Although having an acclaimed name within American decorative arts history, Duncan Phyfe furniture is extremely rare to behold. So, for an antique furniture appraisal, setting eyes upon a piece of Phyfe furniture would be like discovering the holy grail of American antique furniture! Scotting-born Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854) was the most sought-after furniture maker in the United States during the ... Read More
Dolls for Days – Part 1: Doll Basics
June 6, 2019 Michelle Miller
The second Saturday in June is World Doll Day, so let's celebrate with some history about antique and collectible dolls from around the world! Check back all month for parts 2 and 3! First, an important note before we begin- how do you know what type of doll you even have? With a variety of materials - from porcelain to plastic, composite to cloth, papier-mâché to leather, and celluloid to ... Read More
APRIL SHOWERS BRING LIMOGES FLOWERS
May 7, 2019 Michelle Miller
How To Ensure A Porcelain Piece Is A True Limoges Limoges...what is it? Those porcelain dinnerware sets, trinkets boxes, and tea sets adorned with fluffy, pink, cabbage-style roses, tend to be categorized as examples of the "Limoges" porcelain. Limoges, however, is not a company, but rather a term which has come to encompass a variety of porcelain pieces produced in a specific area. Limoges ... Read More
Antique French Mantel Clocks
April 4, 2019
Tick-tock! Spring has sprung! What better way to welcome the arrival of springtime than with an antique French mantel clock! And with a color palette of gold, turquoise, Robin's egg blue, pistachio-green, cotton-candy pink and malachite green, the design and decoration of 17th, 18th, and 19th-century French mantel clocks incorporate all the trappings of spring. You're probably most familiar ... Read More
A Glass Garden of Antique Perfume Bottles
February 11, 2019 Michelle Miller
For this Valentine's Day, imagine if your beautiful bouquet of roses could stay that lovely and colorful forever. Well, an antique or vintage perfume bottle may be the perfect answer! Glass perfume bottles come in a rainbow of colors, sizes, and designs, making them a delight to collect! Imagine this assortment of candy-colored glass bottles: cotton-candy pink teardrop shaped ones, ... Read More
Rookwood Pottery: An American Heritage
January 11, 2019 Michelle Miller
Rookwood pottery was one of the most illustrious American pottery manufacturers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Winning awards at several international exhibitions and world's fairs, such as the 1893 Columbian Exposition of Chicago and the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, Rookwood pottery also garnered international acclaim. Pottery as an art form blossomed during the ... Read More
Appraisal Daze: Identifying Your Antiques
August 30, 2018 by Michelle Miller & Carrie Gough
Given the never fading popularity of the PBS hit Antiques Roadshow, we increasingly hear the question "Where can I get my antiques appraised?" "How can I appraise my antiques" You've probably seen at least one episode of the PBS hit show "Antiques Roadshow." With art appraisers excitedly waiting at the helm, people line up in droves to discover more about their beloved antique items or ... Read More
A Quilted History: America and Its Sewn Collections
July 10, 2018 by Michelle Miller
When you think about American collectibles and antiques, cars, rock-n-roll memorabilia, presidential campaign paraphernalia, and Civil War relics are a few things that come to mind. Quilts, however, especially patchwork ones, are an overlooked category, but one that has become recognized as a distinctly and uniquely American form of art. Throughout American history, women were in charge of ... Read More
Gowns and Crowns: Preserving Family Heirlooms
June 5, 2018 by Michelle Miller
With most weddings, bouquets of flowers, cascades of ivy and billowing yards of white chiffon, satin, and taffeta are traditional ingredients to creating that magical day. A royal wedding, too, is a floral and frothy wonderland of decoration and dress. A royal wedding, however, especially the marriage between a prince and princess, features a unique glittering guest: the tiara. This past May, ... Read More
Is It Really An Antique?
May 31, 2018 by Michelle Miller
Maybe a piece of furniture has been passed down in your family throughout the years - a grandmother's charming writing desk, for example, or an heirloom cedar chest. Or maybe you're going to a flea marketing hoping to find that perfect exquisitely carve antique French parlor chair. These pieces definitely look, well, old (like they've seen better times), but the question becomes "is it really ... Read More
