World Antiques

Fülszöveg

WORLD ANTIQUES

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1' ¦ J: 1

Jerome K.Jerome, writing in 1889, speculated on the possible value of the ordinary artefacts of his own age to a future generation. The "sampler" thatthe eldest daughter did at school will be spoken of as "tapestry of the Victorian era" and be almost priceless. The blue-and-white mugs of the present-day roadside inn will be hunted up, all cracked and chipped, and sold fortheir weight in gold ' (Three Men in a Boat). This humorous prediction has now largely come true. Although the prices of such items are not quite so inflated, we do indeed admire the arts of the past, both major and minor, valuing them not only for the skill and care that went into their making, but also for the light they throw on lives and customs so different from our own. Few people today have time or inclination to produce anything to match the elaborate embroideries worked by Renaissance ladies, or even the intriguing compositions of shells and flowers beloved of... Tovább

Fülszöveg

WORLD ANTIQUES

i.' I -i


1' ¦ J: 1

Jerome K.Jerome, writing in 1889, speculated on the possible value of the ordinary artefacts of his own age to a future generation. The "sampler" thatthe eldest daughter did at school will be spoken of as "tapestry of the Victorian era" and be almost priceless. The blue-and-white mugs of the present-day roadside inn will be hunted up, all cracked and chipped, and sold fortheir weight in gold ' (Three Men in a Boat). This humorous prediction has now largely come true. Although the prices of such items are not quite so inflated, we do indeed admire the arts of the past, both major and minor, valuing them not only for the skill and care that went into their making, but also for the light they throw on lives and customs so different from our own. Few people today have time or inclination to produce anything to match the elaborate embroideries worked by Renaissance ladies, or even the intriguing compositions of shells and flowers beloved of Victorian wives and daughters. We furnish our homes with mass-produced products, and although some are well-designed and carefully made, they cannot call forth the same admiration as the superb inlaid and lacquered furniture of earlier times, the exquisitely modelled porcelain figures of 1 Bth-century Germany, or the exuberant hand-blown glass of the 17th-century Venetians.
Thus we are not sentimental to look to the past, but realistic to learn all we can about it. This book, a comprehensive guide to all the major categories of antiques from the Gothic period to the 20th century, is a valuable source of information - for the collector, the would-be collector, or simply the interested person. It is arranged thematically, with main chapters on the principal branches of the decorative arts-furniture, ceramics, gold and silver glass, jewellery-and shorter sections on such topics as textiles, arms and armour clocks and watches. There are also several special articles on subjects of particular interest to the practising collector: these include scientific instruments, toys, chess sets and 'Victoriana' of all kinds. The book opens with an essay on the development of the decorative styles through the centuries, and closes with a chapter describing the objects designed in our own age - the antiques of tomorrow. Vissza