By Anne Gilbert The first thing that catches your eye are the vivid colors. Next, that even though the object appears to be porcelain it is entirely something else. A tap of your finger tells you it is metal with a painted enamel glaze. You are looking at an example of Chinese painted enamels. Back in the 1970s, 80s it […]
By Anne Gilbert When you see hundreds of items in the same category coming to auction you know something funny is going on. A case in point are Chinese porcelain objects, some supposedly antiquities. Many labeled as “vintage.” For the last three years the Chinese porcelain market was “hot.” The Chinese were spending big Yen, buying back old porcelains. American […]
April Fool’s Day started in France, where before France adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1564, New Year’s was celebrated from March 21st to April 1st. And when they changed New Year’s Day to January 1st, many French people continued to celebrate New Year’s on April 1st. The French people who wouldn’t change became known as April fools. The idea of […]
Pestilence was rife in the Bard’s time, closing theatres and ravaging life. Did Shakespeare write his bleak, desperate drama while self-isolating? We sift the evidence. . . By Andrew Dickson, The Guardian While those of us stuck in self-isolation or working from home watch TikTok videos and refresh liveblogs, a meme has been going around that claims Shakespeare made use […]
By Joen M. Elliott After two years of soul searching and trying to find myself, I made a move to Florence. As a child, I spent many summers near this area when our family stayed at my Uncle Boyd’s cabin in Rye. Years later, after several road trips to southern and southwestern Colorado, I fell in love with Florence and […]
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