Nature's Fabulous Jewels

Some of the most interesting collections that I've seen are those which consist of the fruits of Mother Nature's labor. Natural things like shells, rocks, and bird nests (not really made by Mother Nature but rather Mama Bird.) Through the years, I have collected shells, pine cones (I once had a great cache of enormous pine cones from South Georgia, but they disappeared during a move a few years back), and even acorns. For some odd reason, I absolutely love acorns.

The most striking of all natural collections are minerals. Now I don't know much about minerals, something that I attribute to my utter lack of interest in chemistry and geology, but I do admire their beauty. And the more organic looking they are, the better. Out of curiosity, I recently bought a 1974 book titled Minerals: Nature's Fabulous Jewels, written by Ian Campbell and Arthur Court. (Yes, the very same Arthur Court of aluminum tableware fame.) Both Court and Campbell are noted mineral collectors, and many specimens from their collections were photographed for this book. The examples are really quite stunning thanks to their fantastic shapes, unusual colors, and heavy texture. After reading the book, I'm sorry that I didn't pay more attention in science class. Well, almost.



Part of Court's collection of minerals that have been mounted.



Mimetite and Plumbogummite from Alston Moor, Cumberland, England



Halite from Brawley, California



Crocoite, from Comet Mine, Dundas mining district, Tasmania, Australia



Chrysocolla "stalagmites" and drusy Quartz, from Concepcion del Oro, Mexico




Calcite with Limonite, from American Nettie Mine, Ouray mining district, Colorado




Bayldonite, from Tsumeb, South-West Africa.




Azurite and Malachite, from Apex Mine, St. George, Utah.




Autunite, from Daybreak Mine, Mount Spokane, Washington


All photos from Minerals: Nature's Fabulous Jewels by Arthur Court and Ian Campbell, M. Halberstadt photographer.

Buy Me a Milking-Pail

Buy me a milking-pail, O mother, O mother!
Buy me a milking-pail, O dearest mother of mine!*

Sounds like an odd thing for me to request, but I wish that someone would buy me a milking-pail. A Sèvres style milk pail, that is. I never really thought much about them until I was looking through my copy of the Jayne Wrightsman auction catalogue over the weekend. The 2010 Sotheby's auction featured the contents of Wrightsman's London residence. And in that residence was a Samson Sèvres-style porcelain milk pail from the late 19th century. (That's it at the top.) Somehow, I missed seeing this lot when I first read the catalogue almost two years ago.

It was Marie Antoinette who first used a Sèvres milk pail while she and her courtiers played milk maids at the Dairy at Rambouillet. According to what I've read, Marie Antoinette's pail was decorated in a faux bois design, meant to emulate real wood grain. Later models, though, are more often decorated with a floral motif. It's the rams heads handles that I find most interesting, though.

If I had a milk pail, I would use it as a cachepot or maybe even as a waste paper basket. But if the milk pail look is a little too pastoral for you, you might be interested in the two jardinières that I included below. They're not milk pails, but they have those great gilt rams heads on them.

*The excerpt at top is from an old nursery rhyme.


A Sèvres style (Samson) milk pail, late 19th c. Sold at Christie's in 2006; price realized $2800.




Pair of Sèvres style milk pails




Sèvres porcelain cachepot with gilded rams heads. Available from Vintage Views Consignment & Consulting.




A Dresden porcelain ram head jardiniere. 20th c. Sold by Neal Auction Company.




Pair of Louis XVI style blue and white Sevres porcelain jardinières, 19th c. From the estate of Evelyn Walsh McLean. Available from Newel.




Also from Vintage Views, a Louis XVI style bisque porcelain jardinière.

Paolo Moschino At Home

My dining room is currently a work in progress. It's not quite pulled together yet. There is the Madeleine Castaing fabric that I just purchased for my dining room chairs; it's currently rolled around a tube, propped up in the corner of the room. Then there's the unresolved issue of where to display my collection of porcelain and ceramicware. I was standing in the room the other night, peppering myself with questions. "Is it going to look too traditional?" "What's the 'Wow' moment going to be in the room?" "What can I include that will be hip and cool?"

But then I got honest with myself. Cool and wow are not only not me, they've become tired and trite. I'm over hip. I want to see pretty interiors. Rooms that look cohesive. Rooms where you don't see one crazy, show-off piece that screams "OMG! Look at me!" After having this conservation with myself, I started to think about designer Paolo Moschino's London home. I first saw photos of it in the October 2004 issue of House & Garden, and two rooms really struck me. First, that dining room. It's such a lovely and elegant room, one that must look so romantic when awash in candlelight. And then there's the rich, rather dramatic looking bedroom with those Chinese Red walls. I couldn't find my tear sheets of the home, so I visited Moschino's website where I found the photos seen here.

After looking at the photos of Moschino's dining room again, I think that I've made the decision to stick with my original plans for my dining room. Nothing trendy, only lovely and elegant.



The two photos above show one end of Moschino's double drawing room.





The other end of the drawing room feels very different. This side is light and airy, while the paneled side feels more cozy and warm. The 1940s era pieces seen here provide an interesting contrast to the more traditional and formal furniture of the paneled side.






Two views of the dining room. To me, it feels more French than English.




A vignette in Moschino's kitchen.





Two views of the master bedroom.



The gorgeous guest bedroom.


All photos from House & Garden, October 2004 and Architectural Digest Russia, February 2009. Simon Upton, photographer.

Inspiration House

The other evening, I had the opportunity to attend a press preview of the 2012 Inspiration House, just one of the many events related to the Cathedral Antiques Show. Located at The Deanery of the Cathedral of St. Philip, the show house features some of Atlanta's top design talent plus one New York designer as well. I could tell that each designer put a great deal of time and effort into his or her room, and the results are really quite impressive. The show house opens to the public this Sunday, January 29 and runs through Sunday, February 12. If you purchase general Antiques Show tickets, admission to the Inspiration House is included. If you prefer to only visit the Inspiration House, tickets are $10.

Also, don't forget that Richard Keith Langham, Jeffrey Bilhuber, and Deborah Sanders will be guest lecturers at the Antiques Show. For more information on this and other Antiques Show events, visit the official website by clicking here.




The Keeping Room by Laura Walker Baird





The Library by Lindsey Coral Harper




The Dining Room by Amy Morris




The Living Room by Rick Anthony Bonner






Guest Bedroom by Elizabeth Jordan




A detail of the Gentleman's Lounge by Tom Williams & Jason Bailey




The Nursery by Allison Harper & Nancy Duffey





Bathroom by Brooke Merrill

All photos by Jennifer Boles, with the exception of the first photo taken by Emily Followill.

Harrods Cookery Book

I love Harrods Food Halls. A stroll amongst the counters and shelves filled with meats, cheeses, confections, and other delectables certainly can cause one to fall victim to the "eyes bigger than your stomach" syndrome. And the food isn't the only draw. I remember back in 1990 when a friend and I were there, we saw this very tall, big, mustachioed man walking quickly past us. It was Tom Selleck! The older British women standing near me were apoplectic. And well, okay, I admit that I might have been in a dither too.

Anyway, a friend recently gave me a 1985 copy of Harrods Cookery Book. I haven't had time to test any of the recipes, but I'm anxious to do so. There are so many dishes that look perfect for entertaining. But it's not only the recipes that are enticing. The photos are as well. So, to whet your appetite, take a look below.

PS- Click here to visit Harrods' website to see a few fashion illustrations from the store's archives.



Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding




Veal Meatballs with Caper and Cream Sauce




Smoked Salmon Pate with Melba Toast




Raised Game Pie




Tomato Water-Ice with a Julienne of Smoked Salmon




Summer Terrine




Port Wine Jelly with Frosted Grapes




Fruits Dipped in Fondant




A Garden Party table set with Vanilla Souffles with Pistachio Nuts, Celebration Trifle, and Strawberry Tart with Praline Cream.