Travel: Some good advice from one who knows: Take twice the cash and half the clothes.
- Anonymous
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Unleash The War On Terroir
Economist writes about the beleaguered winemakers of France + the advent of genetically modified wine + the impact + other viewpoints @ http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10328977
Wish List-Worthy Jewelry
(via Forbes) Wish List-Worthy Jewelry
1. Joan Hornig Georgette Earrings
www.joanhornig.com
2. DeBeers Mace Cuff Links
www.debeers.com
3. Garrard Cocktail Ring
www.garrard.com
4. Chopard Emerald Necklace
www.chopard.com
5. J.Crew Hand-Painted Enamel Carousel Ring
www.jcrew.com
6. A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Men's Watch
www.alange-soehne.com
7. Tiffany Men's Coin-Edge Ring
www.tiffany.com
8. Cathy Waterman Coral Charm
www.barneys.com
9. Bamboo Sterling Silver Tie Clip
www.mannatahiti.com
1. Joan Hornig Georgette Earrings
www.joanhornig.com
2. DeBeers Mace Cuff Links
www.debeers.com
3. Garrard Cocktail Ring
www.garrard.com
4. Chopard Emerald Necklace
www.chopard.com
5. J.Crew Hand-Painted Enamel Carousel Ring
www.jcrew.com
6. A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Men's Watch
www.alange-soehne.com
7. Tiffany Men's Coin-Edge Ring
www.tiffany.com
8. Cathy Waterman Coral Charm
www.barneys.com
9. Bamboo Sterling Silver Tie Clip
www.mannatahiti.com
Azim Premji + Nandan Nilekani
(via YouTube): Charlie Rose - Azim Premji / Nandan Nilekani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SLRBLDgqmo&feature=related
A lesson for all + I think Azim Premji/Nandan Nilekani are the new business models of the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SLRBLDgqmo&feature=related
A lesson for all + I think Azim Premji/Nandan Nilekani are the new business models of the world.
In A Lonely Place
In A Lonely Place (1950)
Directed by: Nicholas Ray
Screenplay: Dorothy B. Hughes (novel); Edmund H. North (adaptation); Andrew Solt
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame
(via YouTube): In a Lonely Place
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu8E3LooDZo
In a Lonely Place (1950) 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rL9H7spsPc
In a Lonely Place (1950) 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW5HyBapntA
Humphrey Bogart is a great actor + I loved every minute of this movie.
Directed by: Nicholas Ray
Screenplay: Dorothy B. Hughes (novel); Edmund H. North (adaptation); Andrew Solt
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame
(via YouTube): In a Lonely Place
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu8E3LooDZo
In a Lonely Place (1950) 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rL9H7spsPc
In a Lonely Place (1950) 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW5HyBapntA
Humphrey Bogart is a great actor + I loved every minute of this movie.
The ARTnews 200
Milton Esterow writes about the 'wow' factor when buying a work of art + the contemporary sales + an upsurge of realistic and representational art + other viewpoints @ http://www.artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=745
The Pride Of Flanders
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
Rubens remained little more than six months with his cousin, who was a landscape artist. His next teacher, Adam van Noort, was a figure-painter, but it is unlikely he learnt much from this morose and often drunken boor. In 1590 he found a more congenial master in Otto Vaenius (1558-1629), who was a gentleman, a scholar, and a man of the world, though as a painter he was even duller and stiffer than his own master, the Venetian Zucchero (c. 1543-1616), well-known in England by his numerous portraits of Queen Elizabeth. One thing that Vaenius did was to fire his pupil with enthusiasm for Italian art, and two years after he had come of age and had been admitted a member of the Guild of St. Luke, Peter Paul Rubens arrived in Venice. Here the admirable copies he made of paintings by Titian and Veronese attracted the attention of Vincenzo I, Duke of Mantua, into whose service Rubens almost immediately entered. With the Duke he was at Florence for the marriage of Marie dé Medici to Henri IV (by proxy), and in 1603—after he had visited Rome, Padua, and other Italian cities—Rubens was sent by Vincenzo I on a mission with presents of horses and pictures to Philip III of Spain.
Though not then entrusted with any work for the Spanish monarch, Rubens painted several pictures for his prime minister the Duke of Lerma before he returned to Italy. After working for his patron at Mantua, Rome, and Genoa, Rubens in 1608 was recalled to Antwerp by news of his mother’s serious illness. Too late to see her alive when he reached his native city, the grief-stricken painter remained for several months in strict seclusion, when he was drawn by the rulers of Flanders, the Stadt-holders Albert and Isabella, who, conscious of his growing reputation, persuaded Rubens to leave the Mantuan service and become their Court Painter. In accepting this position Rubens was permitted to live at Antwerp instead of with the Court at Brussels.
His brother Philippe had already married the daughter of his chief, the Secretary of Antwerp, and it was probably at their house that Rubens saw his sister-in-law’s niece Isabella, daughter of John Brant, whom he married in 1609. The following year the artist designed a palatial residence in the Italian style, and had it built on the thoroughfare now known as Rue de Rubens: there he took his young and beautiful wife, and there he settled down to found the School of Antwerp. The ensuing ten or twelve years were the most tranquil and probably the happiest in life of Rubens. An example of Ruben’s first manner is the portrait of ‘Rubens and his First Wife,’ painted when he was about thirty two and his newly married wife Isabella Brant little over eighteen. During this period he executed the works on which his fame most securely rests, notably his supreme masterpiece, ‘The Descent from the Cross,’ in Antwerp Cathedral. This work, executed in 1612, marks the beginning of Ruben’s second manner, just as his ‘Elevation of the Cross,’ also in Antwerp and painted in 1609-10, concludes his first or Italian manner.
The late R A M Stevenson, a most penetrating critic, has pointed out how much more original and softer is the later pictures:
It started the Antwerp School, and beyond its ideal scarce any contemporary advanced. The forms are less muscular, the gestures less exaggerated, the transitions suaver, the light and shade less contrasted than in the first period, but the pigment is still solid, and the colors are treated as large, unfused blocks of decorative effect.
The growth of Rubens was gradual, but the extraordinary number of his collaborators makes the tracing of that growth a task of infinite difficulty. Apart from other contemporary evidence, the letters of Rubens himself show the number of artists he employed to work from his designs. The truth is he established a picture-factory at Antwerp, and not only engaged assistants to help him carry out gigantic decorations for churches and palaces, but also farmed out commissions for easel-pictures, landscapes, and portraits. In addition to ‘Velvet’ Brueughel, his collaborators and pupils at one time or another included Snyders (1579-1657), Jordaens (1593-1678), Cornelius de Vos (1585-1651), Antony Van Dyck (1599-1641), David Teniers (1610-90), Jan Fyt (1609-61), and score of others. A good example of the ‘teamwork’ accomplished in the Rubens studio is ‘Christ in the House of Martha and Mary’. In this picture, now in the Irish National Gallery at Dublin, the figures are by Rubens, the landscape by ‘Velvet’ Breughel, the architecture by Van Delen, and the accessories by Jan van Kessel. Yet all is so controlled by the master hand that to any but an expert the whole appears to be the work of one man.
The Pride Of Flanders (continued)
Rubens remained little more than six months with his cousin, who was a landscape artist. His next teacher, Adam van Noort, was a figure-painter, but it is unlikely he learnt much from this morose and often drunken boor. In 1590 he found a more congenial master in Otto Vaenius (1558-1629), who was a gentleman, a scholar, and a man of the world, though as a painter he was even duller and stiffer than his own master, the Venetian Zucchero (c. 1543-1616), well-known in England by his numerous portraits of Queen Elizabeth. One thing that Vaenius did was to fire his pupil with enthusiasm for Italian art, and two years after he had come of age and had been admitted a member of the Guild of St. Luke, Peter Paul Rubens arrived in Venice. Here the admirable copies he made of paintings by Titian and Veronese attracted the attention of Vincenzo I, Duke of Mantua, into whose service Rubens almost immediately entered. With the Duke he was at Florence for the marriage of Marie dé Medici to Henri IV (by proxy), and in 1603—after he had visited Rome, Padua, and other Italian cities—Rubens was sent by Vincenzo I on a mission with presents of horses and pictures to Philip III of Spain.
Though not then entrusted with any work for the Spanish monarch, Rubens painted several pictures for his prime minister the Duke of Lerma before he returned to Italy. After working for his patron at Mantua, Rome, and Genoa, Rubens in 1608 was recalled to Antwerp by news of his mother’s serious illness. Too late to see her alive when he reached his native city, the grief-stricken painter remained for several months in strict seclusion, when he was drawn by the rulers of Flanders, the Stadt-holders Albert and Isabella, who, conscious of his growing reputation, persuaded Rubens to leave the Mantuan service and become their Court Painter. In accepting this position Rubens was permitted to live at Antwerp instead of with the Court at Brussels.
His brother Philippe had already married the daughter of his chief, the Secretary of Antwerp, and it was probably at their house that Rubens saw his sister-in-law’s niece Isabella, daughter of John Brant, whom he married in 1609. The following year the artist designed a palatial residence in the Italian style, and had it built on the thoroughfare now known as Rue de Rubens: there he took his young and beautiful wife, and there he settled down to found the School of Antwerp. The ensuing ten or twelve years were the most tranquil and probably the happiest in life of Rubens. An example of Ruben’s first manner is the portrait of ‘Rubens and his First Wife,’ painted when he was about thirty two and his newly married wife Isabella Brant little over eighteen. During this period he executed the works on which his fame most securely rests, notably his supreme masterpiece, ‘The Descent from the Cross,’ in Antwerp Cathedral. This work, executed in 1612, marks the beginning of Ruben’s second manner, just as his ‘Elevation of the Cross,’ also in Antwerp and painted in 1609-10, concludes his first or Italian manner.
The late R A M Stevenson, a most penetrating critic, has pointed out how much more original and softer is the later pictures:
It started the Antwerp School, and beyond its ideal scarce any contemporary advanced. The forms are less muscular, the gestures less exaggerated, the transitions suaver, the light and shade less contrasted than in the first period, but the pigment is still solid, and the colors are treated as large, unfused blocks of decorative effect.
The growth of Rubens was gradual, but the extraordinary number of his collaborators makes the tracing of that growth a task of infinite difficulty. Apart from other contemporary evidence, the letters of Rubens himself show the number of artists he employed to work from his designs. The truth is he established a picture-factory at Antwerp, and not only engaged assistants to help him carry out gigantic decorations for churches and palaces, but also farmed out commissions for easel-pictures, landscapes, and portraits. In addition to ‘Velvet’ Brueughel, his collaborators and pupils at one time or another included Snyders (1579-1657), Jordaens (1593-1678), Cornelius de Vos (1585-1651), Antony Van Dyck (1599-1641), David Teniers (1610-90), Jan Fyt (1609-61), and score of others. A good example of the ‘teamwork’ accomplished in the Rubens studio is ‘Christ in the House of Martha and Mary’. In this picture, now in the Irish National Gallery at Dublin, the figures are by Rubens, the landscape by ‘Velvet’ Breughel, the architecture by Van Delen, and the accessories by Jan van Kessel. Yet all is so controlled by the master hand that to any but an expert the whole appears to be the work of one man.
The Pride Of Flanders (continued)
I Pass From Paris To London: ‘Malacoot’
Louis Kornitzer's book, Gem Trader, is partly autobiographical and partly woven round the lore of pearls. It's educational + explains the distribution chain of gems, as they pass from hand to hand, from miner to cutter, from merchant to millionaire, from courtesan to receiver of stolen goods, shaping human lives as they go + the unique characters in the gem industry.
(via Gem Trader) Louis Kornitzer writes:
My principal in Paris was only six years older than I. At the time of which I write, that is, he was twenty eight. At the early age of sixteen he had been pitchforked into Spain by a Spartan father with nothing more than a letter of introduction to a friend’s on who was in a small way of business as a dealer in antiques, or pseudo-antiques, in Madrid.
The young man had what is termed ‘his head screwed on the right way’. In other words, he started making money from the word ‘Go’. He was taken into the Madrid business and within a short time became a full partner. One day he happened to attend a public sale of an Estremaduran hidalgo’s effects. An ancient chest took his fancy and he bid successfully for it. When he got it home its extraordinarily heavy weight made him look it over very carefully, with the result that he found a number of secret drawers crammed with gold doubloons.
Being naturally of an aggressive nature, his early success in life had made him even more self-confident, and it was one of his patent maxims that treading on other people’s toes before they have a chance to tread on yours is one of the secrets of success, and moreover, saves the possessor of big feet a lot of pain. He was not particularly to save my feelings, at any rate, and was over-fond of calling me the French equivalent of ‘bloody fool’. One day he said it once too often and I picked up a heavy inkstand with intention of slinging it at him. Fortunately someone seized my arm, but, of course, the affair left me with no alternative other than handing in my resignation. In fact, I was just able to say very quickly: ‘I’m getting out of here,’ before he could utter: ‘You’re fired.’
Now, I had saved nothing out of my small pay, for I had been helping a younger brother who was serving his apprenticeship to a goldsmith in Paris. There was nothing for me back in Vienna and in any case I had too much pride to return there a failure. I decided to become a gem broker in Paris on my own account.
There are two kinds of broker, the broker attitré and the freelance broker, in Paris. The first is attached to one firm as a kind of commercial traveler working on a commission basis only, but he is usually permitted to have a drawing account which tides him over bad patches. The freelance, on the other hand, works for any firm that will entrust him with goods. He has no drawing account to fall back on.
Before casting myself on the turbulent and shark-infested waters of Paris gem trade, I sought to secure for myself a raft. I asked my ex-principal if I might be one of his accredited brokers with a drawing account. But although he permitted me to to so attach myself, there was no drawing account, and various incidents thereafter forced me to conclude that he had no intention of forgetting the inkstand episode. I cast myself off into complete independence and have remained in that state ever since.
Life as a freelance broker taught me much and I do not regret the bitter lessons of those days. There is no better schooling for one who intends to blossom into a trader on his own account than a long apprenticeship as a broker to the trade. It is always the buyer who is the professor, for he is ever alert to point out what is undesirable in the merchandise you submit for his considerations and to compare your prices with those of your competitors. It is the buyer who puts you on your mettle; it is the buyer you must study if you want to be a success. Please him and you have pleased yourself. From my buyers I have learned to discriminate between the bad, the middling, the good and the exquisite, and from the seller—how to make the most of the least.
I Pass From Paris To London: ‘Malacoot’ (continued)
(via Gem Trader) Louis Kornitzer writes:
My principal in Paris was only six years older than I. At the time of which I write, that is, he was twenty eight. At the early age of sixteen he had been pitchforked into Spain by a Spartan father with nothing more than a letter of introduction to a friend’s on who was in a small way of business as a dealer in antiques, or pseudo-antiques, in Madrid.
The young man had what is termed ‘his head screwed on the right way’. In other words, he started making money from the word ‘Go’. He was taken into the Madrid business and within a short time became a full partner. One day he happened to attend a public sale of an Estremaduran hidalgo’s effects. An ancient chest took his fancy and he bid successfully for it. When he got it home its extraordinarily heavy weight made him look it over very carefully, with the result that he found a number of secret drawers crammed with gold doubloons.
Being naturally of an aggressive nature, his early success in life had made him even more self-confident, and it was one of his patent maxims that treading on other people’s toes before they have a chance to tread on yours is one of the secrets of success, and moreover, saves the possessor of big feet a lot of pain. He was not particularly to save my feelings, at any rate, and was over-fond of calling me the French equivalent of ‘bloody fool’. One day he said it once too often and I picked up a heavy inkstand with intention of slinging it at him. Fortunately someone seized my arm, but, of course, the affair left me with no alternative other than handing in my resignation. In fact, I was just able to say very quickly: ‘I’m getting out of here,’ before he could utter: ‘You’re fired.’
Now, I had saved nothing out of my small pay, for I had been helping a younger brother who was serving his apprenticeship to a goldsmith in Paris. There was nothing for me back in Vienna and in any case I had too much pride to return there a failure. I decided to become a gem broker in Paris on my own account.
There are two kinds of broker, the broker attitré and the freelance broker, in Paris. The first is attached to one firm as a kind of commercial traveler working on a commission basis only, but he is usually permitted to have a drawing account which tides him over bad patches. The freelance, on the other hand, works for any firm that will entrust him with goods. He has no drawing account to fall back on.
Before casting myself on the turbulent and shark-infested waters of Paris gem trade, I sought to secure for myself a raft. I asked my ex-principal if I might be one of his accredited brokers with a drawing account. But although he permitted me to to so attach myself, there was no drawing account, and various incidents thereafter forced me to conclude that he had no intention of forgetting the inkstand episode. I cast myself off into complete independence and have remained in that state ever since.
Life as a freelance broker taught me much and I do not regret the bitter lessons of those days. There is no better schooling for one who intends to blossom into a trader on his own account than a long apprenticeship as a broker to the trade. It is always the buyer who is the professor, for he is ever alert to point out what is undesirable in the merchandise you submit for his considerations and to compare your prices with those of your competitors. It is the buyer who puts you on your mettle; it is the buyer you must study if you want to be a success. Please him and you have pleased yourself. From my buyers I have learned to discriminate between the bad, the middling, the good and the exquisite, and from the seller—how to make the most of the least.
I Pass From Paris To London: ‘Malacoot’ (continued)
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Travel-inspiring Movies 2007
(via Budget Travel): Travel-inspiring Movies 2007
1. The Bourne Ultimatum
2. Elizabeth: The Golden Age
3. Ratatouille
4. The Assasination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
5. Into The Wild
6. The Darjeeling Limited
7. Atonement
8. Enchanted
9. Lust, Caution
10. Once
Useful link:
www.budgettravel.com
1. The Bourne Ultimatum
2. Elizabeth: The Golden Age
3. Ratatouille
4. The Assasination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
5. Into The Wild
6. The Darjeeling Limited
7. Atonement
8. Enchanted
9. Lust, Caution
10. Once
Useful link:
www.budgettravel.com
Fabergé
It has been reported that Fabergé, owned by Pallinghurst Resources will be venturing into top-quality colored stones + it is perceived that the famous Fabergé name will add value to the gemstones, with each stone laser-engraved to ensure authenticity + the company is in a situation to emulate De Beers' mine-to-market model + they also plan to extend the Fabergé name into the luxury goods sector.
Useful links:
www.faberge.de
www.faberge.com
www.pallinghurst.com
Useful links:
www.faberge.de
www.faberge.com
www.pallinghurst.com
Exotic Procedures in Far Places: Aged, Monsooned And Luwaked Coffees
Kenneth Davids writes about the world's more exotic coffee types + differences between better and poorer samples of monsooned and aged coffees + authenticity issues + other viewpoints @
http://www.coffeereview.com/article.cfm?ID=139
I see intriguing parallels between coffee classification + authenticity issues with colored stone, diamond, wine, chocolate, and tea grading + it's technically complex/subjective.
http://www.coffeereview.com/article.cfm?ID=139
I see intriguing parallels between coffee classification + authenticity issues with colored stone, diamond, wine, chocolate, and tea grading + it's technically complex/subjective.
U2
Paul David Hewson known as Bono, is the lead singer and principal lyricist of the Irish rock band U2 + U2 has collaborated and recorded with numerous artists + almost all U2 lyrics were written by Bono with political, social and religious themes + Bono is also widely known for his activism concerning Africa, including the AIDS pandemic + he co-founded DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) + he is perceived as someone who has been making a difference in the world + I love his music.
Useful links:
www.u2.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bono
Useful links:
www.u2.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bono
His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday (1940)
Directed by: Howard Hawks
Screenplay: Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur (play The Front Page); Charles Lederer (screenplay)
Cast: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
(via YouTube): His Girl Friday Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Rx6FrjX5k
His Girl Friday 1/11 (1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApDSNJ-yZQY
His Girl Friday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgfhbHw6gXY
His Girl Friday 3/11 (1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZxsn_U6ymw
A romantic comedy. I enjoyed it.
Directed by: Howard Hawks
Screenplay: Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur (play The Front Page); Charles Lederer (screenplay)
Cast: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
(via YouTube): His Girl Friday Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Rx6FrjX5k
His Girl Friday 1/11 (1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApDSNJ-yZQY
His Girl Friday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgfhbHw6gXY
His Girl Friday 3/11 (1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZxsn_U6ymw
A romantic comedy. I enjoyed it.
Chronicler Of A Floating World
(via The Guardian) Adrian Searle writes about Hiroshige's masterful prints of 19th-century Japan + other viewpoints @ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/visualart/story/0,,2229609,00.html
Joy In Mudville
Ira Berkow writes about LeRoy Neiman's colorful paintings and screen prints + other viewpoints @ http://www.artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=726
The Pride Of Flanders
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
The Art Of Rubens, Van Dyck, And The Flemish Portrait-Painters
Painter, courtier, scholar, and diplomatist, Peter Paul Rubens is one of the most picturesque figures in European history. In origin he belonged to the upper middle class, for though his grandfather had been a tanner of Antwerp, his father John Rubens (1530-87) had taken his degree at an Italian university and subsequently attained considerable civic importance in Antwerp. At that time Flanders was under Spanish rule, and trouble with the authorities over political and religious matters drove the Protestant John Rubens and his family into exile at Cologne. There he became the intimate counselor of William the Silent, and unfortunately, too intimate with his patron’s wife, the Princess of Orange. Their love affair was discovered and Dr John Rubens was thrown into prison, from which he was only released after the Prince had divorced his wife. He did not long survive his imprisonment, and died at Cologne in 1587.
All this had its influence on young Peter Paul, who was born at Siegen, Westphalia, in 1577, one year after the death of Titian. Political complications had already driven his father from Antwerp, and so the boy spent his early childhood in exile. He was only ten years old when his father died, and then his mother returned to Antwerp, taking her three children with her, Blandina the eldest, a young woman of twenty-three, Philippe a boy of thirteen, and Peter Paul the youngest. By a curious coincidence, just as only one year separated the birth of Peter Paul Rubens from the death of Titian, so again one year divided the death of John Rubens from that of Paul Veronese (1588), whose art his son was destined to develop and glorify.
After her daughter’s marriage in 1590, the widow Rubens was able to say in a letter that both her sons were earning their living—so we know that their schooldays in Antwerp were short: Philippe obtained a place in the office of a town councillor of Brussels, while Peter Paul was Page of Honor to the Princess Margaret de Ligne-Aremberg. This gave the future diplomatist his first experience of court life; but it was short one, for already he felt art to be his true vocation, and in 1591 the lad of fourteen was allowed to begin his training as a painter in the studio of his cousin Tobias Verhaeght.
Here it may be well to recall that since the death of Mabuse in 1533 there had been no painter of the first rank in Flanders. Lucas da Heere (1534-84), a capable portrait-painter, though born at Ghent, worked chiefly in France and England. Returning to Flanders he could get little employment, and he died in poverty at Paris. A more successful portrait-painter, Antonio Moro (1519-78), better known as Sir Anthony More, also began his career in Ghent, but found more appreciation of his art in England and Spain. The most important of the immediate predecessors of Rubens were two families of artists, the Pourbus and the Breughels. Peter Pourbus (1510-84), a Bruges painter of portraits and religious subjects, had a son Frans Pourbus (1545-81), who settled in Antwerp. He in turn had a still more famous son, Frans Pourbus the Younger (1570-1622) who painted portraits not only in Antwerp but also at the Court of Henri IV in Paris. Young Pourbus, seven years older than Rubens, was one of the few of his contemporaries in Antwerp who not only never worked for Rubens but may have had some influence on his early style.
The founder of the Breughel family was Peter Breughel (c. 1525-69), whose dramatic ‘Adoration of the Magi’ was secured for the National Gallery in 1921. Another interesting example of his forcible but primitive style, ‘Sacking a Village’ is at Hampton Court. This painter had two sons, Peter, known as ‘Hell’ Breughel (1564-1638), because of his choice of subjects, and a younger, Jan, nicknamed ‘Velvet’ Breughel (1568-1625), on account of the softness of his painting. The father made Brussels his headquarters, but the sons settled in Antwerp, where, notwithstanding his seniority, Jan Breughel eventually became an assistant to Rubens.
The Pride Of Flanders (continued)
The Art Of Rubens, Van Dyck, And The Flemish Portrait-Painters
Painter, courtier, scholar, and diplomatist, Peter Paul Rubens is one of the most picturesque figures in European history. In origin he belonged to the upper middle class, for though his grandfather had been a tanner of Antwerp, his father John Rubens (1530-87) had taken his degree at an Italian university and subsequently attained considerable civic importance in Antwerp. At that time Flanders was under Spanish rule, and trouble with the authorities over political and religious matters drove the Protestant John Rubens and his family into exile at Cologne. There he became the intimate counselor of William the Silent, and unfortunately, too intimate with his patron’s wife, the Princess of Orange. Their love affair was discovered and Dr John Rubens was thrown into prison, from which he was only released after the Prince had divorced his wife. He did not long survive his imprisonment, and died at Cologne in 1587.
All this had its influence on young Peter Paul, who was born at Siegen, Westphalia, in 1577, one year after the death of Titian. Political complications had already driven his father from Antwerp, and so the boy spent his early childhood in exile. He was only ten years old when his father died, and then his mother returned to Antwerp, taking her three children with her, Blandina the eldest, a young woman of twenty-three, Philippe a boy of thirteen, and Peter Paul the youngest. By a curious coincidence, just as only one year separated the birth of Peter Paul Rubens from the death of Titian, so again one year divided the death of John Rubens from that of Paul Veronese (1588), whose art his son was destined to develop and glorify.
After her daughter’s marriage in 1590, the widow Rubens was able to say in a letter that both her sons were earning their living—so we know that their schooldays in Antwerp were short: Philippe obtained a place in the office of a town councillor of Brussels, while Peter Paul was Page of Honor to the Princess Margaret de Ligne-Aremberg. This gave the future diplomatist his first experience of court life; but it was short one, for already he felt art to be his true vocation, and in 1591 the lad of fourteen was allowed to begin his training as a painter in the studio of his cousin Tobias Verhaeght.
Here it may be well to recall that since the death of Mabuse in 1533 there had been no painter of the first rank in Flanders. Lucas da Heere (1534-84), a capable portrait-painter, though born at Ghent, worked chiefly in France and England. Returning to Flanders he could get little employment, and he died in poverty at Paris. A more successful portrait-painter, Antonio Moro (1519-78), better known as Sir Anthony More, also began his career in Ghent, but found more appreciation of his art in England and Spain. The most important of the immediate predecessors of Rubens were two families of artists, the Pourbus and the Breughels. Peter Pourbus (1510-84), a Bruges painter of portraits and religious subjects, had a son Frans Pourbus (1545-81), who settled in Antwerp. He in turn had a still more famous son, Frans Pourbus the Younger (1570-1622) who painted portraits not only in Antwerp but also at the Court of Henri IV in Paris. Young Pourbus, seven years older than Rubens, was one of the few of his contemporaries in Antwerp who not only never worked for Rubens but may have had some influence on his early style.
The founder of the Breughel family was Peter Breughel (c. 1525-69), whose dramatic ‘Adoration of the Magi’ was secured for the National Gallery in 1921. Another interesting example of his forcible but primitive style, ‘Sacking a Village’ is at Hampton Court. This painter had two sons, Peter, known as ‘Hell’ Breughel (1564-1638), because of his choice of subjects, and a younger, Jan, nicknamed ‘Velvet’ Breughel (1568-1625), on account of the softness of his painting. The father made Brussels his headquarters, but the sons settled in Antwerp, where, notwithstanding his seniority, Jan Breughel eventually became an assistant to Rubens.
The Pride Of Flanders (continued)
From Gothic To Baroque Rose Cuts
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The early Gothic types of flat-bottomed diamonds gradually gave way to a new design inspired by the Baroque style in art and architecture. The early type was simply called ‘faceted’. The new style was described as Rose Cut, a term which was then applied to both the Gothic and the Baroque flat-bottomed diamond. The name “Rose’ was used, confusingly, both for these flat-bottomed single gems and for the combinations of pave-set small diamonds. My suggestions for updating the terminology of the sequence from basic forms to full-cut designs are as follows:
1. Chips or Splinters: These were used only for the most primitive, poor quality, flat-bottomed gems. Because of their flatness and the small number of irregular, randomly distributed facets, they lacked the fascination demanded of a diamond and consequently seldom found a market. During the Gothic period they were usually rejected altogether and often simply ground into powder.
2. Chiffres: These are still used for inexpensive jewelry, but only in small sizes. Slight polishing gives them the form of a flattish triangular pyramid with rounded edges. If thick enough, they can be rounded by bruting into three-facet Roses. This form is also still in use.
3. Six-facet Roses: If these had hexagonal outlines they kept the same form as they had in earlier days. If they were very flat they were often called mode-roses (vlakke or vlake Moderoozen in Dutch). Like the Chiffres, they were occasionally rounded. More often they were crowned, becoming, in fact, kruinige Moderoozen, an intermediate step on the way to full cut Crowned Rose Cuts.
4. Crowned or Twelve-facet Roses: The twelve-facet Rose represents the initial stage of the Baroque Rose, an innovation which radically changed the design of flat-bottomed diamonds. This basic shape was found to produce some brilliance but, like the modern single-cut diamond, there are only sufficient facets if the stone is very small. The facets are stepped to produce a Crowned Rose with a brilliance superior to that of trihedral Roses, but with no fire.
The great center for the manufacture of this type of diamond was Antwerp, but it was also produced in Brabant, where cutters who had left Antwerp to escape taxation had established themselves. Another center was Charleroi, to the south of Antwerp. Twelve-facet Roses were often named after Antwerp or Brabant, and occasionally after Charleroi.
Twelve-facet Roses were usually further fashioned into:
5. Eighteen-facet Roses: These were originally produced in Amsterdam and were fairly popular during the nineteenth century but are now considered to be incomplete Rose Cuts, comparable to the old ‘double-cut’ diamonds defined under Complementary Cuts.
6. Twenty-four facet Angular and Regular Full Rose Cuts: The former are called ‘angular’ because no rounding has been done, so that they retain a twelve-sided outline with a knife-sharp girdle. In other words, they are completely fashioned apart from rounding. Since Roses are hardly ever absolutely circular and their outline is, in any case, hidden by the setting, the angular type is included only to indicate that Full Rose Cuts are not always properly finished.
The earliest documented piece of jewelry which contains Full Rose Cuts is the ‘Fellowship Pendant’ in the Grϋnes Gewölbe, Dresden. Originally there were three pendants belonging to the ‘Fellowship of Fraternal Love and Friendship’. Established in 1594 by Frederick William, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, Administrator of the Electoral House of Saxony for the three youngest sons of Christian I. The only surviving pendant (the other two were probably handed over to the Wettinian family in 1924) is in such perfect condition that it looks as if it has never been worn. The Full Rose Cut diamonds are certainly not later replacements and therefore probably date from as early as the end of the sixteenth century. There are three Roses, one at the top and one on each side of the frame. The square-cut diamond below the pendant is a Mirror Cut. The diamond close to the eyelet is simply a fragment of what might have been a basically faceted Gothic Rose. Thomas Cletscher (c. 1625) reproduced an enormous number of illustrations of these ‘modern’ Full Rose Cuts, undoubtedly achieved by cleaving. The earliest reference to cleaving, however, as Eric Bruton says, appears to have been made by Tavernier in the original French edition of his book published in 1676.
At first, full Rose Cuts tended to be rather flat, because thicker rough was fashioned into the contemporary Taille en Seize. Only when the latter went out of fashion did Rose Cuts become higher, often very high. Examples can be seen on the crown of Queen Louisa Ulrica of Sweden, dating from 1751 and all set with Regular Full Rose Cuts; on the epaulette of the French King Louis XV, and on the shoulder knot of Augustus the Strong.
In the nineteenth century most of these high Roses were refashioned into Brilliants. Rose Cuts as principal gems lost their great popularity, but the demand for small, flat and therefore inexpensive Roses increased enormously. These were mainly designed to embellish informal jewels.
The early Gothic types of flat-bottomed diamonds gradually gave way to a new design inspired by the Baroque style in art and architecture. The early type was simply called ‘faceted’. The new style was described as Rose Cut, a term which was then applied to both the Gothic and the Baroque flat-bottomed diamond. The name “Rose’ was used, confusingly, both for these flat-bottomed single gems and for the combinations of pave-set small diamonds. My suggestions for updating the terminology of the sequence from basic forms to full-cut designs are as follows:
1. Chips or Splinters: These were used only for the most primitive, poor quality, flat-bottomed gems. Because of their flatness and the small number of irregular, randomly distributed facets, they lacked the fascination demanded of a diamond and consequently seldom found a market. During the Gothic period they were usually rejected altogether and often simply ground into powder.
2. Chiffres: These are still used for inexpensive jewelry, but only in small sizes. Slight polishing gives them the form of a flattish triangular pyramid with rounded edges. If thick enough, they can be rounded by bruting into three-facet Roses. This form is also still in use.
3. Six-facet Roses: If these had hexagonal outlines they kept the same form as they had in earlier days. If they were very flat they were often called mode-roses (vlakke or vlake Moderoozen in Dutch). Like the Chiffres, they were occasionally rounded. More often they were crowned, becoming, in fact, kruinige Moderoozen, an intermediate step on the way to full cut Crowned Rose Cuts.
4. Crowned or Twelve-facet Roses: The twelve-facet Rose represents the initial stage of the Baroque Rose, an innovation which radically changed the design of flat-bottomed diamonds. This basic shape was found to produce some brilliance but, like the modern single-cut diamond, there are only sufficient facets if the stone is very small. The facets are stepped to produce a Crowned Rose with a brilliance superior to that of trihedral Roses, but with no fire.
The great center for the manufacture of this type of diamond was Antwerp, but it was also produced in Brabant, where cutters who had left Antwerp to escape taxation had established themselves. Another center was Charleroi, to the south of Antwerp. Twelve-facet Roses were often named after Antwerp or Brabant, and occasionally after Charleroi.
Twelve-facet Roses were usually further fashioned into:
5. Eighteen-facet Roses: These were originally produced in Amsterdam and were fairly popular during the nineteenth century but are now considered to be incomplete Rose Cuts, comparable to the old ‘double-cut’ diamonds defined under Complementary Cuts.
6. Twenty-four facet Angular and Regular Full Rose Cuts: The former are called ‘angular’ because no rounding has been done, so that they retain a twelve-sided outline with a knife-sharp girdle. In other words, they are completely fashioned apart from rounding. Since Roses are hardly ever absolutely circular and their outline is, in any case, hidden by the setting, the angular type is included only to indicate that Full Rose Cuts are not always properly finished.
The earliest documented piece of jewelry which contains Full Rose Cuts is the ‘Fellowship Pendant’ in the Grϋnes Gewölbe, Dresden. Originally there were three pendants belonging to the ‘Fellowship of Fraternal Love and Friendship’. Established in 1594 by Frederick William, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, Administrator of the Electoral House of Saxony for the three youngest sons of Christian I. The only surviving pendant (the other two were probably handed over to the Wettinian family in 1924) is in such perfect condition that it looks as if it has never been worn. The Full Rose Cut diamonds are certainly not later replacements and therefore probably date from as early as the end of the sixteenth century. There are three Roses, one at the top and one on each side of the frame. The square-cut diamond below the pendant is a Mirror Cut. The diamond close to the eyelet is simply a fragment of what might have been a basically faceted Gothic Rose. Thomas Cletscher (c. 1625) reproduced an enormous number of illustrations of these ‘modern’ Full Rose Cuts, undoubtedly achieved by cleaving. The earliest reference to cleaving, however, as Eric Bruton says, appears to have been made by Tavernier in the original French edition of his book published in 1676.
At first, full Rose Cuts tended to be rather flat, because thicker rough was fashioned into the contemporary Taille en Seize. Only when the latter went out of fashion did Rose Cuts become higher, often very high. Examples can be seen on the crown of Queen Louisa Ulrica of Sweden, dating from 1751 and all set with Regular Full Rose Cuts; on the epaulette of the French King Louis XV, and on the shoulder knot of Augustus the Strong.
In the nineteenth century most of these high Roses were refashioned into Brilliants. Rose Cuts as principal gems lost their great popularity, but the demand for small, flat and therefore inexpensive Roses increased enormously. These were mainly designed to embellish informal jewels.
The Beautiful Blonde Liked Emeralds
Louis Kornitzer's book, Gem Trader, is partly autobiographical and partly woven round the lore of pearls. It's educational + explains the distribution chain of gems, as they pass from hand to hand, from miner to cutter, from merchant to millionaire, from courtesan to receiver of stolen goods, shaping human lives as they go + the unique characters in the industry.
(via Gem Trader) Louis Kornitzer writes:
But modern prospectors have failed to rediscover the emerald mines of the Incas. It is known that before the conquest of Peru by the Incas the people of that country obtained huge quantities of emeralds; and even long after they had lost their independence they were still able to obtain the precious gems by some means. In Prescott’s Conquest of Peru there is an account of how the Spaniards under Pizarro came to the province of Quito and found ‘the fair River of Emeralds, so called from the quarries of the beautiful gem on its borders, from which the Indian monarchs enriched their treasury.’ But modern adventurers have not found those quarries, though the emerald deposits from which in our own day the best stones come are also in South America, near Bogota, capital of the Republic of Colombia.
Siberia also produces emeralds. Comparatively recently they were discovered—in company with aquamarines and alexandrites—in the Ural mountains, on the River Takovaya, some sixty miles N.E from Ekaterinburg. Other localities in which the gem has been found—not always of anything like first-rate quality, however—are the Salzburg Alps (Habachthal), and in Norway and New South Wales. In the U.S.A they are found in the hiddenite workings at Stonypoint, Alexander County, N.C.
Hernando Cortes, conqueror of Mexico, was given, or otherwise obtained from Montezuma, large quantities of emeralds which he dispatched to the Spanish Court. But there were certain gems which he reserved as a gift for his bride, notably several emeralds carved in the shape of a fish, a hunting horn, a bell and a small cup.
These gems excited the admiration of the Court ladies, says Prescott again (this time in his Conquest of Mexico), and, perhaps unfortunately for Cortes, the desire of his queen, Isabella. ‘The queen of Charles the Fifth, it is said—it may be the idle gossip of a Court—had intimated a willingness to become proprietor of some of these magnificent baubles; and the preference which Cortes gave to his fair bride caused some feelings of estrangement in the royal bosom, which had an unfavorable influence on the future fortunes of the marquess.’
Feelings of estrangement are easily produced in royal bosoms, and it is therefore not impossible that emeralds brought about the downfall of the conqueror of Mexico, just as in his time they lured on the conqueror of Peru.
There is a footnote to this mention of Pizarro in Peru. The morning after I had written the foregoing passage I opened my morning paper and read this letter from a correspondent:
‘Sir,
Your correspondent is wrong in believing that the Inca treasure designated ‘Big Fish’ is buried beneath Cuzco. In 1575 a direct descendant, or cacique, of the Chimu dynasty, which was destroyed by the Inca conquerors 200 years before, still lived in the ancient Chimu capital near to what is now known as Trujillo on the coast. A young Spaniard, trading as a pedlar between Lima and Trujillo, became so attached to the cacique that he became godfather to two of the cacique’s children.
‘The cacique took him one day to a cave among the ruins of the ancient city and showed him an immense wealth of idols and other articles of gold. In the center of the room was a table of silver, upon which was a model of a fish, the body of gold and the eyes formed by two splendid emeralds.
‘The Spaniard was stupefied at the sight and the cacique said; ‘This is all yours. Today I give you the Peche Chico or Little Fish. If you fulfil the vows you have made to me to devote one-fourth to the Church and look after the poor, I will one day take you the Peche Grande, or Big Fish.’
‘The amount realized on the Peche Chico must have been enormous, because the fifth which went to the Royal Treasury of Spain, according to the old records, was 85000 castellanos of gold. The young Spaniard went to Lima and in a few years dissipated his wealth in luxurious living. He returned to the old cacique for the Peche Grande, but met with stern refusal for not having kept his vow. Many efforts have been made, and seven syndicates have been formed, to explore the ruins, but with no result.’
Daily Telegraph, April 22nd, 1938.
(via Gem Trader) Louis Kornitzer writes:
But modern prospectors have failed to rediscover the emerald mines of the Incas. It is known that before the conquest of Peru by the Incas the people of that country obtained huge quantities of emeralds; and even long after they had lost their independence they were still able to obtain the precious gems by some means. In Prescott’s Conquest of Peru there is an account of how the Spaniards under Pizarro came to the province of Quito and found ‘the fair River of Emeralds, so called from the quarries of the beautiful gem on its borders, from which the Indian monarchs enriched their treasury.’ But modern adventurers have not found those quarries, though the emerald deposits from which in our own day the best stones come are also in South America, near Bogota, capital of the Republic of Colombia.
Siberia also produces emeralds. Comparatively recently they were discovered—in company with aquamarines and alexandrites—in the Ural mountains, on the River Takovaya, some sixty miles N.E from Ekaterinburg. Other localities in which the gem has been found—not always of anything like first-rate quality, however—are the Salzburg Alps (Habachthal), and in Norway and New South Wales. In the U.S.A they are found in the hiddenite workings at Stonypoint, Alexander County, N.C.
Hernando Cortes, conqueror of Mexico, was given, or otherwise obtained from Montezuma, large quantities of emeralds which he dispatched to the Spanish Court. But there were certain gems which he reserved as a gift for his bride, notably several emeralds carved in the shape of a fish, a hunting horn, a bell and a small cup.
These gems excited the admiration of the Court ladies, says Prescott again (this time in his Conquest of Mexico), and, perhaps unfortunately for Cortes, the desire of his queen, Isabella. ‘The queen of Charles the Fifth, it is said—it may be the idle gossip of a Court—had intimated a willingness to become proprietor of some of these magnificent baubles; and the preference which Cortes gave to his fair bride caused some feelings of estrangement in the royal bosom, which had an unfavorable influence on the future fortunes of the marquess.’
Feelings of estrangement are easily produced in royal bosoms, and it is therefore not impossible that emeralds brought about the downfall of the conqueror of Mexico, just as in his time they lured on the conqueror of Peru.
There is a footnote to this mention of Pizarro in Peru. The morning after I had written the foregoing passage I opened my morning paper and read this letter from a correspondent:
‘Sir,
Your correspondent is wrong in believing that the Inca treasure designated ‘Big Fish’ is buried beneath Cuzco. In 1575 a direct descendant, or cacique, of the Chimu dynasty, which was destroyed by the Inca conquerors 200 years before, still lived in the ancient Chimu capital near to what is now known as Trujillo on the coast. A young Spaniard, trading as a pedlar between Lima and Trujillo, became so attached to the cacique that he became godfather to two of the cacique’s children.
‘The cacique took him one day to a cave among the ruins of the ancient city and showed him an immense wealth of idols and other articles of gold. In the center of the room was a table of silver, upon which was a model of a fish, the body of gold and the eyes formed by two splendid emeralds.
‘The Spaniard was stupefied at the sight and the cacique said; ‘This is all yours. Today I give you the Peche Chico or Little Fish. If you fulfil the vows you have made to me to devote one-fourth to the Church and look after the poor, I will one day take you the Peche Grande, or Big Fish.’
‘The amount realized on the Peche Chico must have been enormous, because the fifth which went to the Royal Treasury of Spain, according to the old records, was 85000 castellanos of gold. The young Spaniard went to Lima and in a few years dissipated his wealth in luxurious living. He returned to the old cacique for the Peche Grande, but met with stern refusal for not having kept his vow. Many efforts have been made, and seven syndicates have been formed, to explore the ruins, but with no result.’
Daily Telegraph, April 22nd, 1938.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Burmese Ruby Vs Consumers
This is the real story. Many consumers don't see the link between Burmese rubies and human rights abuses in Burma. Those who are aware of the problems in Burma can't make up their mind, especially the gem trade, because rubies are special and more than 90% come from Burma, with treatments done in Thailand, at an affordable cost. Consumers love cheap but beautiful rubies.
Many consumers are even confused with gem lab reports on origin and treatments. What's surprising to me is that there are many gem schools + labs at all major cities in the world + the internet provides free info on gemstones, treatments, synthetics, human rights issues, mining, child labor and so on, and yet when you talk to consumers on important issues related to high value gems such as rubies, especially Burmese, you see 'momentary autism'. They just go blank--inert. Sometimes it's yes yes, no no situation. It looks like no one knows how to connect the dots.
What do you think?
Many consumers are even confused with gem lab reports on origin and treatments. What's surprising to me is that there are many gem schools + labs at all major cities in the world + the internet provides free info on gemstones, treatments, synthetics, human rights issues, mining, child labor and so on, and yet when you talk to consumers on important issues related to high value gems such as rubies, especially Burmese, you see 'momentary autism'. They just go blank--inert. Sometimes it's yes yes, no no situation. It looks like no one knows how to connect the dots.
What do you think?
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