A new format

As you may have seen on our homepage, we have started something new: we have created our first online look-book.  The idea behind this is to create a format highlighting our one-of-a-kind pieces in settings that reinforce the unique character of each piece.  We wanted it to be something more pleasing to the eye than a simple catalog.  So the plan is to periodically produce brief books of our unique items, either antique or our own designs, in equally as unique settings.

We hope you enjoy our first effort at it!

Open publication - Free publishing - More antique

FPV Holiday 2011

F.P. Victoria + Son Trade Tips: Pichon a Uzes

Above is a short video of Tony discussing Pichon pottery. Pichon à Uzes is a family owned factory founded in 1802 in the town of Uzes. The firm is still in business under Chirstophe Pichon, more information is available here:http://www.ceramique-pichon.com/ . In the video, Tony shares some examples of Pichon’s work from his own private collection as well as 2 pieces from our current inventory (http://www.fpvictoria.com/store/index.php/catalogsearch/result/?q=pichon&x=0&y=0)

What drew us to this potter was their wonderful mixed earth ceramics and use of color. Similar to the more well-known Apt ware (http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O256569/bowl-and-cover/), which is only about 100miles or so from Uzes in the south of France, Pichon combined different types of clay to create a “marbleized” look to the finished piece. Below is an example we owned previously of various cream, brown and red earths from about 1930.

It must be noted that this is fundamentally different from a marbleized or crystallized effect achieved through using different colored glazes. While no less beautiful, in that process colored glazes are applied to an existing, already fired, body of a single earth ceramic – similar to the idea of “painting” on a blank canvas. This is opposed to mixed earth ceramics, like from Pichon and Apt, in which the ceramic itself is made up of different types of earth. When you consider that each of the earths has a unique firing temperature, and the difficulty involved in successfully firing a whole piece, it is remarkable. An easy way to tell whether or not a ceramic is mixed earth is to examine any two sides of one section: if it is mixed earth, the interior and the exterior will both show the different earths, versus only the decorative glazing on the outside.

Pichon à Uzes is truly adept in their use of earths in their ceramics. While some earths, such as greens, whites, browns, and yellows, are more commonly found in mixed earth pottery, Pichon was able add blues and reds. Below is a wonderful example from about 1900.

Here is what we love about Pichon à Uzes:

• A family owned firm with a long history
• A less well known firm with remarkable products to discover
• A technically challenging product to produce that reflects the skill involved in its making.
• A beautiful result!

Louis XV Coiffeuse Armchair

We recently added this wonderful armchair to our available antique inventory. It's quite charming and rare - it had a specific use as well as being made later in the Louis XV period, as it was just beginning to transition into the Louis XVI style. So to highlight the unique character of this chair we are trying something new - a short video clip, similar to our Trade Tips, explaining briefly some of the chair's finer qualities in what we hope is a more engaging format.

Hope you enjoy it.

Winter Antiques Show Highlights

This is a bit hastily written, but last Thursday the 2011 Winter Antiques Show opened at the Park Avenue Armory and we wanted to share some highlights. Tony spent all day Wednesday there as chairman of the Decorative Arts vetting committee, and is in fact back there as I write this. Below are some of his favorite pieces which he snapped photos of with his camera phone - so I apologize for the quality of the images.

Here is a pair of fountain-head sculptural masks listed as being from Chateau du Fontainebleau in the booth of the London-based deal, Daniel Katz, Ltd. Wonderful detail. Reminded me of our own, latter, bronze mask that you may recognize as our main image on Facebook.

This is the booth of NYC-based dealer Jim Elkins and Lost City Arts. In the front center there is a great, rare sculpture by Paul Evans, from very early in his career.

This really speaks for itself. A striking late Art Deco French lounge chair in the booth of NYC-based dealer Carolle Thibaut-Pomerantz.

The show runs through January 30th.

F.P. Victoria + Son Trade Tips 4

Hello! We have taken far too long to put this next batch of videos together, but we are happy to finally have one for you to see.

This video is the first of a three part series we are devoting to upholstery. All too often these days, we find chairs that have had some foam thrown on a frame, with some fabric haphazardly stapled over it, accepted as standard practice. Upholstery is truly an art and can, without a doubt, make or break a chair. We have divided the series into "Upholstery Styles and Appearance," "Upholstery Trim," and "Upholstery Construction." Three short video clips certainly aren't enough to cover a broad topic like upholstery, but we hope it will help remind us all of what to look for in high-quality upholstery and how upholstery can enhance the unique character of a piece.

We hope you enjoy the first video on Upholstery Styles and Appearance.

Trade Tips: Gilding Techniques

Tony and I are trying something new - video blog clips! We shot our first "Trade Tips" clip yesterday. It is a quick overview covering tricks Tony has taught me to identity mercury gilding versus electrolytic bath gilding of brass mounts. The topics will vary, this one being a bit more advanced, but will also include some furniture and decorative arts basics for both antiques and new designs we are working on.

We know we need to work on the our production quality (!) and my "screen-presence" needs to be improved to say the least, but we hope you enjoy this and find it useful!

Hope you are enjoying the last bits of summer.