FEATURE
FEATURE
equally enthusiastic clientele. There is also a large group
of much later eyes set in lace pins. Some were painted
with the intent to deceive and set in old and in new
brooch cases. She ends her discussion of fakes by stating
that “Now, in the age of digital reproduction, if Oscar
de la Renta creates a jewelry line with digital copies of
images taken from the exhibition catalogue The Look of
Love, of course it is fashion—not fake.” She illustrates a
pair of Oscar de la Renta eye portrait earrings.
More evidence of the resurgence of eye portraits in
the early 20th century is suggested from newspaper
reports that miniature eye portraits were soon to be worn
by members of the “400,” women of elite New York
society by the names of Vanderbilt, MacKay, Cruger,
and Fish. In 1928 Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough,
More Book Reviews
by M.A.D. Staff
“Y
ou can’t buy happiness, but you can
buy books and that’s kind of the same
thing.” We don’t know who first said
this, but it’s a good reminder that books make great
gifts. Here are brief reviews of books we’ve recently
seen. We have included contact information for
books that you can order directly from the publisher
or museum. We also encourage you to consider
supporting your local independent bookstore this
holiday season, and all year round.
A Year at Clove Brook Farm: Gardening, Tending
Flocks, Keeping Bees, Collecting Antiques, and
Entertaining Friends by Christopher Spitzmiller
(Rizzoli International Publications, 2021, 240
pages, $45 plus S/H from [www.rizzolibookstore.
com]).
Ceramicist and designer Christopher Spitzmiller is
the creator of what he calls “the ultimate weekend
farm,” a formerly rundown property he purchased
in 2008. This book is a celebration of his life on
that farm. After an introduction by Martha Stewart,
Spitzmiller takes us on a yearlong journey guided by
the seasons. In this book full of lush photographs,
tips, recipes, and to-do lists, Spitzmiller shares his
passion for gardens, flowers, entertaining, and animal
husbandry.
His favorite flowers are peonies, hydrangeas, and
dahlias. Of lilacs, he advises: “Cut them when they
are just beginning to open, a quarter to half bloomed.
Then, as soon as you have cut the branches, quickly
get their tips into a bowl of boiling—yes, boiling—
water and let them rest for ten minutes. Then move
them to a container of cool water. The branches
will have softened and become more pliable.” He
counsels us to plant spring bulbs “not structured,
row-on-row” but in “amorphous patches” here and
there. He uses the delicately colored eggs from his
coop of various breeds of chickens to make Easter
baskets. His flower arrangements are enormous,
ebullient constructions.
Colorful, enthusiastic, and inspirational, this
book encourages expressiveness in entertaining and
gardening.
commissioned muralist Colin Gill to paint her eyes and Boettcher also illustrates eyes painted by
the eyes of her husband (Charles Spencer-Churchill, 21st-century painters. Paris-based American jeweler
9th Duke of Marlborough [1881-1977]) on the ceiling Joel Arthur Rosenthal, better known as JAR, has
of the north portico at Blenheim Palace. The duchess mounted early eye miniatures in spectacular jeweled
apparently had disarming blue eyes. Boettcher points settings of his own making. Two Australian brothers
out that the following year Belgian Surrealist René paint animal eyes, holding that these portraits are a way
Magritte painted The False Mirror, a painting of an of modernizing a tradition. Boettcher says there are
eye reflecting clouds in the sky, which is now at the countless practitioners making lover’s eyes and selling
Museum of Modern Art in New York. He illustrates them in galleries and gift shops and on a variety of
another work by Magritte, The Eye, 1932-35, an actual online platforms such as Etsy. Some are hand painted;
eye portrait. Not a miniature, it measures 10" x 10½". others are digital reproductions. Miniature eyes made
In 1949 Salvador Dali conceived a watch brooch for their appearance on high fashion runways in 2017 when
his wife, Gala, made by New York jeweler Alemany & Johnson Hartig used them to embellish his spring line
Ertman; its size, materials, and intent show similarities for fashion house Libertine, which included several
to 19th-century eye miniatures. reproductions of eye jewelry from the Skier collection.
Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2022 by Terry Kovel
and Kim Kovel (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2021, 602
pages, softbound, $29.99).
The 54th edition of the Kovels’ price guide contains 720-plus
categories, 3000 color photographs, and 12,500 price listings. Terry
Kovel and her daughter Kim Kovel explain in their introduction that
all the items listed were offered for sale between June 2020 and June
2021, mostly in the U.S. The book includes prices realized at auctions
or from completed sales at shows or shops (including some online
sites). Most prices are under $5000.
Each category begins with a short overview, followed by listings
of specific objects and descriptions. Each photo includes the name of
the dealer or auction house that sold the item, and there is a directory
with contact information at the back of the book. Interspersed through
the pages are tips on identification or care of objects. The bonus
article in the center of this year’s book is an overview by Al Eiber of
20th-century American studio jewelry.
The most expensive item in the book is a stoneware water cooler
that sold at Crocker Farm for $480,000. The least expensive items
are a figural Spiderman bookmark and a Royal China Country Charm
saucer that each brought only $2. In between are thousands of other
items offering a snapshot of the antiques and collectibles market for
the past year.
Collecting Weller Pottery: A Collector’s Perspective by Frank
Norman (Marlin Media Publishing, 2015, 284 pages, hardbound,
$59.95 plus S/H from [www.marlin-media.com]).
This is not just a book about Weller pottery; it is a book about the
act of collecting Weller pottery and by extension collecting itself.
Author Norman relates anecdote after anecdote about his more than
25 years of searching for and acquiring this art pottery, which began
to be produced in Ohio in 1872 and continued until 1948. He devotes
many pages to describing the triumphs and pitfalls of collecting Weller,
including the buyer’s remorse he feels from time to time. He gives tips
and recommendations for would-be collectors: buy pieces that you like,
that you can afford, and that make you happy; create a database of your
acquisitions; and buy pieces to enjoy, not as an investment. He tells
beginners how to tell the difference between Weller and its competitor,
Roseville (Weller produced far more pieces featuring birds, animals, fish,
and insects). Norman also advises us how to safely clean pottery and
includes an illustrated list of pottery terminology at the end of the book.
Norman’s stories do go on, but when he finally gets down to
business, his collection and the excellent photographs illustrating it
are comprehensive and breathtaking. Nearly all of Weller’s lines are
illustrated, including Hudson Scenic, Dickens, Eocean, Rhead Faience,
Jap Birdimal, and Xenia. There is even an unusual and beautiful
candlestick that had been presented to Jacques Sicard when he left the
pottery and returned to France.
South Amesbury’s Red Earthenware & Stoneware: The 1791-1820
William Pecker Pottery by Justin W. Thomas (Historic Beverly,
2021, 200 pages, softbound, $18 plus S/H from Historic Beverly,
[www.historicbeverly.net] or [978] 922-1186).
Justin Thomas is an author, collector and researcher on 17th- through
20th-century American pottery. He has written books and articles,
including many for this publication, on historical pottery production
in his home state of Massachusetts. His latest work focuses on red
earthenware production in Merrimacport.
The William Pecker Pottery was one of an active community of potters
working in coastal Massachusetts in the late 18th century. It operated
for over a century, making it one of the longest-lived potteries in New
England. Thomas describes in detail his archaeological investigations
of the site of this former pottery and his meticulous cataloging of shards
found there. Inspired by the seminal work of Lura Woodside Watkins,
author of Early New England Potters and Their Wares, Thomas
continues the tradition of scholarship into early New England potteries.
Maine Antique Digest, December 2021 73