An Ode to The Victorian Era; A Short Summarization

This speech was delivered on April 27th 2013 at Maple Grove Cemetery in front of an audience commemorating and remembering Old Victorian Times;


                 The Victorian Era is one of the proudest era’s in the history of mankind, with it being one of the more recent ones, we can relate to it quite easily. You see The Victorian era every day, from the clothes you wear to the computers you work with, Well at least I do, I am surrounded by the marvelous artifacts of Victorian grandeur each passing day, I can praise endlessly how I am marveled at how people that some would dare to call primitive, have excelled at crafting ingenious breakthroughs in technologies, advanced remarkably into new political reforms, and gave birth to some of the most endearing novelists of our times, such as the great Gustav Flaubert and the marvelous Victor Hugo. It was a turning point where we would shy from the sought after rationality and endear closer to our sensibilities. Poets would arise to write some of the most touching of verses, to which we recite to ourselves in the light of our reading lamps, and art would capture the emotions and feelings of a landscape, Romanticism would see its rise and the world would meet such artists as Monet, Turner, Toulouse, and so much more
                The Victorian period was birth to some of the most inspiring inventions, as some can be seen on display in this very room. It gave birth to the jacquard loom, the ancestor of the computer. The loom would read hole punched cards and knit clothing with pre-determined patterns. This would eventually become more complex with the evolution of circuitry later on in the 20th century as this would evolve to perform much more complicated tasks. The first sewing machines were being invented by Thimonnier and the infamous Singer company saw its rise during this period. The blueprint was also invented during this period. Makes you wonder how contractors of the past tried building cohesively and coherently. The iconic stethoscope, the first revolver, the telegraph, the postage stamp, Morse code, photography, rubber, the safety pin, the glider, the process of pasteurization, the washing machine, the machine gun, the bicycle, the cylinder lock, plastic, dynamite, air brakes, tungsten, steel, the typewriter, barbed wire, windmill, carpetsweeper, phonograph, metal detector, and even Cola, bless you Pemberton!
Even those tin cans with the key opener, you can thank Ostenhouder for not having to fight with tuna cans
Seriously, where have we been for the last 1800 years?  It’s quite amazing what the Industrial revolution during the Victorian era gave birth to. Things we take for granted in our day to day lives. I actually kept the list of inventions quite short.
                With the strong breakthroughs of mechanization, and industrialization, the world would react with Romanticism, reaching its peak in midcentury. As well Realism would rise and the views would combat each other for the rest of the period. From realism We would see landscapes resembling true and common vision almost photographic in nature from , and we would see from Romanticism, awe inspiring landscapes with phenomenon scattered about to invoke or represent the emotions and feelings we develop from the wonders of the world.
                The Victorian era had some very interesting choices of clothing. The corsets for one, would force their bodies to take unnaturally thin waists as curves were strong in the Victorian era. These corsets were so tight that they would restrict blood flow and this led to the belief of the reason fainting couches were made, the other reason being female hysteria. You can quite clearly see this was a male dominated era. While men would eventually give up their fancy adornments of costume in the Great Male Renunciation, Women would eventually follow suit but not before indulging in some of the most outlandish and quite stylish outfits of the time. Petticoats were quite popular, and with the use of crinoline in the 1840’s, petticoats would have much more flexibility. Skirts became puffier by the day and necklines drooped at nighttime, although morality was once again strengthened due to the ideals of Victorian Morality.
                Feminists of the era blame fashion as man’s way of imprisoning a woman, and that it was an obstinate desire and a rather sexist indulgence while others saw the fashion as a praise of wealth and beauty.  Some believe the fashion of the day was to show how wealthy the husbands were, that they could lavish their wives and daughters with the mobility restricting adornments, that they could support their families with ease.
                Men were expected to wear three piece suits, which involved a jacket and a vest and hats were quite popular as well, in the form of top hat, bowlers, derbies, and straw boaters. Trousers were usually striped and simple patterned as well as were more flat than creased. Belts were very uncommon and instead suspenders were more in fashion, quite the opposite today. Cravats, walking sticks, gloves and bowties were among the more common accessories. Although wristwatches were around, Men were bearing the famous words “ I’d rather wear a skirt than a wristwatch” mind you their opinion not mines, I quite like these pants.  Some even wore reversible bibs to hide stains on their shirt, why did this invention not last, I do not know.
                But it was the Victorian mourning customs that rose during the era that are quite fascinating!  The Victorian era began a fashion of mourning clothing and strong traditions of customary rituals followed in the passing of a dear one. The people of the era took to Queen Victoria’s example, by holding expensive and costly funeral processions, erecting large stone or elaborate structures to commemorate the life and death of the deceased, and the well-known custom of Victorian Mourning Dress. Mourning would depend on your relation to your loved one, with Widows having to mourn for two whole years. This however is quite shadowed when compared to Queen Victoria’s devotion of wearing black to mourn her husband from 1861 till the end of her days in 1901. Due to her long period of mourning many fashions and styles developed during the period. This saw a huge rise in the use of Jet Glass which was found in great quantity in Whitby. Some of the poorer people during the era even had most of their wardrobe composed of black as it was quite costly to have clothing made.  A woman was not even permitted to leave the house without being dressed in black attire and a weeping veil.
                There was a huge quantity of variations of mourning jewelry. Hair of the deceased were kept in lockets , or even made into jewelry as to become mementos of loved ones that have passed into the void. You can see such unique pieces such as earing and necklaces made of twisted strands of hair, resembling the horsehair crinoline they wore to form their dresses. Jet as mentioned before became popular as the “black amber” was worn by Queen Victoria as part of her mourning attire, this was actually the only form of jewelry allowed in the first period. Yes this is where Jet black phrase comes from. Not fighter pilots! We even see the rise of Cameos in this period, as many new variations of shells were being brought in from different coastal areas allowing for interesting and beautiful Cameo designs, with some even being incorporated into Victorian mourning dress.
Black was the color to go to. It resembled an absence of light, it was darkness. It represented the missing of a loved one, the missing of the resemblance of a person that once existed. There is as well a belief that it culminated from a Roman idea, that it was worn to prevent the loved one from coming to haunt them. In later stages of the mourning, some colors closely resembling black such as grey, mauve, purple, lavender, lilac, and even dark shades of red such as burgundy were also acceptable. In some more tropical areas it was even acceptable to be fully clothed in white as black was too hot to wear.
Alas most of Victorian mourning customs died with Victoria in 1901, with the rise of the Edwardian period taking over. In America where many widows of the civil war were dressed in black only further depressed the nation and the notion of wearing black attire for extended periods of time was dropped as this further depressed the broken nation. With America becoming the next successive leader of the world, other nations would follow suit. But Victoria did not only give birth to ideas of mourning but she gave birth to the wedding dress. White wedding dress was popularized by Queen Victoria’s white wedding dress. The nation that idolized its Queen followed suit after her wedding day to wear just as she had, the innocent white she wore all dressed with lace, and so many of us today still follow this tradition.
I could talk for hours about the wonders of the Victorian era, it truly is one of the most inspiring and beautiful times of history, but with history we must not live in it but rather cherish it. Today we celebrate the Victorian ideals, but revel in the beauty of what it brought us to in the modern society we live in today. Let us celebrate the well devoted queen Victoria and her age of beauty and usher in a new era which the people of the future may celebrate as well.

If there is a specific topic you would like me to write about please email me at antiquesfrombeyond@yahoo.com and I as well do free appraisals!
Thank you for reading! -Gavriel Maman

Discovering Galle: Thistles

Inspiration can captivate you in the places you never expect them to. Pieces you have seen over and over again could inspire and captivate you mind and cultivate anew in your creativity. I say this because today I have finally discovered the beauty of flowers through the artist known as Emile Galle, son of Charles Galle, From the Capital city in Lorraine France, known as Nancy. Alas the great Emile Galle would rise to become one of the greatest inspirations of the Nouveau period, and would become a legend, no legend is no word for a man of such stature, but rather a titan in the history of creating Glass artwork. Not only that his creativity spread well beyond that of glass and he even had quite the love for furniture as well. In all his works he pours soul and heart, instilling even in the simple Thistle such a great powerful message. To some the thistle looks like a simpler flower, almost always looking as though it were in half bloom, as though it were being squeezed out of its shell. One may wonder why this flower was chosen by such an artist as Galle? 

At least this was my opinion of the flower, and now I feel so foolish as to question its value. Its a shame how I can be so close minded on the topic of beauty, how I can limit it to only the most colorful and blooming flowers. Before I continue, I must thank Galle in opening my mind to that even in the simplest things in this world, there is astound beauty!!! The beauty being in its simplicity, the beauty in that it needs no further ornamentation that what it is already adorned with.

The Thistle

So as you can see the thistle is quite an escape from the traditional form we portray in our heads when we hear the word "Flower". Instead of broad flat petals, we see thin wiry individual ones ( I am not sure whether to even call them petals) and underneath is a stocky bulbous green from which the flower protrudes. Its a sort of contrast in a way, how the light pink lies against the more solid green, the flower, thorny and almost scrappy looking, yet allows for one to revel in a flower that does not conform with that of the rest. I can see Galle's use for it, its quite an escape from the potted plants we keep seeing repeated in paintings over the centuries, but here is where my heart was truly captured...

Thistles by Emile Galle, From The Book "Emile Galle" by Tim Newark

The colors of this vase are most definitely an escape from the natural colors of the thistle plant. This vase was exhibited at the turn of the century at the Paris 1900 Universal Exhibition. It stands 17 inches high and is mould blown with marquetry inlay. Look at it!! Would you have imagined any vase named thistles to look like this? When I turned to this page I was absolutely marveled! Stunned! Loss for air! I almost choked while riding a train car, in front of all those people. The colorful chaos that plays across this vase, shows us something we have not seen before! He does not simply take from nature and copies, but rather reinvents both himself and natures image in his art! Learn from Emile, do not take and copy paste, rather, chip away a part of yourself and let it escape with the image. Galle chooses this flower for its importance to him, it is the flower of his hometown, Nancy. It is him, his purest symbolism, what better way to describe a man other than by portraying his hometown? His roots? The flower was as well a sign of protest against the Germans who had annexed his hometown after the Franco Prussian war, he used it more than a mere subject, he used it to translate his beliefs and thoughts into an image, I quote Galle,

"We are fully aware that a eloquence of a flower often surpasses the authority of the human figure in the intensity of its suggestive power"

Galle all his life has been inspired by nature, by botany, by the flowers, by the life that surrounds him, by the literary wonders of his time,

but alas I stop here for tonight... I have done enough to make Galle's skeleton smile by taking inspiration in his craft, but this is not the last you shall hear of Galle,

Find inspiration my friends in all that you come across and do not let the legends of our past fade away, 

Happy Antique Hunting

Gavriel Maman 

The City Of Sevres

The day has made me quite weary, my head thrown in the books, and my everyday exercise takes its toll on both my body and my mind. Today I will discuss the city of Sevres, a city that has truly touched my heart, but mainly I will talk about its 18th century porcelain manufacture and hopefully educate some of my readers on the marks and identification of their later porcelain wares.
We start off at a cut point when Marquis, owner of Vinceness porcelain, passes away, and the company comes into the ownership of the King,
The company prospers from ownership under the king as Sevres becomes the Royal Porcelain,
The colors that bloom in these porcelains are absolutely magnificent as we see a turn into some of the most cleanest and beautifully made china of the 18th century!
If you ever chance to walk into the Met you will see some of the most absolutely gorgeous Sevres pieces on display. I even chanced to see the very interesting Wedgewood and Sevres cabinet!

Most people wont even recognize a Sevres Mark when they see it and if they do they wouldnt be able to differentiate between the real and the fake. As a matter of fact, The Samson company prospered off making fakes of various high end porcelain companies. Therefore there are many porcelain wares that are even passed off as real ones.

Im sorry this post has to be short but my day is going to be quite busy, there will be a part two to this or I will keep editing my post,

Soon I will hopefully be doing auction research and posting it here giving estimated market values and analysis

Thank you for reading and as always feel free to email me at Antiquesfrombeyond@yahoo.com with any questions!

To The Auction Houses And Back!

Another day another dollar,
Especially when we're talking about the great New York City!
Home of the NY stock exchange and the accustomed rudeness of passerby, you would be amazed to find it a world emerged in the art culture.
First before I further myself, please excuse me for not posting the past week as I have been busy running quite the many errands, but today I will post five updates to cover a wide variety of subjects which can and might bring insight to the few readers (or the many I am unaware of) .
As promised today I will cover the base of auction houses and my personal experience with them.
Many of the older art appraisers there are very undiplomatic and quite snobby if I may add! They are willing and quite proud of shoving their expertise down your throat! For instance, I had the unfortunate opportunity to run in with quite the nitwit at Christies, a auction house who's reputation I used to highly uphold until I met fellow. This "expert" looked at a painting of mine by Paul Ellie Ranson a year ago. Now this was quite an unusual piece as Paul Ellie Ranson was more of a mystical painter, but then again artist do cross boundaries from time to time. It's what gives us this appreciation for them, their openness to explore world beyond or locked within a subject. This painting was a watercolor that was gilded and signed Ranson depicting a oriental woman garbed in an astonishing costume. As I met with this expert "David" he looked at my painting and decided to conduct research on the piece and promised to keep contact with me. Every three months I would call and ask whether there was any information on the piece to which I was replied "No" or "Let me get back to you". Now I may not be quite the rich upperclassmen or a world renowned art expert (at least at the time) that they would feel a need to cater to me as a priority, but for the love of G-d, why would someone take a whole year to research a painting?! I finally, being fed up, arrived at Christies with my receipt and asked about my painting and why it was taking so long to research it, and was met by many excuses and apologies and to come a few days later when the expert would finally be there. As I did so, I finally got to be reunited with the painting and went into the room with the expert to finally receive the information on it. Now please note that this same "expert" wrote Paul Ellie Ranson" on the receipt as well. As we were in the room he went to a few auction websites and turned to me and said that this was not Paul Ellie Ranson. Shocked and appalled at why the sudden change of heart and why after a whole year it took him several computer clicks to give me the information about the painting. He claimed it to be a different Ranson and showed me a signature that was different from the one on mine. Naive and convinced I left back with a heavy heart. He did it with no diplomacy, as though my business was a mundane chore. Once arriving at the store with my painting, I decided to do my own research. After countless hours searching, and looking through Paul Ellie Ranson's many mystical different subject paintings, I stumbled upon a Christies past lot sale. Disappointed, I saw a painting sold at auction with the similar subject, same signature as mine and listed as Paul Ellie Ranson.
His lack of patience, his lack of skill, and his lack of compassion, angered me greatly, these auction houses have a huge disadvantage to them. If your painting does not have provenance or is part of a large expensive estate, or any distinguishing mark they are likely to turn you down. Yet dont let one bad experience turn you away! Some of these experts are great people, its just for every 3 bad ones theres a good one, so play the roulette its worth because there are advantages to these auction houses in which I do praise, and is the only reasons I still go to Christies, Sothebys, Bonhams, Swan, and William Doyle! For instance, the learning experience you get from the exhibitions and previews they do before the items are displayed at auction, and the true experts, the ones who are willing to teach with the passion they have savored from their job, and the young-lings who are still fresh with enthusiasm and wish to share their knowledge with the world. When I went to Sothebys I was greeted by the photography department expert there, who sat and printed out information for me, and even recommended me to other auction houses (still she made a little error on the auction records as he is estimated quite higher, but opinion and research differ from person to person). There was an expert at Christies who helped me achieve contact with all the departments I needed to contact, and was quite helpful to me as well in making sure I got the right information for my item from the experts. Sotheby's Vice President of the Chinese department helped me learn bout my Jue (chinese ritual wine cup) and gave me a starting point on my road to learning Chinese patterns. Its these little meetings with these people that give me hope and add on to my knowledge in this business!

To add on to the advantages, you as well save yourself a headache of research, especially if your looking to sell an estate or item you own or have inherited. Research on even the single item can take hours and its always great for someone who can help (please remember I am willing to do it for you and for free, email is antiquesfrombeyond@yahoo.com, just for the learning experience). Yet just like Manhattan brokers there is always a cost and auction houses have high premiums, so sometimes its just not worth it, unless its really a valuable item. Ive seen items burn at auction for extremely low prices, and its quite sad really, so if your in it for visibility, you will recieve it but sometimes or most times, some items sell better on eBay then on Christies.
My dream is to open an auction house that cats fairly to both the high class and lower class, not one seeking the money (but definitely making it!), but one seeking an equal opportunity for everyone to sell, both to private buyers and both worldwide and local auctions! Yet that dream is pretty far, Im just on the baby steps on this road of mine
If you have any question feel free to shoot me an email antiquesfrombeyond@yahoo.com
And as always check my ebay store here: eBay
And as always thank you so much for viewing my blog and spread the word!

The Russian Silver And Pierre D'Avnes Story

So quite the amusing title,
First question of the bat must be who the heck was Pierre D'Avesn?
To the lucky few who do know who this Art Deco legend was than kudos, you have done your homework on glass collecting quite well, but to the discoverer's of the art world I will explain my findings on this talented glass artist.
Ive recently worked on researching two vases done by Pierre D'Avesn, whose actual name was Pierre Girre.
His more rarer and less seen of pieces are the white like-milk glass vases. I would call it milk glass but the glass has more of a white frosting to it, so ill give it the term White Opaline Glass for now (feel free to correct me if I error).

Although I have seen this same work done in a black style, but the black style seemed a more common variety of the piece when compared to the white glass. (see below)

This image was from the Achilles Antique website where it was apparently sold.
Pierre D'Avesn lived from 1901 till the year 1991, for a total of 90 years. He has worked with such a talent as Rene Lalique and has even has crystal pieces made by the crystal factory of Sevres France.
Look at the deep cut relief style of the vases. I wish I can show them to you in hand but you are probably reading this from miles away. the birds are raised highly on each area of the vase which give it a quite three dimensional look. Amazing how we as humans have tired to capture the impressions of reality even before the birth of the technological age.
I am ever so fond of the Art Deco age even though my knowledge is still young in the matter. The French were quite brilliant and I do see why they were one of the greatest leaders in fashion and art and why they still hold a firm grasp on it today (although not as much as they used to, but thats based more on opinion than fact)

We move on to the Russian Silver story which is the true reason thats delayed this post for so long. My hands are so dry from just cleaning all the accumulated grime and dirt off a Silver Plate along with a newly acquired collection of Russian Silver Cups. I am currently in the process of deciphering the signatures but thats not the story I am to bring here
To all you collectors and newcomers to the world of art and antiques!!
SILVER IS ONE OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS IN THIS WORLD!
BUT CAN BE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE AS WELL!
With silver only rising to fame in the past few years (well most probably just in America) due to the fall of the dollar or whatever economic crisis befell us that brought this change, I've been stuck deciphering more than once, many different Silver marks.
I've almost given up on this plate I've been cleaning for the past half an hour, hoping to spot a silver mark but had no avail in revealing it. I put the plate aside and sighed, you see to a young Antique Dealer, Antique Russian Silver is quite the big deal, especially if it might be marked by one of the more esteemed makers in Russian Silver. Somehow I found the energy to clean the plate again and Ta-da! I've found it!!!!!! It may possibly not be Russian Silver (but with a number as close to 84 like 835, the design, and the signature beg to differ) but at least im 100% sure that this plate is silver so its worth quite the pretty penny! Remember always check for a mark on any piece!
For a good silver guide go to here: SILVER this is just one of the many websites I use for reference and research, yet nothing beats a book

Also watch out for the false hope of silver plated silver, unless by an esteemed name, it wont bring in the big bucks. I will update you more on this little journey of mine hopefully later on, but its late and I got a busy schedule tomorrow! Stay Tuned, Im going to Christies tomorrow and will be talking about Auction houses, their benefits and disadvantages! Also I will be talking about Sevres And Paul Milet Vases!
The silver pieces will be on my ebay site here (please view even if not interested in buying)  -> ANTIQUES FROM BEYOND
Also if you would like to see my employers Antiques you can view them here as well, hes got quite a collection of antiques for every collector and wins my seal of approval
ESTATE DECOR
Thank you for viewing my page and please if you have any questions on any sort of antiques or art and need an expert please feel free to contact me through email: Antiquesfrombeyond@yahoo.com
or text me at 718 213 8718
Im located in NY for your convenience!

Walking Into People's Homes And Barbini

Its quite the uncanny feeling really when doing Estate clean outs,
You walk into someone's home and trudge through their massive collection of wares they have amassed over the countless years. I sometimes can feel like a explorer entering a pyramid for a first time.
I have seen some of the most craziest, unnecessary , and wacky kinds of homes in my life.
The one I was in today had a massive amount of candy strewn across the place. It was pretty weird, every corner I searched I could find candy wrappers and uneaten sweets strewn about the house. I swear if the story of Hetzel And Gretel were ever true, I have found the house they were lured to.
Yet through my extensive search I realized I was dealing with a doctor who's wife was a diabetic. All of a sudden the misplaced candy makes sense to me. Its kind of a moral here that you cant really judge a person till you know his mental process but then again we do know there are people who truly have gone off the edge.

Yet I feel as though I am boring you with quite the story, your here to be entertained in the world of Art and Antiques are you not?

Ill start with a glass blower that truly inspired me, whose name is Alfredo Barbini,
Barbini was born from a family of glassblowers on the islands of Murano which I believe lies nearby Venice.
This Italian glass maker who was born in 1912 began working at the young age of 13.
Unfortunately some adult can even master glassblowing at their prime ages, yet this adolescent began his journey on the road to success as one of the most respected glass artists of the 20th century and becoming quite the modernist.
Alfredo Barbini has had the chance to work with some of the greatest, which includes the famed and acclaimed Archemede Seguso (if you do not know who that is I will eventually cover him, hes quite the favorite of mine)!
He eventually opened his own firm in 1950 and still lives on today as a legend in the glass industry.
I currently have had the privilege of holding one of his pieces! (which is actually up for sale here if you are interested in even just viewing!) which I believe is actually signed by Barbini himself! Isn't it remarkable to hold history??!!

Thank you for taking you time to view this! If there is a topic you'd wish Id cover please email me and I will research and discuss it,

And as always feel free to reach me at any time!

The World Of Art

Quite a fascinating time we live in,
Mankind only rising, with innovative new technologies and advancements in the many available fields, its makes a man wonder if our ancestors actually felt the same way at a point and time in their lives?
Today's breakthroughs are most probably tomorrow's dinosaur if history ever does tell an accurate story and well time has been precise with such a theory.

  There was a point I asked myself this question in my field. Did the artists of their time believe their artistic gift was an immortal one? Did they believe that they are bringing vision or that they are just enacting on their imagination for self relief? Did Picasso feel the same while painting his Nature's Morte as Michelangelo did when he painted the roof of the Sistine Chapel? Did the impressionist painters have superior creativity to the Baroque Flemish Painters? Would Dali and Van Gogh been a rivalry worth watching?

  This blog is to answer my curiosities, a day to day log of my constant learning in the many wide fields of art, and my day to day work on various art pieces. Please feel free to ask me any questions anytime, whether you need a signature deciphered or would like to show me a piece you think would interest me.

   I also have an Ebay store I update time to time which can be seen here:
  http://myworld.ebay.com/antiquesfrombeyond2012?_trksid=p2047675.l2559
Or email me at Antiquesfrombeyond@yahoo.com
And as well I do run a business for specific collectors where I can search for specific items that collectors need or would want,
Reach me at anytime- 718 213 8718
Be sure to leave a voicemail
Thanks Gavriel Maman
Antiques From Beyond

          I am fascinated by Faberge Eggs! Oh they are the most valiant of the unnecessary luxuries!!!