Brooching the Subject

 

QUESTION: While antiquing on a recent weekend, I came across a shop with a display case full of antique brooches. And while I’ve seen old brooches before, I never saw this many together. That got me to wonder how the brooch came to be. What can you tell me about the origin and history of the brooch?

ANSWER: Brooches have a long history dating back to the Bronze Age, originally serving as  fasteners for clothing before evolving into decorative jewelry. Over the centuries, they have been made from various materials and have reflected changing fashions and social status. Brooches became especially popular during Victorian times.

Brooches have  usually been made of silver or gold, decorated with enamel or with gemstones and may have been solely ornamental or serve as a clothes fastener. As fashions in brooches changed quickly, they became historical indicators.  

Before the Middle Ages, brooches were called fibula. With a lack of buttons, they were necessary as clothes fasteners, but also acted as markers of social status for both men and women. During the Iron Age in Europe, metalworking technology advanced dramatically, including casting, metal bar-twisting and wire making. As early as 400 BCE,  Celtic craftsmen in Europe created fibulae decorated in red enamel and coral inlay.

Brooches first appeared in Britain in 600 BCE, lasting until 150 BCE. The most common brooch forms during this time were the bow, the plate, and the penannular brooch. Most of these were cast in one piece, with most from copper alloy or iron. The brooches of this era show Roman jewelry techniques, including repoussé, filigree, granulation, enameling, openwork and inlay. Color was the primary feature of brooches of this period. The precious stone most often used was the almandine, a burgundy variety of garnet, found in Europe and India. Designers would cover the entire surface of an object with the tiny geometric shapes of precious stones or enamel which artisans then polished flat until they were flush with the cloisonné settings, giving the appearance of a tiny stained glass window.

Artisans used many variations in their brooch designs---geometric decoration, intricate patterns, abstract designs from nature, bird motifs and running scrolls. Intertwined beasts were often a signature feature of these intricately decorated brooches. Bow shaped, S-shaped, radiate-headed and decorated disc brooches were the most common styles from the 5th through the 7th centuries. 

Circular brooches first appeared in England in the middle of the 5th century. And by the end of the 6th century, the circular form had become the preferred brooch shape.

Celtic brooches represent a tradition of elaborately decorated penannular and pseudo-penannular types developed in early medieval Ireland and Scotland. However, certain characteristics of Celtic jewelry, such as inlaid millefiori glass and curvilinear styles, have more in common with ancient brooches than contemporary Anglo-Saxon jewelry. 

Scandinavian brooches, generally made of silver and copper alloy, embraced the Germanic animal style of decoration in the Middle Ages. This decorative style originated in Denmark in the late 5th century as a response to late Roman metalwork. 

Viking craftsmen decorated their brooches in one or more of the Viking styles---Oseberg, Borre, Jellinge, Mammen, Ringerike and Urnes. Viking brooches came in seven different forms---circular, bird-shaped, oval, equal-armed, trefoil, lozenge-shaped, and domed disc. Designs featured a variety of decoration, including interlaced gripping beasts, single animal motifs, ribbon-shaped animals, knot and ring-chain patterns, tendrils, and leaf, beast and bird motifs.

Both men and women wore brooches during the late medieval period from 1300 to 1500. Brooches were star-shaped, pentagonal, lobed, wheel, heart-shaped, and ring.  Smaller than other brooches, ring brooches often fastened clothing at the neck. Brooch decoration usually consisted of a simple inscription or gems applied to a gold or silver base. Inscriptions of love, friendship and faith were a typical of ring brooches of this time. Heart-shaped brooches were a popular gift between lovers or friends.

The Renaissance, lasting from 1300 to 1600, was a time of wealth and opulence in the Mediterranean region. Elaborate brooches covered in emeralds, diamonds, rubies, amethyst and topaz or pearls were in fashion, especially with the upper classes.  Brooches with religious motifs and enameled miniature portraits were also popular.

By the beginning of the 18th century ornate brooches made of gold and silver with complex designs were fashionable. By the mid- to late 1700s, simpler forms and designs were more common, with simpler themes of nature, bows, miniature portraits and animals.  

Brooches made during the Neoclassical Period, between 1760 and 1830, featured  classical themes of ancient Greece and Rome. The main difference between Renaissance brooches and Neoclassical jones were that artisans created Renaissance brooches primarily for the upper class and Neoclassical ones for the general public. 

English pottery manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood produced cameo brooches in black basalt and jasper. Cameos and brooches with classical scenes were fashionable during this period.

Cameos, locket brooches, flowers, nature, animal and hearts were popular in the early Victorian era. When Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, died in 1861, brooch design changed to reflect the queen in mourning. Styles turned heavier and more somber, using materials like black enamel, jet, and black onyx.

It was fashionable during this period to incorporate hair and portraiture into a brooch. The practice began as an expression of mourning, then expanded to keepsakes of loved ones who were living. Artisans encased human hair encased within a brooch or braided and wove it into a band to which they attached clasps.

By the early 20th century, brooches appeared with diamonds, typically with platinum or white gold, and colored gemstones or pearls. Popular brooch forms included bows, ribbons, swags, and garlands, all in the delicate new style.

The Art Deco style found a place in modern brooch design. Common decoration included geometric shapes, abstract designs, designs from Cubism, Fauvism, and art motifs from Egypt and India. Artisans used black onyx, coral, quartz, lapis and carnelian along with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "Return to Toyland" in the 2024 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Sweet Tooth Santas

 

QUESTION: I found this old-world German Santa candy container in an antique shop a couple of months ago. He’s made of papier mache  and stands about 6 inches tall. He’s wearing a cone-shaped hat and carries a small Christmas tree. A faint stamp on the bottom says “Made in Germany.” This little Santa comes apart in the middle to reveal a lined interior. Can you tell me more about this little gem?

ANSWER: You have indeed discovered a little Christmas gem. What you have is a Santa candy container made in Germany around the turn-of-the-20th-century. Called a Springhead, this little novelty features a Santa wearing a red-flocked coat and a cone-shaped hat. He also carries a small Christmas tree decorated with colored beads.

Of all the holiday decorations produced since the mid-19th century, few remain as cherished as early German Santa Claus candy containers. These handmade characterizations of Father Christmas remain a popular collectible.                           

The manufacture of Santa candy containers began in the 1880s. Makers sold them to an eager American market. By the end of the decade, U.S. retailers offered their customers German-made Santas in a variety of sizes and styles.   

Selling for a mere five cents, these Santas represented old Kris Kringle in snow-covered garb. Sometimes makers added gold tinsel to represent sparkling snow. Santa containers came in a variety of sizes, from five to seven-and-a-half inches tall. Santa, himself, had a finely painted red face and white beard and wore a heavy coat. Other Santas wore felt robes trimmed with lamb's wool or felt. Purple crepe paper sometimes lined the inside of the outfit. Some of the Santas carry a tiny wicker basket at their waist or on their back.

The Germans couldn't make them fast enough. The making of these early candy containers involved eight to ten families, each responsible for different areas of production. One family might fashion the boots, another would create Santa's clothing, while another would add Santa's rabbit-fur beard. But the most important step involved painting the face.

Over the years the details of Santa’s face changed. One of the biggest influences was the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” that portrayed Santa as a jolly old elf with a thick, flowing white beard and a white fur-trimmed suit. The public's impression of Father Christmas as a stern, thin old man changed dramatically in the late 19th century when Thomas Nast began illustrating St. Nick as a fat, jolly elf-like character for Harper's Weekly.

People originally saw St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, as a gift-giving old man who rode a white horse and gave goodies to children. Father Christmas took the initial image of St. Nicholas and gave it a twist, making him an old bearded man who doled out punishments as well as rewards.

Residents of certain parts of Germany saw Christkindchen, the German Christ child, as a gift giver. The English butchered the pronunciation of the name, so that today he’s popularly known as Kris Kringle. This figure traditionally wore a white robe and a white jeweled crown, traveling the countryside on a mule. He was said to have been accompanied by Pelze Nicol, a boy with a blackened face. Yet even Pelze Nicol developed into his own personality, becoming Belsnickle, a sinister-looking Santa who punished bad children.

Important scientific discoveries have also been incorporated into these Christmas figures, the most notable being the invention of the light bulb. Between1907 and 1910, the Germans made Santa candy containers featuring an electric lantern strapped to Santa's chest. The figure also held a feather tree decorated with three electric bulbs. A battery operated all four lights.

Likewise, Santa's means of transportation hasn't remained static over the years. Some candy containers show Santa on a sheep, donkey or mule, while others had him riding a sleigh made of moss. The Germans crafted log sleighs with the bed of the sleigh large enough to hold both candy and small wooden toys known as Ergebirge.

Where makers placed the candy and dried fruit and how they made them accessible varied from one container to another. Santas also carried different types of baskets. Some simply had a cloth or felt bag for goodies. Some candy containers came in two pieces, having removable heads or a cardboard tube that separated when Santa's legs and torso, enabling them to be pulled apart. Other examples, such as those showing Santa on a chimney, had a plug on the bottom or a paper seal.

Regardless of the type, people gave Santa candy containers mostly as gifts. After the receiver ate the  candy, they used the container as a holiday decoration. Even though people brought out these Santas for the holidays each year, they could be easily damaged not only by overzealous children allowed to play with the Santas, but also by prolonged exposure to sunlight. While children might physically destroy the candy container, the sun did consider-able harm by fading bright-red coats to a light-brown or turning the interior of the garment from purple to blue.

What destroyed the great artistry of German candy containers, however, was competition from foreign countries. By the 1920s the public was more willing to accept plainer-looking Santas, and the Japanese provided them. Although the Japanese based their candy containers on German examples, the fine details soon became too expensive to produce. The public accepted cheaper imitations, trading savings for a loss in quality.

It's that loss of true artistry over the years that makes vintage German-made Santa candy containers so collectible today. Prices begin at about $375 but rarer ones often sell for several thousand dollars.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "Return to Toyland" in the 2024 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Enriching the Human Spirit Through Pottery

 

QUESTION: A few years ago, I found several Pewabic ceramic tiles while browsing a local thrift shop. I’m not sure how old they are, but I suspect they’re newer ones, purchased as souvenirs of a visit to the Pewabic Pottery in Detroit. Since the tiles were very attractive, I bought them. However, I don’t know anything about Pewabic tiles. Recently, a friend told me they were by Pewabic. Can you please tell me more about the company? I’d like to buy more of these tiles and possibly start a collection.

ANSWER: Pewabic ceramic tiles have been a popular collectible for many years and are relatively easy to find. The pottery is still producing them, including special ceramic Christmas tree ornaments. 

In 1903, Mary Chase Perry Stratton, an artist and educator, and Horace J. Caulkins, a dental supplier and kiln manufacturer founded Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, Michigan, the same year that Henry Ford established his motor company in the city. Caulkins was considered a high-heat and kiln specialist, and developed the "Revelation kiln". Mary Chase Stratton was "the artistic and marketing force." The collaboration of the two and their blend of art and technology gave the pottery its distinctive qualities as Detroit's contribution to the International Arts and Crafts movement and exemplified the American  Craftsman Style. The pottery became a leader in the Arts & Crafts Movement for its handcrafted pottery and ceramic tiles.

The word Pewabic is derived from the Ojibwa (or Chippewa) word "wabic", which means metal, or "bewabic", which means iron or steel, and specifically referring to the "Pewabic" Upper Peninsula copper mine where Stratton walked with her father. Her workshop was an integral part of America’s Arts and Crafts movement, a backlash against mechanization that began in the late 19th century. In it she fashioned handmade, delicate wares, and was much like Henry Ford’s factory with its assembly-line production. 

Challenged by a friend to replicate a piece of shimmering Babylonian earthenware, Stratton decided to fire her pieces three times, adding a spray of kerosene for the final blast. The oil burst into flames, combusting with the metal oxides in the glaze to create a swirl of metallic colors. By 1909 she had perfected the iridescent glaze and the process of “fuming” that became the studio’s trademark.

The pottery started out in a carriage house in Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood (pictured). Quickly outgrowing this “Stable Studio,” renowned architect William Buck Stratton was hired to design the pottery studio on Detroit's East Side, which is still in use today. Production moved into this building in 1907.

Demand for Pewabic grew thanks to our stunning iridescent glazes and inspiring architectural tile installations throughout southeast Michigan and across the country. Generations have been enriched by the Pewabic art and tile adorning homes, schools, churches, and public institutions, cementing Pewabic into the rich cultural fabric of Detroit.

Under Mary Stratton's artistic leadership, Pewabic Pottery employees created lamps, vessels, and architectural tiles. Architectural pieces have been a staple in Pewabic's history. They were known for their iridescent (like an oil slick with an incredible translucent quality and a phantasmagoric depth of color) glazes. Architectural tiles were used in churches, concert halls, fountains, libraries, museums, schools and public buildings. The studio's work graces numerous edifices throughout Michigan and the rest of the United States. Noteworthy examples include Herzstein Hall at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Illinois. 

Stratton  oversaw operation of the pottery until her death at the age of 94. She gifted the pottery to Michigan State University in 1965 which used it for its ceramics education program. 

Pewabic tiles have long been in great demand in Detroit and southeastern Michigan for  use in buildings, and they can be found in many of the area's finest structures. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The  Vernacular Style" in the 2024 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Art Deco vs. Art Moderne

 

QUESTION: I’m a great lover of all things Art Deco, although I don’t know much about it. I’ve heard some people refer to this style as Streamlined Modern while other call it Art Moderne. Can you please tell me a little about this style? And what about Streamlined Modern? Is it related to Art Deco?

ANSWER: Art Deco and Art Moderne overlap, both stylistically and chronologically. Both were in vogue in the first half of the 20th century. But it's more a question of style than dates. While Art Deco emphasized verticality and stylized, geometric ornamentation, Art Moderne was a horizontal design, emphasizing movement and sleekness;.

The Art Deco style made its debut at the 1925 World's Fair in Paris—the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes or the International Exhibition of Modern and Industrial Decorative Arts—but the term Art Deco wasn’t used until 1966. A group of French architects and interior designers, who banded together to form the Societe des Artistes Decorateurs, developed the style to incorporate elements of style from diverse modern artworks and current fashion trends. Influence from Cubism and Surrealism, Egyptian and African folk art can be seen in the lines and embellishments, and Asian influences contribute symbolism, grace and detail.

Art Deco was already an internationally mature style by 1925—one that had flourished in the years following World War I and peaked at the time of the fair. The enormous commercial success of Art Deco ensured that designers and manufacturers throughout Europe continued to promote this style until well into the 1930s. 

Sometimes Deco designers applied ornamentation to the surface of an object, like a decorative skin, but at other times the utilitarian designs of bowls, plates, vases, and furniture were themselves purely ornamental. These objects weren’t intended for practical use but rather created for their decorative value alone, exploiting the beauty of form or material. Among the most popular and recurring motifs were the human figure, animals, flowers, and plants. Abstract geometric decoration was also common. 

Victorians loved to apply ornamentation onto furniture, to embellish basic frames and shapes. With Art Deco, the texture and embellishment came from contrasts in a variety of colored woods and inlays or in the material itself. Designers often used burled or birds-eye or visibly grained woods, tortoise shell, ivory, tooled leathers. Lacquered glosses accentuated color differences. Animal skins and patterned fabrics in bright colors were also popular as upholstery.

Though it spread to other countries, Art Deco was a distinctively French response to the postwar demand for luxurious objects and fine craftsmanship. French designers utilized lavish materials and such rich, traditional decorative techniques as inlay and veneer on streamlined geometric forms.

Art Deco reflected the general optimism and carefree mood that swept Europe and the United States following World War I. Hope and prosperity are represented in sunburst designs, chevrons and references to the good life in the elegant figures depicted in casual, sensual poses, often dancing or sipping cocktails. The modern influences heralded a bright and shining future outlook that found its way to architecture, jewelry, automobile design and even extended to ordinary things such as refrigerators and trash cans.

Exoticism also played a role in Art Deco. During the 1920s and 1930s, the French government encouraged designers to take advantage of resources—like raw materials and a skilled workforce—that could be imported from the nation's colonies in Asia and Africa. The resulting growth of interest in the arts of colonial countries in Asia and Africa led French designers to explore new materials, such as ivory, sharkskin, and exotic woods, techniques such as lacquering and ceramic glazes, and forms that evoked faraway places and cultures. 

Art Moderne
 Moderne, also called Streamlined Modern, was an American invention that first appeared in the 1930s and lasted into the 1940s. Although taking its design concepts from Art Deco, it was a completely different style It was bigger and bolder. While Art Deco placed an emphasis on shape, Art Moderne was streamlined. Unfortunately, this is the style most Americans confuse with Art Deco.

Think of Art Moderne as Art Deco on steroids. Moderne was positively streamlined—at the time a new scientific theory that shaping objects along curving lines to cut wind resistance would make them move more efficiently. The furniture in this style was much more pared down, making its outline more geometric in sleek curves like a tear drop or torpedo. Moderne designers often conceived pieces as a series of escalating levels- similar to a staircase or the setback effect of skyscrapers that were rising in every city.

While rich colors, bold geometry, and decadent detail work characterized Art Deco, evoking glamour, luxury, and order with symmetrical designs in exuberant shapes, Art Moderne was essentially a machine-made style focused on mass production, functional efficiency, and a more abstract look coming from the Bauhaus in Germany.

Much of it was designed to be mass-produced, but even if it wasn't, it looked as if it could be: Art Deco's balance and proportion extended to regularity and repetition. Much of the decorative interest in a Moderne piece comes from the precision of line and duplication of functional features. Art Moderne designs often conveyed a sense of motion.

Art Moderne designers favored simpler, aerodynamic lines and forms in the modeling of ships, airplanes, and automobiles. In the modern machine age smooth surfaces, curved corners, and an emphasis on horizontal lines came into fashion. Streamlining appeared on everyday objects and buildings such as roadside diners, motor hotels, movie theaters, early strip malls and shopping centers, seaside marinas, and air and bus terminals. Trains, ocean liners, airplane fuselages, as well as luxury automobiles all sported the Moderne look.

People often refer to furnishings and buildings from the 1920s through the 1940s as Art Deco. Understanding the difference between Art Deco and Art Moderne isn't always easy, especially since Art Deco was originally called Moderne.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The Age of Photography" in the 2023 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

What Goes Around Comes Around

 

QUESTION: For the last couple of years, I’ve been buying vintage kitchen utensils. At first, I had planned to use them to decorate my Mid-Century Modern kitchen, but I got hooked on them and now purchase them not only at flea markets but online. Some I recognize, others I don’t. What types of gadgets did women use in their kitchen? And are these old utensils worth collecting?

ANSWER: Kitchen gadgets are a popular collectible. And what’s interesting about them is that most are still usable in today’s kitchen. Even with all the electric and electronic devices available today, there are just some things that need to be done by hand, preferably with some sort of gadget. The proliferation of gadgets advertised on T.V., the Internet, and social media attests to this.

There are dozens of quirky looking utensils—graters, slicers, ice cream scoops, ice picks, juicers, peelers, sharpeners, mashers, ricers, strainers, sifters, scoops, scales, and ladles. The list is almost endless.

All these utensils—from food mincers, pitters, and corers to spiral whisks and jar lifters—eased even the most basic of a housewife's culinary chores. Ingenious kitchen gadgets made exacting tasks—such as defining the outer edges of a pie crust with a pie crimper—a pleasure. Colored handles added to their attraction.

During the late 19th century, the modernization of the American kitchen had begun. The kitchen was a place where families gathered informally to cook and bake, make butter, can and preserve fruits and vegetables, peel potatoes, dry herbs, and wash dishes. And it took a variety of utensils to complete these jobs.

From the 1920's through the 1940's, large and small companies manufactured  hundreds of these gadgets, trying to help make kitchen work easier and more colorful. Brightly painted cooking utensils of the 1920s brought the first dab of color into American kitchens. Apple green led the cutlery color wheel, followed by Mandarin red. 

What could be better than homemade pie with homemade crust? Most pie crimpers had wooden handles and resembled small versions of today's pizza cutters Whalers often carved them of whale ivory for their wives and sweethearts back home. By the 20th century, makers introduced metal with the wood. Of course, there were many other baking gadgets like dough blenders, pie lifters, rolling pins, and spatulas. 

Before food processors and electric beaters, there were efficient hand and mechanical beaters. Among these were a variety of wooden handled spiral whisks, flat wire whips, and, of course, those very efficient rotary beaters. The forerunner to the food processor was the glass pitcher beater which came in variety of shapes and sizes.

Old choppers and mincers had wooden handles and stainless steel curved blades. Many of the old ones, made of glass, wood, or steel, were more durable. Some glass jar choppers and mincers had handles to turn, making the work easier and faster. Of course, cooks also used grinders mounted to the corner of the kitchen table. Simply by putting almost anything into the wide opening at the top and turning the handle, they could grind meat, nuts, and berries.

Department stores such as Abraham & Straus, Macy's,, and Wanamaker's led the market selling colorful vintage utensils and other kitchen paraphernalia. 

Many small businesses produced these labor-saving utensils. One of the most notable was A & J Manufacturing Company of Binghamton, New York. Colored utensils from A & J can be found at flea markets and antique shops and shows simply because these products proliferated nationally and internationally in the kitchen-cutlery market for nearly 40 years.

A & J began humbly in 1909 in the homes of Benjamin T. Ash and Edward H. Johnson, who lived in rural upstate New York. After creating and marketing their first product—a one-handed eggbeater—they added numerous other kitchen gadgets with natural wooden handles to their product line. By 1918, A & J had moved to a commercial building and employed 200 workers who cranked out some four million tools annually.

The company was the first to offer knives, spatulas, ladles, and other items in one package. 

These early 20th-century kitchen gadgets have a strong relationship to today’s “As-seen-on-TV”  gadgets, advertised on many of the retro channels. Take the one-hand blender. Except for its streamlined shape and lack of a colored handle, it’s very similar to Ash’s and West’s one-handed eggbeater. It puts a new spin on the old saying, “What goes around comes around.”

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "The Age of Photography" in the 2023 Holiday Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.