Portrait of a French antique hunter: Maurice Ravel
Portrait of a French antique hunter : Maurice Ravel
A glimpse into the private world of Maurice Ravel, composer and collector extraordinaire
How the SAM shaped French design
The Salon des Arts Ménagers – SAM for short – was France’s own “Ideal Homes” Exhibition. From 1926 to 1983, with a gap during WWII, it influenced popular French home design and aspirations like no other event.
Dragons and pagodas from Bordeaux
Dragons and pagodas – Johnston et Vieillard Bordeaux This Johnston et Vieillard porcelain dinnerware is a survivor from the days when ladies wore crinolines, and dinner tables groaned under the weight of china, crystal, silverware and delicacies. It’s from the ‘Tonkin’ service, and was made in the 1850s, during the Second Empire. It’s beautifully…
Aluminite Frugier porcelain two’s company
Two’s company … Chilly days call for chocolate chaud – especially when it’s served in something as pretty as this French vintage Aluminite Frugier porcelain breakfast pot from the 1920s/30s. It’s ideal for two people, or just for treating yourself. (Qui peut le plus, peut le moins*, as the French saying goes). Rescued from decades…
Where do antique dealers buy their ‘stuff’?
Where do French antique dealers buy their objects? “Where do you find your stuff?” It’s a question I get asked quite often. Even seasoned chineurs* can’t resist asking. So here’s a peek inside the French antiques circuit. French auction houses In France, auction houses are called “salles de vente”. The grand old dame of Paris…
Loys Lucha, flowers for every season
Loys Lucha, where flowers bloomed all year round This luxury Art Deco Loys Lucha light first adorned a room in a fashionable Parisian home. Its original owner, Madame X, went to the Loys Lucha boutique to choose it in person, before sallying off to Angelina’s for tea and patisseries. Visiting the Loys Lucha light showroom around…
Foxy cocktails with Benjamin Rabier
Foxy cocktails Stylish barware from the age of Art Deco Who could resist the this dapper fox, with his paw on his breast, as he prepares to charm the cheese from the crow’s beak? This French Art Deco cocktail stick set perfectly captures the humour of one of my favourite fables by La Fontaine…