Any medieval household in England would have possessed at least one antique chest. Large houses would have had many. They were used mainly for storage of linen, clothes and documents. Some functioned as strong boxes to store…
Antique Pictures
Antique pictures created by humans date from pre-history, some cave examples date from 40,000 BC. Probably most at that time were associated with tribal rituals. Few early paintings survive, some for example on Roman murals…
Objets d’Art / Vertu
Objets d’Art can also come under the general heading of curio, ephemera or (objets de) Vertu. This word is from the French for ‘virtue’ carrying the meaning of ‘merit’. www.objetsdevertu.tumblr.com/ Origins of the Terminology…
History of the Plague, The Crossrail find and the Plague Pan
As an antique dealer I am most interested in history including the history of the plague. One of the rarest items in my collection is a steel handled plague pan with a hinged, perforated lid.…
Antique Clocks History
Antique clocks history The earliest antique clocks for measuring time would have been water clocks and sundials. These were replaced later with such inventions as calibrated wax candles and the ‘hourglass’. These in turn were to…
Antique Mirrors – A brief history
Man has always been fascinated by his own reflection. The earliest forms of antique mirrors were fashioned out of polished surfaces and mysterious black obsidian used ritually around 4000 BC. The Chinese developed polished bronze mirror…
Earliest recorded gaming tables
Backgammon was first recorded as a ‘table game’ some 3000 BC in Persia. Later games tables and backgammon spread to Egypt, Mesopotamia, Rome and China in various guises. In medieval Europe the first ‘gaming tables’ appear in the…
Bizarre cures for the Black Death
The Plague or Black Death was first recorded in England in the mid 14th century. There was little contemporary medical understanding of the disease which resulted in many obscure and bizarre suggestions as remedies. The…
The evolution of the writing desk in England
Before William Caxton’s (1420-1492) Printing Press appeared in England, purpose-made furniture directly associated with writing was virtually unknown. Writing was undertaken on a raised surface, simple table or lap, and confined mainly to ecclesiastical subjects…
Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California, USA.
Hearst CastleWhile completing a furnishing project in southern California recently, I took time out to visit Hearst Castle. I had been working for a customer in Los Angeles on a project which was a loose…
