once lived
is now a showroom for intricate eighteenth-century-style
embroidery…”
Silk taffetas are embroidered with gold thread…
inspired by 18th century court costumes
The Napoleonic Bee with silk and gold threads…
“The house of Lesage (successor to the House of Michonet, which
was founded by cousins of the Lesage family in 1868) has
long been famous for its embroideries for haute couture…“
The company label on a linen document file…
“Jean François invents ten designs a day…
he was born on embroidered things.”
Gilt trimmed 18th century French noblewoman’s sedan chair…
Dressed with satin tied wheat, portraits and postcards…
1stdibs (click to see inside)
Late 18th Century French Louis XVI Â “Chaise a Porteur”,
fitted on each side with a sliding window. The top of the carriage
is made of tole and all the sides are hand painted with the family
armory crest of a noble lineage.
“No Dancing Please” sign, a yawning summer long loot
of genteel sports equipment, Fez and flowers…
Hervé Pierre designed the tricornered straw hat,
black glove atop the screen, and painted the faux
boiserie panels in his first apartment in New York…
The bow festooned, riveted edged cream screen came
from the Pierre Balmain salon in Paris…
A lovely girlish stack of shocking pink
Schiaparelli round hat boxes…
*
Sources:Â House and Garden archives
09 Wednesday Sep 2009
Posted in 18th century, French Interiors
Tags
17th century French villa, 18th century French linen, Antique beds, Antique clothing, Antique French linen chemise, Antique French porcelain, Chinoiserie, Marie Antoinette, Tuscan villa
18th century French linen chemise
18th century French “can” style cup decorated with tiny sprigs
of blue flowers called Bleuettes or Cornflowers, which were
the favorite flowers of Marie Antoinette.
Chocolatiètier with wooden handle
verseuse à anse latérale en bois ou chocolatière
en porcelaine de paris
rue thiroux
manufacture la reine 1776 – 1806
Early French porcelain , circa 1775, created in Paris
at the “Fabrique de la Reine” , sometimes also referred
to as the “Manufacture du Comte d’ Artois”, which was
located on rue Thiroux, under the direction of Andre Leboeuf.
The mark of Comte d’ Artois, used in 1775, is found on the
underside. The factory is widely recognized for having
created porcelains for Queen Marie Antoinette.
Personal details on a dressing room screen…
Chinoiserie watercolor and beribboned Watteau sketch…
Silk pagoda canopy and chinoiserie details in bedroom,
inspired by frescoes on the walls of the Tuscan villa
Loire valley 17th century Chateau…
underneath its stone pediment
family pets venture out to start their day…
*
“Slow buds the pink dawn like a rose
From out night’s gray and cloudy sheath;
Softly and still it grows and grows,
Petal by petal, leaf by leaf.”
The Morning Comes before the Sun
Sources:Â Â House and Garden archives, past Ebay items
05 Saturday Sep 2009
Posted in 19th century, Antique prints, Artist, Gardens
Antique Bourbon roses…
The original Bourbon rose traced its lineage to the reign
of Louis-Philippe (1830 to 1848), when residents of Ile de Bourbon,
planted hedges of China and Damask roses that cross-pollinated.
These rose hips were sent to the king’s gardener in France,
and the Bourbon class of roses was born.
Madame Issac Perrier
c. 1881
Honorine de Brabant
beautiful in a border and bouquet…
Madame Ernst Calvat
c. 1888
Souvenir de Malmaison
this image is from here
c. 1843
Named for the rose garden of Empress Josephine (Bonaparte)
Most gorgeous tinted pink organza cupped blossoms…
*
Bourbons are my favorites of all antique roses …
Retaining the beauty represented in 18th century portraits…
they are more vigorous, hardy, and remontant (repeat bloom).
Their fragrance and history are intoxicating.
“Pierre Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) illustrated approximately
50 botanical books during his lifetime making him one of the
most prolific and widely celebrated botanical artists
of the 18th and 19th centuries.”
The Glory of Roses
Lacy
Trouvais 