The Mackintosh Effect On Arts & Crafts  by Francine Proulx It is only in recent years that Mackintosh’s place in design history, particularly his influence on American Arts & Crafts, has been recognized. His artistic sensibility created an individual style combining the ebonized wood and Asian influence of Aestheticism with the Arts & Crafts simplicity of form and the organic flow of Art Nouveau in a unique way, laying the foundation for the Modern Movement. >> Read the full article...		9/1/2004
		British & American Ceramics  by Adele Kenny In the field of ceramics, rapidly developing mass production methods made quicker and more cost-efficient manufacture possible, thus expanding market potentials. In the vanguard of British Arts and Crafts firms that produced ceramics was Marshall, Faulkner & Co., established in 1861 by William Morris in partnership with Edward Burne-Jones, Dante Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown, Philip Webb, Charles Faulkner, and P.P. Marshall.  >> Read the full article...		9/1/2004
		Moroccan Jewish Art & Culture   by N.R. Reitano Traveling through 11th century Morocco an Arab geographer, al-Bakri, recorded a proverb of the Maghreb people: “Fez is a town without people.” This disquieting expression imagines the overshadowing of Muslims by a growing Jewish population, one whose commercial success and ties to distant parts of the world might threaten the economic interests as well as the cultural and religious integrity of their Muslim neighbors. >> Read the full article...		8/1/2004
		Moroccan Furniture:A Multitude of Styles  by Todd Sigety Moroccan furniture and interior décor consists primarily of Moorish and Turkish designs such as ottomans, couches, bolsters and decorative pillows and throws as well as French-inspired furniture reflecting many periods and styles.  >> Read the full article...		8/1/2004
		French Provincial Furniture  by Todd Sigety Over the centuries, French furniture has taken on many styles and forms, usually with Paris setting the particular design trends, forms and aesthetics. French provincial furniture design encompasses a wide range of periods and styles. Much French provincial furniture is in the Louis XV style, yet there is much more to French provincial aesthetic and style. >> Read the full article...		7/1/2004
		Starting With Nothing   by Veronica Moriarty Lace-making developed from the earlier needlework techniques of cutwork, darned netting, drawn-thread work, and reticella. These techniques are all, essentially, a form of embroidery supported by the threads of a woven fabric. France had been a smaller-time player in the international lace manufacturing, but in 1665 Louis XIV and his minister Colbert changed all that. >> Read the full article...		7/1/2004
		Provence: A Natural Paradise Etched By The Wind  by Rosanne Pellicane History and nature have left their indelible mark on this unique portion of geography known as Provence. Wild, romantic and untamed, its landscape was painted majestically by nature in its most primitive style. In Provence, furniture reflected a certain simplicity and sophistication very much like the terrain that distinguished the region. Plain pieces, well proportioned and made of clear woods such as pine with a scrubbed or oiled finish, are commonly found. >> Read the full article...		7/1/2004
		Venice And Beyond  by Todd Sigety The city of Venice has always been rich in the history of decorative arts. Furniture was no exception, with some fantastic pieces of painted furniture designed and crafted within the city. >> Read the full article...		6/1/2004
		Umbria: The Green Heart Of Italy  by Adele Kenny Apart from breathtaking panoramas, places of historical and religious interest, museums, and theaters, Umbria is known for its music and art festivals. Just before the beginning of Lent, Carnival celebrations in the region include parades complete with chariots and masks—an impressive sight along the streets of the medieval towns. >> Read the full article...		6/1/2004
		Coalbrookdale: Innovation in Iron  by Todd W. Sigety Located in Coalbrookdale, England and founded in 1709 by Abraham Darby (1678-1717), the Coalbrookdale Company has been an innovative force in commercial and consumer iron manufacture for close to three centuries. In 1709, Darby choose Coalbrookdale because of the natural resources available in the area for manufacturing iron, which included coal, limestone and clay.  >> Read the full article...		4/1/2004
		Anglo Indian Furniture  by Todd W. Sigety Queen Elizabeth I chartered the East India Trade Company in the year 1600. The company’s original and primary objective was to establish trade routes to and with Asia. In this regard, the East India Trade Company was established for economic reasons as opposed to an interest in gaining additional colonial territories >> Read the full article...		3/1/2004
		The Art of Japan: Three Periods 14-17th Centuries  by B. Kauffman The Kamakura period was marked by a gradual shift in power from the nobility to landowning military men in the provinces. This era was a time of dramatic transformation in the politics, society, and culture of Japan. The bakufu, or government by warrior chieftains (shogun) or their regents, controlled the country from their base in Kamakura, near modern Tokyo. >> Read the full article...		3/1/2004
		Chinoiserie Furniture  by Todd W. Sigety The term chinoiserie typically defines a western decorative arts interpretation of oriental styles, designs, motifs and ornamental techniques influenced by Asian decorative arts and culture. Chinoiserie design was most prominently influenced by China, but also included Japanese elements and, to a lesser extent, Indian influences. Thomas Chippendale was greatly influenced by the orient in general, and specifically by China. >> Read the full article...		2/1/2004
		Romanticism: The Great Escape  by Adele Kenny Romanticism is most closely associated with an artistic, philosophical, religious, and political movement of the late eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth. As much as it was a movement, it was also, perhaps more specifically, an attitude or intellectual orientation that may be viewed as a rejection of the formal orthodoxy – the order, harmony, balance, and idealization – typical of Classicism, particularly 18th century Neoclassicism. >> Read the full article...		2/1/2004
		Early American Pewter  by Barbara Aoki Poisson During the colonial period, most people couldn’t afford pricey silver wares, which cost about ten times more than pewter. However, pewter was still expensive; the price of one dish or tankard often equaled or exceeded what a skilled tradesman earned for a day’s work. The very poor were forced to rely on wooden utensils and humble pewter was quickly elevated to a symbol of gentility, much in the same way that silver was esteemed in Europe. A colonial home that boasted a “garnish of pewter” (a twelve-piece set of plates, dishes and chargers) was fortunate indee. >> Read the full article...		1/1/2004
		Lighting Up America  by Veronica Moriarty The design of oil lamps had remained virtually unchanged for 2,000 years until 1784 when the Swiss physicist, Ami Argand, came up with one of the most important breakthroughs in the history of lighting – the Argand Burner. The Argand Burner consisted of two concentric metal tubes, between which passed a circular wick.  >> Read the full article...		1/1/2004
		Southern Furniture  by Todd W. Sigety When considering the connoisseurship of American colonial period furniture, the geographic regions that first come to mind are Philadelphia, Boston, and Newport, Rhode Island. But colonial period furniture from the south? Until recently, nothing made below the Mason-Dixon Line was taken seriously. Now, however, collectors, conservators, connoisseurs, and antiquarians agree that the scholarship of American colonial furniture is incomplete without an examination of southern antiquities and decorative arts. >> Read the full article...		1/1/2004
		Chinese Export Porcelains   by Neil Greco The development of export porcelains from China originated with early sea trade to the West dating back to the early 16th century. From Macao, established in the early 1500s by the Portuguese as one of the first European ports in China, organized trade rapidly increased in the main trading center of Canton (or Quandong), growing to include merchants from Holland, Sweden, France, England and ultimately the United States. >> Read the full article...		1/1/2004