As a general rule...

I really dislike Degas. What can I say, pastel Ballerinas just don't do it for me. However, mythological/biblical images of women with scarlet ibises really peak my interest. I vaguely remember reading some short story in middle school about a scarlet ibis, and ever since then I've always loved these bizarrely shaped red birds.

I stumbled upon this painting a few weeks ago at work while doing some research and have been fascinated since. It's in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and dates from the early 1860s. Degas made sketches for this painting in Rome between 1857-58. Between 1860-62 he added the ibises. The Met's description mentions that he also added similar birds to his historical painting "Semiramis Building Babylon" around the same time (I don't see the birds, google it and check for yourself. However, be warned- the name is more impressive than the actual painting which leaves MUCH to be desired). 

I love the vague Oriental cityscape in the background...

This painting has singlehandedly reformed my opinion on Degas. 

A familiar face...

 

New York has been amazing so far... I've been so lucky to do so many amazing things. Amongst those was attending the opening night party for the Duncan Phyfe show at the Met. While stumbling mesmerized around the exhibit, I rounded a corner and made eye contact with the above gentleman, John Laurence Manning. I quickly realized that I knew him from his South Carolina plantation, Milford, now owned by Dick Jenrette. A number of Duncan Phyfe pieces original to Milford were included in the show as part of illustrating Phyfe's later exploration of Gothic and French restoration motifs.

I loved everything, specifically Phyfe's pieces from the 1820s and 30s... here are some of my favorites

 

A sampling of Phyfe consoles... it's hard to choose a favorite, but those ebonized and gilt griffins are particularly amazing.

 

A deconstructed example illustating how Phyfe used bolts from beds to attach the legs of the console. I really enjoyed the simplicity and honesty of this piece... and the antique mirror was pretty great too.

 

This table takes it... original finish, a stained marble top... what more could a boy ask for? When the exhibition is over this piece can definitely find refuge in my apartment. 

To Die For

 A Tula center table made of steel, silver, ormolu, wood, and mirror plate, circa 1780

Could this be more fabulous?

Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Visible Storage

Well I'm finally back after a long, productive week in New York. While I'm there I always go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, specifically to view the American Wing. While the American Art and Sculpture Gallery has remained under renovations for what seems like decades, the period rooms remain on view along with my favorite part of the Met, the Visible Storage Gallery.

Can you imagine a more bizarre piece of furniture? The mere idea of this ridiculous, but I love it... however, I would definitely ditch that crimson velvet immediately...

 

This chair and I are currently in the midst of a passionate love affair, hooves and all. I love EVERYTHING about it... the worn finish, threadbare champagne colored silk,  and the touch of vermilion.

 

And then a pattern of interest started to emerge...

and again...

and again... 

 

I can't help it... 

if there's one decorative style that speaks to me the most it's American Empire. It's robust, refined, and can sometimes be a little awkward. I'm thinking the curator of American Furniture should start a little adoption program of sorts... I would gladly foster any of these wonderful pieces, or even provide them with a permanent home. 

Obsession: Papier Mache

I'm currently in love with the complete exuberance and ridiculousness of Victorian papier mache decorative arts and furniture. Black lacquer, gilt, and mother of pearl... could it get any more sybaritic? I don't think so. 

 

I love everything about this papier mache desk blotter... particularly the gilt tendrils of foliage.  I don't do too much blotting... but I have a feeling I'd do a little bit more if I owned this...

 

 A papier mache sarcophagus shaped tea caddy, English, circa 1860, from 1stDibs...

 

An English lacquered, gilt, papier mache, and mother-of-pearl side chair from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art... 

I recently saw a chair extremely similar to this at an antiques store... I may have to make a trip back to bring her home...  

 

A more typical example of a Victorian papier mache chair via 1stDibs...

I'm dying over the simplicity of the back... I'd love a set of dining room chairs that were just like this, except with a plain black front and this spectacular back.

 

 A pair of Victorian papier mache pole screens with Chinoiserie scenes, sold at Christie's...

I'm not sure how these were initially used, but I think they're beautiful just as sculptures...

 

An English Victorian papier mache tray which illustrates a more restrained aesthetic...

 

A fantastically sculptural English etagere from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art...

and finally perhaps the most exuberant of all papier mache creations...

 

a ridiculous Napoleon III salon suite, circa 1850. This set, which sold for almost 16,000 at Christie's, contained a center table, canape, a pair of bergeres, four side chairs, and a pair of footstools. 

Although I would NEVER want more two or three pieces of papier mache furniture in one room, I would love to have seen this in its original setting...

like a tacky, lacquered, gilt, and mother-of-pearl-ed train wreck, I know I wouldn't have been able to look away.