3 Things You Should Know About Tobacco Leaf Porcelains

3 Things You Should Know About Tobacco Leaf Porcelains - graphic collage image

Curio IQ Series: Let’s take a short and sweet lesson in antiques! The 3 things you should know before buying and collecting Tobacco Leaf china. Tobacco Leaf porcelains are one of the most easily recognized china patterns out there. The distinctive multi-colored leaves and the bold pink flower instantly catches your eye. For centuries it…

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3 Things You Should Know About Staffordshire Flatbacks

Katherine places Staffordshire flatback on mantel

Curio IQ Series: Let’s take a short and sweet lesson in antiques! Today we are discussing collecting and decorating with Staffordshire flatbacks. Staffordshire flatbacks are my favorite English antique beating out transferware ceramics and even Wedgwood. I just adore the folksy charm and history they reveal about popular culture of the Victorian era. Decoratively, the…

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A Paragon of Beauty – Ruminations on a Portrait

Reproduction portrait of Auguste Strobl originally painted by Joseph Stieler for Ludwig I Hall of Beauties

Some of you keen observers noticed this charming lady serenely smiling out of the Hunt Collection sale photos from Thursday. I’m excited to introduce you to the newest resident here at Dogwood House: Fräulein Auguste Strobl (1807 – 1871)! Auguste came to me by way of auction, and I must confess to only leaving a…

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3 Things You Should Know About Wedgwood

Sage green Jasperware vase from Wedgwood

Curio IQ Series: a short and sweet lesson in antiques, discussing Wedgwood ceramics. Here’s 3 things you should know to start a collection! I’ll never forget my first real introduction to Wedgwood ceramics — the polished basalts, the velvety jaspers, and delicate curling reliefs. I was a registration assistant working on a cataloging and photography…

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3 Things You Should Know About Opaline Glass

Imperial glass aqua opaline goblets

Curio IQ Series: Let’s take a short and sweet lesson in antiques! If you’ve flipped through a design magazine or coffee table book in the last 30 years, then chances are you’ve spied a table or two set with brilliant aqua goblets in varying sizes but all with a timeless wafer stem. This bold color…

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The Grandmillennial’s Pocket Guide to Chic Antiques

View of The Pocket Guide on an iPhone

About The Grandmillennial’s Pocket Guide to Chic Antiques: your on the hunt resource to the chic antiques Grandmillennials adore!

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Collector’s Notes: Blue and White Chinese Porcelain

The Peacock Room, Smithsonian

An overview of blue and white Chinese porcelain for the budding collector that delves into the history and how to authenticate antique porcelains. Think you’ve got a consuming passion for decorating with blue and white Chinese porcelain? Take a look at these obsessive displays! Image via La Gazette Drouot Don’t be confused by the perspective.…

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What is a Classically Charming Curio?

Classically charming curios: Pair of Staffordshire spaniels and sheep with Rose Medallion ormolu bowl in back

Exploring the nature of classically charming curios and just what gives them that unique je ne sais quoi! You may have noticed I recently changed Pender & Peony’s motto to… in pursuit of classically charming curios I was looking for a phrase that better reflected the day to day hustle and bustle of the shop…

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The Spirit of Things

My grandmother's yellow teapot

I was talking with a friend the other day about what I do and she made the comment that shopping estate sales makes her sad. She said it was even a bit depressing to her when she saw all these belongings “abandoned” for buyers to pick through and then to think that the family didn’t…

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Collector’s Notes: Antique Prints

Flatlay of various types of prints for collector's notes series

The basics of collecting antique prints, including print making techniques, history, and how to identify different types. Antique prints are a wonderful way to bring a window to the past into your home: Usually, they are moderately priced and collectable; There is a vast variety in subject matter that has been brilliantly and artistically rendered;…

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