Last week I bought two coloured engravings showing crowded interiors of large buildings. If either had come up separately I would have bid for it, but seeing both in one auction lot was quite extraordinary. Because each of the buildings depicted in the prints has a special and personal significance for me. … More The Microcosm and Me
Here’s a Hallowe’en tale to make your blood run cold and your hair stand on end. Turn down the lights, ignite the candle inside the pumpkin, and brace yourselves to hear about a creepy graveyard, a Black Mausoleum, a vile atrocity from Scotland’s history, an evil poltergeist, and six spooky, spectral, spine-chilling coincidences. … More Bluidy Mackenzie
I recently conducted an experiment with my grand-daughters, Amy (age eleven) and Celia (age eight). This blog post is my report. Please don’t call the police or social services. No children were harmed in the making of this blog: I merely asked them to take photos of their favourite objects from my collections. … More Potteryness: A Child’s Eye View
The clearest and most informative way to tell interested readers about my newly-acquired 16th century bronze plaquette is to use the Frequently Asked Question. The plaquette, however, is a rather obscure topic, so I have varied the well-tried FAQ technique. Allow me to introduce the SAQ, or Seldom Asked Question. … More Apollo’s Ankles, or What I Know About Plaquettes
One sunny summer day in June 1873, young lovers Danny and Mary set out for a picnic in the dunes. “Mary,” says Danny, “I got ye this brooch. Will ye marry me?” Mary looks at the brooch. She says… … More A Luckenbooth Story: Chapter 2
It is 1872. Lord and Lady Shand have recently taken the tenancy of Newhailes House, near Edinburgh. One day, Mary MacDonald, the kitchen maid, answers the bell at the servants’ door. Danny Lamb is there with a delivery. He says: “Mornin’, hen, brought some crocks”. She replies: “Oh aye, bring them in”. … More A Luckenbooth Story: Chapter 1
This is a luckenbooth. It’s a brooch. As well as being a brooch, a luckenbooth is a Scottish love token, some buildings, a dance, a novel, and a popular design motif in the art of the Iroquois people of North America. There are a lot of intermingled stories here which will require some unpicking. … More Luckenbooth
This Japanese tea-bowl or chawan is the only interesting object in a recent auction job lot. I know little about Japanese ceramics and have no expertise to describe them or express opinions. So I should keep very quiet and not even make the attempt. OK. I’ll give it a go … … More Chawan
Hearing about a large house furnished with 70 chairs, I determined to count the seats in my more modest home to check if this was a serious over-provision. Outcome: it seems my suburban semi-detached house can amply provide seating for 78. So here’s a reader challenge: how many seats do you have in your home? … More Seating for 78
Here are two small tables. Stylistically they couldn’t be much more different from each other. One is bright, lightweight and minimalist, the other is dark, heavy and traditional. And yet in many ways, they are the same table. Sorry to get all paradoxical, but stick with the story and you’ll see what I mean. … More Utility Paradox
Random Treasure 