Mastery of Design: The DEAREST Bird, c. 1830

This and all related images
from The British Museum

Click to enlarge.

From The British Museum's Hull-Grundy Collection, this two-color gold comb was made around 1830 in Britain.  The comb is designed in the form of a leafy branch upon which is perched a bird with a ruby eye.  She carries a ring in her beak and is mounted on a trembler spring to give her movement.

The twig, at the central crest is set with a diamond, an emerald, an amethyst, a ruby, an emerald, a sapphire and a turquoise, which, as we know, in the language of jewels spells "DEAREST."  Gold foliage and turquoise-set forget-me-nots adorn the rest of the branch.

This is one in a collection of bird-themed romantic jewelry amassed by the Hull-Grundy family, itself a part of a fantastic parure.

Click images to "embiggen."

Treat of the Week: Food-a-polooza

This week, we'll be looking not just at this past Sunday's treat from my mother's kitchen, but also, our celebration of American Labor Day, the week before!

Let's begin with Labor Day.  Or, actually, the say before.

While my father and I assisted in our own clumsy way, my mother really was taking the idea of Labor Day and turning it on its head.  See, this is supposed to be a day of rest.  But, no, there was no rest for my mother as she prepared this glorious feast of grilled chicken with buttermilk gravy, brown rice seasoned with homemade pesto, fresh corn-on-the-cob and a remarkably good salad of broccoli, tomatoes and chick peas!  Hooray for the chick pea!

As if this wasn't enough, the meal was followed by one of my favorite desserts.  Profiteroles!

A profiterole, known in the U.S. as a cream puff, or, in France as a “choux à la crème,” is a delicious pastry shell filled with rich French pastry cream. The shell of the cream puff is formed from choux paste which is piped onto a baking sheet and then puffed during the baking process. Choux paste (Pâte à choux) is the term given to a type of pastry dough which contains butter, water, flour and eggs and puffs due to its high moisture content as opposed to a rising agent such as yeast. This process has been employed by bakers since the mid Sixteenth Century.

The hollow pastry balls are filled with pastry cream (sometimes whipped cream, ice cream or even a savory Pâte can be used). The profiterole can be topped with a glaze of chocolate or caramel, powdered sugar, fruit or other frostings. When a group of profiteroles is assembled into a pièce montée, it is called a croquembouche. Croquembouches are often served at weddings and on Christmas in France.

As you can see, a thick topping of chocolate ganache made these all the more delectable.

The following day, Labor Day proper, was not as labor-intensive, but still very tasty.  Hamburgers, homemade guacamole and roasted potatoes were the star.  And, the chick pea salad made a reappearance.  Thankfully, so did the cream puffs!

I think that was a grand way to spend Labor Day weekend, and I know Bertie and I appreciated it quite a lot.

The following weekend was just as festive, but for no particular reason other than a good meal to share.  

As regular readers know, as a good Italian boy, I am partial to my mother's tomato sauce, but that's because it's the best.  Her homemade sauce and meatballs on a bed of farfalle was just what I needed to brighten up the week.  Meanwhile, a mouth-watering salad of mozzarella, tomato and avocado was the ideal co-star.

Since the heat of summer is unrelenting, we cooled off with hand-made lemon ice cream adorned with macerated strawberries and lemon zest.   A new cookie recipe debuted as well. I'm a fan of ginger cookies and my father discovered a new preparation.  That's where his involvement ended.  My mother whipped up a batch of these soft, caky cookies, alive with the flavor of ginger and given beauty and a little extra crunch with colorful sugar.

Figure of the Day: A Meissen Shepherd, c. 1750

Hard-paste Porcelain Figure
Meissen, c. 1750
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This Meissen figure was modeled by my preferred Eighteenth-Century, German porcelain guy, Johann Joachim Kändler, (1706 -1775). We’ve looked at several idealized depictions of shepherds and shepherdesses, like this one, which were made by Meissen during the 1750s. The fashion spread from France and Germany to Britain. While the French, and, sometimes the Germans, would, as we know, display these figure groups on a dining table as an amusement during the dessert course, the British, on the whole, preferred to use them as decorative objects in parlors and salons.

In Germany, these sorts of figures replaced figures which, from medieval times to the early Eighteenth Century, were made of sugar paste and wax. Originally, the figures would denote political and social allegiances or family milestones, but by the time they had begun to be made in the more permanent medium of porcelain, the depictions were largely decorative. 

It’s possible this figure was among a large lot of Meissen porcelain which had been smuggled into England around 1750. Before 1775, continental porcelain could only be imported if it was for personal use, and not for resale. Much porcelain from Germany was imported illegally, stated as for personal use, but, then re-sold. The figure seems to have been made for export to Britain. The shepherd is, after all, playing bagpipes and the enamel colors of puce, pale yellow and sea-green are certainly those which were most popular in Britain at the time.

Not surprisingly, he's part of a group of other bag-pipe wielding shepherds.   I'm not sure how many there are.

Painting of the Day: The Dining Room at No.3 The Close, Winchester, 1900

The Dining Room at No. 3, The Close, Winchester
Beatrice Olive Corfe, 1900
Watercolor
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Pride in our homes and places of business is not a new phenomenon. For centuries, individuals have worked to create decorating schemes which were not only fashionable, but also a means of conveying personal tastes and sensibilities. Today, when we decorate a home or office, we take photos and post them online for all to see. Before photography was widely available to most people, proud owners of newly appointed homes and businesses would often commission paintings to record their visual triumph. Very often, these paintings were rendered in watercolor.


This beautiful watercolor dates to 1900. This is one of four drawings recording the interiors of the house of Canon A.S. Valpy and his wife. Their home was a late 17th-century house in the Cathedral close (“close” at this time could refer to the land next to a cathedral or an estate near an abbey or cathedral) at Winchester.

Here, we see the dining room which is an early example of the then-growing taste for decorating with antiques which is still fashionable and elegant today. The Valpys have mixed Eighteenth-century style furniture with more contemporary design, such as the casual chairs under fabric covers, all displayed proudly on a splendid vividly-colored rug. The brilliant color scheme of the early Twentieth Century combined with the gentle lines of the Eighteenth Century furniture make for a unique and lavish interior which, frankly, would be as stylish now as it was over a century ago.

The artist was called Beatrice Olive Corfe. Sadly, we don’t know much about her except that she lived in Winchester when these watercolors were painted. Her name appears on a variety of architectural subjects.

Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square will continue on Wednesday

Hello all,

It's shaped up to be a very busy day, so, we'll pick up with the activities at the wedding reception of Gamilla and Gerard on Wednesday.  Allow me to tease you with this...

PARTY CRASHER.


See you Wednesday.  Until, then, let's carry on with our Food-a-palooza.  Meanwhile, be forewarned that tomorrow may or may not have regular posting.

The Home Beautiful: A Silver Cheese Stand, 1760

Silver Cheese Stand
England, 1760
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the Eighteenth Century, cheese wasn’t just a sandwich’s best friend, it was a course all of it’s own. Actually, it still is—sometimes. But, cheese seems to have lost it’s important role in the culture of food. This dairy product enjoyed a period where it was treated with great respect.

Here’s an example of the care with which cheese was handled. Here, we see, a silver cheese stand or plate which would have been used to serve a large, whole cheese. The cheese would have been placed on the dining table towards the end of the meal, before or in place of the dessert. The cradle shape of this silver vessel held the circular cheese upright as it rested on its side. Cheese plates in silver are very rare as they were usually constructed in wood. In fact, this is one of only four similar plates that have ever been discovered.

This lovely plate of pierced and engraved silver was ordered by Brownlow Cecil, 9th Earl of Exeter (1725-1793), from the London goldsmiths Parker and Wakelin. The cheese plate cost the Earl £37 7s 6d; the engraving of his coat of arms, crests and coronets was an extra 15 shillings. That’s a lot of cheese.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Section of the Portières des Dieux, 1740-1760

Tapestry Panel
Gobelins, 1740-1760
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The famed Portières des Dieux series, designed by Claude Audran III (1658-1734) was made by the French royal tapestry manufactory, the Gobelins. The celebrated series of woven silk and wool panels depicts the four seasons and the four elements. So popular was the series that it was rewoven numerous times between 1700 and 1789.

This panel depicts Saturn, the God of agriculture who was often employed as an allegory for winter. Saturn’s feast—Saturnalia—was celebrated during the month of December, and, in fact, many of the traditions associated with Saturnalia have been borrowed for Christmas.

Here, Saturn is shown, seated in profile. He holds his attribute, the scythe of the harvest. From beneath, two putti come forth from clouds, blowing the first snows of winter. The group is framed by foliate, fruit-bearing garlands and arabesques.

Pierre-François Cozette (1714-1801) served as the maker of this original panel for Gobelins between 1740 and 1760. Claude Audran III (1658 -1734) was the designer. The entire series also includes scenes of Diana, Neptune, Jupiter, Bacchus, Venus, Ceres and Juno, each with his or her respective attributes.