New Reliquary for St Fris of Bassoues

Saint Fris Reliquary, Bassoues.

Jacques Dubarry de la Salle (90 !)

He came to the workshop with the idea to search the drawers for some forgotten leather panel he could use as a covering for Saint Fris’s  new reliquary.

He came, He saw, He went (with a panel under the arm)

Jacques, here lecturing on marbles, one of his great passions, he is at the origin of the Marble Museum in Bagnères-de-bigorre which is soon to open doors

Ivory roof tiles comes from ancient piano touches, the woodwork form bits and pieces made and found in his workshop and a gilt leather panel from my drawer. All the work and intelligence by: Jacques !!

This reliquary reflects the spirit of the remote area I live in, small budget, great creativity, good will….. I love it.

Some pictures in situ at the Basilique St Fris will follow in a later posting.

As always

Fred

 

Rose & Tulip Border

Dutch scholar Eloy Koldeweij in his book “Goudleer-Kinkarakawa” states the border originates from Amsterdam around 1660. On page 123 there is a picture of this border form the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

French scholar Henri Clouzot in his book “Cuirs décorés ” 1920                 pictures on page XI of book 2 a Rose & Tulip border form the collection of the Museum “Vleeshuis” Antwerp. He dates the panel simply as 17th century and originating form Flanders.                                                                                                                                           The border pictured by H. Clouzot is attached to a panel, when looked closely at one can see some putti and as central theme a fruit basket perhaps an allegory on the abundance ?

The Border we have was originally a reproduction made for restoration purposes by Van Herck Antwerp, a dynasty of antique dealers and restores. I was told the wooden blocks to reproduce the leather panels on cardboard paper were made at the end of the 19th century yet flipping a bend edge revealed a stamp of Van Herck dated 1925. This doesn’t proof the mould was made in the early 20th century yet I confess I would have expected to see 1892 for ex.

As you can see the border is framed by a cabochon and diamonds edge which we unfortunately have not on our border as the original panel we took the print from had a poor definition of this part of the sculpture event though it looks good on the picture.

Eventually it would be worth while to dig into the history of the Van Herck family in Antwerp …… maybe later……

Here another detail of our Rose & Tulip Border

As Always

Fred

Lutson Modern

Lutson Modern by Luttylux

In the new catalogue I’ve added a binding about Lut’s art.

Works can be seen and purchased  on the site luttylux.blogspot.fr

From the 21 of April 2017 on several works will be shown during an exhibition at the

Galerie Koustak in Fources France

http://galerie-koustak.com/

Here a selection of works to be shown

 Canvas 85 X 90 cm

Canvas 75 X 75 cm

Canvas 85 X 90 cm

Ink on Paper 25 X 35 cm

An extract from Lut’s biography

Despite her classic education her art is resolutely contemporary.

Drawing and painting is a passion that never left Lut and its with constant renewed energy and vision that she explores unbeaten paths. In her work she mixes techniques and mediums.

She makes bas-reliefs, paints or draws with ample, strong and harmonious movements.

She uses charcoal and includes in her works techniques that escapes the control of her leading hand, thus reflecting the incertitude of our daily life.

Her architectural mind setting reflects in the way she builds her works, often with underlying geometrical patterns and by the use of construction materials. She pays great attention to perspectives and optical effects.

She claims her work is a reflection and expression of her inner self, showing ordered anarchy in a confined environment.

As Always

Fred

 

Ancient, leather bird-flask

This funny bird is long time companion of us, we bought it ages ago in our home town, Ghent.

Its a drinking flask, in which one could transport some brandy for his personal comfort during the longer walks or hunting party’s in wintertime.

Snow and cold wears one down and than a sip from the flask will brighten the spirits and lift up the moods.

On these walks it was not uncommon to meet some acquaintance, than all of a sudden the flask becomes a partner in a merry gathering.

The leather from the flask was shaped in the form of a bird, the screw plug is made in horn. There is a seal painted on the belly I believe it to be a brand but its unreadable.

The flask is painted in a superficial way yet not without artistry, to me the bird looks a little sad, maybe because he is out of use for such a long time?

Where was this flask made ? I think it could have been made any-where in eastern or northern Europe. I did as we all do nowadays, I googled along but google avoided my questions by serving me  obviously wrong answers. Google knows a lot but this time google was mute.

So the 50 pence question is there for you readers to ponder.

Where and When was this flask made ?  If you should have the answer to this enigma, or even the slightest hint that will help us forward, do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Here a view of the seal of the brand

A view of the parted horn made screw plug

Yours As Always

Fred

Rococo Dragon

A while ago we made two versions of a poly-chrome Dragon: one on a antiqued silvered ground with no background painting and the other one a poly-chrome panel on a silvered ground and the background painted in an aubergine colour.

Here the version on a silvered ground

And this one with the aubergine colour painted background

As you can see from this picture the panel with the painted background was chosen.

This is the only picture I have form this project, probably taken with an I-phone, at least it gives us some idea of the final result.

It also illustrates how hard it is to get good pictures of interiors we supplied leathers for.

Though I regret it I also understand the meaning of the word “discretion” perhaps its the price to pay to be involved and work for high-end designers and their anonymous clients.

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year                            May this blessed season engage the whole world in a conspiracy of peace and love.

Always Yours

Fred

Axel Vervoordt at the NY Tefaf

Few days ago Greet Lefèvre from Belgian Pearls published a posting about Axel Vervoordt’s booth at the NY Tefaf http://www.belgianpearls.be/

She sourced the pictures from Vervoordt’s Facebook page and I do just the same  https://www.facebook.com/axelvervoordtnv/?fref=ts

I’m indeed a great admirer of Vervoordt’s work. He has a way of selecting quality Art, objects, furniture and accessories and bring them together in an wonderfully complicated yet ordered way. All sits in the right place and its been thought of, even though it seems as if this is merely an accumulation of information and the result a lucky hand.

Here a vue d’ensemble of Vervoordt’s booth

Note: Alongside the central cupboard a gilt leather screen.

Above the arches a faded wall paper blends in with the carved wood, this type of wall paper design is a great classic, we have a similar design in our collection the “Domino” as illustrated here under, with the right colour scheme it would be a close match.

Unfortunately we have not been involved in this wonderful project, but we could have ….

As proves this amazing interior.

We supplied Lauderdale panels for the walls, the panels are separated by Cabochon borders.  Inside the hidden bar they used the  Abondance and Marot border.

The inside of the door is lined with Soleil panels, framed by Marot borders at the top and bottom of the door and cabochon borders alongside the Soleil panels to span the width of the door with embossed gilt leather.

As Always

Fred

 

Gilt Leather Alter for the St Peter church of Vic-Fezensac

Regularly we are asked to supply Gilt leather for alter pieces (Antependium).

As here in the St Peter church of Vic Fezensac.

The four sides of the alter are covered with leather.

Front covered with Marot

The back being covered with Abondance

The sides are covered with our Lauderdale.

This is a small alter which allows easy picking-up and re-positioning.

 

Hope you enjoyed this

As Always

Fred

Contemporary Art Installations by Luttylux form Lutson Goudleder

“Resonance” by Luttylux

Lut works with various materials allowing 3d paint installations.

With a steady hand and ample harmonious movements, she creates

strong and vibrant works

 

 

 

 

Lut cares a lot about the structure and the feel of the used materials.

Lut’s work can be seen at http://luttylux.blogspot.fr/

also at Saatchiart https://www.saatchiart.com/luttylux

As Always

Fred

 

Pieter De Hooch 17th century Gilt Leather Interiors

Pieter De Hooch

A remarkable painter of Dutch interior scenes of the 17^th century.

He is often compared to Vermeer or at least mentioned in the same phrase, De Hooch being 3 years older than Vermeer.

However Vermeer’s paintings are more emotional. Vermeer is a master in  creating an atmosphere, the interior being an accessory to help express the feelings he brushes down so delicately.

De Hooch is more precise, making the interior communicate with the exterior by opening doors and windows, using tiled floors to accentuate the perspective. The interior scene an elegant way to allow painting elaborated surroundings.

Before 1660 De Hooch lived in Delft there he painted middle class interior scenes.
When he moved to Amsterdam his clientele being wealthier the interiors reflect this. High ceilings, rich furniture, paintings on the walls, elaborated tapestries and indeed gilt leather

 

Theses paintings were painted around 1664

Fred

Gilt Leather collection at John Nelson Inc Miami (part 2)

Here than the second part of the collection we have at John nelson Inc Miami,

the first part of the collection as illustrated in an earlier posting was about fully painted gilt leathers designs.

for these designs John went for Silvered backgrounds and light colors.

Fleurance

Lauderdale

Faded blue’s on a silvered ground

Marot

The last one with lesser silver showing

Moncla

Monochrome and Polychrome

Plaisance

 

Verentuil

Wishes

Fred