Christmas Bait

Hooray for The Holidays! The Dreamstress posted about her lovely Christmas Bait (closely related to Pogey Bait), so I thought I’d post about mine as well. Amongst the cuddly flannel PJs, fluffy bathrobe, and fuzzy sox, I received for Christmas some fantastically ‘Duchesque’ items:

The Teacup
Another teacup, yes, but can a girl ever have too many? This teacup and saucer bears the mark “Crownford, Fine Bone China, Made in England.” And to a girl like me, that’s pure pogey gold. So far it’s been a bit difficult to find much about Crownford, except that it hails from Staffordshire (yes, Mr. C, you are correct), and that there’s quite a lot of it for sale across the webiverse, however, the company is no longer in existence – I believe it was acquired. Anybody know any better resources for identifying china?

The Bracelet
This bracelet was a gift from my grandmother-on-my-dad’s-side, who has been a collector of funky things her entire life. Before there were hippies, she was a beatnik, and before there were beatniks, she was a bohemian. There’s no telling where she got this bracelet (having lived in Berkeley much of her life), but we do know that is came from Indochina (it’s stamped). Age? Not a clue, but it’s really flippin’ cool!!

The Book
There are some bound items that make my head spin – books on costume and books on art, specifically a handful of artists that make me salivate and shudder with glee. Primarily, I speak of Alphonse Mucha, who defines like none other the Art Nouveau movement at the turn of the 20th century. Mr. C must’ve seen me twitching when I saw this book at Barnes and Nobles 🙂 It’s got a lot of Mucha’s art and sketches that I haven’t seen, and I must say that as a costumer as well as a rabid art historian, Mucha’s gown and jewelry designs are incredible and inspiring. Thanks Mr. C! xoxo

And now off to the Nevada Museum of Art to drool over Rembrandt etchings and enjoy fine museum cuisine :-).

5 Comments

  • The Dreamstress

    December 27, 2009 at 9:18 PM

    Yummy! Oh for the space to collect my own set of teacups and saucers…

    And Mucha is definitely one of my favourites too!

    Reply
  • Duch

    December 29, 2009 at 5:47 PM

    Thanks, my lovely ladies! Yes, the bracelet is quite cool, and it was spur of the moment – my grandmother took it off her wrist and told me she wanted me to have it before she died. Eee, a bit macabre, really, but I was thankful for the gift. Oddly enough, she's in fine health and mostly has her wits about her, she's just older than rock.

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    February 15, 2010 at 9:22 AM

    Oooh lovely teacup! I love dainty pretty things… especially when I can drink delicious tea out of them! I've recently discovered a tea called "Rooibos Tiramisu", and all I can say is "nommmmmmmmmm".
    I absolutely adore Mucha, his art is unbelievable. I was very lucky to go to Prague last year and visit the Mucha Museum, as well as the St-Vitus Cathedral where he designed an entire stained glass window – which is the most spectacular and awe-inspiring window-pane I've ever seen.

    Reply

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