On safari in South Africa, our tracker maintains an intense focus, scanning sky, trees, bushes, grass, earth. He notes footprints, faeces, gnawed bones, and listens for noises from nearby beasts and birds. To a city person, it is all very strange, exciting, unsettling. And yet it is familiar. After all, I’m a tracker too. … More Natural Habitat: Part 2
I’ve been out of my natural habitat, on safari in South Africa. Picture me, elderly, urban, bookish, hurtling through the bush in an open-topped truck, in pursuit of miscellaneous wildlife. Could anything be more incongruous? And yet, I enjoyed – no, adored – every moment. And oddly, curiously, I felt quite at home. I wonder why? … More Natural Habitat: Part 1
Is my drawing of the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria copied from the 1530 painting or the 1791 engraving? And might it possibly be an actual preparatory study made for the engraving? Time to get the three images side by side to spot the differences. I give you my evidence and my conclusions. … More Martyrdom: Part 3 – The Drawing
My drawing of the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria is a copy of a painting from around 1530. Now I have discovered that the same composition appears in engraving published in Florence in 1791. The painting came first, but how can I find out which came next, the drawing or the engraving? … More Martyrdom: Part 2 – The Engraving
I’ve bought a drawing showing the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. A considerable amount of detective work has been required to identify it. The outcome is recorded in this three-part blog post, and I think it’s quite interesting. May I invite you to accompany me through some abstruse byways of art history? … More Martyrdom: Part 1 – The Painting
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
Random Treasure 