Jonathan Preece Does It Again

Passover might have ended this past weekend, but it still seems a good time to show photos of a Passover table conceived by Jonathan Preece.  Jonathan, as you will recall, is Creative Director and Special Projects Designer for Bunny Williams Inc. and Bunny Williams Home.  He is also the mastermind behind a number of highly-clever table settings, many of which have appeared previously on my blog.  If you remember those Jonathan Preece-designed tables, then you know that Jonathan draws inspiration from history and the decorative arts, two subjects that certainly influenced the Passover table you see here.

Jonathan's clients, whose Park Avenue apartment was decorated by Bunny Williams, wanted a Passover table that was colorful, unique, child-friendly, and evocative of Damien Hirst's spot paintings.  Keeping in mind both the clients' wishes as well as the meaning of the holiday, Jonathan first settled on a theme for the table: the second plague of Egypt.  According to the Book of Exodus, God unleashed ten plagues against Egypt as a result of the Pharaoh's refusal to free the Israelites from slavery.  The second of the ten plagues involved masses of frogs that emerged from the Nile and overran Egypt.  After the tenth plague, the Pharaoh finally freed the Israelites, an event which is commemorated during Passover.

Of course, considering that this was to be a celebratory table, Jonathan softened the plague theme with whimsy and animation.  Jonathan was reminded of the famous Green Frog Service, which was the Wedgwood china service commissioned by Catherine the Great. The Green Frog pattern features a naively-painted jumping frog within a heraldic emblem, and it was this non-menacing frog that inspired Jonathan's table.  He sought the assistance of his artist friend, Liz Fleri, who made both papier-mâché and ceramic versions of frogs.  Down the center of the table stood the papier-mâché frogs, which were encrusted with Austrian Glass dust, faux cabochons, and glass beads.  (It was both Damien Hirst's bejeweled skull sculptures and Judith Leiber's animal minaudieres that inspired this decorative finish.) 

Nestled between the frogs were ceramic lily pads by Global Views, in which Jonathan planted exotic orchids, succulents, mosses, pods, and date palm seeds.  Damien Hirst's spot paintings, or, at least, the idea of them, were introduced via the polka-dot table cloths, whose colorful spots informed the color scheme of the setting, including those fuchsia ballroom-chairs.  And in lieu of place cards, place settings were marked by small ceramic frogs etched with guests' names.

If only real frogs looked as charming as those imagined by Jonathan.

The Inspiration:

A color engraving depicting the Second Plague of Egypt.

Two images of Catherine the Great's Green Frog Service.  Note the frog emblem at the top of the platter.


Table setting photos courtesy of Jonathan Preece.

Celebrating Sukkot with Jonathan Preece

Many of you likely remember my blog posts that featured Jonathan Preece's beautiful holiday decorations. Jonathan, who is Creative Director and Special Projects Designer at Bunny Williams Inc. and Bunny Williams Home, has become a go-to person for creative and well-researched holiday decor. Over the years, Jonathan has done Thanksgiving tables, Passover tables, Saturnalia-themed vignettes, and Christmas decor.  And now, we have Sukkot to add to the list.

In 2006, long-time clients of Bunny Williams decided to expand their Park Avenue apartment by buying the penthouse above them.  Bunny was responsible for the decoration in this newly combined apartment, which you'll likely remember as it made the cover of Elle Decor in 2010.  During the renovation process, the clients requested that part of the apartment's rooftop terrace be set aside for the annual assembly of a Sukkah, in which they could celebrate the Jewish holiday, Sukkot.  (Click here to read the Wikipedia entry on Sukkot.)

Bunny recommended to her clients that they engage Jonathan to create and decorate the Sukkah, and they readily took her up on her suggestion.  First, Jonathan created a tent in which the clients could host their Sukkot dinners.  The tent is quite small, measuring little more than 8' X 10'.  The exterior, which you can see above, was made of 19th century raw silk linen bed hangings that are embellished with strie ribbon detail.  (The hangings were part of an antique canopied bed that Bunny Williams purchased from an English estate sale.)  A Sunbrella waterproof "rain coat" was made for use in inclement weather, which can be fitted over the silk linen hangings.  The inside of the Sukkah changes from year to year.  A few years ago, Jonathan purchased twenty Queen-sized printed Indian bedspreads from Urban Outfitters and hung them on the tent's interior walls in a pinch-pleat fashion.  Most recently, Preece chose to adorn the interior walls with something more durable: canvas murals painted by artist Liz Fleri.  The murals were meant to make guests feel as though they were seated in a wooden structure while looking out to the desert beyond.  The mural's imagery was inspired by 19th century Orientalist art, while the paintings' style was evocative of the work of Chagall.

Jonathan informed me that the Sukkah's ceiling must always be made of natural material, hence his use of bamboo for the ceiling.  Also, tradition calls for three stars to always be visible from within the Sukkah.  During the first Sukkot celebration, Jonathan hung mercury glass stars within the tent, while in later years, the murals, which featured three painted stars, satisfied this religious requirement.  And finally, the Sukkah beams are always covered in a decorative technique known as Schach, which is comprised of natural materials like fruit, leaves, and flowers that are representative of the Harvest.

There are many other religious symbols that can be seen in these photos.  There is always a tied bouquet of Palm, Myrtle, and Willow, known as a Lulav, that is placed by the host's seat.  Also, you'll see lemons, which refer to the Citron fruit known as Etrog.  Together, the Lulav and Etrog are symbolic of the Four Species, which are the four plants that are part of the Sukkot ceremony.

Now, I'm sure that some of you are questioning the safety of this rooftop tent.  Well, Jonathan paid as much attention to that as he did the tent's decor.  The tent is tied-down and secured tightly, while the candles that you see in the photos are battery-operated.  It really does seem that Jonathan thought of everything.  And whether you celebrate Sukkot or not, I think you'll find a great deal of beauty in these photos, which span six years of the celebration of Sukkot.

All photos copyrighted Jonathan Preece and Elizabeth Swartz

A Christmas Tradition

If, like me, you're enchanted by the Christmas tradition of the crèche, then this blog post is for you.   My friend, Jonathan Preece, recently sent me photos of a Neapolitan crèche that he staged in a Mill Neck, New York house. The homeowners, who are clients of Bunny Williams, Preece's employer, were inspired to start collecting antique Neapolitan crèche figures after learning of the impressive collections of both Williams and her husband, John Rosselli.

The tradition of the crèche, or nativity scene, can be traced back to 1223, when Saint Francis of Assisi created the first one using living figures.  Meant to represent the Nativity, or birth of Christ, a crèche includes the figures of baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Angels, the Magi (or Three Wise Men,) shepherds, animals, and, sometimes, townspeople.  According to Jonathan, these crèches reached a height of artistic excellence in eighteenth-century Naples, Italy, where this traditional craft is still being practiced today.  One of the more famous Neapolitan crèches is that at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which draws crowds every Christmas.

In the Mill Neck house, Jonathan has assembled the crèche on a table set in the bay window of the dining room.  The traditional stable, which, of course, holds baby Jesus and the manger, was made by Charles Dort, while artist Ron Genereux created the crumbling walls, fences, and Classical ruins out of foam and clay.  Placed against this landscape are the antique Neapolitan figures, whose heads, hands, and feet are made of painted terracotta and whose bodies are fabricated from wire wrapped in hemp.  The figures' clothing is mostly silk and linen, with many of them bearing delicate embroidery.  (Make sure to expand the images of the Magi, below, whose costumes are exquisite.)  And placed gingerly around the scene are small spot and up-lights, which provide "magical illumination," says Jonathan.  Finally, around the edges of the crèche are Columnar Cedars and Cypress, terracotta oil jars, urns, and mossy-clad pots filled with White Narcissus.

As a bonus, Jonathan also sent me photos of Bunny Williams' spectacular Neapolitan crèche, which Jonathan assembled on the Conservatory console in Bunny's Connecticut house.  Alongside her antique Neapolitan figures, Bunny has added pieces that are not so period, such as leather bulls and animals from India.  The effect is a delightful celebration of the Christmas season. You can see photos of Bunny's crèche at the bottom of this post.

And now, Bunny's Neapolitan crèche in her Connecticut house:

All photos courtesy of Jonathan Preece