http://luxurytraveler.com/blog Europe Exclusively en-us Nucleus CMS v3.2 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://luxurytraveler.com/blog/nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://luxurytraveler.com/blog http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2772
Located on quai Voltaire, the Ratton-Ladrière gallery has been one of the must-see antiquity galleries of the "Carré Rive Gauche" for some thirty years. Having been established on the Right Bank (14 rue Marignan, Paris 8th district) for several decades by Charles Ratton and Guy Ladrière, the Ratton-Ladrière gallery is now known internationally for its sculptures and art objects, but also its paintings and drawings, which primarily cover the Renaissance and Baroque periods. See the full release ..... ]]> Objet d'art http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2772 Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:47:41 -0400 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2738
"Vienna, as a 'gateway to the East" is ideally situated. Austria and the neighbouring countries still harbour many interesting, privately owned carpets that need to be discovered and traded." in the words of Wolfgang Matschek, the resident Dorotheum carpet expert. As old and antique carpets and fabrics regularly achieve high sales prices Dorotheum now offers a marketplace for such prime items.

For this first carpet auction, Wolfgang Matschek - who joined Dorotheum in 2010 after acquiring extensive professional experience with Adil Besim, Udo Langauer, Oritop, and elsewhere - has assembled approximately 200 high quality carpets and textiles.

The primary focus of the first carpet auction rests on an exceptional private collection of Caucasus carpets. These items come up for auction unpublished, unrestored, and unworn by market exposure: geometrical carpets, distinguished by their original, archaic, and highly colourful character. They include a large Talish from the Southeastern Caucasus Region, measuring ca. 2m x 1m, a very rare, early carpet with a red backing from the first half of the 19th century (€ 9.000 - 12.000). One of the auction's most important pieces is a ca 2m x 1,5m village carpet (Karatchoph) from the Southwest Caucasus. Estimated at 15.000 to 20.000 Euro, this carpet is in excellent condition and dates to the middle of the 19th century.

For further information, please follow this link .....





]]> Objet d'art http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2738 Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0400 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2737 For further information, please follow this link ....


]]> Destinations http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2737 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:00:00 -0400 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2744
The BritRail Free Day limited time offer will extend your BritRail Freedom of Scotland TravelPass by an additional day of rail travel, valid in Standard Class Adult and Child fares, for either 4 days within 8 days or 8 days within 15 days, plus one of course! These flexible travel days offer great value, as BritRail pass-holders can take multiple journeys on the same day, hopping on and off trains, hassle-free.

This unparalleled flexibility provides endless options, allowing you to stay for a few more days in a particular city, or to add an extra destination to your itinerary. Not to mention rail travel throughout Scotland provides for some of the best scenic experiences available, from breathtaking landscapes of the Highlands to rugged coastal views. Imagine the view through your train window!

Passengers will also enjoy travelling on UK's National Rail Network with a BritRail Pass, as it's the most convenient and economical way to explore Britain, thanks to its fast and frequent service and environmentally friendly advantages. To browse the full range of rail passes and tickets offered by ACP Rail please follow this link....
In addition, please stay tuned for BritRail's Low Season Discount, available from September 1st for travel between November 1st, 2010 and February 28th, 2011 where customers receive up to 20% off popular BritRail Passes. ]]> TravelScene http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2744 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:30:00 -0400 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2752
The play features Broadway star Annie Purcell in the title role, Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis in the role of the Chorus, acclaimed television actress Pamela Reed as Clytemnestra, and Tony Award nominee Manoel Felciano as Orestes.

The world premiere of this newly commissioned translation by celebrated playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker is directed by Los Angeles native Carey Perloff, artistic director of San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater. Tickets: $42; students/seniors $38. Dates: Thursdays–Saturdays, September 9–October 2, 2010 8:00 p.m.

Note: Don't miss the companion exhibition The Art of Ancient Greek Theater, opening August 26.

For more information on The Getty, please follow this link . . . .




]]> Overtures http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2752 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:26:00 -0400 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2736
For over 2,000 years visitors have been enjoying this golden city. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Bath has some of the finest architectural and historic treasures in Europe, including the Roman Baths and the Pump Room, 15th-century Abbey and stunning Royal Crescent.

Bath's status as a world-class city has also been further enhanced this year by the opening of Thermae Bath Spa. Britain's only natural thermal spa offering visitors the chance to bathe in the naturally warm waters as the Romans and Celts did over 2000 years ago.

Set in the rolling Somerset countryside, less than 2 hours from London, Bath is a beautiful and unforgettable place to visit. The city has a lively, year-round calendar of festivals, theatre, musical and sporting events. You can easily explore the compact city on foot and discover the diverse range of restaurants and traditional pubs interspersed among some of the best quality independent shops in Britain.

Well worth a visit in Bath ....
Thermae Bath Spa • Roman Baths Pump Room • Bath Abbey • No 1 Royal Crescent • Assembly Rooms • Jane Austen Centre • American Museum • Museum of Costume • Prior Park Landscape Garden • Holburne Museum of Art


]]> Destinations http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2736 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:00:00 -0400 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2729 For more information please follow this link .....
]]> ArtScene http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2729 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:00:00 -0400 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2735
The price for the performances will be $65 (a 10% discount applies if three or more tickets are purchased). The evening consists of a one-hour performance (in this theatre without walls) followed by a mingling of artists and musicians who will talk, eat, drink champagne and have a rare opportunity to really talk between themselves. Created by French pianist/melodist Francois Chouchan, the salon series was inspired by Marie Antoinette during 1780 when the SALON DE MUSIQUE was erected at the Petit Trianon Domain within the vast gardens of the Chateau de Versailles. Chouchan has invited some of the most prestigious internationally renowned artists to join in this series, many of whom have performed with the LA Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Capital Ensemble, to mention a few. The compositions being played include those by Dvorak, Schubert, Mozart, Brahms, Saint-Saens, Ravel and Debussy.

By removing the stage, Le Salon de Musiques offers a more personal touch to listeners eager to familiarize themselves with Chamber Music. The goal is to bring together an audience of disparate backgrounds…music lovers who believe that this form of melodic artistry brings out the best in humanity.

For further information please follow this link ..... You may also follow Le Salon de Musiques on Twitter@salondemusiques and on Facebook.]]> Overtures http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2735 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:00:00 -0400 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2770
CHINESE ART, ANCIENT THROUGH CONTEMPORARY
At the Ralph M. Chait Galleries, 724 Fifth Avenue, An Autumn Feast of Color:
Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art will showcase an array of polychrome decorated porcelains and works of art of superb quality from a private collection. One of the highlights is a very rare pair of 18th century painted ivory, jade and hardstone appliqué figures of a court lady and gentleman. www.rmchait.com

Literati Musing: Inscriptions on Chinese Paintings and Scholar Objects, will be held at China 2000 Fine Art, 434A East 75th Street. Like the contemporary Twitter, ancient inscriptions on Chinese art were the momentary (and now art historically monumental) thoughts about society, relationships, politics, and aesthetics of the literati. Karen and Leon Wender gathered together objects for the scholar’s desk and Chinese paintings that bear inscriptions by eminent scholars and calligraphers of Chinese history. The scholar’s words, literally etched in stone or wood or written with indelible ink on paper, provide clues to where they were at particular times in their lives and offer their knowledge about the object or the painting upon which they inscribe their thoughts. Among the exhibition’s highlights is an Important Scholar Rock Anhui Inkstone with calligraphy by Ding Jing, dated 1750 and a Ming dynasty poem carved onto on a soapstone seal-paste box by Deng Shiru, a very important calligrapher and seal carver from the 18th century. www.China2000Fineart.comKaikodo, 74 East 79th Street, presents Buddhist Lives, which includes Chinese and Japanese paintings from the 14th century to contemporary works featuring images of the Buddha along with stone and gilt bronze Buddhist sculpture. The paintings cover a wide range of styles and subjects, from an early image of Sakyamuni attributed to the Yuan-dynasty painter Yan Hui, to several paintings of lohan dating to the Ming and Qing dynasties to a “Bodhidharma Meditating” by Zhang Daqian painted in the 1930’s. The most recent works include stamped images of the Buddha by Mansheng Wang, who had a successful exhibition at the Today Museum in Beijing this summer, and a photograph by Michael Cherney of a bodhisattva from a Tang-period Buddhist cave printed on xuan paper and mounted as a hanging scroll. Japanese paintings featured in the exhibition include a large and impressive “Neihanzu” (death of the Buddha), esshin’s “Daruma,” Isshi’s “Kannon,” and Kano Tanyu’s “Jizo.” www.kaikodo.com

Marble at M D Flacks, Ltd. 32 East 57th Street, will feature small marble treasures including: A Leaf-shaped Tray, circa 17th-early 18th century; a rare 18th century white marble vase, and a rare Censor (17th-early 18th century) that is identical in shape to ceramic and bronze examples from the Ming and early Qing dynasties. According to Marcus Flacks, this is the first time that an exhibition solely concentrated on White Marble, sometimes referred to as Chinese White Jade, has been mounted. “There was a rich tradition of skilled masonry in China and the quality and variety included in this unique show affords us a look into that culture,” Flacks said. www.mdflacks.com

INDIAN, HIMALAYAN, AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN WORKS OF ART
Art of the Past, 1242 Madison Avenue, presents Rasananda – A Celebration of Aesthetic Bliss. The items selected for this exhibition explore the perceptions of beauty in the history of South and Southeast Asian art. Highlights are: a Ramayana painting from Kangra, circa 1820, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana Visiting the Hermitage of Bharadwaja. Among the other works included in the exhibition are a colossal stucco head of a Bodhisattva from the Gandhara Region, and an important bronze Chola Period sculpture of Parvati. www.artofpast.com

Following the success of previous co-exhibitions, the Asian Art galleries at 311 East 72nd Street, which include Arnold Lieberman, Leiko Coyle Asian Art and Theresa McCullough, join forces once again for September Asia Week.

Leiko Coyle features Recent Acquisitions, a selection of Tibetan Thangkas ranging from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Complimenting these works on fabric will be an array of sculpture from Tibet, Nepal and India, including a large stone relief of Ganesh, the Hindu God of prosperity and good fortune. www.lcasianart.com

Arnold Lieberman presents a special display of exceptional recent acquisitions. Included are a large (and fierce) 17th- - 18th century Tibetan Thangka painting of Sri Devi, a bronze Gupta period water vessel in the form of Nandi, a rare stone Vaishnavite goddess from the Hoysala Era in India, and other distinctive objects primarily from South Asia and the Himalayan regions. www.arnoldlieberman.com

Theresa McCullough, rounds out the trio with her Recent Acquisitions, which includes a selection of Indian and Southeast Asian sculpture and Indian miniature paintings. The highlight is an exquisitely executed painting, titled Padam Singh Rathore and Consort Drinking Rose Water, Noor Muhammed (known as Nure), who ran the royal workshop of Bikaner from 1700-1715 and had previously been a leading artist in the workshops of Ruk-Nud-Din, Ibrahim and Nathu Ji. He was one of the master painters of the Bikaner school. Padam Singh Rathore was killed in battle in 1683 and the piece was painted in commemoration of him and would have been presented to the royal family as a token of respect. www.theresamccullough.com

Kapoor Galleries Inc., 1015 Madison Avenue, will present Recent Acquisitions featuring an important sculpture from Eastern India of a Dancing Ganesha, dated to the 12th century. Also on view will be a finely cast image of a Jain Tirthankara, from South India, and a very fine leaf from a Ramayana series, from Mandi, dating to circa 1700. www.kapoorgalleries.com
Indian and Southeast Asian Master Works of Art, at Doris Wiener, 1001 Fifth Avenue, will include a Dancing Ganesh in black stone (Pala Period, 9th-10th century) from Northeastern India or Bengal, Chola bronzes, a rare pre-Khmer Krishna Govinda, a selection of Himalayan gilt bronzes and Thangkas, a sumptuous Pala Buddha, and recently acquired Khmer and Indian sculptures.

In Flora, Fauna, and Sacred Geometry; A Timeless Presence, Nancy Wiener, Inc., at The Ansonia on 2109 Broadway, reveals that life and form from the simple to the intricate are an integral part of sacred Indian and Southeast Asian art, finding their ways from great public edifices into the private settings of devotion and adornment. One example Wiener will showcase is an arresting Pre-Angkorian Ganesha, which merges the human and the animal into a single pristine form.


JAPANESE AND KOREAN, ANCIENT TO CONTEMPORARY ART
Joan B. Mirviss Ltd., 39 East 78th Street, presents Flights of Fancy, masterworks in enameled porcelain by Kutani master Takegoshi Jun. Forty new works will be featured, including several larger scale forms, created exclusively for this show, his second one in the United States. Using his signature jewel-like glazes to depict various species of birds, Takegoshi’s carefully painted, sometimes whimsical compositions are always in harmony with his uniquely shaped hand-built vessels. His use of polychrome over-glaze enamels on opaque and visually flat white
porcelain adds to the push and pull between surface and space. www.mirviss.com


Scholten Japanese Art, 145 West 58th Street, marks their tenth year in New York with a special presentation, 2010: 20th Century Japanese Prints and Paintings, 10th Anniversary. This exhibition reflects the gallery’s continuing interest in the intertwining development of Japanese woodblock prints from the early to mid-20th century by artists who designed shin-hanga (lit. ‘new prints’) and sosaku-hanga (lit. ‘creative prints’). The show will include twenty to thirty woodblock prints and a few original paintings, by popular masters such as Hashiguchi Goyo, Kaburagi Kiyokata, Ito Shinsui, Kobayakawa Kiyoshi (1896-1948), Kitano Tsunetomi, Takahashi Hiroaki, Kawase Hasui, and Torii Kotondo. Scholten will also exhibit a select few examples of color woodblock prints by Western artists who played a role in the development of these genres, including Arthur Wesley Dow, Emil Orlik. Bertha Lum, and Fritz Capelari. www.scholten-japanese.com

On view at Kang Collection Korean Art, 9 East 82nd Street, are two concurrent art exhibitions, which will illustrate the different realms of men and women during the late Joseon Dynasty: Revelations of the Brush: Joseon Scholar Ink Paintings, exhibited in the main gallery, showcases classic monochromatic screens and hanging scrolls by Joseon scholar officials. The traditional subjects, include the Four Gentlemen (plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and pine), landscapes, and calligraphy, are depicted by different artists, revealing individual varieties of expression and character. Hidden Beauty: Lacquerware, Garments, and Furniture from the Joseon Women’s Quarters, highlights furnishings that would have adorned the inner quarters of Joseon women, including fine lacquer cosmetic boxes, mirrors and tables; metal-fitted wooden chests; decorative screens; and traditional silk garments. www.kangcollection.com


Asian Art Dealers New York is a dealer-run and self-vetted organization whose thirty-one international members rank among the most prominent in the world. Check with each gallery for dates and gallery hours. For additional information visit www.AsianArtDealersNY.com ]]> Objet d'art http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2770 Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:00:00 -0400 http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2734 London, England -- LAPADA The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers is the UK’s largest trade organisation for professional dealers. Its prestigious annual Fair is a showcase for 90 members to display for sale fine, rare and beautiful works of art, furniture, jewellery, pictures, silver and sculpture from the 15th to 21st centuries. This year’s Fair is held from Wednesday 22nd to Sunday 26th September 2010 in a special marquee in Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London W1.

From an exquisite C15th Flemish manuscript miniature to an exuberant watercolour by C20th Spanish artist Joan Miró, a centre table made for Queen Victoria for Windsor Castle to a recently discovered rare Lalique jewel, there is truly something for everyone at this Fair. Affordable decorative objects can be found alongside important works for the international collector and connoisseur.

All works offered for sale are fully vetted for quality and authenticity by a team of experts and buyers have the additional assurance that all exhibitors abide by the LAPADA Code of Practice. Objects are selected by the exhibitors for their craft in manufacture, rarity, intrinsic beauty and finesse. For both professional and private buyers the LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair Berkeley Square is a perfect occasion to inspect, assess, learn about and buy traditional, modern and contemporary works of art. Acquiring a work of art at the LAPADA Fair, whether priced under £100 or over £100,000, is a personal and pleasurable experience.

The majority of exhibitors at the 2009 event have returned, whilst new dealers selected from an extensive waiting list of applicants include: Peter Harrington (rare books), Anthony Woodburn (clocks), Mark J. West (glass), Ted Few (works of art), Epoque Fine Jewels, Farnham Carpets, C.J. Martin (Coins) & Ancient Art Ltd, Lucy Johnson (oak furniture & modern art), Richard Gardner Antiques, The Taylor Gallery (C20th pictures), Paul Nash Fossil Décor, Mary Cooke Antiques (silver), Robert Bowman Gallery (sculpture), Martin du Louvre (modern & contemporary art), Borsdorf (jewellery) and Sue Ollemans (oriental jewellery and works of art). A full list of exhibitors can be found at www.lapadalondon.com.

Amongst works to be offered at the Fair are:Epoque Fine Jewels – a previously unknown design by René Lalique; an Art Nouveau glass, enamel, gold and diamond wood anemone pendant c1900. This exceptional pendant was the discovery of the year at the Dutch version of the Antiques Roadshow. It was the granddaughter of the former Dutch consul in Russia who kept this treasure in a little cardboard box. Her grandfather had purchased the piece directly from the master René Lalique at an exhibition in Saint Petersburg in 1903. During the Russian Revolution the family fled to the Netherlands where the pendant remained for almost a century. This extraordinary finding is previously unknown in the oeuvre of René Lalique.

Robert Bowman - the original plaster model of “Thought”, which Winifred Turner exhibited in bronze at the Royal Academy in 1933, which was purchased for the Tate Gallery, and the original plaster version of “Youth", the model for Winifred Turner’s famous bronze Royal Academy submission of 1934 now on prominent display in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Peter Harrington – Thomas Chippendale: The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director: Being a large Collection of the Most Elegant and Useful Designs of Household Furniture, In the most Fashionable Taste... This celebrated pattern book by the master of furniture design is offered in its third, 1762, edition, in fine condition.

Timothy Millet - a gold brooch of 1820 containing a lock of hair from King George III. The brooch would have belonged to a member of the Royal household inside and is inscribed on the reverse A.E.H./ George III’s Hair.

C.J. Martin Ltd. - a late Elizabethan gold half-pound coin c1600 depicting the head of Queen Elizabeth I.

Books Illustrated – an art deco style portrait by Edmund Dulac (1882-1952) of film actress Marion Davies, gouache on paper, c1922, created from a still of the film 'When Knighthood was in Flower'. The film featured Marion Davies as Mary Tudor, younger sister of Henry VIII, and was released in 1922.

Geoffrey Stead – a sumptuous Louix XV period lit a polonaise with original woven silk drapes, c1790.

W.R.Harvey - an extraordinary William & Mary period kingwood oyster veneered and rosewood cabinet on chest attributed to Thomas Pistor Senior of Ludgate Hill, London, c1690.

Ted Few - ‘Nature & Artifice: Idiosyncratic objects from around the globe’. Inspired by a learned gentleman’s Cabinet of Curiosities, Ted will exhibit a mix of natural objects (spanning a millennium in date) that have become art, i.e. they may once have been made for use but through age or antiquity have become artworks in their own right, or natural curios embellished by man to emphasise their rarity. Examples include a silver-mounted flask made from a gourd, dated 1691 (probably English); a bark stone made in Mexico around 1000AD used to smooth bark in to paper, and a hand club carved from the penis of a walrus c1800.

William Cook - The Billiot Family Clock, made in Jersey c1820 by Edouard Billiot. This fine Cuban mahogany Regency long-case eight-day clock was made by Edouard Billiot, resident in Jersey c1815/20, during which time he married Elizabeth Hamon. He may have made the clock to celebrate his marriage and furnish the new family home. The clock has since passed directly through five generations of the Billiot family until acquired by the dealer. It is extremely unusual to know the complete history of a piece of antique furniture from its original making until the present day and even rarer for such a piece to have remained in the makers family. The clock is original throughout, including the winding key.

Marc Antoine du Ry Medieval Art – a group of works inspired by the great Flemish primitive painter Rogier van der Weyden (Tournai and Brussels 1st half C15th), including a carved oak mourning Mary from a crucifixion group, Southern Netherlands (Tournai) c1480, 70cm tall, whose drapery is inspired by Rogier's paintings, and a small (134x87mm) manuscript miniature on vellum of St John the Apostle by an as yet unknown Flemish primitive painter, c1440, contemporary with and also inspired by Rogier as well as by Jan van Eyck.

Atelier Limited – an exuberant 1972 work on paper, Tête, by Joan Miró (1893-1983) in watercolour, black crayon and pastel (23½x30 7/8in), signed. The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Jacques Dupin. Exhibited in Madrid at Galeria Guillermo de Osma, and at Barcelona’s Oriol Galeria d’Art, Picasso-Miró, 2004-05, no.29, illustrated. Provenance: Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York; Private Collection.

Butchoff - an important centre table made for Queen Victoria’s royal residence Windsor Castle by Holland & Sons. Constructed in amboyna, with giltwood accents, this spectacular tilt top circular table is finished with a thumbnail moulded edge. Stamped with a marque de fer ‘Holland & Sons, VR (capped with the royal crown) Windsor Castle, Room 243, 1866’, but made c1850 (H: 29in/74cm, Dia: 42in/107cm). This table was de-accessioned from the Royal Collection c1953, and was originally in one of a suite of bedrooms.

Holly Johnson Antiques - a superb walnut and thuya wood display sideboard by Gillows to the designs of Bruce Talbot, with inlaid details, carving and neo-classical highlights. Stamped. English, c1877.

Campbell Wilson – a beautifully delicate pencil study of the Head of A Girl with Downcast Eyes by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Bt, A.R.A. (1833-1898). Provenance: Margaret Drummond, and by direct descent through the family. Margaret Drummond became a favourite sitter of Burne-Jones in the 1880s. Price £9500.

Entry to the Fair is £15; tickets can be bought at the door or in advance from LAPADA on +44 (0)20 7823 3511 or fair@lapada.org. For further information please follow this link .... ]]> Objet d'art http://luxurytraveler.com/blogindex.php?itemid=2734 Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:38:00 -0400