April 2015 - Ceramics and Pottery Arts and Resources

Monthly Archives: April 2015

Relief art Egypt

April 29, 2015

Egyptian wall paintings and relief art

Amenhotep III Representation at Karnak Temple Complex, Luxor

The extent to which the ancient history of Egypt was recorded by their artists is remarkable. Ancient Egyptian art displays a vivid representation of the Egyptian’s lifestyle, spiritual rituals and belief systems. The artists weren’t concerned with representing the world with any realism or having a sense of depth in their art. The Egyptian art was primarily concerned, above all, with ensuring the continuity of the universe, the gods, the king and the people.The artists therefore depicted things not as they saw them but as idealized symbols intended to be more significant and enduring than was otherwise possible in the real world.

Many of the fundamentals of Egyptian art were established at the very beginning of Egyptian history and changed little over time. Subject matter also remained relatively unchanged over long periods of time. However, Egyptian art did not remain completely static over the three thousand years of pharaonic history. Despite the limited repertory of subject matter, Egyptian artists valued variation and avoided producing exact copies of the same forms. Essentially though the human figure was a composite with the face, limbs, waist and buttocks shown in profile, while the chest and shoulders were in full view facing the viewer as were one eye and an eyebrow.

Pillar relief – Kom Ombo Temple

The temple religious ceremonies were accurately depicted in their art ensuring their preservation in the future and reinforcing the recollection of royal deeds. Art portrayals of offering gifts were an act of reverence to their Gods, an affirmation of abundance and it also meant these items would be available in the next world. The images of protective deities found in houses, palaces and temples were created as powerful shields against the malign forces of the universe.
Great emphasis was placed on decorating tomb walls with reliefs or painted scenes to ensure the perpetuation of life and tradition. Symbolism had an important role in their art, ranging from the pharaoh’s regalia (symbolizing his power to maintain order) to the individual symbols of Egyptian gods and goddesses. The highly symbolic hieroglyphics with more then 700 symbols was omnipresent in their art, appearing on both statues and wall reliefs.The hieroglyphic texts within any scene typically formed an integral part of the whole composition.

Most of the walls of the temples and palaces were decorated with art, either painted on a flat surface or employing sculptured relief. This could have been a raised relief where the background was cut away or a sunken relief where the figures were cut back to be lower then the background which was more suitable in bright light. The more important artworks featured sculptured reliefs. Egyptian art used hierarchical proportion, where the size of figures indicated their relative importance.The ultimate destination for Ancient Egyptians was the ‘great garden’, the Elysian fields of Osiris. Images of the god Osiris were popular and added to tomb walls, either painted or carved, to invoke the protective and guiding spirit of Osiris. All the Egyptian Gods had consistent representation and carving their Gods into the living rock of the tomb gave it a tangible form which became an object, where it was believed the deities could manifest a presence.

The entry to the tomb of Pashedu is flanked by spectacular Anubian guardians

17th Dynasty Egyptian Perfume Vessel in the Shape of Two Trussed Ducks-found in upper Egypt(Thebes)

Sunken relief of Thoth – Luxor temple

photo – John Bodsworth

Part of the Book of the Dead from the tomb of a scribe called Nebqed from the 18th Dynasty. The whole papyrus is over 6 metres long.

Louvre, Paris

A column with the face of Hathor. From the ruins of the temple of Bastet at Bubastis from the time of Osorkon II

Louvre Museum

Lamenting Women, from the tomb of Ramose, c. 1411-1375 BCE.

Wikipedia

Wall painting from the tomb of Nebamun showing him standing on a reed boat hunting birds in the papyrus marshes using throwsticks and three decoy herons

18th dynasty c.1390 BC.

Dra Abu el-Naga, West Thebes.

Werner Forman Archive/ British Museum, London

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Offering perfumes and lily flowers wall relief

Temple of Hathor, Dandarah, Egypt

Ancient Egyptian Tomb Art – a feast for Nebamun, showing musicians and dancers, painting from the tomb-chapel of Nebamun, an accountant in the Temple of Amun (Karnak), circa 1350 BC, Ancient Egypt, panel in the British Museum, London WC1. Full-face images are rare in Ancient Egyptian art.

Amenhotep III

Louvre

A wall painting in the tomb of Queen Nefertari. Isis/Hathor leads the queen by the hand.

19th dynasty c.1290-1220 BC. – West Thebes.

Werner Forman Archive

Goddess Seshat – personification of writing

This relief in the Amun temple at Luxor dates from around 1250 BCE and shows Seshat, the goddess of temple geometry and scribal arts, inscribing regnal years for the king on the palm-leaf rib which had long served for tallying up the years and so had become the hieroglyph for “year”.

recoveredscience.com

Ankh gold-sheathed mirror case

Egyptian wall painting in the tomb of Amen-hor-khepeshef. The son of Ramses III wearing the side-lock of youth stands behind the pharaoh.

20th dynasty c.1190-1160 BC. -Valley of the Queens, tomb 85

Werner Forman Archive/ E.Strouhal

A relief commemorating Hatshepsut having frankincense trees planted in the courts of her Deir el Bahari mortuary temple.

Sphinx statue

Although this Sphinx was usurped several times by Pharaohs as late as the 22nd Dynasty it was originally carved for Amenemhat II.

Louvre, Paris

Egyptian Funerary Relief, 18th Dynasty, The Louvre

Goddess Maat with outspread wings and kneeling on a hieroglyphic sign which could signify ‘mourn’, was utilized at the entrance to a number of later New Kingdom royal tombs. 19th Dynasty. Tomb of Siptah. Valley of the Kings. Western Thebes. Egypt

Painting inside the Queens Temple of Abu Simbel of the Goddesse Isis (right) and Hathor (left) blessing-the Queen

guenther-eichhorn.com

Hathor sculpture fragment

Elephantine Island, Egypt

Statue of Horus in falcon form.

Horus was the son of the Great Goddess Isis, conceived by his virgin mother after the death of her brother-husband Osiris

Karomama Meryetmut – Louvre Museum

Wall relief, Knum Temple

Esna, Egypt

Colossus of Tutmosis III – Red granite. New Kingdom

Cairo Egyptian Museum

Painted wood from a coffin depicting the goddess Nut spreading her wings in protection over the deceased.

New Kingdom, 21st or 22nd Dynasty.

Werner Forman Archive/ British Museum, London

Temple of Kom Ombo wall relief

Painting of a winged cobra from the staircase leading to the burial chamber of Queen Nefertari. It is offering protection to a shen sign, symbol of infinity.

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, 1290 – 1254 BC – Western Thebes, valley of the Queens.

Werner Forman Archive.

Egyptian wall painting in the tomb of Queen Nefertari. Osiris, god of the underworld, in his green form.

Pharaonic Period: 19th dynasty c.1290-1220 BC – West Thebes.

Werner Forman Archive

Statue of a seated lion from Nekhen ( Hierakonpolis )

Old Kingdom c.2250 BC.

Werner Forman Archive/ Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

The tomb of Sennedjem. Luxor, Egypt

The Egyptian goddess Hathor, a perfect model of the feminine principle, incarnates the radiant energy of perpetually renewable life. Numerous frescoes, like that of the tomb of Sennedjem, represent the goddess of the sycamore in the tree of life. She pours a vessel of water of life and presents her sacred fruits to the deceased, that they may nourish themselves and thus receive the benefit of eternal life.

Egyptian god, Osiris – First Chamber: Nefertari’s Tomb.

Wall painting – Tomb of Menna

Luxor

Maat or ma’at was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also personified as a goddess regulating the stars, seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the deities.

Osiris on a lapis lazuli pillar in the middle, flanked by Horus on the left, and Isis on the right, 22nd dynasty, Louvre

Huge column reliefs at Nephertiti’s temple—Abu Simbel, Egypt

Roderick MacKenzie-flickr

Tomb of Nakht – 18th Dynasty

Tomb of Pashedu

Located in the necropolis of Deir el-Medina on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes).

Horus the younger

Nefertari Tomb paimting – Valley of the Queens, Egypt

Isis the Winged Goddess between the Apis Bull and a winged lion on the left.

Temple of Kom Ombo

Isis, is represented like this but she has a single feather on her head, which is usually a sign of the Goddess Ma’at

http://guenther-eichhorn.com/

Tjepu, from Thebes, Tomb 181, New Kingdom

Nefertem, god of healing and beauty, symbol of fragrance and the water-lily, son of Ptah and Sekhmet

Walk in the Garden limestone relief of a royal couple in the Armana style;

New Kingdom, 18th dynasty, c. 1335 BCA

Dendera Zodiac – ceiling relief Temple of Hathor

Wall paintings in the Tomb of Horemheb, showing the Goddess Hathor (left) facing the Pharoh and the god Harsiese is on the center right)

18th dynasty c.1330-1305BC – Valley of the Kings, tomb 57.

Quartzite head of king Amenmesse He is wearing the crown of Egypt.

New Kingdom Dynasty

Queen Ahmose Nefertari

Stela of Amenemhat and His Mother Yatu

Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, ca. 1976-1794 BCE

Art Institute of Chicago

The Narmer Palette is one of the earliest historical records from ancient Egypt. It records King Narmer’s victory over Lower Egypt,

A statue of Amenhotep,the Royal Scribe and Chief Steward of Memphis, among the ruins of the temple of Osiris at Abydos

1903

Ancient Egyptian art from the Tomb of Pashedu, showing a procession of Gods. 13th century BC

Deir el-Medina on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes).

Relief of Hathor in the Temple of Horus in Edfu, Egypt

Ra the Sun God.

The Egyptian sun god Ra was said to sail his boat across the sky by day and carry it back through the underworld by night. This depiction of Ra is from the tomb of Nefertari.

Nubian warriors, Medja Temple Relief, Nubia

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Posted in: Creative – 15 Comments

Futurist Fervor

April 23, 2015

Italian Futurism revolution

futurism_meccanica_pannaggi_speeding_train

‘Speeding Train’, Ivo Pannaggi, 1922.

Marcia-su-Roma-Rometti-Italia-C.Cagli---1932 - ovoid vase depicting men riding horsses

‘Marcia su Roma’ – C.Cagli – Rometti Italia

1932

Il-Calciatore-D.Baldelli---1934 - a futurist style plate featuring a soccer player

‘Il-Calciatore’ – D.Baldelli, Rometti

1934

The_Knife_Grinder_Principle_of_Glittering_by_Kazimir-Malevich,-The-Knife-Grinder-(Principle-of-Glittering),-1913,-oil-on-canvas,-79.5-x-79

‘The Knife Grinder’ – (Principle of Glittering) by Kazimir Malevich

Russian Cubo Futurism, 1913

When Aristarkh Lentulov returned from Paris in 1913 and exhibited his works in Moscow, the Russian Futurist painters adopted the forms of Cubism and combined them with the Italian Futurists’ representation of movement.

Aeropittura---Museo-Novecento-Fillia-(Luigi-Colombo)-1932

‘Aeropittura’—Fillia (Luigi-Colombo), 1932

Museo Novecento

Umberto Boccioni Futurist painting, ‘Dynamism of a Soccer Player’ and sculpture ‘Unique Forms of Continuity in Space’

Reconstructing the Universe at the Guggenheim, 2014

futurism-Tullio-Crali-1932-Bombardamento-Aero - bi planes on a bombing raid

‘Bombardamento Aero’ – Tullio Crali

1932

SPEEDING INTO THE FUTURE – Futurist art

Futurism was conceived in a period at the beginning of the twentieth century where there was an unprecedented shift in technology and innovation in pursuit of modernity. This was provoked by the political upheavals at this time and new technological advances in communication, travel and mass production, all adding to the perception of increased speed.. The avant garde, futurist movement began in Italy with grandiose aspirations of shaking Italy out of its cultural malaise, which had hardly changed from the classical era of 16th century, to embrace a new modernism. This was all stirred by the launch in 1909 of the Futurist Manifesto by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.
The Futurist movement celebrated the dawning of a new world featuring themes of motion, speed and technology, by eagerly embracing new interpretations of sculpture, painting, music, architecture, ceramics and fashion with rampant colours and explosive energy. The reality of this quickly changing world was to be expressed by an omnipresent dynamism. Even gastronomy, poetry and graphic design were given attention. Just as Art Nouveau had made a deliberate break away from classical art, Futurism went to another level in renouncing the classical romanticism and replacing it with an audacious social and artistic revolution in culture and urbanism.

The early Futurist artists that took up the cause were Carlo Carrà, Umberto Boccioni and Luigi Russolo and Gino Severini. Settimio Rometti, founder of Rometti Ceramiche, was also one of the first in Italy to break away from the figurative style of the late Renaissance and Art Nouveau traditions and take up the innovative ideas of the avant garde in international art and design, created by such artists as Corrado Cagli, Dante Baldelli, Mario Di Giacomo, Giacomo Balla, and Fortunato Depero. By 1912 the Futurist movement already had considerable momentum and when Italian Fascism gathered pace in 1921, the artists had already escaped into the future with their art.

Fortunato Depero

In 1910, the father of Futurism, Filippo Marinetti, in an act of cultural radicalism, had dropped leaflets from the Campanile in Saint Mark’s Square in Venice, calling for the city’s canals to be filled with the rubble of its palaces, to herald in a new era of artistic innovation and military and economic renewal in the Adriatic region. The futurists released many ambitious Manifestos designed to draw passionate attention to their cause and provoke a cultural shift. The second Futurist manifesto of 1910 proclaimed: “Everything is in movement, everything rushes forward, everything is in constant change.” Their fervor for revitalizing the Italian spirit through art, design, technological innovation and education later became aligned with the nationalistic, expansive goals of the Italian Fascist movement. Despite the profound influence Futurism had on the development of modern design, it was slightly tainted by this association. Futurism had developed into a broad multi-media socio-politico-cultural movement. However the politicizing of the movement by some of its zealous members had little representation or impact on the art itself. Overall the art remained pure and the drive and inspiration of the futurist artists transcended the darker elements of this era and triumphed in shaping the direction and design aesthetic of the 20th century. Futurism had a tangible influence on art movements that followed including Art Deco, Vorticism, Constructivism, Dada, Surrealism and Mid Century modernism. For a movement that didn’t even span three decades, its vibrancy and originality has made a lasting contribution.

‘Women, stairs, skyscrapers’ – 1930 – Fortunato Depero

Drawing by Italian futurist architect Antonio-Sant’Elia

FUTURIST CUBIST EXUBERANCE

One of the defining aspects of Futurist art was its adaption of cubism. Whereas Cubism focused on dividing objects into their component geometrical shapes and reassembling them abstractly, Futurism regarded all objects as an interconnecting whole by emphasizing the evident contiguity of all things seen. The mind doesn’t perceive objects to be separate from their surroundings “The gesture which we would reproduce on canvas shall no longer be a fixed moment in universal dynamism. It shall simply be the dynamic sensation itself”. Boccioni, perhaps the most dedicated to the aspirations of Futurism, began by re-working cubist techniques in drawings and in three-dimensional renderings in attempts to show the contiguity and flux of things. As described in this manifesto, his designs featured bold groupings and large-scale disposition of planes and masses creating a heroic industrial expressionism. His vision was of a highly industrialized and mechanized city of the future, which he saw not as a mass of individual buildings but as a vast multi-level interconnected and integrated conurbation designed around the “life” of the city. The Italian futurist Antonio Sant’Elia’s extremely influential designs featured vast monolithic skyscraper buildings with terraces, bridges and aerial walkways.

‘Bailarina’ – Gino Severini -1915

Extract from a letter Gino Severini wrote –

“In the early days the Cubists’ method of grasping an object was to go round and round it; the futurists declared that one had to get inside it. In my opinion the two views can be reconciled in a poetic cognition of the world. But to the very fact that they appealed to the creative depths in the painter by awakening in him hidden forces which were intuitive and vitalizing, the Futurist theories did more than the Cubist principles to open up unexplored and boundless horizons.”
“Futurism and Cubism are comparable in importance to the invention of perspective, for which they substituted a new concept of space. All subsequent movements were latent in them or brought about by them… the two movements cannot be regarded as in opposition to each other, even though they started from opposite points; I maintain (an idea approved by Apollinaire and later by Matisse) that they are two extremes of the same sign, tending to coincide at certain points which only the poetic instinct of the painter can discover: poetry being the content and raison d’être of art.”

Depero Fortunato— ‘Gondoliere Veneziano’

Enrico Prampolini – ‘Woman + Light + Environment’

1915

Giacomo Balla “Il Giardini Futurista,” flower sculpture installation view, at Galerie Nordenhake in Berlin

2003

‘Flight of Birds’ vase – Tullio Mazzotti

Albisola

Fortunato Depero (1892-1960)-–- ‘Le cycliste traverse la ville’

1945

1921--Russian--cubo-futurist,-pre-constructivist-production-of-Turandot-at-the-MAT-(Studio)--directed-by-Yevgeny-Vakhtangov,-designed-by-Igor-Nivinsky

Russian–cubo-futurist, pre-constructivist production of Turandot at the MAT (Studio)- designed by Igor Nivinsky.

1921

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Curvilinear cubist futurist – ‘The Strength of the Curve’ – Tullio Crali

1930

Giuseppe Mazzotti Vase with decoration of aereo futurista anteater and seaplane

Albisola, Italy

Phobia antimitativa – Tullio Mazzotti

d’Albisola 1928

Giuseppe Mazzotti Italian Futurist sport figures

Albisola, Italy

Fortunato Depero – ”Nitrito in velocità” 1932

In 1919 Depero founded the Casa d’Arte Futurista (House of Futurist Art) in Rovereto, Italy

St. Christopher – Gio Ponti & Richard Ginori – spherical, futurist style vase

Harlequin mid-century vase made in Deruta and designed by futurist artist Ernesto Nino Road

Some Italian fascists had tried to persuade Mussolini to ban modernism (as Hitler had in Germany) and include Futurism in the list of degenerate art. Mussolini refused because by the late 1930s, the style of Futurism had become the favoured art form for promoting Fascism.

Gino Severini

Italian Futurist Style Pair Of Table Lamps by Sala Italy

1930

Roberto Navarro 1st Dibs

Futurist table lamp, Italy

Dante Baldelli – ‘Archers Vase’, manufactured by Rometti

Jar with lid and winged aircraft in formation – ceramic formed in the mold and decorated with enamel underglaze, platinum highlights

1930-1931

Manlio Trucco-(1884-1974) nude female riding centaur, Albisola 1930

In an early Futurist manifesto they had declared “We demand, for ten years, the total suppression of the nude in painting.” as a reaction to the predominance of classical nudes in Italian art.

Mazotti ceramic cup and saucer with futurist decoration

Albisola, 1930

Medusa Cup – Tullio Mazotti

Terracotta hand decorated in polychrome enamels.

Albisola – 1930

Medusa Cup – Tullio Mazotti ( top view )

Albisola – 1930

Umberto Boccioni – ‘Materia’ – 1912 ( portrait of his mother )

Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

In place of the intersecting architectonic planes characteristic of Cubism, transparent planes with radiating and arching lines imply movement. This led forward to the language Boccioni was to use for his studies of rapid movement in the second half of 1913, such as Dynamism of a Cyclist.

Futurist elephant jar – Rometti, Italy

Futurist Bowl – Nicola Diulgheroff–M.G.A

Gio Ponti — ‘Domitilla’

Italy, 1924

Ceramic compote – Nicolaj Diulgheroff and Tullio Mazzotti Albisola

1930-31

‘Piatto Motociclisti’ dish – Tullio Mazzotti, Albisola

gmazzotti1903

Manilo Tucci Albisola futurista vase

1stDibs – Wyeth NY

Nicolaj Diulgheroff and Tullio Mazzotti futurist vase

Albisola, 1932

Futurist ceramic tea set – Nicolaj Djulgheroff—M.G, Italy

Futurist vessel designed by Robert Venturi

1925

Rometti ceramics

Umbertide, Italy

Futurist tea set – Nicolaj Djulgheroff – 1930

Manufactured by Giuseppe Mazzotti

Slender vase with handles – Series F Giuseppe Mazzotti

Albisola, 1937

Tullio Mazzotti Vase – ‘Amori Fiori’

Dante Baldelli designed vase for Rometti

1935

Futurist cubist sculpture – ‘Development of a Bottle in Space’ (1912) – Umberto Boccioni

Tullio Mazzotti – ‘Vase With Question Mark’

Albisola, 1930-31

Futurist ceramics – Nicolaj Diulgheroff – Tullio D’Albisola

circa 1934

Rometti futurist ceramic set

1933-35

Shaking Flight [Tullio Crali, 1939

‘Shaking Flight’ by Tullio Crali, 1939

Umberto-Boccioni-painting-Dinamismo-di-un-footballer--–-Italian-Futurism

Umberto Boccioni painting ‘Dinamismo di un footballer’

Giacomo Balla – ‘Planet Mercury passing in front of the Sun’

1914

‘Vaso Geometrico’

‘Dinamismo di un Automobile’ -futurist painter Luigi Rossolo

1912

Futurist Cat Planter—Louis Wain

Imperial Amphora, Austria

‘Piatto biliardo’ – Tullio Mazzotti

Albisola, Italy

1936 Italian futurist plate Nicolaj Diulgheroff, Tullio Mazotti

Albisola

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Quoted Sources – Italian Futurism: From Cubism in Motion to Fascism’s Official Style

– Before It All Began: The Visionary

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Gardens with sculpture

April 14, 2015

Reflection Garden at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

University of Oregon

The evolution of decorative and garden sculpture in ancient Greece.

The most radical transformation of sculptural art for mainstream decoration occurred in ancient Greece. The earliest incarnation of Greek sculpture was in the form of wooden cult statues, where they were used as objects of veneration. The first piece of Greek statuary to be reassembled was the Lefkandi Centaur, a terra cotta sculpture found on the island of Euboea, dated c. 920 BCE. It is the earliest known depiction of myth in the history of Greek sculpture.

The artistic endeavour of early Greek sculpture was centered around the human form, as they viewed their Gods as having a human form and there was no distinction between the sacred and the secular in art—the human body was both secular and sacred. The forms from the geometrical period (c. 900 to c. 700 BCE) were chiefly terra cotta figurines, bronzes, and ivories. Typical works of the era included statues depicting the gods and heroes of Greece, which were displayed in their temples and public places. The Greeks did not produce sculpture merely for artistic display. Statues were commissioned either by aristocratic individuals or by the state, and used for public memorials, as offerings to temples, oracles and sanctuaries. Sculptures in limestone and marble, terra cotta, bronze, wood, and rarer metals, both free-standing and in relief were produced and the creation of life-sized statues began to occur at about 650 BC. During the Early Archaic period, c. 660–580 BCE, inspired by the monumental stone sculptures of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Greeks started carving free standing stone statues, but the forms were more dynamic. Some of the the figures were also given a more distinctive human characteristic by giving them smiles. Also around this time new Greek colonies were established and became widespread, and arose in places including southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the southern French coast, the eastern Spanish coast, the coast of the Black Sea, and Cyprus, among others. The art was naturally exported too.

Statues in the Archaic period ( 800Bc to 480BC ) were not all intended to represent specific individuals. They were depictions of an ideal—beauty, piety, honor or sacrifice. The sculptures in the Archaic and Geometrical periods were centered upon the works themselves, and seldom, if ever, on the sculptors. During the Classical period from about 500 BCE, Greek statues began increasingly to depict real people, as opposed to vague interpretations of myth or entirely fictional votive statues, although the style in which they were represented had not yet developed into a realistic form of portraiture. Public memorials representing real people began to appear. It was during the Classical Period that an increase in the use of statues and sculptures as decorations of buildings and gardens was witnessed.

Roman Isis holding a sistrum and oinochoe and wearing a garment tied with a characteristic knot

Musei Capitolini, Rome

An increasing shift towards naturalism occurred during the Hellenistic period in the 4th century BCE, where common people, women, children, animals, and domestic scenes became acceptable subjects for sculpture, which was commissioned by wealthy families for the adornment of their homes and gardens. The statues also became more expressive and dynamic as the sculptural art became more widely adopted. There were new Hellenistic cities springing up in Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia which required statues and this made sculpture, like pottery, an industry. By the 2nd century BCE, the rising power of Rome had also absorbed much of the Greek art and tradition. The legacy of Greek sculptural art has remained an ongoing, dynamic cultural force ever since.

The Castlestrange stone,- County Roscommon, Ireland

This stone curiously has a continental influence in the style of its carving.

Iron Age period between 500 BC and 100 AD

Modern sculptures in garden locations.

Nature is blessed with so many intrinsic sculptural forms, so viewing sculptures in a natural setting always looks symbiotic.

Bernard Hosey sphere sculpture

“Beelden en tekeningen” by Eddy Roos, Netherlands

‘Spaniel in Fight’ – Ben Greenwood

Brendan Hesmondhalgh – ‘Gannet’

Francony Kowalski – ‘The Spring’

Ginger Gilmour – ‘Seated Angel’

Statue of a lady seated on a lion

LomNom – deviantart

Irakli Zhvania – ‘Musicians’

artparks.co.uk

‘World Wide Widex’ – Jens Ingvard Hansen

Contemporary British Sculptor John Huggins – ‘Caprice’

www.artparks.co.uk

John Huggins ‘Maltese Goddess’

Angel sculpture in hydrangeas

Photography Joseph De Sciose

Art Deco sculpture ‘Perseus and Andromeda’ by Raymond Delamarre

Mounted on his horse Pegasus, Perseus delivers Andromeda from the sea monster about to devour her.

1928

Entrance of the stadium Léo Lagrange, the Pyramid Highway, opposite the Parc Floral de Vincennes.

Baby Clanger sculpture

Bergh Apton sculpture trail Norfolk, UK

Moominpappa06 – Flickr

Barbara Hepworth’s Garden, St-Ives

daveserjeant on Flickr

‘Duet’ – Jeff K Laing

Sculpture garden — Benson Park, Loveland, CO

2009

Tom Frantzen Belgium sculptor

Briony Lawson

Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt – Biltmore House. USA

Emma Stothard – Willow and Wire Sculpture

North-Yorkshire,-UK

The courtyard of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Boston museum, which opened in 1903 and was modeled on the Renaissance palaces of Venice.

Among the artists represented in the galleries are Titian, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Manet, Degas, Whistler and Sargent.

Peryton at the fountain of Linlithgow Palace, Scotland

The English Garden’s Burnett Fountain depicting Dickon and Mary from Francis Hodgson Burnett’s book “The Secret Garden”

Conservatory Garden, Central Park, NY – opened 1937

‘Monument in Right Feet Major’ — Todji Kurtzman

Benson Sculpture Park, Colorado

Italian Figure Sculpture in York House Garden, Twickenham by Oscar Spalmach

www.speel.me.uk

Orticolaria – Lake Como, Italy 2014

A biodiversity sculpture for a garden ! A topiaire including insects hotel…for the first time at Villa Erba, Italy, during ORTICOLARIO, international Gardens Festival

French landscape architects Claude Pasquer & Corinne Julhiet Detroyat

www.lamoliere.fr

H.R Giger

Monumental ceramic sculpture – Jun Kaneko

Faux-Photography

Jiménez Deredia

‘Légende de Saint Grat’ – Pierre Castillou,

2007, Oloron Sainte Marie

Van de Bergh Hanneke

Kuan Yin – Kuan means earth, Yin means feminine essence

Sculpture in Loughcrew Gardens, County Meath, Irelqnd

Standing Nude – Nelli Bar ( American, born Cologne Germany )

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966

‘Oiseaux des Tuileries’

pierrepaul43 on flickr

Garden dedicated to George Harrison

Chelsea Flower Show

Anon of the Orient – ‘Nude with urn’

Edwin Russell – ‘Leaping Dolphins’

www.artparks.co.uk

Fernando Silveira

Henry Moore – ‘The Goslar Warrior’

Goslar, Germany

photo Peter Downes

Sea shell sculpture by artist Vera Viglina titled: ‘The Snail’

“Serenissima” – Phillip Jackson – “maschera nobile” venecianas.

Outdoor sculpture by African artist Yinka Shonibare

Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK

Blue Birds Babbling Brook Fountain – Sarah Cox, UK

‘The Congo I presume’ – Tom Frantzen

1997, Tervuren Africa museum, Belgium

Jens Ingvard Hansen – ‘Otolih’

Artpark Sculpture

Marino Marini, Cavaliere (Horseman) circa 1949

Minneapolis Sculpture Gardens

Moon stone

Located near Penzance in the west Cornish moors is the unique and enigmatic Men-an-Tol stone

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Acquiring a fine teacup

April 9, 2015

Shelly Art Deco saucer and cup

1930-1931

Seeking a new teaset :

I’m currently in the market for some new teacups. The last one standing is shown below, the set lasting over 15 years. Their durability surprised me, you could barely feel the weight of the fine Japanese translucent porcelain when you lifted the Art Deco cup. It is getting promoted to the cabinet in recognition of its long service. I’ve had to avoid inviting anyone for a cuppa, as it would be slightly awkward having to share the same cup, or I could, shock horror, resort to using mugs. Mock elitist indignation aside, the occasional indulgence of tea from a teacup is a worthy act of reverence for the great beverage.

Serving tea or coffee is usually the final act of any dinner so its only appropriate to use a fine tea set to round off the occasion in style. Despite coffee having more caffeine and being more addictive, I think tea drinkers are probably more fanatical, having a rich tradition of serving rituals and having a much greater variety to choose from that offer an enticing array of captivating flavors… Ok, I’m slightly biased being a devoted tea drinker. The elaborate tea drinking ceremonies, especially in Japan, are particularly detailed down to how the tea is stirred.

My choice for a new set is basically fine porcelain, no floral decoration or gold trim, only two colours and a wide diameter rim so the tea cools more rapidly. I’m showing some of the cups I saw while searching, with full admiration for their fine craftsmanship.

Japanese Art Deco cup

Footed cup with abstract decoration – John Maltby

1930s Art Deco Coffee/Tea Set with Palm Tree Pattern

Pottery Ambassador Ware England

Wicksteads Etsy (sold)

Art Deco teapot and sugar bowl – Nora Gulbrandsen for Porsgrund Porselen, Norway

Purple cups – Gisela Francisco

Shiro Hagi Chawan by Shibuya Deishi

Small Art Nouveau tea cup

Victorian Foley Wileman Tea cup and Saucer

Geometric Art Deco Trio – handpainted Grosvenor China cup, saucer and teaplate.

Art Deco teapot

Lomonosov ‘Balley’ cup and saucer

Russia

Footed contemporary styled cup- ‘Imolarte’ – Bertozzi e Casoni

Art Deco Conical Butterfly Teapot, Clarice Cliff

Carved Capodimonte cup and saucer.

Italy, Circa 1750

Bonhams

Chinese porcelain faceted teapot

Porcelain flared cup with a gold handle and pedestal – Louis Sue and Andre Mare

Noritake Art Deco sugar bowl

Black and white coffee/tea set – Jonathan Middlemiss

http://www.middlemissart.com/

Contemporary cup and plate – Paul Scott & Ann Linnemann collaboration

The porcelain forms are hand thrown and glazed by Ann in her studio in Copenhagen, Denmark. Paul creates the graphic then screen-prints in-glaze ceramic decals in his studio in Blencogo, Cumbria, England.

Anne Linnemann Studio Gallery

Hans Vangso

Helene Morbu

Crackle glaze tea cup – Somayaki Somaware, Japan

Karin Bjorquist tea set for Gustavsberg

Antonis Minor tea pot in lapis lazuli with gold trimmings, by Dionysio, grandson of Ottavio Miseroni.

Miseroni lapidary workshops, Milan

Laurel Birch

Mid Century incised green retro tea set – Stavangerflint, made in Norway

Old & Cold etsy

Andrew Gilliatt

Crimson Laurel Gallery, Bakersville, NC.

Art deco sterling overlay demitasse cups and saucer – Belleek Pottery

Japanese Satsuma Lithophane porcelain Tea Set

Prosperi Tea

Russian Lomonosov teacup and saucer

Tea set by Ben Owen III

American Museum of Ceramic Art, via Flickr

Robin Welch tea bowl

Susie Cooper- Hand painted rich Art Deco Cubist pattern coffee/tea set; c. 1928.

eclectables.co.uk

Mondrian Tea Pot

China Tea Cup & Saucer – Paragon

Contemporary tea set – Paul Eshelman, Elizabeth, Illinois

Pink Lusterware Gold Pedestal China Japan Tea Cup Reticulated Saucer Set

Tango Pattern Art Deco trio tea set – Royal Doulton, UK

Red ceramic abstract teapot – Rick Rudd, NZ

Rosenthal Versace teacup and saucer

Royal Halsey Teacup and Saucer

Layla Blackshear-fkickr

Nippon Art Nouveau demitasse cup and saucer

Royal Doulton Art Deco Tango pattern tea set

Art Deco teacup and saucer – Royal Paragon

Dinnerware Objects Roy Lichtenstein

1966

RW-Bavaria, Germany

Sucabaruca tea set by Luca Nichetto

Tennis set for tea and a biscuit

Muchos Tesoros – Etsy

The Miito by Nils Chudy

MIITO is an innovative product that heats liquids directly in the vessel to be used, hence eliminating the heating of excess water. Simply fill your cup with water, place it onto the induction base and immerse the rod in the liquid.

Photograph–Handout

Dame Edna’s tea drinking etiquette – “when in doubt, pinky out”.

Tuscan teacup and saucer

Rometti Art Deco Futurist tea/saki set

Umbertide, Italy

Shelly Art Deco moth wing cup and saucer

Japanese Kato Kogei neo Art Deco teaset

Teapot with wooden handle and tea bowls by Maa

Pucci, Rometti futurist teaset, Italy

1930

‘Legend Return’ – Lomonosov Contemporary Porcelain Teapot

Albisola teaset, Italy

1930

Airbrushed teacup – Carraressi & Lucca

Sesto Fiorentino, Italy

1930-40

Ken Price

Art Deco Bubbles Royal Worcester coffee set

Tea bowl – Peter Voulkos

Oriental Glaze Handbuilt Porcelain Teapot by Kathy Riggs

Crown Ducal Art Deco Teacup

Limoges-art-deco-tea set with futurist patterns

French Art Deco tea set – Limoges

Vintage-Royal-Sealy-China-Tea-Cup-&-Saucer

Royal Sealy tea cup

Vintage-purple on white-tea-cup

Detailed purple lace pattern on white cup and saucer

sandoz-service-complete in white, orange and black art deco

Birdy tea set – Sandoz

Pale-Yellow-with-Gold-Handle-Shelley-Tea-Cup-and-Saucer-Set

Lemon tea cup and saucer – Shelly

Young girl drinking from a Ochamori-'Big-Tea'-at-Saidaiji-temple-in-Nara

Ochamori ‘Big Tea’ at Saidaiji Temple in Nara, Japan

Jeroen-Bechtold white contemporary ceramic tes set

Jeroen Bechtold contemporary tea set

ifackleinDorothyFeatheredHat-William-Klein

Morning tea in feathered hat – Dorothea shot by William Klein

1962

French-Limoges-ART-DECO-c1925-Geometric-Tea-for-3pattern-inspired-by-Kandinsky,-one-of-the-pioneers-of--abstract-arthttpartdecolimogesporcelain.blogspot.com

Octagonal Geometric Tea Service with Kandinsky inspired motif

French Limoges Art deco

c 1925

COALPORT-retro-orange-TEA-CUP-AND-SAUCER-fancy-design-teacup-gold-gilt

Deep orange and gold teacup – Coalport

Carstens Uffrecht-ModeloRio-1935

‘Rio’ tea service – Carstens Uffrecht

1930

modernaumaoutranemtanto.blogspot.com.au

Two blue and white-teacups with drip glaze

Ombre Drip Ceramic Cup and Saucer Set in Blues and White

Artmika Etsy

Antique-Rosenthal-RC-Fancy-Cup-Saucer-Violets

Rosenthal lavender and gold teacup with violets motif

Alka-Kunst-Kronach-Turquoise-and-Gold-Scalloped-Footed-Tea-Cup

Turquoise and Gold Scalloped Footed Tea Cup – Alka Kunst Kronach

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Posted in: Creative – 3 Comments

French Designer Jean Dunand

April 1, 2015

The French Art Deco of Jean Dunand

Jazz Age Art Deco lacquered metal vase – Jean Dunand, 1925

Met, NY

Jean Dunand was born in Switzerland in 1877. He trained as a sculptor at the École des Arts Industriels de Genève from 1891-1896. This was followed in 1897 by an apprenticeship at the studio of the Burgundian Art Nouveau sculptor, Jean-Auguste Dampt, who introduced him to the notion of design production for interior decoration and furnishing. In 1904/1905, Dunand shifted his focus from sculpture to the ancient craft of dinanderie, a late medieval metal craft using copper, brass and bronze, which originated in Belgium.

Around 1912 Dunand began his creative foray into lacquer work, sharing his intimate knowledge of the art of dinanderie with Japanese artist Seizo Sugawara, who in return taught him the closely-guarded secrets of the traditional Japanese technique of urushi – surface lacquering.
During 1925, Jean Dunand began to experiment with the technique of incorporating minute bits of eggshell fragments, from hen, duck and partridge eggs, to tremendous effect, into his lacquered designs. He championed the revival of the ancient oriental craft of coquille d’oeuf, the applying of eggshell to lacquered works. His original technique was utilized in the manufacture of enameled vases, trays, multi-paneled side screens and wall panels.
Dunand skillfully combined the artistry of Oriental lacquer work with European decorative designs and his approach to lacquering metal and wood was ideal for presenting the clean angles and sharp geometric lines of the streamlined Art Deco, along with creating the vivid colours and intense contrasts essential in the Cubist/Deco styles.

Art Deco ovoid vase with eggshell shards and lacquer decoration – Jean Dunand

Dunand often collaborated with other designers and artists, including Wiener Werkstatte and Séraphin Soudbinine. Other notable French painters, sculptors, and illustrators who supplied pictorial programs for screens and decorative panels that Dunand rendered in lacquer were Georges Barbier, Jean Goulden, Paul Jouve, Jean Lambert-Rucki, Gustav Miklos, and François-Louis Schmied.

During his lifetime his artistic achievements were recognized and he exhibited regularly at the Salons de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts as well as at the Salon d’Automne. From 1904 the Museé des Arts Décoratifs in Paris purchased his work and is now found in museums worldwide. Jean Dunand became an influential designer and visionary for French Art Deco, and his artistic virtuosity and craftsmanship was exquisite. He successfully embraced the shift from traditional ornamental styles to modernist designs that were bold and less complex, while integrating Africanist, Futurist, Cubist details and innovative materials.

Lacquered Art Deco vase with geometric lines – Jean Dunand

French Art Deco lacquered radio cabinet with abstract decoration – Jean Dunand

1930

Loft Concept

Ovoid lacquered vase by Jean Dunand

Kelly Gallery

Oblong Egyptian Revival checkered red lacquered brassware and black mother of pearl, with a bronze tripod base.

Jean Dunand

Pair of enamel lacquered Art Deco vases – Jean Dunand

Art Deco Paravent “Lac Bleu” by Jean Dunand 1928

Deux Vases Monumentaux- Jean Dunand

1925

Lacquered metal Jazz Age vase – Jean Dunand

1926

Handpainted sea life decoration on a black lacquer vase – Jean Dunand

Anne Hauck Art Deco

Pianissimo and Fortissimo – black lacquer screen with eggshell, gold and mother of pearl inlay

Séraphin Soudbinine & Jean Dunand – 1925 /1926

French Art Deco lacquered metal vase – Jean Dunand

1925

Black lacquer drum table, eggshell highlights – Jean Dunand

Geometric patterned vase – Jean Dunand

circa 1925

Black lacquer metal vase, eggshell patterns – Jean Dunand

Red/black lacquer vase – Jean Dunand

1925

Félix Marcilhac’s Paris apartment

Jean Dunand cabinet (1921) and Ozzip Zadkine´s ‘Jeune Fille á la Colombe’ (1928) gold plated statue. Painting by Gustave Miklos ‘Figures et Chien’ (1921).

Photograph by Jerome Galland