I found the article How to Buy Gold Bullion at a 41% Discount by Tom Dyson @ http://www.dailywealth.com interesting because if everyone's rushing to sell their jewelry for cash + the pawnshops have the resources to stay put, then investing in a pawnshop may not be a bad idea + I guess, the pawnshops in Asia must be making tons of money.
Useful links:
www.cashamerica.com
www.ezcorp.com
Friday, March 28, 2008
Natural Fashion
Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa by Hans Silvester is an interesting book about the young and beautiful inhabitants of Ethiopia's Omo valley + the stunning images reminded me of the attributes of gemstones: beauty + rarity + durability + portability + fashion, I mean the concept. As always beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Chanel Mobile Art
In my view Chanel Mobile Art is irresistible + the exhibition in Hong Kong, the first stop of a two-year world tour, opened February 27, 2008 and runs until April 5, 2008 and showcases the works of 20 international contemporary artists.
A unique alchemy of luxury brands + artists!
Useful links:
www.chanel-mobileart.com
www.zahahadidblog.com
A unique alchemy of luxury brands + artists!
Useful links:
www.chanel-mobileart.com
www.zahahadidblog.com
The Writing On The Wall
The Writing on the Wall: China and the West in the 21st Century by Will Hutton is an interesting and informative book + I think he was spot on with his analysis of the world + economics of the 21st century will belong to China.
The Regent
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The main facets of both the crown and the pavilion of the magnificent Regent Diamond (now in the Galerie d’Apollon, Musée du Louvre, Paris) are similar in width and shape to those of the Wittelsbach. However, the Regent has fourfold symmetry which is reflected in its culet facets as well as in the split star facets. Both types of facet appear to have been applied in pairs. The Regent, fashioned in London between 1704 and 1706 by a master cutter named Harris, eventually became one of the French Crown Jewels. Because of its excellent proportions and exceptional symmetry, it was regarded for centuries as unrivalled in every respect. Incredible as it may seem, by the application of a deliberately wavy girdle the ingenious cutter produced almost identical angles of inclination of the main facets all round the gem. This obviously resulted in uniform brilliance—virtually unheard of in cushion-shaped diamonds.
The main facets of both the crown and the pavilion of the magnificent Regent Diamond (now in the Galerie d’Apollon, Musée du Louvre, Paris) are similar in width and shape to those of the Wittelsbach. However, the Regent has fourfold symmetry which is reflected in its culet facets as well as in the split star facets. Both types of facet appear to have been applied in pairs. The Regent, fashioned in London between 1704 and 1706 by a master cutter named Harris, eventually became one of the French Crown Jewels. Because of its excellent proportions and exceptional symmetry, it was regarded for centuries as unrivalled in every respect. Incredible as it may seem, by the application of a deliberately wavy girdle the ingenious cutter produced almost identical angles of inclination of the main facets all round the gem. This obviously resulted in uniform brilliance—virtually unheard of in cushion-shaped diamonds.
The Modern Dutch School
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
3
Of the landscape painters of modern Holland, the nearest to Corot—nearest in the delicacy of his coloring and in the lyrical note that rings out clearly in all his work—is Anton Mauve (1838-88). The son of a Baptist minister, Mauve was born at Naandam and brought up in a strict Protestant home, where art was not encouraged. It was much against the will of his parents that he eventually took up art, and he made little progress under his first master, Van Os, a dry academic painter whose stiff style had little attraction for his sensitive, rather dreamy pupil. The earliest paintings of Mauve were tightly drawn and highly finished, but later, after he had made the acquaintance of Israels, Willem Maris, and other artists in Amsterdam, he completely changed his style, his handling became looser and broader, and he restricted his palette to delicate greys, greens, light fawns, and pale blues. When he was thirty he exhibited at the Free Society in Brussels, and he was influenced by the French artists who exhibited there, particularly by Corot and by Daubigny, whose works he saw in the house of Mr Mesdag and other places in Holland. Mauve soon began to excel in landscape, rendering the soft hazy atmosphere that lingers over the meadows of Holland with infinite tenderness and poetic truth. The sand dunes near Scheveningen were for many years his favorite sketching-ground, and it was there that he painted one of the most popular of his pictures, ‘The Sand Cart’. It is a painting that captivates us at once by its winning simplicity, its entire truth, and the atmosphere of repose which it exhales; and this reposefulness is a general characteristic of the art of Mauve, though his subjects are usually taken from workday life. We do not think of him primarily as an animal-painter, though his love of animals is made clear by the frequency with which he introduces them into his pictures. But Mauve’s animals never seem to have been painted solely for their own sake; they are part and parcel of the landscape, in which they take a natural place, fulfilling their allotted function as aids to human activity. Each of Mauve’s landscapes has the animals appropriate to it. He painted horses—for many years his ‘Watering Horses,’ belonging to Mr J C J Drucker, was lent to the National Gallery—but he also painted donkeys on the seashore, cows in meadows and on the road, sheep at pasture and in their pens. The fine collection of Mauve’s work in the Mesdag Museum atThe Hague contains examples of all these subjects. Towards the end of his life Mauve painted sheep more frequently than any other animals, the reason being that after living at Amsterdam and The Hague he settled at Laren, which is in the heart of the sheep country to the north-east of Amsterdam. Mauve took all rural and seashore life for his province: he painted fishermen and fishwives at a fish auction on the beach, he painted groups of peasants gathered together at a timber sale, drawing the various types of faces with great insight and humor, but in all his pictures life is pleasant and work proceeds placidly in an atmosphere of peace and contentment.
The Modern Dutch School (continued)
3
Of the landscape painters of modern Holland, the nearest to Corot—nearest in the delicacy of his coloring and in the lyrical note that rings out clearly in all his work—is Anton Mauve (1838-88). The son of a Baptist minister, Mauve was born at Naandam and brought up in a strict Protestant home, where art was not encouraged. It was much against the will of his parents that he eventually took up art, and he made little progress under his first master, Van Os, a dry academic painter whose stiff style had little attraction for his sensitive, rather dreamy pupil. The earliest paintings of Mauve were tightly drawn and highly finished, but later, after he had made the acquaintance of Israels, Willem Maris, and other artists in Amsterdam, he completely changed his style, his handling became looser and broader, and he restricted his palette to delicate greys, greens, light fawns, and pale blues. When he was thirty he exhibited at the Free Society in Brussels, and he was influenced by the French artists who exhibited there, particularly by Corot and by Daubigny, whose works he saw in the house of Mr Mesdag and other places in Holland. Mauve soon began to excel in landscape, rendering the soft hazy atmosphere that lingers over the meadows of Holland with infinite tenderness and poetic truth. The sand dunes near Scheveningen were for many years his favorite sketching-ground, and it was there that he painted one of the most popular of his pictures, ‘The Sand Cart’. It is a painting that captivates us at once by its winning simplicity, its entire truth, and the atmosphere of repose which it exhales; and this reposefulness is a general characteristic of the art of Mauve, though his subjects are usually taken from workday life. We do not think of him primarily as an animal-painter, though his love of animals is made clear by the frequency with which he introduces them into his pictures. But Mauve’s animals never seem to have been painted solely for their own sake; they are part and parcel of the landscape, in which they take a natural place, fulfilling their allotted function as aids to human activity. Each of Mauve’s landscapes has the animals appropriate to it. He painted horses—for many years his ‘Watering Horses,’ belonging to Mr J C J Drucker, was lent to the National Gallery—but he also painted donkeys on the seashore, cows in meadows and on the road, sheep at pasture and in their pens. The fine collection of Mauve’s work in the Mesdag Museum atThe Hague contains examples of all these subjects. Towards the end of his life Mauve painted sheep more frequently than any other animals, the reason being that after living at Amsterdam and The Hague he settled at Laren, which is in the heart of the sheep country to the north-east of Amsterdam. Mauve took all rural and seashore life for his province: he painted fishermen and fishwives at a fish auction on the beach, he painted groups of peasants gathered together at a timber sale, drawing the various types of faces with great insight and humor, but in all his pictures life is pleasant and work proceeds placidly in an atmosphere of peace and contentment.
The Modern Dutch School (continued)
Starting A Gem Collection
Many collectors of gemstones like to keep their specimens uncut (in the rough), while others cut and polish to bring out their color, character and beauty + one way to collect is to specialize in a particular family of gem species first, and the add more species and varieties gradually + beginners also will find that more experienced collectors are always ready with advice and assistance on the field + what's amazing is many now-popular gemstones were passed over by early prospectors as being of no commercial value.
Business Blogs
(via Fortune) I found these business blogs interesting + educational.
- Paul Kedrosky
http://paul.kedrosky.com
- Michelle Leder
www.footnoted.org
- Matt Marshall
http://venturebeat.com
- Paul Jackson
www.housingwire.com
- Business Tabloid
http://dealbreaker.com
- Paul Kedrosky
http://paul.kedrosky.com
- Michelle Leder
www.footnoted.org
- Matt Marshall
http://venturebeat.com
- Paul Jackson
www.housingwire.com
- Business Tabloid
http://dealbreaker.com
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Statens Museum, Copenhagen
(via budgettravel) The Statens Museum for Kunst is the best source for free art in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Useful link:
www.smk.dk
Useful link:
www.smk.dk
Borghese Gallery
(via Wikipedia) The Borghese Gallery (Italian: Galleria Borghese) in Rome is an art gallery housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana, a building that was from the first integral with its gardens, nowadays considered quite separately by tourists as the Villa Borghese gardens. The Galleria Borghese houses a substantial part of the Borghese collection of paintings, sculpture and antiquities, which was begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V (reign 1605–1621). The Villa was built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, developing sketches by Scipione Borghese himself, who used it as a villa suburbana, a party villa at the edge of Rome.
Scipione Borghese was an early patron of Bernini and an avid collector of works by Caravaggio, who is well represented in the collection by his Boy with a Basket of Fruit, St. Jerome, Sick Bacchus and others. Other paintings of note include Titian's Sacred and Profane Love, Raphael's depiction of the Entombment of Christ and works by Peter Paul Rubens and Federico Barocci.
Useful link:
www.galleriaborghese.it
Scipione Borghese was an early patron of Bernini and an avid collector of works by Caravaggio, who is well represented in the collection by his Boy with a Basket of Fruit, St. Jerome, Sick Bacchus and others. Other paintings of note include Titian's Sacred and Profane Love, Raphael's depiction of the Entombment of Christ and works by Peter Paul Rubens and Federico Barocci.
Useful link:
www.galleriaborghese.it
Siberian Ivory Trade
The Russian exports of mammoth ivory is up--thanks to global warming: The article Trade in mammoth ivory @ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/25/europe/mammoth.php was educational + interesting + I think there will be always demand for ivory in Asia, for personal uses despite the international ban on ivory trade.
How To Be Human
The book How to be Human by Deirdre Nansen McCloskey is thought-provoking + a great read.
Useful link:
http://deirdremccloskey.org
Useful link:
http://deirdremccloskey.org
The Wittelsbach
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The magnificent 36.56 ct Wittelsbach diamond, whose color has been compared to that of a deep blue aquamarine, was first recorded in 1664 as part of the dowry of the Spanish Infanta, Margareta Teresa, who in 1667 married the Emperor Leopold. In this way the gem came to Vienna. It was part of ‘a new aquisition of precious stones from India and Portugal’ and was possibly fashioned in Paris, since the Sancy, the French Blue, the Hortensia and a number of other important diamonds were cut or refashioned there during the seventeenth century.
Refashioning of obselete cuts was the specialty of the Paris cutters, and it is even possible that the Wittelsbach was originally a Pointed Star Cut. The Wittelsbach Brilliant is a Stellar Cut with radially bisected girdle facets. The star facets (round the table) are also radially bisected. Both the table facet and the culet are exceptionally large. The extra facets were most certainly applied to increase the gem’s brilliance, since the stone itself is shallow and dark.
The magnificent 36.56 ct Wittelsbach diamond, whose color has been compared to that of a deep blue aquamarine, was first recorded in 1664 as part of the dowry of the Spanish Infanta, Margareta Teresa, who in 1667 married the Emperor Leopold. In this way the gem came to Vienna. It was part of ‘a new aquisition of precious stones from India and Portugal’ and was possibly fashioned in Paris, since the Sancy, the French Blue, the Hortensia and a number of other important diamonds were cut or refashioned there during the seventeenth century.
Refashioning of obselete cuts was the specialty of the Paris cutters, and it is even possible that the Wittelsbach was originally a Pointed Star Cut. The Wittelsbach Brilliant is a Stellar Cut with radially bisected girdle facets. The star facets (round the table) are also radially bisected. Both the table facet and the culet are exceptionally large. The extra facets were most certainly applied to increase the gem’s brilliance, since the stone itself is shallow and dark.
The Modern Dutch School
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
It may be said, therefore, that the art of Josef Israels, though he received his training in Paris, was far more the fruit of his own experience of life than the outcome of French influence. We feel that even if Millet had never existed, Israels would not have painted otherwise than he did, and though the subject matter of their respective pictures are akin, there are considerable differences between them. Millet painted his peasants out-of-doors in the light of the sun; Israels pictured his fisher-folk by preference indoors, in dim interiors. Hence his pictures are usually more subdued in color than those of Millet. Israels painted low life in low tones and built up his visions of life, whether in oil paintings, water-colors, or etchings—and he worked in all three mediums—by broad masses of light and shade. Further, his tendency is to be more tragic than Millet, and many of his picture have not inaccurately been described as ‘piercing notes of woe.’ One of his most famous pictures, ‘Alone in the World’, contains the essence of his art. In the treatment, in the rays of light dimly illuminating the gloom which befits the subject, we see the influence of Rembrandt; while in the bowed figure of the lonely widow, with her open Bible by her side, we have a poignant expression of the artist’s deep feeling for the daily tragedy of life.
In 1870 Josef Israels left Amsterdam and moved to The Hague, where he lived till he died on August 12, 1911, respected, honored, and world-famous. He was a painter who appealed equally to the general public and to connoisseurs and though so many of his works are tragic, this never interfered with his popularity, because he pictured the tragedies of common life which all have experienced and all can understand. Further, if he reached his highest intensity of expression in rendering sorrow, suffering, endurance, and the pathos of old age, Israels was not wholly tragic in his art. Pictures like ‘A Frugal Meal’ and ‘A Happy Family’ show the reverse of the medal, the compensations of poverty, and the happiness of the humble. But even in these scenes of domestic contentment there is something touching, and the philosophy of Israels seems to bid us to ponder on the life of people who can be happy with so little.
When Josef Israels was a young man, working as a clerk under his father, one of his frequent duties was to take a money bag to the bank of a Mr Mesdag. This banker had a son Hendrik Willem Mesdag, born at Groningen on February 25, 1831, who also became a famous painter. For many years H.W. Mesdag practised art as a amateur, and it was not till he had amassed a considerable fortune in business that he retired from banking and devoted himself entirely to painting. Thus Mesdag was not only in the independent position of being able to paint what he pleased, without thinking of the taste of buyers, but he was also wealthy enough to help his brother artists whose works he admired.
In 1886, when he was thirty-five years of age, Mesdag went to Brussels, where his friends and relative Alma-Tadema was then residing. Roelofs also was living in Brussels, and it was under his guidance that the banker began the serious studies which should fit him to make art henceforward his profession. Mesdag stayed three years at Brussels and returned in 1869 to The Hague, no longer an active man of business but an artist. He was not only a painter himself but a collector of paintings, and in course of time he formed a very important collection of modern pictures, chiefly of the Barbizon and Modern Dutch Schools, which in 1903 he generously presented to the public. The Mesdag Museum at The Hague is a lasting monument of his own taste and of the genius of his contemporaries. As a painter Mesdag gave himself almost exclusively to the painting of the sea, and his marines are remarkable for thier luminosity, truth, and the vigor of their handling. ‘A Seascape’ is a good example of his power of suggesting the life and movement of the waves and of his skill in placing shipping, so that his picture is at once absolutely natural and yet decorative in design.
The numerous painters of the Modern Dutch School—almost as numerous as the ‘Little Masters’ of the seventeenth century—may broadly be divided into two classes, the figure of genre painters for whom Israels was the chief influence, and the landscape painters who were inspired by Roelofs and the French painters of Barbizon. Among the genre painters we may mention Albert Neuhuys, born at Utrecht in 1844, who approaches closely to Israels in his grave tender renderings of humble interiors; David Adolf Constant Artz (1837-90), who, in addition to interiors, painted the fisher-folk of Scheveningen out-of-doors, frequently at moments when they were resting on the sandhills; and Bernardus Johannes Blommers, born at The Hague in 1845, who developed in his own way the lighter side of the art of Israels. There is nothing tragic in the pictures of Blommers, whose favorite subjects are children playing on the sands at Scheveningen or paddling in the water. ‘On the Beach’ is a typical example of the happy seaside scenes in which the artist displays alike his love of children and his knowledge of sea and sky.
The Modern Dutch School (continued)
It may be said, therefore, that the art of Josef Israels, though he received his training in Paris, was far more the fruit of his own experience of life than the outcome of French influence. We feel that even if Millet had never existed, Israels would not have painted otherwise than he did, and though the subject matter of their respective pictures are akin, there are considerable differences between them. Millet painted his peasants out-of-doors in the light of the sun; Israels pictured his fisher-folk by preference indoors, in dim interiors. Hence his pictures are usually more subdued in color than those of Millet. Israels painted low life in low tones and built up his visions of life, whether in oil paintings, water-colors, or etchings—and he worked in all three mediums—by broad masses of light and shade. Further, his tendency is to be more tragic than Millet, and many of his picture have not inaccurately been described as ‘piercing notes of woe.’ One of his most famous pictures, ‘Alone in the World’, contains the essence of his art. In the treatment, in the rays of light dimly illuminating the gloom which befits the subject, we see the influence of Rembrandt; while in the bowed figure of the lonely widow, with her open Bible by her side, we have a poignant expression of the artist’s deep feeling for the daily tragedy of life.
In 1870 Josef Israels left Amsterdam and moved to The Hague, where he lived till he died on August 12, 1911, respected, honored, and world-famous. He was a painter who appealed equally to the general public and to connoisseurs and though so many of his works are tragic, this never interfered with his popularity, because he pictured the tragedies of common life which all have experienced and all can understand. Further, if he reached his highest intensity of expression in rendering sorrow, suffering, endurance, and the pathos of old age, Israels was not wholly tragic in his art. Pictures like ‘A Frugal Meal’ and ‘A Happy Family’ show the reverse of the medal, the compensations of poverty, and the happiness of the humble. But even in these scenes of domestic contentment there is something touching, and the philosophy of Israels seems to bid us to ponder on the life of people who can be happy with so little.
When Josef Israels was a young man, working as a clerk under his father, one of his frequent duties was to take a money bag to the bank of a Mr Mesdag. This banker had a son Hendrik Willem Mesdag, born at Groningen on February 25, 1831, who also became a famous painter. For many years H.W. Mesdag practised art as a amateur, and it was not till he had amassed a considerable fortune in business that he retired from banking and devoted himself entirely to painting. Thus Mesdag was not only in the independent position of being able to paint what he pleased, without thinking of the taste of buyers, but he was also wealthy enough to help his brother artists whose works he admired.
In 1886, when he was thirty-five years of age, Mesdag went to Brussels, where his friends and relative Alma-Tadema was then residing. Roelofs also was living in Brussels, and it was under his guidance that the banker began the serious studies which should fit him to make art henceforward his profession. Mesdag stayed three years at Brussels and returned in 1869 to The Hague, no longer an active man of business but an artist. He was not only a painter himself but a collector of paintings, and in course of time he formed a very important collection of modern pictures, chiefly of the Barbizon and Modern Dutch Schools, which in 1903 he generously presented to the public. The Mesdag Museum at The Hague is a lasting monument of his own taste and of the genius of his contemporaries. As a painter Mesdag gave himself almost exclusively to the painting of the sea, and his marines are remarkable for thier luminosity, truth, and the vigor of their handling. ‘A Seascape’ is a good example of his power of suggesting the life and movement of the waves and of his skill in placing shipping, so that his picture is at once absolutely natural and yet decorative in design.
The numerous painters of the Modern Dutch School—almost as numerous as the ‘Little Masters’ of the seventeenth century—may broadly be divided into two classes, the figure of genre painters for whom Israels was the chief influence, and the landscape painters who were inspired by Roelofs and the French painters of Barbizon. Among the genre painters we may mention Albert Neuhuys, born at Utrecht in 1844, who approaches closely to Israels in his grave tender renderings of humble interiors; David Adolf Constant Artz (1837-90), who, in addition to interiors, painted the fisher-folk of Scheveningen out-of-doors, frequently at moments when they were resting on the sandhills; and Bernardus Johannes Blommers, born at The Hague in 1845, who developed in his own way the lighter side of the art of Israels. There is nothing tragic in the pictures of Blommers, whose favorite subjects are children playing on the sands at Scheveningen or paddling in the water. ‘On the Beach’ is a typical example of the happy seaside scenes in which the artist displays alike his love of children and his knowledge of sea and sky.
The Modern Dutch School (continued)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Preannotation Technique
(via Wired) A new facial-recognition algorithm created by Allen Yang, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley's College of Engineering is able to recognize faces with 90-95 percent accuracy, even if the eyes, nose and mouth are obscured + according to Shankar Sastry, the dean of UC Berkeley's College of Engineering, Yang's new facial-detection method also renders years of research in the field obsolete.
I think the new technique will pave the way for new business (startups) models + privacy issues + security concerns.
Useful links:
http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~yang
http://perception.csl.uiuc.edu/recognition/Home.html
I think the new technique will pave the way for new business (startups) models + privacy issues + security concerns.
Useful links:
http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~yang
http://perception.csl.uiuc.edu/recognition/Home.html
Feathers In Amber
The article Dino-Era Feathers Found Encased in Amber @ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080311-amber-feathers.html was fascinating and educational + an interesting spin would be the exotic collectors: they will be looking for dinosaur feathers in amber worldwide + who could afford the prices?
Buyer beware! There will be plenty of imitations in the market very soon!
Buyer beware! There will be plenty of imitations in the market very soon!
Diamond Source
According to industry analysts, Botswana is the largest producer of diamonds in the world, accounting for 25% of the production followed by Russia (22%), Canada (12%), South Africa (12%), Angola (10%) and Namibia (6%) + India is the world’s largest importer of rough diamonds and exporter of cut and polished diamonds with over 90% per cent market share.
Understanding French
A Guide to the French: Handle with Care by Elaine Sciolino @ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/24/travel/23sciolino.php was brilliant + it was educational + gem dealers, jewelers, artists, businessmen should read it several times.
Randy Pausch
Here is an inspiring story of Randy Pausch + his last goodbye is making millions rethink life.
Useful links:
www.randypausch.com
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/randy-pausch-the-dying-man-who-taught-america-how-to-live-800182.html
Useful links:
www.randypausch.com
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/randy-pausch-the-dying-man-who-taught-america-how-to-live-800182.html
Graphic Books
I found the Newsweek article Everything is Illuminated @
http://www.newsweek.com/id/128537 interesting and insightful because in my view illustrated images are attention-grabbing and the best way to teach a concept + you are able to connect with people of all ages + you remember the story forever.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/128537 interesting and insightful because in my view illustrated images are attention-grabbing and the best way to teach a concept + you are able to connect with people of all ages + you remember the story forever.
The Prince
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli is an insightful book + a great psychology tool + provides valuable lessons on strategy and power + I highly recommend this book.
Useful link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli
Useful link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli
The Hortensia
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The Hortensia, which was not actually given this name until the reign of Napoleon I, was initially mentioned in the French Crown inventory as being pink and pentagonal and weighing 21ct, but it is far more interesting than this bald description implies. IN 1787, Brisson described its outline as ‘a square with one corner off’, which was taken to mean that the rough from which it was originally fashioned was an octahedral crystal.
However, judging from the sixfold symmetry, it is quite obvious that the rough was dodecahedral. In fact, after a close inspection of the crown facets, I am now almost certain that the Hortensia Brilliant is a refashioned Naville Cut. This conviction is strenghthened by the knowledge that Parisian diamond cutters at the end of the seventeenth century specialized in refashioning obsolete cuts, in particular Tailles en Seize and larger Navilles, which is why these two cuts disappeared so rapidly.
The master cutter Alvarez may well have been responsible for recutting the Hortensia in 1678. With its dimensions of 19.5 x 21.6 x 8.7 mm, the stone was far too shallow to reflect light properly. By adding two rows of starlike facets round the culet, the cutter conjured beautiful reflections from the pavilion. The Polar Star, so highly praised for its magnificent reflections, is similarly fashioned.
The Hortensia, which was not actually given this name until the reign of Napoleon I, was initially mentioned in the French Crown inventory as being pink and pentagonal and weighing 21ct, but it is far more interesting than this bald description implies. IN 1787, Brisson described its outline as ‘a square with one corner off’, which was taken to mean that the rough from which it was originally fashioned was an octahedral crystal.
However, judging from the sixfold symmetry, it is quite obvious that the rough was dodecahedral. In fact, after a close inspection of the crown facets, I am now almost certain that the Hortensia Brilliant is a refashioned Naville Cut. This conviction is strenghthened by the knowledge that Parisian diamond cutters at the end of the seventeenth century specialized in refashioning obsolete cuts, in particular Tailles en Seize and larger Navilles, which is why these two cuts disappeared so rapidly.
The master cutter Alvarez may well have been responsible for recutting the Hortensia in 1678. With its dimensions of 19.5 x 21.6 x 8.7 mm, the stone was far too shallow to reflect light properly. By adding two rows of starlike facets round the culet, the cutter conjured beautiful reflections from the pavilion. The Polar Star, so highly praised for its magnificent reflections, is similarly fashioned.
The Modern Dutch School
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
2
The debt of te modern Dutch painters to France cannot be ignored, but we must remember that Holland possessed in Rembrandt one of the greatest of the Old Masters, and though his influence seemed to slumber for two centuries in his own country, it was shortly to prove itself to be alive once more. The greatest figure in this school is Josef Israels, and his art must be regarded as a blending of the influence of Rembrandt with that of Jean Francois Millet, plus the remarkable personality of the painter himself. Israels was one of the earliest as well as one of the greatest of the modern Dutch painters. He was born on January 27, 1824, at Groni ngen, of Hebrew parents, his father being a money-changer and broker. As a boy his first ambition was to be a rabbi; at an early age he studied Hebrew and buried himself in the Talmud, and he was well in his ‘teens before he displayed a marked leaning towards art. Meanwhile his father intended Josef for a business career, but while working under his father as a stockbroker’s clerk, Josef Israels surreptitiously obtained lessons in painting from local artists, and though their talent was but mediocre their pupil soon began to display such unmistakable gifts that parental opposition was overcome and he was allowed to go to Amsterdam to study art. He lodged with an orthodox Jewish family in the Ghetto, and all that he saw in the Jewish Quarter himself, combined with the religious paintings and etchings of Rembrandt based on the life in that quarter—which had altered so little since Rembrandt’s time—made a profound impression on him, and had a more lasting influence than anything he learnt from his master, Jan Kruseman, who, though a successful portrait-painter of his time, was a dry and uninteresting artist. In 1845 Israels left Amsterdam to study in Paris, but here again he was not very fortunate in his master. He entered the studio of Picot, who had been a pupil of David, and so far from being in touch with the ideals of the ‘men of 1830,’ he was brought up to admire historical paintings in the classical style. When Israels returned to Amsterdam in 1848 he was chiefly influenced by the French historical painter Delaroche, and he began painting historical and dramatic subjects in which, beneath the French polish, the influence of Rembrandt was nevertheless discernible. But Israels had not yet found himself, and it was some years before he did. The critical period in the artistic career of Israels was about 1856. In 1855 he showed in the Paris Salon a historical picture ‘The Prince of Orange for the first time opposing the Execution of the Orders of the King of Spain’; in 1857 his exhibits at the Paris Salon were ‘Children by the Sea’ and ‘Evening on the Beach,’ two tender impressions of commonplace, everyday scenes on the coast neat Katwijk. These last pictures are by the Israels we know; the pictures of 1855 might have been by almost any historical painter of the period. How did this change come, and what brought it about?
It was life, not art nor any artist, that changed the whole spirit of Israels painting. He had a serious illness while he was living at Amsterdam, and when convalescent went to Zantvoort, a little fishing village close to Haarlem, to recruit his health. He lodged there with a ship’s carpenter, and living the life of these simple, kindly seafaring folk, Israels was struck by the drama, pathos, and tragedy in the common lot. At Zantvoort he made the same discovery that Millet had made at Barbizon, namely that to a sympathetic and understanding spectator the common life of the people even in a remote, secluded village is as full of romance, thrills, and tragedy as the pages of any history book. Israels discovered that ‘the events of the present are capable of being painted and the sorrows of the poor are as deep as the tragic fate of ancient heroes.’ A new vein of artistic expression was now opened to him, and henceforward he painted the life of the poor and humble, and found in typical, everyday episodes motives for expressing with peculiar intensity his wide human sympathy.
The Modern Dutch School (continued)
2
The debt of te modern Dutch painters to France cannot be ignored, but we must remember that Holland possessed in Rembrandt one of the greatest of the Old Masters, and though his influence seemed to slumber for two centuries in his own country, it was shortly to prove itself to be alive once more. The greatest figure in this school is Josef Israels, and his art must be regarded as a blending of the influence of Rembrandt with that of Jean Francois Millet, plus the remarkable personality of the painter himself. Israels was one of the earliest as well as one of the greatest of the modern Dutch painters. He was born on January 27, 1824, at Groni ngen, of Hebrew parents, his father being a money-changer and broker. As a boy his first ambition was to be a rabbi; at an early age he studied Hebrew and buried himself in the Talmud, and he was well in his ‘teens before he displayed a marked leaning towards art. Meanwhile his father intended Josef for a business career, but while working under his father as a stockbroker’s clerk, Josef Israels surreptitiously obtained lessons in painting from local artists, and though their talent was but mediocre their pupil soon began to display such unmistakable gifts that parental opposition was overcome and he was allowed to go to Amsterdam to study art. He lodged with an orthodox Jewish family in the Ghetto, and all that he saw in the Jewish Quarter himself, combined with the religious paintings and etchings of Rembrandt based on the life in that quarter—which had altered so little since Rembrandt’s time—made a profound impression on him, and had a more lasting influence than anything he learnt from his master, Jan Kruseman, who, though a successful portrait-painter of his time, was a dry and uninteresting artist. In 1845 Israels left Amsterdam to study in Paris, but here again he was not very fortunate in his master. He entered the studio of Picot, who had been a pupil of David, and so far from being in touch with the ideals of the ‘men of 1830,’ he was brought up to admire historical paintings in the classical style. When Israels returned to Amsterdam in 1848 he was chiefly influenced by the French historical painter Delaroche, and he began painting historical and dramatic subjects in which, beneath the French polish, the influence of Rembrandt was nevertheless discernible. But Israels had not yet found himself, and it was some years before he did. The critical period in the artistic career of Israels was about 1856. In 1855 he showed in the Paris Salon a historical picture ‘The Prince of Orange for the first time opposing the Execution of the Orders of the King of Spain’; in 1857 his exhibits at the Paris Salon were ‘Children by the Sea’ and ‘Evening on the Beach,’ two tender impressions of commonplace, everyday scenes on the coast neat Katwijk. These last pictures are by the Israels we know; the pictures of 1855 might have been by almost any historical painter of the period. How did this change come, and what brought it about?
It was life, not art nor any artist, that changed the whole spirit of Israels painting. He had a serious illness while he was living at Amsterdam, and when convalescent went to Zantvoort, a little fishing village close to Haarlem, to recruit his health. He lodged there with a ship’s carpenter, and living the life of these simple, kindly seafaring folk, Israels was struck by the drama, pathos, and tragedy in the common lot. At Zantvoort he made the same discovery that Millet had made at Barbizon, namely that to a sympathetic and understanding spectator the common life of the people even in a remote, secluded village is as full of romance, thrills, and tragedy as the pages of any history book. Israels discovered that ‘the events of the present are capable of being painted and the sorrows of the poor are as deep as the tragic fate of ancient heroes.’ A new vein of artistic expression was now opened to him, and henceforward he painted the life of the poor and humble, and found in typical, everyday episodes motives for expressing with peculiar intensity his wide human sympathy.
The Modern Dutch School (continued)
Eisch
A innovative German stemware company, Eisch, has developed an oxygenated glass that it claims can aerate wine in just two minutes.
Remarkable!
Useful link:
www.eisch.de
Remarkable!
Useful link:
www.eisch.de
Arts + Letters Daily
I found Arts & Letters Daily + BookForum inspiring, in fact, it was an intellectual treasure trove.
Useful links:
www.aldaily.com
www.bookforum.com
Useful links:
www.aldaily.com
www.bookforum.com
Travel Share
(via budgettravel) I found Ideo Eyes Open extremely useful + The Wapping Project @ thewappingproject.com was brilliant + I liked it.
Rough Diamond Imitations In The Market
According to lab gemologists, natural (quartz/phenakite/topaz) or man-made colorless to near-colorless (glass/syn. cubic zirconia/YAG/GGG/strontium titanate/lithium niobate) rough gem materials have been found in natural diamond parcels in the marketplace to confuse the unwary + if in doubt always consult a reputed gem testing laboratory.
Lab Alert!
http://www.gemlab.net/website/gemlab/fileadmin/user_upload/Research/Gemlab-Newsletter-04-2008-forPDF.pdf
Useful link:
www.gemlab.net
Lab Alert!
http://www.gemlab.net/website/gemlab/fileadmin/user_upload/Research/Gemlab-Newsletter-04-2008-forPDF.pdf
Useful link:
www.gemlab.net
Monday, March 24, 2008
Perfumes: The Guide
Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin + Tania Sanchez is one-of-a-kind book on fragrances + it's a unique reading experience.
Useful link:
www.perfumestheguide.com
In my view, colored stones + diamonds + wine + perfumes = elegance + beauty + rarity. I think you need special touch + experience + passion to enjoy them.
Useful link:
www.perfumestheguide.com
In my view, colored stones + diamonds + wine + perfumes = elegance + beauty + rarity. I think you need special touch + experience + passion to enjoy them.
Random Thoughts
'What's the most important thing in finance?' J P Morgan was asked.
'Character', he replied.
I think gem and jewelry merchants + art dealers should take note.
'Character', he replied.
I think gem and jewelry merchants + art dealers should take note.
Tord Boontje
Tord Boontje is a Dutch-born, London-based product designer + he blends advanced technologies with artisanal techniques to create exquisite glassware, lighting and furniture + I think, experimentation + speed = new ideas!
Beautiful designs!
Useful link:
www.tordboontje.com
Beautiful designs!
Useful link:
www.tordboontje.com
The Polar Star
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The historic Polar Star diamond was so named because of the double star-like arrangement of its interlocking culet faces, which can be clearly seen through its large table facet. Although fairly small, it has been one of the world’s most famous diamonds since it was acquired by Joseph Bonaparte in about 1806. It belonged to the Russian ducal family of Youssoupoff for more than a hundred years before passing to Henry Deterging and his Russian-born wife, Lydia. It made world headlines in 1980, when it was auctioned and sold at a record price per carat to a buyer from Sri Lanka.
The fame of The Polar Star is due to three factors: its unsurpassed brilliance, the precision of its cut (it can be balanced on its tiny culet) and its limpidity. According to the late Hans Nadelhoffer of Christie’s in Geneva, who auctioned the stone, the rough was found in the bed of the Krishna river, India, at the end of the eighteenth century. Nadelhoffer also suggests that it was fashioned in Amsterdam, but since London was at that time the world center for precision cutting it seems more likely that it was there that it was given its exquisite faceting.
The Gubelin Laboratory in Switzerland has given a very detailed report on this diamond. It weighs 41.28 ct (41.285), which is considerably less than a Brilliant of this size with classic 45° proportions would normally weigh. In fact, it is equal in size to a classic well-made Brilliant of 52.5 ct. The reason for this surprising lightness is the flatness of the crown with its large table. The clarity of the gem has suffered over the years from careless handling. The girdle is slightly abraded and there are other small scratches, but the loss of weight that would be involved in restoring it to its original flawless condition would be negligible. Its color is of the second highest grade, E (River), with a trace of pink. A distinct blue fluorescence was noticed under ultraviolet light (UV 365), and spectrophotometry revealed that the diamond was of extremely rare type known as IIa. It is virtually impossible to assess how far the exceptionally attractive light effects are due to the trace element boron in type Iia diamonds, and how far they are due to the unusual faceting of the pavilion.
Measured dimensions and approximate median proportions:
Diameter: 21.77 – 20.63mm – 100%
Table: 14.5 – 14.2mm – 67%
Crown: >12.2mm – 29.3° - 40.8° - 12.5% - 37°
Pavilion: > 12.2mm – 41.2° - 48° - 45% - 45°
Culet: 2.20 – 2mm – 10%
The historic Polar Star diamond was so named because of the double star-like arrangement of its interlocking culet faces, which can be clearly seen through its large table facet. Although fairly small, it has been one of the world’s most famous diamonds since it was acquired by Joseph Bonaparte in about 1806. It belonged to the Russian ducal family of Youssoupoff for more than a hundred years before passing to Henry Deterging and his Russian-born wife, Lydia. It made world headlines in 1980, when it was auctioned and sold at a record price per carat to a buyer from Sri Lanka.
The fame of The Polar Star is due to three factors: its unsurpassed brilliance, the precision of its cut (it can be balanced on its tiny culet) and its limpidity. According to the late Hans Nadelhoffer of Christie’s in Geneva, who auctioned the stone, the rough was found in the bed of the Krishna river, India, at the end of the eighteenth century. Nadelhoffer also suggests that it was fashioned in Amsterdam, but since London was at that time the world center for precision cutting it seems more likely that it was there that it was given its exquisite faceting.
The Gubelin Laboratory in Switzerland has given a very detailed report on this diamond. It weighs 41.28 ct (41.285), which is considerably less than a Brilliant of this size with classic 45° proportions would normally weigh. In fact, it is equal in size to a classic well-made Brilliant of 52.5 ct. The reason for this surprising lightness is the flatness of the crown with its large table. The clarity of the gem has suffered over the years from careless handling. The girdle is slightly abraded and there are other small scratches, but the loss of weight that would be involved in restoring it to its original flawless condition would be negligible. Its color is of the second highest grade, E (River), with a trace of pink. A distinct blue fluorescence was noticed under ultraviolet light (UV 365), and spectrophotometry revealed that the diamond was of extremely rare type known as IIa. It is virtually impossible to assess how far the exceptionally attractive light effects are due to the trace element boron in type Iia diamonds, and how far they are due to the unusual faceting of the pavilion.
Measured dimensions and approximate median proportions:
Diameter: 21.77 – 20.63mm – 100%
Table: 14.5 – 14.2mm – 67%
Crown: >12.2mm – 29.3° - 40.8° - 12.5% - 37°
Pavilion: > 12.2mm – 41.2° - 48° - 45% - 45°
Culet: 2.20 – 2mm – 10%
The Modern Dutch School
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
The Art of Joseph Israels, Roelofs, Mauve, Mesdag, Blommers, And the Brothers Maris
1
For more than a hundred years after the deaths of Hobbema and Willem van de Velde, Holland produced no painter of European importance. The Dutch School, which during the seventeenth century had risen, as we have seen, to the highest eminence, sank during the eighteenth century into trivial virtuosity. Pictures became conjuring feats rather than true works of art, for they evoked neither tender sentiments nor noble thoughts, but only excited wonder by their manual dexterity. In craftsmanship many of these paintings were remarkable in their meticulous detail, and while some painters—like Wellem van Mieris (1662-1747), whose ‘Fish and Poultry Shop’ is in the National Gallery—carried on the traditions left by Jan Steen and Gerard Dou, still more made a reputation among their contemporaries by their minute renderings of fruit and flowers. These they painted with the patient skill of miniaturist, and they delighted in introducing into their pictures flies and other small insects whose tiny, but marvelously realistic forms, had to be discerned with the aid of a magnifying-glass. Among the artist who excelled in this style of painting may be mentioned the woman-painter of Amsterdam, Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750), and her contemporary, Jan van Huysum (1682-1749), both of whom are represented in the National Gallery. Here we may see how skillfully they both painted flowers, how cunningly the one introduces a butterfly, the other a snail; but we soon weary of this pettifogging cleverness, which may amuse our eyes for a few moments, but can never touch our hearts.
It was not till towards the middle of the nineteenth century that any great revival of painting showed itself in Holland. One who helped to prepare the ground for the new generation was Johannes Bosboom (1817-91), who painted impressive pictures in oils and water-colors of the interiors of Dutch Churches and cathedrals. He was influenced by the seventeenth-century painter Emanuel de Witte (1607-92), who had also painted these subjects not only with great accuracy of linear perspective but with broad effects of light-and-shade; Bosboom painted these interiors still more broadly and invested them with a dim atmosphere of grave grandeur and solemnity.
Bosboom always gives us a more or less generalized vision, and contrasted with the particularity of the painters who immediately preceded him, he may be said to have given a new direction to Dutch painting.
Another pioneer and forerunner of the modern movement was Willem Roelofs, who was born at Amsterdam in 1822, and went to France, where he made the acquaintance of Corot and other members of the Barbizon School. For some time Roelofs lived with these artists in the now famous village, and painted the forest of Fontainebleau in their company; then he returned to the Netherlands, taking with him new ideals of landscape painting. Though he lived chiefly in Brussels, Roelofs had a considerable influence on Dutch painting. He was never an imitator of Corot, Daubigny, or Troyon, though he learnt something from all of them, as we may see in his picture ‘A Summer’s Day, and it was through him that a knowledge and appreciation of their paitings first spread through Belgium and Holland. Roelofs helped to found at Brussels in 1868 the Société Libre des Beaux Arts (Free Society of Fine Arts), of which Corot, Daubigny, and Millet became honorary members, and to this exhibition both Dutch and Belgian artists contributed. It became the rallying-point of the younger generation and of those painters who were beginning to be affected by the Barbizon pictures which so many of them had seen in Paris. After living in Brussels for forty years Roelofs moved to The Hague, where he died in 1897.
The Modern Dutch School (continued)
The Art of Joseph Israels, Roelofs, Mauve, Mesdag, Blommers, And the Brothers Maris
1
For more than a hundred years after the deaths of Hobbema and Willem van de Velde, Holland produced no painter of European importance. The Dutch School, which during the seventeenth century had risen, as we have seen, to the highest eminence, sank during the eighteenth century into trivial virtuosity. Pictures became conjuring feats rather than true works of art, for they evoked neither tender sentiments nor noble thoughts, but only excited wonder by their manual dexterity. In craftsmanship many of these paintings were remarkable in their meticulous detail, and while some painters—like Wellem van Mieris (1662-1747), whose ‘Fish and Poultry Shop’ is in the National Gallery—carried on the traditions left by Jan Steen and Gerard Dou, still more made a reputation among their contemporaries by their minute renderings of fruit and flowers. These they painted with the patient skill of miniaturist, and they delighted in introducing into their pictures flies and other small insects whose tiny, but marvelously realistic forms, had to be discerned with the aid of a magnifying-glass. Among the artist who excelled in this style of painting may be mentioned the woman-painter of Amsterdam, Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750), and her contemporary, Jan van Huysum (1682-1749), both of whom are represented in the National Gallery. Here we may see how skillfully they both painted flowers, how cunningly the one introduces a butterfly, the other a snail; but we soon weary of this pettifogging cleverness, which may amuse our eyes for a few moments, but can never touch our hearts.
It was not till towards the middle of the nineteenth century that any great revival of painting showed itself in Holland. One who helped to prepare the ground for the new generation was Johannes Bosboom (1817-91), who painted impressive pictures in oils and water-colors of the interiors of Dutch Churches and cathedrals. He was influenced by the seventeenth-century painter Emanuel de Witte (1607-92), who had also painted these subjects not only with great accuracy of linear perspective but with broad effects of light-and-shade; Bosboom painted these interiors still more broadly and invested them with a dim atmosphere of grave grandeur and solemnity.
Bosboom always gives us a more or less generalized vision, and contrasted with the particularity of the painters who immediately preceded him, he may be said to have given a new direction to Dutch painting.
Another pioneer and forerunner of the modern movement was Willem Roelofs, who was born at Amsterdam in 1822, and went to France, where he made the acquaintance of Corot and other members of the Barbizon School. For some time Roelofs lived with these artists in the now famous village, and painted the forest of Fontainebleau in their company; then he returned to the Netherlands, taking with him new ideals of landscape painting. Though he lived chiefly in Brussels, Roelofs had a considerable influence on Dutch painting. He was never an imitator of Corot, Daubigny, or Troyon, though he learnt something from all of them, as we may see in his picture ‘A Summer’s Day, and it was through him that a knowledge and appreciation of their paitings first spread through Belgium and Holland. Roelofs helped to found at Brussels in 1868 the Société Libre des Beaux Arts (Free Society of Fine Arts), of which Corot, Daubigny, and Millet became honorary members, and to this exhibition both Dutch and Belgian artists contributed. It became the rallying-point of the younger generation and of those painters who were beginning to be affected by the Barbizon pictures which so many of them had seen in Paris. After living in Brussels for forty years Roelofs moved to The Hague, where he died in 1897.
The Modern Dutch School (continued)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Richard Dadd's Paintings
I found the Economist article Blood On The Tracks @ http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/artview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10904659 interesting + in my view Richard Dadd's paintings show customary care with details, creating a powerful picture with natural looks that connect the dots.
Useful links:
http://www.noumenal.com/marc/dadd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dadd
Useful links:
http://www.noumenal.com/marc/dadd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dadd
Toxic Elements In Jewelry
The California Department of Toxic Substance Control is enforcing a new state law that regulates lead in jewelry, especially piercing jewelry, effective March 1, 2008.
I hope other countries will do the same. If in doubt always consult a reputed gem and jewelry testing laboratory.
Useful links:
www.dtsc.ca.gov
www.epa.gov
I hope other countries will do the same. If in doubt always consult a reputed gem and jewelry testing laboratory.
Useful links:
www.dtsc.ca.gov
www.epa.gov
Ivory Coast
According to Global Witness, Ivory Coast's northern rebels are still operating a war economy of illegal taxes on cocoa and diamonds which is hindering peace plan + affecting regional stability and economy.
I think the vested interests have a genuine reason to keep the region unstable for obvious reasons + as long as diamonds and cocoa are available it's show time for the rebels.
Useful link:
www.globalwitness.org
I think the vested interests have a genuine reason to keep the region unstable for obvious reasons + as long as diamonds and cocoa are available it's show time for the rebels.
Useful link:
www.globalwitness.org
Jewelry Update
With gold prices going yo-yo, we are seeing a new trend: people are selling gold jewelry they no longer wear opposed to buying. Signs of the time!
The Loire Valley
(via Wiki) The Loire Valley wine region includes the French wine regions situated along the Loire River from the Muscadet region near the city of Nantes on the Atlantic coast to the region of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé just southeast of the city of Orléans in north central France. In between are the regions of Anjou, Saumur, Bourgueil, Chinon, and Vouvray. The Loire Valley itself follows the river through the Loire province to the river's origins in the Cévennes but the majority of the wine production takes place in the regions noted above. The area includes 87 appellations under the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC), Vin Délimité de Qualité Superieure (VDQS) and Vin de pays systems. While the majority of production is white wine from the Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc and Melon de Bourgogne grapes, there are red wines made (especially around the Chinon region) from Cabernet franc. In addition to still wines, rosé, sparkling and dessert wines are also produced. With Crémant production throughout the Loire, it is the second largest sparkling wine producer in France after Champagne. Among these different wine styles, Loire wines tend to exhibit characteristic fruitiness with fresh, crisp flavors-especially in their youth. The Loire Valley has a long history of winemaking dating back to the 1st century. In the High Middle Ages, the wines of the Loire Valley were the most esteemed wines in England and France, even more prized than those from Bordeaux.
They are delicious! Don't miss it!
Useful link:
www.loirevalleywine.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loire_Valley_%28wine%29
They are delicious! Don't miss it!
Useful link:
www.loirevalleywine.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loire_Valley_%28wine%29
Daniel Day-Lewis
I think Daniel Day-Lewis is a superb actor + his chilling performance as Daniel Plainview, a ruthless silver-miner-turned-oil man in the movie There Will Be Blood was so vivid and natural, it was great, a real American masterpiece + the milkshake analogy was memorable, the best revenge scene in a long time:
Drainage! Drainage, Eli, you boy. Drained dry. I'm so sorry. Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, [He holds up his index finger] that's a straw, you see? [He turns and walks away from Eli and turns around] You watching? And my straw reaches acrooooooossssss [walking back toward Eli] the room, and starts to drink your milkshake: I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThZI-p8SKe0
Brilliant!
Useful links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Day-Lewis
www.imdb.com/name/nm0000358
www.dd-l.net
www.therewillbeblood.com
Drainage! Drainage, Eli, you boy. Drained dry. I'm so sorry. Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, [He holds up his index finger] that's a straw, you see? [He turns and walks away from Eli and turns around] You watching? And my straw reaches acrooooooossssss [walking back toward Eli] the room, and starts to drink your milkshake: I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThZI-p8SKe0
Brilliant!
Useful links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Day-Lewis
www.imdb.com/name/nm0000358
www.dd-l.net
www.therewillbeblood.com
Gregorian Music
Heiligenkreuz Abbey is a Cistercian monastery on the territory of the town of Heiligenkreuz in the southern part of the Wienerwald, eight miles north-west of Baden bei Wien in Lower Austria + now the brothers from the Monastery of the Holy Cross have wowed the Universal Music group with their magical and evocative sound, and later this year their first (Gregorian chant) album will be released for the international market + I believe the sudden popularity has to do with the soundtrack to the best-selling computer game Halo.
Useful links:
www.stift-heiligenkreuz.org
www.music.princeton.edu/chant_html
www.enigma.de
www.enigmamusic.com
Useful links:
www.stift-heiligenkreuz.org
www.music.princeton.edu/chant_html
www.enigma.de
www.enigmamusic.com
Double Stellar Cuts
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The French Blue has already been dealt with in great detail. It is included here primarily on the basis of its being a Double Stellar Cut diamond. It was fashioned by Louis XIV’s diamond cutter Pitau in 1673 from a next to rough diamond purchased by the king from the French traveler Tavernier in 1669. Eventually, it was refashioned into an oval Brilliant, the Hope diamond, now in Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
The Bazu diamond, the second largest diamond on the Golden Fleece of King Louis XV of France, was delivered to the king of Bazu, a lapidarian and dealer, in 1669. It has disappeared and any information about it is inconsistent.
The French Blue has already been dealt with in great detail. It is included here primarily on the basis of its being a Double Stellar Cut diamond. It was fashioned by Louis XIV’s diamond cutter Pitau in 1673 from a next to rough diamond purchased by the king from the French traveler Tavernier in 1669. Eventually, it was refashioned into an oval Brilliant, the Hope diamond, now in Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
The Bazu diamond, the second largest diamond on the Golden Fleece of King Louis XV of France, was delivered to the king of Bazu, a lapidarian and dealer, in 1669. It has disappeared and any information about it is inconsistent.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
It was not till the Great Exhibition at Paris in 1867 that Millet came into his own, and his opportunity came then because his friend Théodore Rousseau was President of the Jury. In this exhibition Millet was represented by ‘The Angelus’ ‘The Gleaners’, and seven other important paintings. He was awarded a first class medal for the collection, and in the following year was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He was now at the height of his fame, but the honors and fortune which followed came too late to be enjoyed. The artist was deeply smitten by the death of Rousseau in December 1867, and his own health began to fail in 1870. During the disasterous Franco-Prussian war he retired to Cherbourg, where his work was interrupted by frequent illnesses. When he returned to Paris, the new Republican Government gave Millet a commission in 1874 to paint a set of decorative panels of ‘The Four Seasons’ for the Panthéon, but though he at once began charcoal sketches for these subjects he was never able to execute the paintings. Throughout the autumn his health declined, and surrounded by his devoted family he died on the 20th January 1875.
Closely associated with Millet, whom he accompanied to Barbizon, was Charles Jacque (1813-94), who, though less poweful than Troyon, was one of the best animal painters of his time. He excelled in painting flocks of sheep in the open or on the edge of a forest. The painting of peasant life, inaugurated by Millet, was continued by Bastien Lepage (1848-84) and the still more popular Jules Breton (1827-1906), who, though weaker in drawing and less rich in color, reaped where Millet had sown. Associated with Diaz, and still more fantastic than this painter in the exotic pictures of his earlier years, was Adolphe Monticelli (1824-86). Born at Marseilles, Monticelli brought the warmth of Southern coloring and imagination to Barbizon: he was the most romantic of the romantic landscape painters, and his canvases loaded with rich pigment, from which radiant fairy-like figures emerge and seem to quiver with life, are magical masterpieces of jewel-like color.
Belonging to a slightly later generation, but encouraged in his youth by Corot, Daubigny, and Millet, the exquisite sea painter Eugene Boudin (1825-98) is a link between the Barbizon School and the Impressionists. Boudin was born at Honfleur, where his father was a sea-captain, and during his early years he assisted Troyon by painting the skies in some of his pictures. This was a department of painting in which Boudin excelled, and his rendering of the clouds and the blue vault of heaven excited the keen admiration of Corot, who hailed his young contemporary as ‘the monarch of the sky.’ Boudin spent the greater part of his life in the neighborhood of his birthplace, and never tired of painting the shipping, shores, and harbor scenes of this part of the Normandy coast. His paintings are pitched in a slightly higher key of color than those of Corot and Daubigny, and the prevalence of luminous pearly greys in his work have caused his paintings—together with similar paintings of similar subjects of his slightly older contemporary, the Dutchman Bartholde Jongkind—to be known as la peinture gris, i.e the ‘grey’ school of painting. ‘The Harbor of Trouville’ in the National Gallery is a beautiful example of Boudin’s delicate realism and of his sensitive feeling for the wind in the sky and the light on the water.
It was not till the Great Exhibition at Paris in 1867 that Millet came into his own, and his opportunity came then because his friend Théodore Rousseau was President of the Jury. In this exhibition Millet was represented by ‘The Angelus’ ‘The Gleaners’, and seven other important paintings. He was awarded a first class medal for the collection, and in the following year was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He was now at the height of his fame, but the honors and fortune which followed came too late to be enjoyed. The artist was deeply smitten by the death of Rousseau in December 1867, and his own health began to fail in 1870. During the disasterous Franco-Prussian war he retired to Cherbourg, where his work was interrupted by frequent illnesses. When he returned to Paris, the new Republican Government gave Millet a commission in 1874 to paint a set of decorative panels of ‘The Four Seasons’ for the Panthéon, but though he at once began charcoal sketches for these subjects he was never able to execute the paintings. Throughout the autumn his health declined, and surrounded by his devoted family he died on the 20th January 1875.
Closely associated with Millet, whom he accompanied to Barbizon, was Charles Jacque (1813-94), who, though less poweful than Troyon, was one of the best animal painters of his time. He excelled in painting flocks of sheep in the open or on the edge of a forest. The painting of peasant life, inaugurated by Millet, was continued by Bastien Lepage (1848-84) and the still more popular Jules Breton (1827-1906), who, though weaker in drawing and less rich in color, reaped where Millet had sown. Associated with Diaz, and still more fantastic than this painter in the exotic pictures of his earlier years, was Adolphe Monticelli (1824-86). Born at Marseilles, Monticelli brought the warmth of Southern coloring and imagination to Barbizon: he was the most romantic of the romantic landscape painters, and his canvases loaded with rich pigment, from which radiant fairy-like figures emerge and seem to quiver with life, are magical masterpieces of jewel-like color.
Belonging to a slightly later generation, but encouraged in his youth by Corot, Daubigny, and Millet, the exquisite sea painter Eugene Boudin (1825-98) is a link between the Barbizon School and the Impressionists. Boudin was born at Honfleur, where his father was a sea-captain, and during his early years he assisted Troyon by painting the skies in some of his pictures. This was a department of painting in which Boudin excelled, and his rendering of the clouds and the blue vault of heaven excited the keen admiration of Corot, who hailed his young contemporary as ‘the monarch of the sky.’ Boudin spent the greater part of his life in the neighborhood of his birthplace, and never tired of painting the shipping, shores, and harbor scenes of this part of the Normandy coast. His paintings are pitched in a slightly higher key of color than those of Corot and Daubigny, and the prevalence of luminous pearly greys in his work have caused his paintings—together with similar paintings of similar subjects of his slightly older contemporary, the Dutchman Bartholde Jongkind—to be known as la peinture gris, i.e the ‘grey’ school of painting. ‘The Harbor of Trouville’ in the National Gallery is a beautiful example of Boudin’s delicate realism and of his sensitive feeling for the wind in the sky and the light on the water.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Internet Jewelers
I found the article A Boy's Best Friend via Economist (March 21, 2008) http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10881758 interesting + insightful + I think it's the signs of the time that traditional jewelers will be squeezed, one way or another by the internet jewelers + expect to see more modified business models via internet selling jewelry worldwide.
Useful link:
www.bluenile.com
Useful link:
www.bluenile.com
School Of Design Innovation
I think James Dyson's design school in Bath, U.K will be a unique concept + inspire the next generation of inventors and engineers + with leading industrial giants like Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Williams Formula One as partners in the project, I believe the work experience and mentoring to students by the experts will be priceless.
Useful link:
www.dysonschool.com
Useful link:
www.dysonschool.com
Howard Hodgkin
Howard Hodgkin is a British painter + printmaker + his style is spontaneous with bright colors and bold forms, sort of semi-abstract, emotional + natural!
Useful link:
www.howardhodgkin.org.uk
Useful link:
www.howardhodgkin.org.uk
Becoming Self Aware
I found Mark Goulston's How to Deal With Anxious People extremely useful + I liked it.
Useful link:
http://conversationstarter.hbsp.com
Useful link:
http://conversationstarter.hbsp.com
Certifigate: Rallying Support For Closure
Total internal reflections of Chaim Even Zohar on Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) complex Certifigate scandal + the ongoing and evolving story + diamond industry concerns + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp
The Pasha Of Egypt
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The Stellar Cut Brilliant, octagonal in outline and with eightfold symmetry, is reported to have weighed 40 ct (about 41 metric ct). In 1848 it was acquired by Ibrahim Pasha, the great Egyptian general and Viceroy of Egypt to the Turkish Sultan.
The Stellar Cut Brilliant, octagonal in outline and with eightfold symmetry, is reported to have weighed 40 ct (about 41 metric ct). In 1848 it was acquired by Ibrahim Pasha, the great Egyptian general and Viceroy of Egypt to the Turkish Sultan.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
3
The great struggle for liberty and truth in art, begun by the Romantics and landscape painters already mentioned, was carried a stage further by Jean Francois Millet (1814-75), who was the first to paint the peasant, not as a sort of ‘stage property’ in a landscape, but as he truly lived and moved. Millet came of peasant stock, and during his boyhood worked hard in the fields with his father, whose home was in the hamlet of Gruchy, near Cherbourg. When he was eighteen, his father, recognizing the lad’s talent, allowed him to study art in Cherbourg, but as the eldest son he returned to manage the farm on his father’s death in 1835. His heart, however, was still in his art, and seeing this his mother and grandmother heroically determined not to allow him to sacrifice himself, but soon persuaded him to return to Cherbourg. There his talent was recognized by the Municipality, who gave him a grant of forty pounds, and with this he went to Paris in 1836 and entered the studio of historical painter Paul Delaroche (1797-1856). During the next twelve years, spent partly in Paris and partly in Normandy, Millet experienced nothing but trouble, he married in 1841, and his wife died in 1844; at the end of 1845 he married again, and found a devoted and courageous helpmate in his second wife.
At this period of his life Millet chiefly painted portraits and small pictures of classical or mythological subjects, and already his color—in which he was considerably influenced by Correggio—began to attract attention and the admiration of other artists. He became friendly with Diaz, and through Diaz got to know Rousseau and others. In 1847 his picture ‘Œdipus taken from the Tree’ was favorably noticed in the Salon by Théophile Gautier, who prophesied that the painter would become famous, and in the following year Millet’s picture of a peasant woman was given a place of honor in the best room at the Salon. It looked as if the painter was on the point of achieving a popular success, for he had also been finding a ready sale for small pictures of nude figures, which he painted with great skill. But about this time he accidentally overheard somebody speaking of him as ‘Millet, who paints nothing but naked women,’ and this chance remark so upset him that he then and there determined never again to paint the nude. Already town life and town manners were distasteful to him; he longed for country air to breathe and the peasant people whom he knew and loved to paint.
In 1849 he decided to change his manner of life, and with his wife and babies he removed to Barbizon, where Rousseau and Diaz were already settled. In this peaceful village Millet made his home, and found his true vocation in chronicling in a series of noble paintings the dignity of peasant labor. To the Salon of 1850 he sent his unforgettable picture of ‘The Sower’, a work of epic grandeur which seems to symbolize the Present preparing the Future in the guise of an agricultural labourer fulfilling his common task. During the next ten years Millet painted some of his greatest pictures, ‘The Gleaners’ in 1857, ‘The Angelus’ in 1859, but all this time Millet was harassed by money difficulties, and with a growing and increasing family he had a hard struggle for mere existence. His new pictures were not popular; not only did they fail to find purchasers, but they were often attacked because many of them were thought to be ‘socialistic’ and ‘The Gleaners’ was particularly abused on its first appearance as a work expressing subversive political principles. Millet and his family might have starved at this time, but for the good deeds stealthily done by his more fortunate comrades. In 1855 Rousseau secretly bought one of his pictures for £160, and Troyon also bought several of Millet’s works, pretending that he was acting for an American collector who had no real existence. By this tactful generoisity Millet was prevented from ever knowing how much he owed to the devotion of his friends.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
3
The great struggle for liberty and truth in art, begun by the Romantics and landscape painters already mentioned, was carried a stage further by Jean Francois Millet (1814-75), who was the first to paint the peasant, not as a sort of ‘stage property’ in a landscape, but as he truly lived and moved. Millet came of peasant stock, and during his boyhood worked hard in the fields with his father, whose home was in the hamlet of Gruchy, near Cherbourg. When he was eighteen, his father, recognizing the lad’s talent, allowed him to study art in Cherbourg, but as the eldest son he returned to manage the farm on his father’s death in 1835. His heart, however, was still in his art, and seeing this his mother and grandmother heroically determined not to allow him to sacrifice himself, but soon persuaded him to return to Cherbourg. There his talent was recognized by the Municipality, who gave him a grant of forty pounds, and with this he went to Paris in 1836 and entered the studio of historical painter Paul Delaroche (1797-1856). During the next twelve years, spent partly in Paris and partly in Normandy, Millet experienced nothing but trouble, he married in 1841, and his wife died in 1844; at the end of 1845 he married again, and found a devoted and courageous helpmate in his second wife.
At this period of his life Millet chiefly painted portraits and small pictures of classical or mythological subjects, and already his color—in which he was considerably influenced by Correggio—began to attract attention and the admiration of other artists. He became friendly with Diaz, and through Diaz got to know Rousseau and others. In 1847 his picture ‘Œdipus taken from the Tree’ was favorably noticed in the Salon by Théophile Gautier, who prophesied that the painter would become famous, and in the following year Millet’s picture of a peasant woman was given a place of honor in the best room at the Salon. It looked as if the painter was on the point of achieving a popular success, for he had also been finding a ready sale for small pictures of nude figures, which he painted with great skill. But about this time he accidentally overheard somebody speaking of him as ‘Millet, who paints nothing but naked women,’ and this chance remark so upset him that he then and there determined never again to paint the nude. Already town life and town manners were distasteful to him; he longed for country air to breathe and the peasant people whom he knew and loved to paint.
In 1849 he decided to change his manner of life, and with his wife and babies he removed to Barbizon, where Rousseau and Diaz were already settled. In this peaceful village Millet made his home, and found his true vocation in chronicling in a series of noble paintings the dignity of peasant labor. To the Salon of 1850 he sent his unforgettable picture of ‘The Sower’, a work of epic grandeur which seems to symbolize the Present preparing the Future in the guise of an agricultural labourer fulfilling his common task. During the next ten years Millet painted some of his greatest pictures, ‘The Gleaners’ in 1857, ‘The Angelus’ in 1859, but all this time Millet was harassed by money difficulties, and with a growing and increasing family he had a hard struggle for mere existence. His new pictures were not popular; not only did they fail to find purchasers, but they were often attacked because many of them were thought to be ‘socialistic’ and ‘The Gleaners’ was particularly abused on its first appearance as a work expressing subversive political principles. Millet and his family might have starved at this time, but for the good deeds stealthily done by his more fortunate comrades. In 1855 Rousseau secretly bought one of his pictures for £160, and Troyon also bought several of Millet’s works, pretending that he was acting for an American collector who had no real existence. By this tactful generoisity Millet was prevented from ever knowing how much he owed to the devotion of his friends.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
New Business Models
I really liked the interactive map of new business start-ups from around the world + it was interesting and useful.
Diamond Market Reflections
It was interesting to note the peculiar contrast between stock markets (low consumer confidence + external factors) and jewelry auction houses (many items were sold for more than their pre-sale estimates because of strong interest + cash) + Is there a link between rise in prices of large size, high quality diamonds and sharp rises in oil prices? Experts believe the two are connected as petro-dollars seek alternative investment opportunities + What's intriguing this time was not the Sheiks from the Gulf region, but rich buyers from China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Argentina, Greece and Russia + My view is the scarcity of top quality diamonds (5+ carats +), both colorless and colored, is what driving the prices high + De Beers is not finding that many new top-quality stones + it's a new world with new players and a lot of cash!
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais is a triple Golden Globe + double Emmy + seven-time BAFTA award-winning English comedian/writer + I think he is one-of-a-kind-performing artist + The Office is still my favorite.
Useful link:
www.rickygervais.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Gervais
Useful link:
www.rickygervais.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Gervais
Friday, March 21, 2008
A Unique Diamond Phone
Here is what Case-mate has to say about the unique diamond phone:
The Case-mate Diamond Case is handcrafted with 42 stunning diamonds (3.5 carats) set in 18K gold. These gorgeous diamonds are embedded in a rare gold carbon fiber leather case. With VVS1 clarity and H color, these diamonds are superior in quality. Complete with an 18K gold emblem, the Case-mate Diamond BlackBerry Case is truly a one of a kind.
But that's not all. This Diamond BlackBerry Curve Case is crafted of luxurious Carbon Fiber leather, previously available only in high end aftermarket cars (Techart Porsche) and very high end cell phones (Vertu). Case-mate worked closely with its leather craftsmen to develop this rare gold leather for this very special BlackBerry Curve case.
It's brilliant + adamantine with metallic lustre!
Useful link:
www.case-mate.com
The Case-mate Diamond Case is handcrafted with 42 stunning diamonds (3.5 carats) set in 18K gold. These gorgeous diamonds are embedded in a rare gold carbon fiber leather case. With VVS1 clarity and H color, these diamonds are superior in quality. Complete with an 18K gold emblem, the Case-mate Diamond BlackBerry Case is truly a one of a kind.
But that's not all. This Diamond BlackBerry Curve Case is crafted of luxurious Carbon Fiber leather, previously available only in high end aftermarket cars (Techart Porsche) and very high end cell phones (Vertu). Case-mate worked closely with its leather craftsmen to develop this rare gold leather for this very special BlackBerry Curve case.
It's brilliant + adamantine with metallic lustre!
Useful link:
www.case-mate.com
Art Forgery Update
It has been reported that the Spanish police + the FBI have arrested the ring leaders which duped hundreds of customers into buying counterfeit prints of works believed to be by artists including Picasso, Warhol and Dalí.
Useful links:
www.artloss.com
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/arttheft/story/0,,2266679,00.html
Useful links:
www.artloss.com
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/arttheft/story/0,,2266679,00.html
Robert Burden
It was really fascinating to see Robert Burden's series of large paintings honoring the action figures he worshipped as a child + in my view they were beautiful + I liked it!
Useful links:
www.robertburden.net
www.roqlarue.com
Useful links:
www.robertburden.net
www.roqlarue.com
The Complete TurtleTrader
The Complete TurtleTrader: The Legend, the Lessons, the Results by Michael W. Covel is a fascinating and instructive book + it highlights the inner workings + the real world of trading.
Useful link:
www.michaelcovel.com
Useful link:
www.michaelcovel.com
The Koh-i-Nur
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
It is hard to understand today why the historic Mughal Cut Koh-i-Nur diamond was completely refashioned so soon after it was presented to Queen Victoria. The delivery to the queen took place on 3 July 1850 and the actual refashioning began on 17 July 1852; it took thirty-eight days. If V. Ball, in an appendix to his translation of Tavernier’s Travels in India, was correct in saying that when it arrived in London the gem ‘had been badly mutilated, after cutting, and that it cannot have been left in such an incomplete condition by the jeweler who cut it and polished it,’ this may explain why diamond cutters were consulted about possible ways of restoring the diamond. Ball also quotes James Tennant who, in a lecture entitled Gems and Precious Stones published in London in 1852, describes it as ‘exhibiting, when brought to England, two large cleavage planes, one of which had not even been polished, and had been distinctly produced by fracture.’ Tennant also mentions that it had a flaw near the summit. Quite clearly, the gem did not please the queen. Her advisers must have assured her that it could be refashioned into a splendid Brilliant ‘to develop to a wonderful degree its surpassing clearness, brilliancy and beauty’, to quote the Illustrated London News of 18 September 1852.
Augustus Hamling, writing in 1884, deeply regretted the recutting of the gem, which ‘injured its prestige, and reduced its value incomparably’. He adds: ‘in reality its appearance....was inferior to that of its glass models. It is spread...it is quite one third too large....it is now a badly shaped stone...not much better than common limpid quartz.’ Blakey, in The Diamond (1977) writes: ‘When they had finished, the Koh-i-Nur had been reduced (by 80ct) to a a 108.93 carat oval—and still lacked fire and brilliance. To what extent this was due to the inability of the Dutch cutter....is impossible to say, but no one was pleased with the result.’ Despite such criticisms, in 1853 it was mounted in a magnificent tiara for the queen and five years later she ordered a new regal circlet for the gem. In 1911 it was placed in the crown of Queen Mary. There it remained until 1937, when it was made the central ornament in a new coronation crown for Queen Elizabeth, consort of George VI.
In 1988 the stone was removed from its setting to ascertain its exact weight: 105.602 ct is the correct figure. Its measurements are 36 x 31.9mm. The total depth figure is only 13.04mm—i.e 40.87 per cent of the narrower width. It was further found that there are thirty two crown facets round the table plus eight correction facets, parts of which are on the girdle. There are twenty four pavilion facets plus eight stellar facets and the culet and a further nine correction facets.
The Koh-i-Nur is another plain Stellar Cut Brilliant, the culet facets having been applied in a misguided attempt to improve its light effects. Unfortunately, other aspects of its recutting from the original Mughal Cut were also bungled. It became too flat, and retained merely vitreous luster, a few extra carats of weight having been saved at the expense of its beauty. But even if more competent cutters than those provided by Coster’s had been able to transform this historic gem into an attractive modern cut, the world would still have lost one of the few surviving gems with an original Indian design.
It is hard to understand today why the historic Mughal Cut Koh-i-Nur diamond was completely refashioned so soon after it was presented to Queen Victoria. The delivery to the queen took place on 3 July 1850 and the actual refashioning began on 17 July 1852; it took thirty-eight days. If V. Ball, in an appendix to his translation of Tavernier’s Travels in India, was correct in saying that when it arrived in London the gem ‘had been badly mutilated, after cutting, and that it cannot have been left in such an incomplete condition by the jeweler who cut it and polished it,’ this may explain why diamond cutters were consulted about possible ways of restoring the diamond. Ball also quotes James Tennant who, in a lecture entitled Gems and Precious Stones published in London in 1852, describes it as ‘exhibiting, when brought to England, two large cleavage planes, one of which had not even been polished, and had been distinctly produced by fracture.’ Tennant also mentions that it had a flaw near the summit. Quite clearly, the gem did not please the queen. Her advisers must have assured her that it could be refashioned into a splendid Brilliant ‘to develop to a wonderful degree its surpassing clearness, brilliancy and beauty’, to quote the Illustrated London News of 18 September 1852.
Augustus Hamling, writing in 1884, deeply regretted the recutting of the gem, which ‘injured its prestige, and reduced its value incomparably’. He adds: ‘in reality its appearance....was inferior to that of its glass models. It is spread...it is quite one third too large....it is now a badly shaped stone...not much better than common limpid quartz.’ Blakey, in The Diamond (1977) writes: ‘When they had finished, the Koh-i-Nur had been reduced (by 80ct) to a a 108.93 carat oval—and still lacked fire and brilliance. To what extent this was due to the inability of the Dutch cutter....is impossible to say, but no one was pleased with the result.’ Despite such criticisms, in 1853 it was mounted in a magnificent tiara for the queen and five years later she ordered a new regal circlet for the gem. In 1911 it was placed in the crown of Queen Mary. There it remained until 1937, when it was made the central ornament in a new coronation crown for Queen Elizabeth, consort of George VI.
In 1988 the stone was removed from its setting to ascertain its exact weight: 105.602 ct is the correct figure. Its measurements are 36 x 31.9mm. The total depth figure is only 13.04mm—i.e 40.87 per cent of the narrower width. It was further found that there are thirty two crown facets round the table plus eight correction facets, parts of which are on the girdle. There are twenty four pavilion facets plus eight stellar facets and the culet and a further nine correction facets.
The Koh-i-Nur is another plain Stellar Cut Brilliant, the culet facets having been applied in a misguided attempt to improve its light effects. Unfortunately, other aspects of its recutting from the original Mughal Cut were also bungled. It became too flat, and retained merely vitreous luster, a few extra carats of weight having been saved at the expense of its beauty. But even if more competent cutters than those provided by Coster’s had been able to transform this historic gem into an attractive modern cut, the world would still have lost one of the few surviving gems with an original Indian design.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
Though much influenced by Corot, who regarded him almost as a son, Charles Francois Daubigny (1817-78) evolved another distinct type of landscape and excelled in his poetic renderings of placid river scenes. His father was a journeyman painter of mediocre ability, and as a boy Daubigny painted decorations on clock-cases, glove-boxes, fans, and other articles of luxury. When he was seventeen he and a friend save up a little over fifty pounds with which they set out on foot for Italy, and there maintained themselves for nearly a year. Returning to Paris, Daubigny gave himself for a time to figure subjects, but about 1840 he turned definitely to landscape, which he discovered to be his true vocation. His favorite sketching-ground was near Valmondois on the Oise, where he had spent happy days in his childhood. Though his landscapes were exhibited regularly in the Salon from 1841 to 1847, Daubigny had a hard struggle during these years, but in 1848 he received a second medal for his five landscapes in the Salon, and thereafter the State began to buy his pictures for provincial museums and his sales generally improved.
‘On the Banks of the Oise’ is a beautiful and characteristic example of the art of Daubigny, and reveals that exquisite calm and repose which is a feature of many of his paintings, though occasionally he painted stormy scenes; for Daubigny was not limited in his subjects, but painted various aspects of Nature. He was one of the pioneers in the truer rendering of Nature’s own coloring, and his famous saying, ‘We never paint light enough,’ became a watchword to the younger generation of artists.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
Though much influenced by Corot, who regarded him almost as a son, Charles Francois Daubigny (1817-78) evolved another distinct type of landscape and excelled in his poetic renderings of placid river scenes. His father was a journeyman painter of mediocre ability, and as a boy Daubigny painted decorations on clock-cases, glove-boxes, fans, and other articles of luxury. When he was seventeen he and a friend save up a little over fifty pounds with which they set out on foot for Italy, and there maintained themselves for nearly a year. Returning to Paris, Daubigny gave himself for a time to figure subjects, but about 1840 he turned definitely to landscape, which he discovered to be his true vocation. His favorite sketching-ground was near Valmondois on the Oise, where he had spent happy days in his childhood. Though his landscapes were exhibited regularly in the Salon from 1841 to 1847, Daubigny had a hard struggle during these years, but in 1848 he received a second medal for his five landscapes in the Salon, and thereafter the State began to buy his pictures for provincial museums and his sales generally improved.
‘On the Banks of the Oise’ is a beautiful and characteristic example of the art of Daubigny, and reveals that exquisite calm and repose which is a feature of many of his paintings, though occasionally he painted stormy scenes; for Daubigny was not limited in his subjects, but painted various aspects of Nature. He was one of the pioneers in the truer rendering of Nature’s own coloring, and his famous saying, ‘We never paint light enough,’ became a watchword to the younger generation of artists.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
Random Thoughts
When you’re green, you’re growing. When you’re ripe, you rot. Are you green and growing or ripe and rotting?
- Ray Kroc
- Ray Kroc
Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem is an Academy Award winning Spanish actor + his performance as the antagonist Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, who will decide a victim’s fate on the flip of a coin was so vivid, it was brilliant + I think the Coen brothers did the right thing--Javier Bardem was the best choice to play the ruthless killer.
Useful links:
www.javier-bardem.net
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Bardem
Useful links:
www.javier-bardem.net
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Bardem
World Without Wires
I was intrigued by the innovative products designed by the beautiful minds @ Konarka Technologies + in my view they were brilliant + I hope someday the technology is modified and portable, becomes applicable in gem identification and treatment detection at an affordable cost.
Useful link:
www.konarka.com
Useful link:
www.konarka.com
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Diamond Divas
A spectacular exhibition opens at the Diamond Museum of the Province of Antwerp on April 11, 2008, called Diamond Divas, featuring a selection of stunning jewelry items worn by royals, stars of stage and screen and high society.
Don't miss it!
Useful links:
www.diamonddivas.be
www.antwerpen.be
www.antwerpdiamondbank.com
www.roularta.be
www.standaard.be
www.abnamro.com
Don't miss it!
Useful links:
www.diamonddivas.be
www.antwerpen.be
www.antwerpdiamondbank.com
www.roularta.be
www.standaard.be
www.abnamro.com
Scan And Solve Technology
According to Prof Vadim Shapiro, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, understanding structural properties of historical and cultural artefacts through computer simulations is often crucial to their preservation + the 'scan and solve' technology promises to transform the simulation into a simple and fully automated process that can be applied routinely + in the medical field, the technique could be used on scans of living bones in patients + using models of bones' response to stress, treatment regimens could be planned to minimise potential for fracture, especially in patients that do not fit the norm due to deformity or injury.
I wonder if this technology could be applicable in colored stone/diamond treatments + manufacturing of synthetic gemstones + if there are modified version at an affordable cost, I see what's coming!
Useful links:
www.nsf.gov
http://sal-cnc.me.wisc.edu
http://www.news.wisc.edu/14921
I wonder if this technology could be applicable in colored stone/diamond treatments + manufacturing of synthetic gemstones + if there are modified version at an affordable cost, I see what's coming!
Useful links:
www.nsf.gov
http://sal-cnc.me.wisc.edu
http://www.news.wisc.edu/14921
History Of Treatments And Creation Of Synthetic Diamonds
(via Antwerp Facets, Jan 2007) Landmark dates in the history of treatments and creation of synthetic diamonds.
- 1910: Coating, Irradiation
- 1950: Irradiation + Annealing
- 1950s: Synthetics (developmental)
- 1980: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) synthetics, Annealing (black)
- 1999: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) treatment
- 2001: CVD (chemical vapor deposition) synthetics
- 2004: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) + Irradiation + Annealing
Useful link:
www.wtocd.be
- 1910: Coating, Irradiation
- 1950: Irradiation + Annealing
- 1950s: Synthetics (developmental)
- 1980: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) synthetics, Annealing (black)
- 1999: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) treatment
- 2001: CVD (chemical vapor deposition) synthetics
- 2004: HPHT (high pressure high temperature) + Irradiation + Annealing
Useful link:
www.wtocd.be
Games In Economic Development
Games in economic development by Bruce Wydick writes on the origin of game theory + how unique patterns of human interactions could cause cyclical poverty/prosperity + it's an interesting book.
Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group
Here is what the AIDG web site describes what it is they do:
The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) works to provide rural villages in developing countries with affordable and environmentally sound technologies...Through a combination of business incubation, education, training, and outreach, the AIDG helps individuals and communities gain access to technology that will improve their lives. Our model provides a novel approach to sustainable development by empowering people with the physical tools and practical knowledge to solve infrastructure problems in their own communities.
I'm really impressed + what's important is they are designing technologies appropriate to local needs and conditions + I think the concept of grassroots design (s) does make sense.
Useful links:
www.aidg.org
http://apptechdesign.org
The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) works to provide rural villages in developing countries with affordable and environmentally sound technologies...Through a combination of business incubation, education, training, and outreach, the AIDG helps individuals and communities gain access to technology that will improve their lives. Our model provides a novel approach to sustainable development by empowering people with the physical tools and practical knowledge to solve infrastructure problems in their own communities.
I'm really impressed + what's important is they are designing technologies appropriate to local needs and conditions + I think the concept of grassroots design (s) does make sense.
Useful links:
www.aidg.org
http://apptechdesign.org
Plain Stellar Cuts
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
Originally the de Guise Brilliant was a Table Cut. In the 1740s it was refashioned into a Stellar Cut Brilliant identical to the so-called Brazilian Cut. This term was originally used in the trade to describe diamonds fashioned in the eighteenth century from Brazilian rough as opposed to the modern round cuts produced from South African rough. However, few, if any, of these diamonds had short, pentagonal culet facets of this sort. In the case of the de Guise, it was simply that, after the small facets had already been applied, the culet was enlarged for some reason and consequently the inner ends of the originally slim culet facets were removed. However, a Stellar Cut, no matter what the size of its culet, should no more be called Brazilian.
When, in 1888, the de Guise was put up for sale with the rest of the French Crown Jewels, its past history was ignored and the entry in the catalogue described it simply as ‘un gros brilliant carré étendu, 29 7/16 ct.’ Tiffany’s of New York acquired it for a mere 155,000 francs.
I have examined three Stellar Cut Brilliants in Dresden. It is almost circular in shape and extremely well made. It compares favorably, in fact, with the best London cuts of the early eighteenth century. With its slight but pleasing lack of rigid symmetry, one could describe it as an excellent Baroque Cut. The only rather interesting factor is that the stone was fashioned with present-day ideal proportions! The second Stellar Cut in the Treasury is unusual in that its eight culet faces, looked at through the table, appear to be doubled, thus possibly increasing the brilliance of the gem. The stone weighs 9 13/16 ct. The smallest of the three stones weighs 6¼ ct and is the only Stellar Cut I have ever come across with a pear-shaped outline. It is flat, but nevertheless very attractive.
Originally the de Guise Brilliant was a Table Cut. In the 1740s it was refashioned into a Stellar Cut Brilliant identical to the so-called Brazilian Cut. This term was originally used in the trade to describe diamonds fashioned in the eighteenth century from Brazilian rough as opposed to the modern round cuts produced from South African rough. However, few, if any, of these diamonds had short, pentagonal culet facets of this sort. In the case of the de Guise, it was simply that, after the small facets had already been applied, the culet was enlarged for some reason and consequently the inner ends of the originally slim culet facets were removed. However, a Stellar Cut, no matter what the size of its culet, should no more be called Brazilian.
When, in 1888, the de Guise was put up for sale with the rest of the French Crown Jewels, its past history was ignored and the entry in the catalogue described it simply as ‘un gros brilliant carré étendu, 29 7/16 ct.’ Tiffany’s of New York acquired it for a mere 155,000 francs.
I have examined three Stellar Cut Brilliants in Dresden. It is almost circular in shape and extremely well made. It compares favorably, in fact, with the best London cuts of the early eighteenth century. With its slight but pleasing lack of rigid symmetry, one could describe it as an excellent Baroque Cut. The only rather interesting factor is that the stone was fashioned with present-day ideal proportions! The second Stellar Cut in the Treasury is unusual in that its eight culet faces, looked at through the table, appear to be doubled, thus possibly increasing the brilliance of the gem. The stone weighs 9 13/16 ct. The smallest of the three stones weighs 6¼ ct and is the only Stellar Cut I have ever come across with a pear-shaped outline. It is flat, but nevertheless very attractive.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
Friendship and admiration for Rousseau had a great effect on the life of Virgilio Narcisse Diaz de la Pena (1808-76), commonly known as Diaz. This painter was born at Bordeaux, whither his father, a political refugee, had fled from Spain, and after his death, which occurred soon afterwards, Mme Diaz removed to Sèvres, where she supported her young family by giving lessons in Spanish and Italian. When he was fifteen years old he was apprenticed to learn china painting, but he soon tired of working at the factory, and spent all his spare time in painting romantic Eastern scenes from his imagination. About 1830, while still earning his living by painting on porcelain, Diaz met Rousseau in Paris, and this acquaintance ripened into a lifelong friendship. Taught by Rousseau how to use pure and brilliant colors so that his pictures glowed like jewels, the pictures of Diaz appealed to the public by their subjects and were soon sought after. At first Diaz painted nymphs and bathers, mythological subjects and oriental scenes, the last so brilliant in color that it is difficult to believe Diaz never saw the Orient and never traveled farther than a few hundred miles from Paris.
Though he had little to complain about on his own account, Diaz shared the fortunes of his friend Rousseau, and accompanied him to Barbizon in 1837. There he gave his mind almost entirely to landscape, and made a new reputation by his brilliant forest pictures with light glancing on the tree stems.
Like Diaz and Dupré, the famous cattle painter Troyton (1810-65) began as a painter on porcelain. His father, who had been employed at the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, died early, and while quite young boys Troyon and his brother earned a living by painting on china at the manufactory, and in their spare time sketched from Nature in the surrounding country. It was not till he was thirty-two that Constant Troyon was able to leave Sèvres and commence his studies in Paris, and for some years his progress was hampered by the somewhat niggling style of painting he had acquired from the habit of decorating porcelain, but devoting himself especially to the painting of animals he gradually acquired strength and breadth, though he was nearly forty before he gained the power that has since made him famous. When he did find himself, however, the success of Troyon was immediate. He was speedily recognized by his contemporaries as the greatest animal painter since Cuyp and Paul Potter, and the demand for his work was so great that Troyon sometimes employed other painters to put in backgrounds and accessories. Troyon excelled in showing living beasts in their natural surroundings, and the landscapes in his cattle pictures are not mere ‘back-cloths’ but genuine studies which interpret with sincerity the weather, the time of day, and the season of the year. His most famous masterpiece is his great painting ‘Oxen going to Work’ in the Louvre, in which the superb rendering of the animals is equalled by the splendor with which the artist has rendered the full glory of the early morning landscape.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
Friendship and admiration for Rousseau had a great effect on the life of Virgilio Narcisse Diaz de la Pena (1808-76), commonly known as Diaz. This painter was born at Bordeaux, whither his father, a political refugee, had fled from Spain, and after his death, which occurred soon afterwards, Mme Diaz removed to Sèvres, where she supported her young family by giving lessons in Spanish and Italian. When he was fifteen years old he was apprenticed to learn china painting, but he soon tired of working at the factory, and spent all his spare time in painting romantic Eastern scenes from his imagination. About 1830, while still earning his living by painting on porcelain, Diaz met Rousseau in Paris, and this acquaintance ripened into a lifelong friendship. Taught by Rousseau how to use pure and brilliant colors so that his pictures glowed like jewels, the pictures of Diaz appealed to the public by their subjects and were soon sought after. At first Diaz painted nymphs and bathers, mythological subjects and oriental scenes, the last so brilliant in color that it is difficult to believe Diaz never saw the Orient and never traveled farther than a few hundred miles from Paris.
Though he had little to complain about on his own account, Diaz shared the fortunes of his friend Rousseau, and accompanied him to Barbizon in 1837. There he gave his mind almost entirely to landscape, and made a new reputation by his brilliant forest pictures with light glancing on the tree stems.
Like Diaz and Dupré, the famous cattle painter Troyton (1810-65) began as a painter on porcelain. His father, who had been employed at the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, died early, and while quite young boys Troyon and his brother earned a living by painting on china at the manufactory, and in their spare time sketched from Nature in the surrounding country. It was not till he was thirty-two that Constant Troyon was able to leave Sèvres and commence his studies in Paris, and for some years his progress was hampered by the somewhat niggling style of painting he had acquired from the habit of decorating porcelain, but devoting himself especially to the painting of animals he gradually acquired strength and breadth, though he was nearly forty before he gained the power that has since made him famous. When he did find himself, however, the success of Troyon was immediate. He was speedily recognized by his contemporaries as the greatest animal painter since Cuyp and Paul Potter, and the demand for his work was so great that Troyon sometimes employed other painters to put in backgrounds and accessories. Troyon excelled in showing living beasts in their natural surroundings, and the landscapes in his cattle pictures are not mere ‘back-cloths’ but genuine studies which interpret with sincerity the weather, the time of day, and the season of the year. His most famous masterpiece is his great painting ‘Oxen going to Work’ in the Louvre, in which the superb rendering of the animals is equalled by the splendor with which the artist has rendered the full glory of the early morning landscape.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
The Brelli
I really liked the Brelli bio-degradable umbrella design + I think it's absolutely unique and beautiful!
Useful link:
www.thebrelli.com
Useful link:
www.thebrelli.com
A Wooden Buddha Sculpture
It has been reported that a newly discovered wooden Buddha, 26-inch sculpture of Dainichi Nyorai, the supreme Buddha, believed to be the work of Unkei, one of the great carvers of the early Kamakura period of the 1190s, has set a new world auction record for Japanese art when it was sold for $14,377,000 @ Christie's to Mitsukoshi Co Ltd.
Shocking price!
Useful links:
www.christies.com
www.mitsukoshi.co.jp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unkei
Shocking price!
Useful links:
www.christies.com
www.mitsukoshi.co.jp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unkei
Amber Fossils
I found the article on Amber fossils from Australia via http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2006/1796778.htm educational + insightful.
Useful links:
www.unsw.edu.au
www.rivsoc.org.au
www.austmus.gov.au
Useful links:
www.unsw.edu.au
www.rivsoc.org.au
www.austmus.gov.au
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
DTC Botswana
DTC Botswana, a joint venture (50:50) between the world's biggest mining company, De Beers + the government of Botswana, has opened the largest and most advanced rough diamond sorting facility in the world + I believe the venture will become a unique business model in building a sustainable downstream diamond industry in Botswana.
Useful links:
www.debswana.com
www.debeersgroup.com
Useful links:
www.debswana.com
www.debeersgroup.com
Louis Garrel
I think Louis Garrel is a great French actor of his generation + he is inventive and spontaneous.
Useful links:
www.louis-garrel.com
http://louisgarrel.net
Useful links:
www.louis-garrel.com
http://louisgarrel.net
David Hickey
Dave Hickey is one of the best known American art + cultural critics practising today + I think he is brilliant!
Useful link:
Interview with Dave Hickey in The Believer, November 2007, by Sheila Heti
Useful link:
Interview with Dave Hickey in The Believer, November 2007, by Sheila Heti
Arthur C Clark
Arthur C. Clarke, the visionary science fiction writer who won worldwide acclaim has died in his adopted home of Sri Lanka + he was 90.
I think he was a great man + inspiration + he will be missed.
Useful link:
www.clarkefoundation.org
I think he was a great man + inspiration + he will be missed.
Useful link:
www.clarkefoundation.org
The Informant: A True Story
The Informant: A True Story by Kurt Eichenwald is a fascinating story + provides insights into corporate crime (s) + you have all the elements of a great novel + brilliant!
Useful link:
Ask a Reporter Q&A: Kurt Eichenwald
Useful link:
Ask a Reporter Q&A: Kurt Eichenwald
Stellar Cuts
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The Stellar Cut Brilliant was no innovation. The culet facets were initially copied from octraheroid crystals with dissoluted corners and occasionally applied also on Table Cuts. A number of large and even some quite small Brilliants, dating from the middle of the seventeenth century, have a star-like arrangement of small facets round the culet. I call these ‘culet facets’ in line with the term ‘girdle facets’. To describe this type of cut as the Stellar Cuts avoids confusion with the established terms Star Cut and ‘star facets’, and eliminates cumbersome descriptions such as ‘with eight facets surrounding the culet’.
The Stellar Cut Brilliant was no innovation. The culet facets were initially copied from octraheroid crystals with dissoluted corners and occasionally applied also on Table Cuts. A number of large and even some quite small Brilliants, dating from the middle of the seventeenth century, have a star-like arrangement of small facets round the culet. I call these ‘culet facets’ in line with the term ‘girdle facets’. To describe this type of cut as the Stellar Cuts avoids confusion with the established terms Star Cut and ‘star facets’, and eliminates cumbersome descriptions such as ‘with eight facets surrounding the culet’.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
The one great compensation that Corot possessed during these years was the affection of a number of his brother artists, who both admired the artist and loved the man. Corot possessed a sunny, tender, tranquil nature that endeared him to all who came in contact with him. He was never embittered by his want of success, but lived the life of a peasant, happy in his art. “Le Père Corot’ became the beloved patriarch of a colony of artists who had settled in the little village of Barbizon in the forest of Fontainebleau, a spot attractive to artists by the richness and variety of its sylvan scenery and at the same time reasonably near to the exhibition center, Paris. In this district Corot painted the most famous pictures of his later days, e.g ‘The Pool’ and ‘Souvenir of Mortefontaine’. He particularly delighted in the poetic effects of early morning and approaching eve, ‘when all Nature sings in tune,’ and during the glare of the noonday sun he would retire indoors, for effects of brilliant sunshine did not make the same appeal to him. He preferred the minor to the major chords of Nature’s coloring, and was the supreme interpreter of her moods of wistfulness, mystery, and reverie.
Though the dreamy poetical beauty of Corot’s later landscapes, with their willowy trees and mysterious atmosphere, made an unprecedented appeal to American and British collectors towards the end of the nineteenth century, so that extravagant prices were paid for typical examples—in one year more so-called ‘Corots’ were said to have been imported into the United States than Corot himself could ever have painted—it is only in comparatively recent years that the supreme excellence of Corot’s early works and figure paintings have become recognized.
More immediately successful than Corot was his friend Jules Dupré (1812-89), whom Corot called ‘the Beethoven of Landscape.’ Duprè was the son of a porcelain manufacturer at Nantes and, like several other distinguished artists of the time, began his career by painting on china. He was one of the pioneers of ‘natural’ landscape in France, turning away from the medley of the classical painters to render with fresh obsevation and expressive detail the characteristic beauties of rural France, her pastures, forests, and villages.
One of the most vigorous and famous of the Barbizon School, Théodore Rousseau (1812-67) was born in the same year as Dupré and, like him, was an enthusiastic admirer of Constable. Rousseau was the son of a Paris tailor and, though town-born, he experienced the fascination of the forest in his early boyhood, when he stayed with an uncle who had sawmills near Besancon. This uncle persuaded his parents to allow Théodore to study art, and accordingly the young man was placed in a Paris studio. From his masters mediocre painters of classic landscape, Rousseau learnt less than from Nature, and a very early picture, painted in the open air at Montmartre—the almost country—showed a remarkable mastery in rendering air, light, and the details of Nature. In 1831 his first landscape was accepted and hung in the Salon; in 1833 he began his studies in the Forest of Fontainebleau, and again exhibited with credit; and in 1834 his picture of ‘A Cutting in the Forest of Compiègne’ was awarded a medal, and was bought by the young Duke of Orleans. This early success, far from bringing him fortune, proved disastrous, for the older landscape painters, jealous of his growing reputation and his power, cruelly determined henceforward to exclude his work from the Salon. Accordingly in 1836 his magnificent ‘Descente des Vaches’—a great picture of herds of cattle coming down in autumn from the high pastures of te Jura—was rejected by the Salon. The picture is now one of the chief treasures of the Mesdag Museum in The Hague.
For fourteen years the work of Rousseau was excluded from the Salons; as a result of this attack Rousseau in 1837 left Paris for Barbizon, where he was joined by other independent painters. After the revolution of 1848 the work of Rousseau began to be known and appreciated, but though his pictures now began to sell and he was awarded a first medal in 1849 and the Legion of Honor in 1852, he made no change in his life and continued at Barbizon till his death in 1867.
Corot, with characteristic modesty, once said: ‘Rousseau is an eagle; as for me, I am only a lark who utters little cries among the grey clouds.’ There was indeed a great difference between the two men, for Rousseau did not look at Nature with the dreamy gaze of a poet, but with fiery glance of a scientist who would wrest all her secrets from her. He delighted in the infinite details of Nature, and while preserving her breadth and majesty, he delicately differentiated between plants and weeds, mosses and lichens, brushwood and shrubs. Nothing was too great for his soaring imagination, nothing was too great for his soaring imagination, nothing too small for his earnest attention. His vigorous rendering of form and his searching characterization of Nature may be seen in ‘The Oaks.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
The one great compensation that Corot possessed during these years was the affection of a number of his brother artists, who both admired the artist and loved the man. Corot possessed a sunny, tender, tranquil nature that endeared him to all who came in contact with him. He was never embittered by his want of success, but lived the life of a peasant, happy in his art. “Le Père Corot’ became the beloved patriarch of a colony of artists who had settled in the little village of Barbizon in the forest of Fontainebleau, a spot attractive to artists by the richness and variety of its sylvan scenery and at the same time reasonably near to the exhibition center, Paris. In this district Corot painted the most famous pictures of his later days, e.g ‘The Pool’ and ‘Souvenir of Mortefontaine’. He particularly delighted in the poetic effects of early morning and approaching eve, ‘when all Nature sings in tune,’ and during the glare of the noonday sun he would retire indoors, for effects of brilliant sunshine did not make the same appeal to him. He preferred the minor to the major chords of Nature’s coloring, and was the supreme interpreter of her moods of wistfulness, mystery, and reverie.
Though the dreamy poetical beauty of Corot’s later landscapes, with their willowy trees and mysterious atmosphere, made an unprecedented appeal to American and British collectors towards the end of the nineteenth century, so that extravagant prices were paid for typical examples—in one year more so-called ‘Corots’ were said to have been imported into the United States than Corot himself could ever have painted—it is only in comparatively recent years that the supreme excellence of Corot’s early works and figure paintings have become recognized.
More immediately successful than Corot was his friend Jules Dupré (1812-89), whom Corot called ‘the Beethoven of Landscape.’ Duprè was the son of a porcelain manufacturer at Nantes and, like several other distinguished artists of the time, began his career by painting on china. He was one of the pioneers of ‘natural’ landscape in France, turning away from the medley of the classical painters to render with fresh obsevation and expressive detail the characteristic beauties of rural France, her pastures, forests, and villages.
One of the most vigorous and famous of the Barbizon School, Théodore Rousseau (1812-67) was born in the same year as Dupré and, like him, was an enthusiastic admirer of Constable. Rousseau was the son of a Paris tailor and, though town-born, he experienced the fascination of the forest in his early boyhood, when he stayed with an uncle who had sawmills near Besancon. This uncle persuaded his parents to allow Théodore to study art, and accordingly the young man was placed in a Paris studio. From his masters mediocre painters of classic landscape, Rousseau learnt less than from Nature, and a very early picture, painted in the open air at Montmartre—the almost country—showed a remarkable mastery in rendering air, light, and the details of Nature. In 1831 his first landscape was accepted and hung in the Salon; in 1833 he began his studies in the Forest of Fontainebleau, and again exhibited with credit; and in 1834 his picture of ‘A Cutting in the Forest of Compiègne’ was awarded a medal, and was bought by the young Duke of Orleans. This early success, far from bringing him fortune, proved disastrous, for the older landscape painters, jealous of his growing reputation and his power, cruelly determined henceforward to exclude his work from the Salon. Accordingly in 1836 his magnificent ‘Descente des Vaches’—a great picture of herds of cattle coming down in autumn from the high pastures of te Jura—was rejected by the Salon. The picture is now one of the chief treasures of the Mesdag Museum in The Hague.
For fourteen years the work of Rousseau was excluded from the Salons; as a result of this attack Rousseau in 1837 left Paris for Barbizon, where he was joined by other independent painters. After the revolution of 1848 the work of Rousseau began to be known and appreciated, but though his pictures now began to sell and he was awarded a first medal in 1849 and the Legion of Honor in 1852, he made no change in his life and continued at Barbizon till his death in 1867.
Corot, with characteristic modesty, once said: ‘Rousseau is an eagle; as for me, I am only a lark who utters little cries among the grey clouds.’ There was indeed a great difference between the two men, for Rousseau did not look at Nature with the dreamy gaze of a poet, but with fiery glance of a scientist who would wrest all her secrets from her. He delighted in the infinite details of Nature, and while preserving her breadth and majesty, he delicately differentiated between plants and weeds, mosses and lichens, brushwood and shrubs. Nothing was too great for his soaring imagination, nothing was too great for his soaring imagination, nothing too small for his earnest attention. His vigorous rendering of form and his searching characterization of Nature may be seen in ‘The Oaks.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
Biography Of The Dollar
Biography of the Dollar: How the Mighty Buck Conquered the World and Why It's Under Siege by Craig Karmin is an entertaining book, full of lively stories + an eye-opener!
Useful link:
www.biographyofthedollar.com
Useful link:
www.biographyofthedollar.com
Chinese Art In Florence
China: At the Court of the Emperors -- paintings, sculptures and works of art of the Tang dynasty are on display @ Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy, from March 7 - June 8, 2008 + I think the exhibition is a useful medium to educate foreigners about the rich Chinese culture.
Useful link:
www.palazzostrozzi.org
Useful link:
www.palazzostrozzi.org
All About Jewelry
First impression is the best impression. Visit www.jewelry.com for information on jewelry + updates + trends +++++++
I liked it!
I liked it!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Heard On The Street
Gem trading is all about self management + keeping emotion to a minimum + removing ego + greed + fear + staying in the moment.
Marie-Antoinette
'Marie Antoinette' will be exhibited @ the Grand Palais, Paris from March 15 - June 30, 2008 + I think the totality of a royal life that began in grandeur and ended in tragedy should be a unique reminder/total internal reflection for this generation.
Useful links:
www.grandpalais.fr
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/17/arts/FMARIE1.php
Useful links:
www.grandpalais.fr
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/17/arts/FMARIE1.php
Handbook Of Business History
The Oxford Handbook of Business History by Geoffrey Jones + Jonathan Zeitlin is a great reference book for entrepreneurs + it also provides an overview of business history research worldwide.
Useful link:
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5849.html
Useful link:
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5849.html
The Idol’s Eye—Originally A Mughal Cut?
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The Idol’s Eye diamond was found in the Elure group of Indian mines controlled by the kings of Golconda. Judging from its present shape, the crystal must have been either a fairly thick macle, a triangular whole crystal or a large triangular cleavage. Robert Shipley (1948) believed that the diamond had the shape of a ‘rudely faceted, lusterless, triangular mass.’ However, Shipley was a modern gemologist and not a diamond historian, and it is my belief that at a very early stage the rough stone was fashioned into a Mughal Cut not unlike the Nassak Diamond which was illustrated by John Mawe in 1823. Only thus could the gem have been such a highly esteemed symbol of wealth and power that the Sheik of Kashmir could offer it to the Sultan of Turkey as a bribe, to fend off a threatened invasion.
Krashes claims that the early history of the stone is recorded. I am somewhat suspicious of the claim, as I am for that of many other large diamonds. In fact, according to Ian Balfour, The Idol’s Eye was not known until 1865, when it was disposed of at a sale at Christie’s and had already acquired its name. It was ‘set around with eighteen smaller brilliants’. Consequently, I believe that the diamond had already been given its present cut. Most unfortunately it was not illustrated, no weight was quoted and the names of neither the seller nor the buyer were disclosed. The Idol’s Eye eventually reappeared in the possession of the collector, ‘Sergeant’ (as he liked to be called) S.I.Habib, ‘residing in Paris, rue Lafitte’. It was then documented for an auction held at L’Hôtel des Ventes on 24 June 1909, as a ‘curved, roundish triangular Brilliant’ and was listed in the catalogue with seven other rare and important diamonds. The diamonds listed in the sale catalogue of Habib’s collection are all illustrated in simple claw-settings with their exact weights mentioned. Apparently the mounts had been done away with.
According to both Louis Aucoc, the official expert for the auction, and H.D.Fromanger, one of the most knowledeable jewelers in France and author of Bijoux et Pierres Précieuses (1970), Señor Habib had acquired all but two of the gems in the sale from Constantinople. It is possible that Sultan Adb-ul-Hamid II may have sold them to him as a precautionary measure some time just before the Turkish Revolution of 1908. The stone certainly came from the Ottoman Treasury, so either Abd-ul-Hamid or his father Sultan Abdul-Medschid may have been the buyer of The Idol’s Eye in 1865. But whether the Sultan had acquired the diamond as a rough crystal, a Mughal Cut gem or in the shape of the present Brilliant Cut is not known.
The Idol’s Eye changed hands several times until it was acquired in 1979 by the London jeweler Lawrence Graff, who sold it to an anonymous buyer in 1983. According to an analysis made at the GIA Trade Laboratory, New York, in June 1979, its details are:
Type II B
Carat weight: 70.21 ct
Diameter: 26.1mm = 100 percent
Height: 13.43mm = 47.8 percent
Table size: 18.61mm = 66.2 percent
Culet size: c.3mm = 10.7 percent
The low height dimension indicates that the original rough must have been rather flat, which confirms my view of the shape of the rough and the original Mughal Cut. The clarity is registered as being exceptionally high: ‘potentially flawless’, or at least ‘potentially internally flawless’, which means that some minor ‘naturals’ and ‘extra facets’ as well as a small ‘feather’ and some ‘bruises’ could easily be removed with insignificant loss of weight. The color has been defined as ‘light blue, natural color’, though in the 1909 auction catalogue it was said to be capable of changing from pale blue to aquamarine depending on the light.
The Idol’s Eye diamond was found in the Elure group of Indian mines controlled by the kings of Golconda. Judging from its present shape, the crystal must have been either a fairly thick macle, a triangular whole crystal or a large triangular cleavage. Robert Shipley (1948) believed that the diamond had the shape of a ‘rudely faceted, lusterless, triangular mass.’ However, Shipley was a modern gemologist and not a diamond historian, and it is my belief that at a very early stage the rough stone was fashioned into a Mughal Cut not unlike the Nassak Diamond which was illustrated by John Mawe in 1823. Only thus could the gem have been such a highly esteemed symbol of wealth and power that the Sheik of Kashmir could offer it to the Sultan of Turkey as a bribe, to fend off a threatened invasion.
Krashes claims that the early history of the stone is recorded. I am somewhat suspicious of the claim, as I am for that of many other large diamonds. In fact, according to Ian Balfour, The Idol’s Eye was not known until 1865, when it was disposed of at a sale at Christie’s and had already acquired its name. It was ‘set around with eighteen smaller brilliants’. Consequently, I believe that the diamond had already been given its present cut. Most unfortunately it was not illustrated, no weight was quoted and the names of neither the seller nor the buyer were disclosed. The Idol’s Eye eventually reappeared in the possession of the collector, ‘Sergeant’ (as he liked to be called) S.I.Habib, ‘residing in Paris, rue Lafitte’. It was then documented for an auction held at L’Hôtel des Ventes on 24 June 1909, as a ‘curved, roundish triangular Brilliant’ and was listed in the catalogue with seven other rare and important diamonds. The diamonds listed in the sale catalogue of Habib’s collection are all illustrated in simple claw-settings with their exact weights mentioned. Apparently the mounts had been done away with.
According to both Louis Aucoc, the official expert for the auction, and H.D.Fromanger, one of the most knowledeable jewelers in France and author of Bijoux et Pierres Précieuses (1970), Señor Habib had acquired all but two of the gems in the sale from Constantinople. It is possible that Sultan Adb-ul-Hamid II may have sold them to him as a precautionary measure some time just before the Turkish Revolution of 1908. The stone certainly came from the Ottoman Treasury, so either Abd-ul-Hamid or his father Sultan Abdul-Medschid may have been the buyer of The Idol’s Eye in 1865. But whether the Sultan had acquired the diamond as a rough crystal, a Mughal Cut gem or in the shape of the present Brilliant Cut is not known.
The Idol’s Eye changed hands several times until it was acquired in 1979 by the London jeweler Lawrence Graff, who sold it to an anonymous buyer in 1983. According to an analysis made at the GIA Trade Laboratory, New York, in June 1979, its details are:
Type II B
Carat weight: 70.21 ct
Diameter: 26.1mm = 100 percent
Height: 13.43mm = 47.8 percent
Table size: 18.61mm = 66.2 percent
Culet size: c.3mm = 10.7 percent
The low height dimension indicates that the original rough must have been rather flat, which confirms my view of the shape of the rough and the original Mughal Cut. The clarity is registered as being exceptionally high: ‘potentially flawless’, or at least ‘potentially internally flawless’, which means that some minor ‘naturals’ and ‘extra facets’ as well as a small ‘feather’ and some ‘bruises’ could easily be removed with insignificant loss of weight. The color has been defined as ‘light blue, natural color’, though in the 1909 auction catalogue it was said to be capable of changing from pale blue to aquamarine depending on the light.
The Romantic Movement In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
2
While Géricault, Delacroix, and other ‘Romantics’ were liberating the painting of history, poetry, and real life from the trammels of Classicism, another group of French painters was engaged in rescuing landscape painting from the deadness and artificiality which had overtaken it since the days of Poussin and Claude Lorrain.
Among the earliest of the French artists to paint Nature as she is, and not as the pedantic ‘classics’ thought she ought to be, was Jean Bapiste Camille Corot (1796-1875). Born in Paris, the son of a small linen-draper having a shop in the Rue de Bac, Corot was for eight years a commercial traveler in the cloth trade. It was not till he was twenty-six that he was reluctantly allowed by his family to abandon trade and devote himself to painting. His father made him an allowance of sixty pounds a year, and till he was nearing fifty this was practically all Corot had to live upon.
In 1822 he entered the studio of Victor Bertin (1775-1825), a painter of classical landscape so successful in his day that the French Government, attracted by his own work and that of his pupils, created a new Prix de Rome for Landscape Painting. This prize was usually carried off by Bertin’s pupils, who thus came to regard Rome as the finishing school of their artistic education. The turning-point in Corot’s life came in 1826, when he also went to Rome, and there he formed a friendship with another French painter, Aligny (1798-1871), who had some influence on his early efforts. Aligny, though a classical painter, had a much more honest feeling for Nature than most of his kind, and though his pictures are rigid in execution they show unusual carefulness in composition and detail. The early Roman paintings of Corot are distinguished by precise drawing, careful composition, and a deliberate soberness of detail, but they also have a lovely limpidity of color unequalled in the work of his contemporaries and a delicate feeling for light and air. Breaking away from the brown convention of his day, Corot painted southern landscape and architectural subjects in delicate tints of pale blues and greens, light biscuit-color and pearly greys.
For some seven or eight years Corot remained in Italy, gradually forming a style which was absolutely his own and in which, while remaining true to the actual facts of Nature, he expressed her most poetical aspects. Occasionally he also painted pictures with small figures, and these, with their precision and delicate color and subtle lighting, were nearer akin to the Dutch style of Vermeer and other seventeenth-century masters than to the accepted styles of Italian figure painting.
It is strange to think that the paintings of Corot—for which millionaires now eagerly offer thousands of pounds—were for long years utterly neglected by his contemporaries. He exhibited regularly in the Paris Salon from 1827, but his exhibits aroused neither censure nor admiration—they were simply ignored. For thirty years he never sold a picture. The first critic to notice his work was the poet Alfred de Musset, who praised his picture in the Salon of 1836, but with the exception of two favorable notices received in 1837 and 1847, he was generally as neglected by the press as by the public. It was not till he was sixty that Corot began to capture the attention of the critics and collectors.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
2
While Géricault, Delacroix, and other ‘Romantics’ were liberating the painting of history, poetry, and real life from the trammels of Classicism, another group of French painters was engaged in rescuing landscape painting from the deadness and artificiality which had overtaken it since the days of Poussin and Claude Lorrain.
Among the earliest of the French artists to paint Nature as she is, and not as the pedantic ‘classics’ thought she ought to be, was Jean Bapiste Camille Corot (1796-1875). Born in Paris, the son of a small linen-draper having a shop in the Rue de Bac, Corot was for eight years a commercial traveler in the cloth trade. It was not till he was twenty-six that he was reluctantly allowed by his family to abandon trade and devote himself to painting. His father made him an allowance of sixty pounds a year, and till he was nearing fifty this was practically all Corot had to live upon.
In 1822 he entered the studio of Victor Bertin (1775-1825), a painter of classical landscape so successful in his day that the French Government, attracted by his own work and that of his pupils, created a new Prix de Rome for Landscape Painting. This prize was usually carried off by Bertin’s pupils, who thus came to regard Rome as the finishing school of their artistic education. The turning-point in Corot’s life came in 1826, when he also went to Rome, and there he formed a friendship with another French painter, Aligny (1798-1871), who had some influence on his early efforts. Aligny, though a classical painter, had a much more honest feeling for Nature than most of his kind, and though his pictures are rigid in execution they show unusual carefulness in composition and detail. The early Roman paintings of Corot are distinguished by precise drawing, careful composition, and a deliberate soberness of detail, but they also have a lovely limpidity of color unequalled in the work of his contemporaries and a delicate feeling for light and air. Breaking away from the brown convention of his day, Corot painted southern landscape and architectural subjects in delicate tints of pale blues and greens, light biscuit-color and pearly greys.
For some seven or eight years Corot remained in Italy, gradually forming a style which was absolutely his own and in which, while remaining true to the actual facts of Nature, he expressed her most poetical aspects. Occasionally he also painted pictures with small figures, and these, with their precision and delicate color and subtle lighting, were nearer akin to the Dutch style of Vermeer and other seventeenth-century masters than to the accepted styles of Italian figure painting.
It is strange to think that the paintings of Corot—for which millionaires now eagerly offer thousands of pounds—were for long years utterly neglected by his contemporaries. He exhibited regularly in the Paris Salon from 1827, but his exhibits aroused neither censure nor admiration—they were simply ignored. For thirty years he never sold a picture. The first critic to notice his work was the poet Alfred de Musset, who praised his picture in the Salon of 1836, but with the exception of two favorable notices received in 1837 and 1847, he was generally as neglected by the press as by the public. It was not till he was sixty that Corot began to capture the attention of the critics and collectors.
The Romantic Movement In France (continued)
Natural vs. Synthetic Authenticity
The insightful article Synthetic Authenticity, by John Cloud was extremely useful + I think authentic words have natural meaning + in the gemstone industry there is a saying: 'Genuine people like genuine stones.'
Useful link:
www.strategichorizons.com
Useful link:
www.strategichorizons.com
Monday, March 17, 2008
Perfume Posse
I found a lot of interesting facts about perfumes via www.perfumeposse.com + the jargons used to define and describe the different qualities were intriguing because of the subjectivity + similarities with colored stone and diamond grading.
Useful links:
http://sniffapalooza.com
www.sniffapaloozamagazine.com
www.scent-systems.com
Useful links:
http://sniffapalooza.com
www.sniffapaloozamagazine.com
www.scent-systems.com
Copper Story
China is the world's biggest copper user, with consumption expected to reach 5 million tonnes in 2008 + according to industry sources Australians are paying a hefty price for China's pre-Olympic building boom with stopped trains + stolen phone lines + pilfered power cables because organized gangs are stealing copper cabling worth millions of dollars and selling it to China. Shocking!
Useful link:
www.resourceinvestor.com
Useful link:
www.resourceinvestor.com
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