Van Briggle Pottery Tells Many Tales
I confess that I LOVE this pottery piece. My partner John’s father collected this maker, Van Briggle Studios, founded by the husband and wife team, Aratus and Anne Van Briggle. …
Mack W Borgen Returns
Author Mack W Borgen returns to discuss his series of books about the patient remaking of American life.
Don’t Fear the Ghost in Your Piano
People often ask me to appraise their piano. Since with great pleasure I do this for the Music Academy of the West, I’ll discuss the value of a reader’s piano. …
The Most Horrible Collectible
SG from Rancho Cucamonga sent me two doll photographs. I thought this a joke from my best friend Eli, who trained as a psychiatrist and knows about my rare phobia …
Wit and Whimsy: Selections from the Collection of Michael and Nancy Gifford
Co-curators Cynthia Martin and Julia Rutherford Daly talk about the Wit and Whimsy: Selections from the Collection of Michael and Nancy Gifford exhibit opening Thursday, November 7 at Santa Barbara …
Simoncini’s Arte Etrusca and the Tradition of Knocking off Etruscan Art
In Tuscany, in the Province of Pisa in Etruria, lies the ancient city of Volterra. In the 8th century BCE the city operated as an important Etruscan center. Many today …
Why you should know about the theory of cross collectibility
What do I mean by cross collectible? And why should you know about this if you want to sell an object? Because online platforms usually ask you to list an …
Wabi-Sabi as an Art Practice
Artists Angela Beguhl and Daniel Elmer Landman discuss wabi-sabi as an Art Practice. An exhibition inspired by wabi-sabi, including pottery by Beguhl and sculpture by Landman, continues at Yuliya Lennon …
Beloved Huckleberry Hound Evokes Memories
JT, with tongue in her cheek, sends me two of her husband’s favorite toys: a 1959 Huckleberry Hound, marketed by the Knickerbocker Toy Co., and a Knickerbocker Pouty Bear, from …
Gate Leg Table, Jacobean or not?
Featured at the Unity Shoppe’s second hand furniture shop on State Street, P sends me a photo of a table she’s considering buying. She wonders about the period, the style, …