Shirvan is an area sitting just south of the Caucasus range of mountains, between Gendje to the west and the Baku peninsula to the east. While this is a Shirvan rug, it features a thick pile and a pattern found in in kilim weaves. Unique rug with striking depth and color. Purchased from the reputable…
Resisting the usual. Since 2008.
By Chris Birt
Sigma 85mm/1.4. The Ideal Instrument.
If you want good pictures of beautiful things, it pays to buy the best. If you would like the finest portrait lens in the world for price on your full frame Sony (e-mount only) this is the one. The Art Series 1.4 makes work look wonderful. Click to view full frame.
Stick Barometer (better picture in post)
A stick barmoter from F. Motlon of Norwich, circa 1720. I had two of these but one broke and spilled mercury all over the floor. Hazmat crew came into house and it looked like a scene from Sci-Fi movie.
Johnathan Livingston Podcast?
While it was published before many of my listeners were alive, Johnathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach was considered a transcendent meditation on life safe enough for the masses during the 1970s. It was “touchy feely” at its finest. I personally found the book more accessible than another work in the same genre’ around that time…
Gold 1 Panel Tall Screen. Japan. Circa 1735.
This tall, vertically oriented screen is hand painted on silk. The contrast of white and gold is highly pronounced and quite striking. This was the last important acquisition of my Mother, Ann Birt, before she left her position at Michael Dunn Antiques in Tokyo and moved back to the United States. Dimensions: 154 cm x 84 cm.
Long-Case Clock. Plowman of Chichester. Circa 1830
A delightful mahogany long-case clock by Plowman of Chichester manufactured in 1831. This clock features an eight-day train movement. Purchased John and Monica Sands, noted clock merchants located in in Glouchester, Scotland. Imported to United States in 1989. Movement strikes the hours on a bell. Cabinet maker appears to be Thomas Tate. Fully restored. Dimensions: 208 cm x…
Bell Strike Mantel Clock. Comitti of London.
Bell strike mantel clock in in hand polished mahogany case with curl veneer, fan marquetry and satinwood edgeline. This piece comes with an enamel finish dial, delicate period hands and convex glass and laquered solid brass furniture. First created by Onorato Comitti in 1852, this beautiful period piece has been manufactured to this day by…
Looking Glass with Eglomise Panel. American. Circa 1810.
This is a small federal looking glass by John Kidder (circa 1810). Mr. Kidder, along with his partner Joseph Carter, produced mirrors that remain in private collections throughout the Northeast. This gilded pine and glass mirror is in a fine state of preservation. Dimensions: 21.5 in high.
Sumi-e Prints. Japan. 1920.
I recently photographed some lovely Sumi-e prints that my Mother had purchased 40 years ago. This technique, which can be self-taught, is very common in Zen art. Click on any of the images and they should appear in their own window for easy clipping. It is really hard to photograph art but these lent themselves…
Charles Curtis Allen. American. Circa 1940.
” Hills In New Hampshire” an oil painted sometime in the early 1940s by Charles Curtis Allen. This pristine painting is mounted on a carved gilded frame. Stamped on back with Artists label. Dimensions: 12 in x 16 in. Considered a master of “plein air” painting, Allen applied rich direct strokes to his Impressionist paintings that conveyed…