Sarah Coffin
Flute song in silversilver, fluting, Paul Revere, neo-classicism, teapots, bowl, josef hoffmann, Wiener Werkstätte |
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Reforming Play time -a Chair for MenI have always found the designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh to be among the most subtly inspiring and innovative works that I have seen. Before I experienced the take-your-breath-away effect of seeing the whole of a Willow Tea room installed in a Mackintosh exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in 1996, I was already drawn to individual elongated chairs, textiles and other design objects. chair, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Mary MacDonald, May MacDonald, Miss Cranston, Argyle Street, Tea rooms, billiards, smoking, oak |
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The Lure of the Peacock: Iridescence and ImmortalityObjects have many stories but this vase connects different cultures and different periods in more ways than most. When it appeared in Rococo: The Continuing Curve 1730-2008 at CHNDM, the Peacock Vase represented with its organic, sinuous forms the re-emergence of a curvilinear aesthetic in the Art Nouveau era of the Rococo style created in the 18th century. Louis Comfort Tiffany, Tiffany glass, iridescence, peacock, Loetz, India, Iran, aesthetic, William de Morgan |
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Flute song in silverThis elegant piece of silver is both modern and ancient. Not only does it connect to designs by Hoffmann in other media, such the glass vase with fluted base he designed for Lobmeyr and a fluted sidewall paper created by his follower Dagobert Peche, but it also relates to the classic designs of ancient Greece and Rome. Look at the flutes! silver, fluting, Paul Revere, neoclassicism, teapots, bowl, josef hoffmann, Wiener Werkstätte |
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Tiffany and CarnegieI love the fact that this Tiffany lamp was purchased by the Carnegies, and that Cooper-Hewitt is located in their former house—a Fifth Avenue mansion completed in 1902. Tiffany glass, Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie mansion, lamps, Skibo Castle |
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Tender Mourning in StyleThis touching object, made of hair cut into patterns, is a tribute to a lost sister. It expresses the neoclassical style of its day with the Greek-style tomb, but also references the sister’s Christianity by the presence of a cross that has been created from bands of hair. The tree is a weeping willow, an appropriately obvious reference typical of this style of picture. hair designs, mourning, sentimental design, Thomas Hope, england |
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Delicate Buttons for Delicate LivesFor centuries before Velcro and zippers came along, there were buttons! These charming scenes, carved from ivory and placed on colored foil, reflect tremendous care and skill and highlight the importance of buttons as fashion accessories. Even today, the choice of buttons can greatly impact the overall impression of a garment. buttons, fashionable, ivory, fashion, accessories, France |
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Object of the Month: Balcony Grill"Beauty appears to us in perpetual variety. No parallelism or symmetry; forms are engendered from movements which are never alike…For construction, do not the branches of the trees, the stems, by turn rigid and undulating furnish us with models?" |
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Set in Style - InnovationAs curator of Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels, I am often asked about what specific characteristics of this firm’s jewelry led to its being the subject of this exhibition in a design museum. Jewelry design is a major part of the Museum’s collection and exhibitions focus. Set in Style, Exhibition, Van Cleef & Arpels, mystery setting, innovation |
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