A La Française

For over 30 years The Sylvan Winds has earned both critical and audience acclaim for its spirited performances and innovative programming as one of New York's most versatile chamber music ensembles. 

The group has performed at numerous prestigious music halls and festivals, including the Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, Town Hall, Merkin Concert Hall and Symphony Space, and the Governor's Arts Awards. They have also performed at the White Mountains, Cape Cod and Caramoor International Music Festivals, have toured major university and chamber music series nationally including Amherst College, the Chicago Chamber Music Society, Rutgers University's Summerfest, and the University of the Pacific, as well as performing in Korea, including the Sejong Cultural Center.

Tonight they open their Spring 2011 Season at Carlton Hobbs with a concert entitled A La Française, featuring pieces by Rameau, Kriens, Chrétien, Cowell, Dvorak. The concert will also feature selections from Grétry's opéra-comique Zemire et Azor, which, interestingly is also the subject of five extremely rare faux tapestry panels in our collection, circa 1775. 

A favorite of Marie-Antoinette, Zémire et Azor was first performed at Fontainebleau in November of 1771 and was dedicated to Madame du Barry. It would later be performed for the emperor Napoleon.  The story was an adaptation set in Persia of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's tale 'La Belle et Bete' ('Beauty and the Beast') first published in 1756. The costume and décor illustrated in the panels follow the much imitated, extravagant A La Turc style promoted by Marie-Antoinette, which represented the height of fashion and opulence.  It seems extremely likely that the five panels were conceived as preliminary designs or maquettes for tapestries, probably for one of the great French factories such as Aubusson or Beauvais.

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The Sailor's Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

Before there was Hallmark, you might have received a "sailor's valentine" from your darling 19th-century seafarer across the ocean. 

Traditional sailor's valentines are keepsakes typically made of octagonal boxes, usually constructed of mahogany or cedrella (Spanish cedar), hinged together in pairs which open to reveal elaborate mosaics made of colorful shells covered by glass. T

he patterns often featured a heart or compass rose design, and included a sentimental message such as "Remember Me" or "Home Again." 

The romantic myth behind these tokens of affection is that sailors constructed the "valentines" for their sweethearts to pass idle hours at sea. This may be a possibility for their origin, however, the vast majority were actually produced as part of the souvenir trade on Barbados and other Caribbean islands, mainly between 1830 and 1890. Barbados was a port of call for American and English ships, and the sailors would purchase the valentines as tokens of love to bring back to their wives, mothers, and sisters. According to Sailors' Valentines, by John Fondas, the primary source for these souvenirs was the New Curiosity Shop, located in McGregor Street, Bridgetown, Barbados, owned by the English brothers B.H. and George Belgrave.

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Massive mirror on the wall...how'd you get hung up there in the first place?

This impressive baroque mirror, of carved and painted wood, is done in the manner of 

the celebrated sculptor Filippo Parodi (1620-1702). 

While it may look like a little reflective cloud, don't let the image fool you-- this massive mirror measures a whopping 8 1/2 feet wide by 9 feel tall (and a foot in depth)! 

Here are some photos taken during the installation of the mirror in our gallery. We needed ladders, a crane, and lots of manpower. 

And here is a look at the finished product: 

 At over 500 pounds, the mirror is hung (over an equally monumental desk) with a little help from some wooden supports.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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"One Small Step for Man"

A friend of ours recently brought to our attention an amazing exhibition that was held last Spring and Summer at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne entitled Der Mond. Over 130 paintings, drawings, prints and photographs were exhibited, spanning 500 years of human personification of the moon through art and science. 

It is particularly interesting to us because our own painting of the moon (Mond, by Julius Grimm) was created by a scientific photographer that, after having produced countless lunar maps, decided to paint this extraordinary natural satellite with a blend of art and science.

The exhibition features a second painting of the moon by Grimm, a copy twice the size of our original, executed 11 years later and now hanging in Tübingen University Museum.  

We think it can be best summed up by Apollo 13 star, Tom Hanks, who subsequently wrote/directed/produced/narrated the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon,: "That going to the moon was not just a technological endeavor but an artistic one, like Michaelangelo's frescoes on the Sistine chapel ceiling."

(Photos: Mond, Julius Grimm, Carlton Hobbs LLC;  Apollo 11 Moonwalk; The Sheepfold, Moonlight, Jean-Francois Millet)

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James has us all wondering-- What will he wear at Masterpiece London?

Our glamorous friend, James Andrew, visited our gallery last week with equally hot photographer, Lars Stephan. 

James is currently featuring a "What is James Wearing in Paris" section on his blog (www.whatisjameswearing.com), but interrupted the series to spend some time on our grand staircase. The extravagant escalier

 get us all in the mood for the upcoming Masterpiece Fair in London, which James will be visiting and where we will be exhibiting from June 22nd through the 29th. It promises to become one of the best antiques and fine art fairs in the world and you can read more about our plans for the fair here!  

Lars Stephan's  images have been featured in numerous international magazines and his first solo exhibition was held last summer at Envoy Enterprises here in New York. You can view his portfolio on his website, www.larsstephan.com. 

Thanks to both of them for stopping by, and we hope many of you are able to hop the pond and enjoy this inaugural antiques show!

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On The Street Where We Live

Preserving the past is something that is extremely important to us.  Luckily, we happen to be located in Carnegie Hill, an area of Manhattan that is teeming with beautifully and historically preserved architecture. The land that used to be home to the Wechquaesgek Indians are now dotted with rowhouses in styles ranging from Neo-Grec to Renaissance Revival.

Our next door neighbors are in the process of renovating their building, and we couldn't be more excited that they are petitioning to have the Landmarks Preservation Commission approve a restoration which falls in line with the caliber of other façades on the block .  

One of our absolute favorite structures are the two joined clapboard houses located on East 92nd Street.  According to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, these were thought to be built around 1859 and 1860.

There are two other wooden houses still erect in Carnegie Hill believed to be constructed around 1852 and 1866.  Together, these four homes comprise the oldest buildings in the neighborhood.

Our own building was used for many different purposes in it's lifetime.  The design of the mansion was executed by John Russell Pope for Virginia Graham Fair Vanderbilt in 1930. The building went on to become the Permanent Mission of Romania to the United Nations in 1957, and then the Lycée Française de New York in 1978.  The mansion has been listed on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1982.

Soon after our building was completed, two more impressive houses were built on the same block. Across the street there stands a Georgian townhouse built for George F. Baker Sr., president of First National Bank. Commissioned by his son, George Jr., the house was designed by architects Delano & Aldrich. The firm had previously completed the younger Baker's mansion (on the corner of Park Avenue and 93rd) in the same style and in the neighboring lot.

The second house was built for William Goadby Loew, who married the elder Baker’s daughter, Florence. Loew commissioned his English Regency-style house to be built next door to our Vanderbilt mansion.  It was designed by A. Stewart Walker in 1931 and was the last of the luxury townhouses.

With all the history present on our street already, we look forward to seeing our neighbors beautiful façade added to the list!

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Greening Our Spring Cleaning!

Now that spring has sprung, why not try a new approach to your spring cleaning? Instead of grabbing the Windex and 409 to take care of dull winter dirt, purge your house of all those toxic chemicals and clean with products that help you as much as the environment! 

We use all-natural, organic cleaners in the office; they are so much more gentle on the earth and work just as well! (Not to mention, they limit your exposure to awful toxins.) Some of our favorite products in the office are:

Seventh Generation Products

Based out of Vermont, this company is dedicated to being "socially responsible."  The company takes its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois: "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."

The company also donates 10% of profits to non-profit community, environmental, health and responsible business organizations

ECOVER

This company was just nominated for the European Business Award for the Environment!  This company also offers a variety of cleaning products that are super green.  Even the company's main building has an entirely grass covered roof!

GET SERIOUS

An environmentally friendly stain, oder, and pheromone extractor for pets!  We like this product because it's non-toxic and enzyme free, and we don't want to expose our dogs to chemicals either!

We try to stay away from commercial cleaners that have harsh chemicals in them like, bleach, chlorine, formaldehyde, ammonia, and hydrochloric acid. In the past 40 years, at least 70,000 new chemicals have been released into the environment through new consumer and industrial products and food. According to the American Poison Control Center, more than 120,000 children were unintentionally exposed to harmful chemicals from cleaners.  Asthma, eczema, and other allergic reactions can be triggered by irritating household cleaners.

 

The warning labels on cleaning products aren't just chosen by chance.  These words are required by law to be on the bottles according to how harmful the toxins within are. 

CAUTION means...

An ounce to a pint may be fatal or harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin by an adult 180-pound man. 

WARNING means...

A teaspoon to an ounce may be fatal or harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin by an adult 180-pound man.

DANGER means...

A taste to a teaspoon is fatal if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin by an adult 180-pound man.

Mike Watson, Ph.D, a toxicologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, says that household cleaners labeled as disinfectants must be registered pesticides with the EPA. Do you really want to spray pesticides in your home when other, less toxic products can do the trick? For many everyday tasks, there are readily available natural products that can serve the same purpose, may be less harmful, and may even cost less. For example, mixing one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in one quart of water makes an excellent glass cleaner! 

Whichever method you choose, remember to

(photos: www.ic.nc.gov; http://www.greenphoenixproperty.com/)

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