These are a Few of my Favorite Things

I wish I could be as decisive as Rodgers and Hammerstein when picking out my favorite pieces. I don’t know why, but whenever someone asks me if I have a favorite piece, my mind seems to go blank. I think it’s information overload because my mind is suddenly swimming in images of miniatures—like those little booklets that simulate animation when the pages are flipped quickly. I can’t seem to slow down enough to choose even a few because I admire so many. Therefore, you can imagine my dilemma when I had to choose pieces for a presentation at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

It helped that I narrowed it down to a category—decorative art pieces, which refers to items that are utilitarian in purpose, but that have been created with extraordinary quality and attention to aesthetics, like this wine decanter set by Gerd Felka. We have hundreds of these items in the collection, so narrowing it down to 50 was a challenge, but it was a great experience as I revisited each piece and remembered why I fell in love with it. Here are some of the items I featured. I’d love to hear your comments on them.

The terrestrial globe by legendary French artisan Pierre Mourey. The bronze statue depicts Atlas, the Greek deity of astronomy and navigation, holding a meticulously crafted sphere on his back. The miniature globe highlights the continents, meridians, and parallels, and is fully functional with a rotating axis and measuring rings. What makes many of the pieces like the terrestrial globe so special is the craftsmanship and dedication to historical accuracy, but I also love knowing the provenance of the original items. Pierre’s miniature is based on the work of Lartigue and Lennel who made the original terrestrial and celestial globes for Louis XVI in the late 1700s. They are still housed in the library at the Palace of Versailles.

Like the terrestrial globe, some of the more prized miniatures in the decorative arts category are those which function as closely as possible to the originals. Artisan Scott Dillingham’s replica of a Simon Willard-style clock is one of those examples. Constructed from Honduras Mahogany, the clock features cross-band inlay with fluted columns and brass column caps and finials. The originals came out of Roxbury and Grafton, near Boston, Massachusetts, in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Some of our gallery visitors’ most beloved decorative arts pieces are the painted furniture miniatures. One of my personal favorites in this group is a school girl’s desk and chair painted by Mary Grady O’Brien. They were hand-crafted by Mark Murphy before being painted by Mary and they represent the American folk art work for which she is most noted. Other artisans representing this work in the collection are Renee Isabelle, James Hastrich, and Natasha.

One of the reasons I love decorative arts in miniature is because they always draw me into a scene. I start imagining people using them as in the case of Jens Torp’s incredible silver items. The former jewelry designer has spent the last two decades researching and crafting silver and gold pieces such as Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian tea sets and candelabras. Examples of his work at the gallery include a gold gilt over sterling silver Georgian wine server, a George II basket weave jardinière, and the enamel and 18K gold urn I mentioned in the December blog. The urn is one of only five made and shown in an 1818 watercolor in Carlton House. Another talented silversmith, also well known for his period furnishing, is Harry Smith who created the smallest and most detailed piece in the KSB Miniatures Collection, a sterling silver salt dip and spoon. It rests prominently on a dining table in Spencer House where I often envision Princess Diana’s ancestors dining at the table. Perhaps they were salting their pheasant with it or being served wine or tea with Jen’s creations. Yes, these are a few of my favorite things, at least in the decorative arts category . . .